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郭子儀子:曜子:晞晞孫:承嘏子:曖曖子:釗鏦銛曖孫:曙母弟幼:明幼明子:昕
Guo Ziyi's sons included Yao and Xi; Xi's grandson was Chenggu. He also had a son named Ai, whose sons were Zhao, Cong, and Xian, and whose grandson was Shu. His younger brother by the same mother was Youming, and Youming's son was Xin.
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郭子儀
Guo Ziyi.
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郭子儀，字子儀，華州鄭人。 長七尺二寸。 以武舉異等補左衛長史，累遷單于副都護、振遠軍使。 天寶八載，木剌山始築橫塞軍及安北都護府，詔即軍為使。 俄苦地偏不可耕，徙築永清，號天德軍，又以使兼九原太守。
Guo Ziyi, styled Ziyi, came from Zheng in Huazhou. He stood seven feet two inches tall. After passing the military examination with the highest honors, he was appointed chief clerk of the Left Guard and later rose through the posts of vice protector-general of the Chanyu Protectorate and commissioner of the Zhenyuan Army. In the eighth year of the Tianbao era (749), construction began at Mount Mula on the Hengsai Army and the Anbei Protectorate, and an imperial edict made him commissioner of the new garrison. Before long the site proved too remote for farming, so the garrison was relocated to Yongqing and renamed the Tiande Army. Guo Ziyi continued as its commissioner and was also appointed prefect of Jiuyuan.
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十四載，安祿山反，詔子儀為衛尉卿、靈武郡太守，充朔方節度使，率本軍東討。 子儀收靜邊軍，斬賊將周萬頃，擊高秀岩河曲，敗之，遂收雲中、馬邑，開東陘。 加御史大夫。 賊陷常山，河北郡縣皆沒。 會李光弼攻賊常山，拔之，子儀引軍下井陘，與光弼合，破賊史思明眾數萬，平幰城。 南攻趙郡，禽賊四千，縱之，斬偽守郭獻璆，還常山。 思明以眾數萬尾軍，及行唐，子儀選騎五百更出挑之。 三日，賊引去，乘之，又破於沙河，遂趨常陽以守。 祿山益出精兵佐思明。 子儀曰：「彼恃加兵，必易我； 易我，心不固，戰則克矣。」 與戰未決，戮一步將以徇，士殊死鬥，遂破之，斬首二千級，俘五百人，獲馬如之。 於是晝揚兵，夜搗壘，賊不得息，氣益老。 乃與光弼、僕固懷恩、渾釋之、陳回光等擊賊嘉山，斬首四萬級，獲人馬萬計。 思明跳奔博陵。 於是河北諸郡往往斬賊守，迎王師。 方北圖范陽，會哥舒翰敗，天子入蜀，太子即位靈武，詔班師。 子儀與光弼率步騎五萬赴行在。 時朝廷草昧，眾單寡，軍容缺然，及是國威大振。 拜子儀兵部尚書、同中書門下平章事，仍總節度。 肅宗大閱六軍，鼓而南，至彭原。 宰相房琯自請討賊，次陳濤，師敗，眾略盡，故帝唯倚朔方軍為根本。 賊將阿史那從禮以同羅、僕骨騎五千，誘河曲九府、六胡州部落數萬迫行在。 子儀以回紇首領葛邏支擊之，執獲數萬，牛羊不可勝計，河曲平。
In the fourteenth year of Tianbao (755), when An Lushan rose in rebellion, Guo Ziyi was named Minister of the Guard and administrator of Lingwu, appointed military commissioner of Shuofang, and ordered to lead his army east against the rebels. Guo Ziyi retook the Jingbian Army, executed the rebel general Zhou Wanqing, routed Gao Xiuyan at Hequ, recovered Yunzhong and Mayi, and reopened the eastern mountain pass. He was promoted to censor-in-chief. After the rebels seized Changshan, nearly every commandery and county in Hebei was lost. Li Guangbi meanwhile attacked and captured Changshan. Guo Ziyi marched south through Jingxing, joined forces with him, shattered Shi Siming's army of tens of thousands, and recovered Hancheng. Marching south into Zhao Commandery, he took four thousand prisoners and then released them, executed the rebel prefect Guo Xianqiu, and withdrew to Changshan. Shi Siming pursued with tens of thousands of men. At Xingtang, Guo Ziyi sent out five hundred picked cavalry in repeated skirmishes to provoke the enemy. On the third day the rebels pulled back. Guo Ziyi pursued, routed them again at the Sha River, and advanced to hold Changyang. An Lushan dispatched additional crack troops to reinforce Shi Siming. Guo Ziyi said, "They are counting on those reinforcements and will take us lightly. Once they underestimate us, their morale will falter — and then we can defeat them in battle. The battle hung in the balance until he executed a foot officer as an example; his men then fought with desperate fury, broke the enemy line, and killed two thousand, captured five hundred men, and seized an equal number of horses. He then paraded his forces by day and raided their camps by night, giving the rebels no rest until their fighting spirit was utterly worn down. Joining Li Guangbi, Pugu Huai'en, Hun Shizhi, Chen Huiguang, and others, he attacked the rebels at Jiashan, killing forty thousand and capturing tens of thousands of men and horses. Shi Siming fled in disarray to Boling. Across Hebei, commanderies one after another executed their rebel governors and welcomed the imperial armies. They were preparing a northern drive on Fanyang when news arrived that Geshu Han had been defeated, the emperor had fled into Shu, and the crown prince had been enthroned at Lingwu — whereupon an edict recalled the army. Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi marched fifty thousand infantry and cavalry to join the court at Lingwu. The court was still in its infancy, its forces few and its military bearing uncertain — but the arrival of this army restored the empire's prestige in a single stroke. Guo Ziyi was appointed minister of war and co-director of the Secretariat, while retaining overall command of the military commission. Emperor Suzong reviewed the Six Armies in full array and marched south to Pengyuan. When Chancellor Fang Guan volunteered to lead a campaign against the rebels and was routed at Chentao, nearly wiping out his army, the emperor came to rely on the Shuofang forces as his sole foundation. The rebel general Ashina Congli, with five thousand Tongluo and Pugu horsemen, incited the tribal peoples of the Nine Prefectures and Six Hu States along the Yellow River bend — tens of thousands strong — to march on the court. Guo Ziyi sent the Uyghur chieftain Geluozhi against them, captured tens of thousands of prisoners, and seized untold numbers of cattle and sheep, bringing the Hequ region under control.
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至德二載，攻賊崔乾祐於潼關，乾祐敗，退保蒲津。 會永樂尉趙復、河東司戶參軍韓旻、司士徐景及宗室子鋒在城中，謀為內應，子儀攻蒲，復等斬陴者，披闔內軍。 乾祐走安邑，安邑偽納之，兵半入，縣門發，乾祐得脫身走。 賊安守忠壁永豐倉，子儀遣子旰與戰，多殺至萬級，旰死於陣。 進收倉。 於是關、陝始通。 詔還鳳翔，進司空，充關內、河東副元帥。 率師趨長安，次潏水上。 賊守忠等軍清渠左。 大戰，王師不利，委仗奔。 子儀收潰卒保武功，待罪於朝，乃授尚書左僕射。 俄從元帥廣平王率蕃、漢兵十五萬收長安。 李嗣業為前軍，元帥為中軍，子儀副之，王思禮為後軍，陣香積寺之北，距灃水，臨大川，彌亙一舍。 賊李歸仁領勁騎薄戰，官軍囂，嗣業以長刀突出，斬賊數十騎，乃定。 回紇以奇兵繚賊背，夾攻之，斬首六萬級，生禽二萬，賊帥張通儒夜亡陝郡。 翌日，王入京師，老幼夾道呼曰：「不圖今日復見官軍！」 王休士三日，遂東。 安慶緒聞王師至，遣嚴莊悉眾十萬屯陝，助通儒，旌幟鉦鼓徑百餘里。 師至新店，賊已陣，出輕騎，子儀遣二隊逐之，又至，倍以往，皆不及賊營輒反。 最後，賊以二百騎掩軍，未戰走，子儀悉軍追，橫貫其營。 賊張兩翼包之，官軍卻。 嗣業率回紇從後擊，塵且坌，飛矢射賊，賊驚曰：「回紇至矣！」 遂大敗，僵屍相屬於道。 嚴莊等走洛陽，挾慶緒度河保相州，遂收東都。 於是河東、河西、河南州縣悉平。 以功加司徒，封代國公，食邑千戶。 入朝，帝遣具軍容迎灞上，勞之曰：「國家再造，卿力也。」 子儀頓首陳謝。 有詔還東都，經略北討。
In the second year of the Zhide era (757), Guo Ziyi attacked the rebel Cui Qianyou at Tong Pass. Cui was defeated and fell back to defend Pu Ford. Inside the city, the district defender Zhao Fu, registrar Han Min, administrator Xu Jing, and a royal clansman named Zifeng plotted to open the gates from within. When Guo Ziyi assaulted Pu, they killed the gate guards, threw open the walls, and let the imperial army in. Cui Qianyou fled to Anyi, where the county feigned welcome — then, once half his force had entered, slammed the gates shut and let him escape with only his life. The rebel An Shouzhong held the Yongfeng Granary. Guo Ziyi sent his son Gao into battle; though the imperial forces killed as many as ten thousand enemy troops, Gao fell on the field. Guo Ziyi then advanced and captured the granary. With that, the route through Tong Pass and Shaan was reopened. An edict recalled him to Fengxiang, promoted him to minister of works, and named him vice commander-in-chief of Guannei and Hedong. He led his army toward Chang'an and encamped along the Yu River. An Shouzhong and the other rebel commanders drew up their forces west of the Qing Canal. In the great battle that followed, the imperial army was defeated and fled, abandoning their weapons. Guo Ziyi rallied the scattered troops and held Wugong, offering himself for punishment at court — yet was instead appointed left vice director of the Department of State Affairs. Before long he joined the Prince of Guangping, supreme commander, in leading a combined force of one hundred fifty thousand tribal and Han troops to retake Chang'an. Li Siye commanded the vanguard, the prince the center with Guo Ziyi as his deputy, and Wang Sili the rearguard. They drew up north of Xiangji Temple, facing the Feng River across open ground, their battle line stretching a full stage in length. When the rebel Li Guiren charged with elite cavalry and threw the imperial line into disorder, Li Siye led a counterattack with long blades, cutting down dozens of horsemen and steadying the army. Uyghur horsemen swung around the rebel rear in a flanking attack. The imperial forces killed sixty thousand, took twenty thousand prisoners, and the rebel commander Zhang Tongru fled by night toward Shaan. The next day the prince entered the capital. Old and young lined the streets, crying, "We never dreamed we would live to see the imperial army return!" The prince rested his troops for three days, then marched east. When An Qingxu learned the imperial army was coming, he sent Yan Zhuang with a full force of one hundred thousand to hold Shaan and reinforce Zhang Tongru — their banners, flags, and war drums filling the road for over a hundred li. At Xindian the rebels were already in battle order and sent out light cavalry. Guo Ziyi dispatched two squads in pursuit, then sent twice as many again — each time turning back before reaching the enemy camp. At last the rebels sent two hundred horsemen in a feint attack, then fled without engaging. Guo Ziyi pursued with his full army and drove straight through the enemy camp. The rebels spread both wings to envelop the imperial force, which fell back. Li Siye led the Uyghurs in a rear assault; dust billowed skyward as arrows rained on the rebels, who cried in terror, "The Uyghurs are here!" The rebels were routed utterly, and the dead lay heaped along the road. Yan Zhuang and the others fled to Luoyang, then escorted An Qingxu across the river to hold Xiang Prefecture. The Eastern Capital was recovered. The prefectures and counties of Hedong, Hexi, and Henan were all brought back under imperial control. For his achievements he was promoted to minister of education, enfeoffed as Duke of Dai, and granted a fief of one thousand households. When he came to court, the emperor sent officials in full military regalia to welcome him at Bashang and said, "The empire has been restored — and it is your doing." Guo Ziyi kowtowed and humbly declined the praise. An edict ordered him back to the Eastern Capital to prepare the northern campaign.
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乾元元年，破賊河上，執安守忠以獻，遂朝京師。 詔百官迎于長樂驛，帝禦望春樓待之。 進中書令。 帝即詔大舉九節度師討慶緒，以子儀、光弼皆元功，難相臨攝，第用魚朝恩為觀軍容宣慰使，而不立帥。
In the first year of the Qianyuan era (758), he defeated the rebels on the Yellow River, captured An Shouzhong, and presented him to the throne before proceeding to the capital. The emperor ordered the entire bureaucracy to welcome him at Changle Post Station and received him personally from Wangchun Tower. He was promoted to director of the Secretariat. The emperor immediately ordered a massive campaign against An Qingxu, drawing on the armies of nine military commissioners. Because Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi were both heroes of the restoration and neither could easily command the other, Yu Chao'en was made army supervision commissioner — but no supreme commander was appointed.
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子儀自杏園濟河，圍衛州。 慶緒分其眾為三軍。 將戰，子儀選善射三千士伏壁內，誡曰：「須吾卻，賊必乘壘，若等噪而射。」 既戰，偽遁，賊薄營，伏發，注射如雨。 賊震駭，王師整而奮，斬首四萬級，獲鎧胄數十萬，執安慶和，收衛州。 又戰愁思岡，破之。 連營進圍相州，引漳水灌城，漫二時，不能破。 城中糧盡，人相食。 慶緒求救于史思明，思明自魏來，李光弼、王思禮、許叔冀、魯炅前軍遇之，戰鄴南，夷負相當，炅中流矢。 子儀督後軍，未及戰。 會大風拔木，遂晦，跬步不能相物色，於是王師南潰，賊亦走，輜械滿野。 諸節度引還。 子儀以朔方軍保河陽，斷航橋。 時王師眾而無統，進退相顧望，責功不專，是以及於敗。 有詔留守東都，俄改東畿、山南東道、河南諸道行營元帥。 魚朝恩素疾其功，因是媒譖之，故帝召子儀還，更以趙王為天下兵馬元帥，李光弼副之，代子儀領朔方兵。 子儀雖失軍，無少望，乃心朝廷。 思明再陷河、洛，西戎逼擾京輔，天子旰食，乃授邠寧、鄜坊兩節度使，仍留京師。 議者謂子儀有社稷功，而孽寇首鼠，乃置散地，非所宜。 帝亦悟。
Guo Ziyi crossed the Yellow River from Xingyuan and laid siege to Weizhou. An Qingxu divided his force into three armies. Before the battle, Guo Ziyi picked three thousand expert archers and hid them inside the ramparts with this order: "When I fall back, the rebels will rush the walls — then raise a shout and shoot." When battle was joined, he feigned retreat. The rebels pressed the camp, the ambush sprang, and arrows fell like rain. The rebels were thrown into panic. The imperial army reformed and counterattacked, killing forty thousand, seizing hundreds of thousands of sets of armor, capturing An Qinghe, and recovering Weizhou. He fought again at Chousi Ridge and routed the enemy. The allied armies advanced in successive camps to besiege Xiang Prefecture, diverting the Zhang River to flood the city for four hours — yet still could not breach it. Inside the city food ran out and the starving turned to cannibalism. An Qingxu appealed to Shi Siming, who marched from Wei. The vanguard under Li Guangbi, Wang Sili, Xu Shuji, and Lu Jiong met him south of Ye. The battle was a bloody draw, and Lu Jiong was wounded by an arrow. Guo Ziyi was directing the rearguard and had not yet engaged. Then a gale uprooted trees and plunged the field into darkness so thick that men could not see one another. The imperial army broke and fled south; the rebels fled as well, leaving wagons and weapons strewn across the countryside. The various military commissioners withdrew their forces. Guo Ziyi held Heyang with the Shuofang Army and cut the pontoon bridge across the river. The imperial forces were numerous but lacked unified command; each unit watched the others in advance and retreat, and with no one bearing sole responsibility for victory, defeat became inevitable. An edict left him to garrison the Eastern Capital; soon after he was made commander-in-chief of the field headquarters for the Eastern Capital, Shannan East, and Henan circuits. Yu Chao'en had long resented Guo Ziyi's stature and used the defeat to slander him. The emperor recalled Guo Ziyi, named the Prince of Zhao supreme commander of all armies with Li Guangbi as his deputy, and transferred command of the Shuofang forces away from him. Though stripped of his command, Guo Ziyi showed no bitterness and remained wholly loyal to the throne. When Shi Siming recaptured the He and Luo regions and western tribes harassed the capital, the emperor — eating his meals late with worry — appointed Guo Ziyi military commissioner of Binning and Fufang, yet kept him at court. Critics argued that a man who had saved the dynasty ought not be sidelined while rebels still lurked — assigning him an inactive post was a mistake. The emperor came to see they were right.
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上元初，詔為諸道兵馬都統，以管崇嗣副之，率英武、威遠兵及河西、河東鎮兵，繇邠甯、朔方、大同、橫野軍以趨范陽。 詔下，為朝恩沮解。 明年，光弼敗邙山，失河陽。 又明年，河中亂，殺李國貞，太原戕鄧景山。 朝廷憂二軍與賊合，而少年新將望輕不可用，遂以子儀為朔方、河中、北庭、潞儀澤沁等州節度行營，兼興平、定國副元帥，進封汾陽郡王，屯絳州。 時帝已不豫，群臣莫有見者，子儀請曰：「老牙受命，將死於外，不見陛下，目不瞑。」 帝引至臥內，謂曰：「河東事一以委卿。」 子儀嗚咽流涕。 賜禦馬、銀器、雜彩，別賜絹布九萬。 子儀至屯，誅首惡王元振等數十人，太原辛雲京亦治害景山者，諸鎮皆惕息。
At the start of the Shangyuan era, an edict named him overall commander of all circuit armies, with Guan Chongsi as his deputy, to lead the Yingwu and Weiyuan troops plus the garrison forces of Hexi and Hedong through Binning, Shuofang, Datong, and Hengye toward Fanyang. Once the edict was issued, Yu Chao'en blocked and scuttled the campaign. The following year Li Guangbi was defeated at Mount Mang and lost Heyang. The year after that, Hedong erupted in mutiny — Li Guozhen was killed, and in Taiyuan Deng Jingshan was murdered by his own troops. Fearing the two mutinous armies might join the rebels, and distrusting the untested young officers available, the court appointed Guo Ziyi field commissioner over Shuofang, Hedong, Beiting, and the Lu-Yi-Ze-Qin region, named him vice commander-in-chief of Xingping and Dingguo, elevated him to Prince of Fenyang, and posted him at Jiang Prefecture. The emperor was already gravely ill and had seen no officials. Guo Ziyi pleaded, "This old soldier accepts his orders knowing he may die in the field — if I cannot see Your Majesty, I shall not close my eyes in death." The emperor received him in his sickroom and said, "All matters in Hedong I entrust entirely to you." Guo Ziyi wept aloud. The emperor granted him an imperial horse, silver vessels, assorted silks, and a separate gift of ninety thousand bolts of silk and cloth. On reaching his post, Guo Ziyi executed the ringleaders, including Wang Yuanzhen, and dozens of their accomplices. At Taiyuan, Xin Yunjing likewise punished those who had killed Deng Jingshan. Every garrison fell silent with fear.
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代宗立，程元振自謂于帝有功，忌宿將難制，離構百計。 因罷子儀副元帥，加實戶七百，為肅宗山陵使。 子儀懼讒且成，盡裒代宗所賜詔敕千餘篇上之，因自明。 詔曰：「朕不德，詒大臣憂，朕甚自愧，自今公毋有疑。」 初，帝與子儀平兩京，同天下憂患，至是悔悟，眷禮彌重。
When Emperor Daizong succeeded to the throne, Cheng Yuanzhen, convinced he had earned the new emperor's gratitude, resented the difficulty of controlling veteran generals and set about dividing them by every means at his disposal. He stripped Guo Ziyi of his vice commandership, added seven hundred households to his fief, and assigned him to oversee Emperor Suzong's mausoleum. Fearing that slander might take hold, Guo Ziyi collected the more than one thousand edicts and orders Emperor Daizong had personally granted him and submitted them all to the throne to prove his loyalty. An edict replied, "Our lack of virtue has caused our great ministers grief — We are deeply ashamed. From this day forward, hold no doubts, Duke." The emperor and Guo Ziyi had retaken the Two Capitals together and shared the empire's darkest hours; now, moved to remorse, he treated Guo Ziyi with ever greater honor and trust.
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時史朝義尚盜洛，帝欲使副雍王，率師東討，為朝恩、元振交訾之，乃止。 會梁崇義據襄州叛，僕固懷恩屯汾州，陰召回紇、吐蕃寇河西，殘涇州，犯奉天、武功，遽拜子儀為關內副元帥，鎮咸陽。 初，子儀自相州罷歸京師，部曲離散，逮承詔，麾下才數十騎，驅民馬補行隊。 至咸陽，虜已過渭水，並南山而東，天子跳幸陝。 子儀聞，流涕，董行營還京師。 遇射生將王獻忠以彀騎叛，劫諸王欲奔虜，子儀讓之，取諸王送行在。 乃率騎南收兵，得武關防卒及亡士數千，軍浸完。 會六軍將張知節迎子儀洛南，大閱兵，屯商州，威震關中。 乃遣知節率烏崇福、羽林將長孫全緒為前鋒，營韓公堆，擊鼓歡山，張旗幟，夜叢萬炬，以疑賊。 初，光祿卿殷仲卿募兵藍田，以勁騎先官軍為遊弈，直度滻，民紿虜曰：「郭令公來。」 虜懼。 會故將軍王甫結俠少，夜鼓硃雀街，呼曰：「王師至！」 吐蕃夜潰。 於是遣大將李忠義屯苑中，渭北節度使王仲升守朝堂，子儀以中軍繼之。 射生將王撫自署京兆尹，亂京城，子儀斬以徇。 破賊書聞，帝以子儀為京城留守。
Shi Chaoyi still held Luoyang by force. The emperor wished to make Guo Ziyi deputy to the Prince of Yong and send him east on campaign, but Yu Chao'en and Cheng Yuanzhen joined in slandering him, and the plan was abandoned. Around the same time, Liang Chongyi seized Xiangzhou and rebelled. Pugu Huai'en held Fenzhou and secretly summoned Uyghurs and Tibetans to raid Hexi, laying waste to Jingzhou and threatening Fengtian and Wugong. Guo Ziyi was hurriedly appointed vice supreme commander of Guannei and ordered to hold Xianyang. Earlier Guo Ziyi had been recalled from Xiangzhou to the capital, and his personal troops had dispersed. When the edict reached him, he had barely a few dozen horsemen left and had to press civilian horses into service to form a marching column. By the time he reached Xianyang, the invaders had already crossed the Wei River and were marching east along the southern foothills. The emperor fled in haste to Shanzhou. On hearing this, Guo Ziyi wept and personally led his army back toward the capital. He encountered the archer-cavalry commander Wang Xianzhong, who had rebelled with a company of horsemen and seized several princes, intent on defecting to the enemy. Guo Ziyi confronted him, recovered the princes, and escorted them to the emperor's temporary court. He then led his cavalry south to gather reinforcements, mustering several thousand troops from the Wuguan garrison and scattered soldiers, and his army gradually took shape. The Six Armies general Zhang Zhijie joined him at Luonan. They held a grand troop review and encamped at Shangzhou, their presence restoring authority throughout Guanzhong. He sent Zhang Zhijie ahead with Wu Chongfu and the Household Guard general Zhangsun Quanxu as vanguard. They encamped at Hanggongdui, beat drums on Huanshan Hill, raised banners and flags, and at night lit ten thousand torches to confuse the enemy. Meanwhile the Director of the Imperial Household Yin Zhongqing had raised troops at Lantian and sent elite cavalry ahead of the main army as scouting patrols, crossing the Chan River directly. Civilians duped the invaders by saying, "Duke Guo has arrived." The invaders were terrified. Meanwhile the former general Wang Fu rallied young men of spirit and at night beat drums along Vermilion Sparrow Street, shouting, "The imperial army is here!" That night the Tibetans broke and fled. Guo Ziyi then sent his senior general Li Zhongyi to encamp in the imperial parks, ordered Weibei military commissioner Wang Zhongsheng to hold Chaotang, and followed with the main army. The archer-cavalry commander Wang Fu had installed himself as metropolitan prefect of Jingzhao and was rampaging through the capital. Guo Ziyi had him executed as a public warning. When word of the victory reached the emperor, he appointed Guo Ziyi garrison commander of the capital.
11
自變生倉卒，賴子儀復安，故天下皆咎程元振，群臣數論奏。 元振懼，乃說帝都洛陽，帝可其計。 子儀奏曰：
Because the crisis had erupted so suddenly and Guo Ziyi alone had restored order, the entire realm blamed Cheng Yuanzhen, and officials submitted memorial after memorial against him. Fearing for his position, Cheng Yuanzhen persuaded the emperor to relocate the capital to Luoyang, and the emperor approved the plan. Guo Ziyi submitted a memorial that read:
12
雍州古稱天府，右隴、蜀，左崤、函，襟馮終南、太華之險，背負清渭、濁河之固，地方數千里，帶甲十餘萬，兵強士勇，真用武之國，秦、漢所以成帝業也。 後或處而泰、去而亡者不一姓，故高祖先入關定天下，太宗以來居洛陽者亦鮮。 先帝興朔方，誅慶緒，陛下席西土，戮朝義，雖天道助順，亦地勢則然。 比吐蕃馮陵而不能抗者，臣能言其略。 夫六軍皆市井人，竄虛名，逃實賦，一日驅以就戰，有百奔無一前； 又宦豎掩迷，庶政荒奪，遂令陛下彷徨暴露，越在陝服。 斯委任失人，豈秦地非良哉！ 今道路流言，不識信否，鹹謂且都洛陽。 洛陽自大盜以來，焚埃略盡，百曹榛荒，寰服不滿千戶，井邑如墟，豺狼群嗥； 東薄鄭、汴，南界徐，北綿懷、衛及相，千里蕭條，亭舍不煙，何以奉萬乘牲餼、供百官次舍哉？ 且地狹厄，裁數百里，險不足防，適為鬥場。 陛下意者不以京畿新罹剽蹂，國用不足乎？ 昔衛為狄滅，文公廬于曹，衣大布之衣，冠大帛之冠，卒復舊邦，況赫赫天子，躬儉節用，甯為一諸侯下哉？ 臣願陛下斥素餐，去冗食，抑閹寺，任直臣，薄征弛役，恤隱撫鰥，委宰相以簡賢任能，付臣以訓兵禦侮，則中興之功，日月可冀。 惟時邁亟還，見宗廟，謁園陵，再造王家，以幸天下。
Yong Province has been called the Celestial Storehouse since antiquity. It holds Long and Shu to the west and the Xiao and Han passes to the east, embraces the natural defenses of Zhongnan and Mount Taihua, and rests against the fortifications of the Wei and Yellow rivers. Its territory spans thousands of li and fields more than a hundred thousand armed men — soldiers fierce and warriors resolute — making it a true martial heartland, the very ground on which the Qin and Han dynasties built their empires. Later dynasties prospered or perished depending on whether they held this land — and not one family alone. That is why Emperor Gaozu of Han entered the Pass first to secure the realm, and why, since the time of Emperor Taizong of Tang, few emperors have made their seat at Luoyang. Your late father rallied Shuofang and executed An Qingxu; Your Majesty took the western frontier and destroyed Shi Chaoyi. Though Heaven favors the righteous, the geography of the region made such victories possible. As for why the Tibetans were able to ravage the land with impunity, I can explain the main reasons. The Six Armies are townsmen who bear empty titles and dodge real conscription. Send them into battle overnight and a hundred will flee for every one who advances; Meanwhile eunuchs concealed the truth and usurped government, leaving Your Majesty exposed and wandering, driven as far as Shanzhou. This was a failure of personnel, not of the land — how could the Qin heartland be unfit! Rumors are circulating that the court intends to move the capital to Luoyang — I do not know whether they are true, but everyone is saying so. Since the Great Rebellion, Luoyang has been burned nearly to ashes. Government offices stand overgrown and abandoned; fewer than a thousand households remain in the city, and its streets and marketplaces lie in ruins while wolves howl in packs; To the east it reaches Zheng and Bian; to the south it borders Xu; to the north it extends through Huai, Wei, and Xiang — a thousand li of desolation with not a wisp of smoke from roadside inns. How could it supply the rites and provisions of the imperial retinue or quarter the entire civil service? Moreover the terrain is narrow and confined, barely a few hundred li across, with defenses too weak to hold and better suited as a battlefield. Does Your Majesty perhaps fear that the capital region has been newly ravaged and the treasury cannot bear the cost? When the state of Wei was destroyed by the Di tribes, Duke Wen of Wei took refuge in Cao, dressed in coarse hemp and plain silk, and still recovered his kingdom. How much more should an august Son of Heaven, practicing thrift in his own household, refuse to let mere want reduce him below the standing of a feudal lord? I beg Your Majesty to purge dead weight from the court, cut redundant expenses, restrain the eunuchs, appoint upright ministers, reduce taxes and corvée labor, show compassion to the suffering and care for widows and orphans, leave the selection of talent to the chancellor, and charge me with training the army and guarding the frontier. Then restoration of the dynasty can be achieved within our lifetime. Only hasten Your Majesty's return — pay reverence at the ancestral temples and imperial tombs, restore the Tang house, and bring blessing to the realm.
13
帝得奏，泣謂左右曰：「子儀固社稷臣也，朕西決矣。」 乘輿還，子儀頓首請罪，帝勞曰：「用卿晚，故至此。」 乃賜鐵券，圖形淩煙閣。
Reading the memorial, the emperor wept and said to his attendants, "Guo Ziyi is truly a pillar of the state. I have decided — we stay in the west." The emperor returned to Chang'an. Guo Ziyi prostrated himself and asked forgiveness. The emperor comforted him, saying, "I relied on you too late — that is why we came to this." He was granted an iron certificate of immunity and had his portrait placed in the Lingyan Pavilion.
14
僕固懷恩縱兵掠並、汾屬縣，帝患之，以子儀兼河東副元帥、河中節度使，鎮河中。 懷恩子瑒屯榆次，為帳下張惟嶽所殺，傳首京師，持其眾歸子儀。 懷恩懼，委其母走靈州。 廣德二年，進太尉，兼領北道邠甯、涇原、河西通和吐蕃及朔方招撫觀察使。 辭太尉不拜。 懷恩誘吐蕃、回紇、党項數十萬入寇，朝廷大恐，詔子儀屯奉天。 帝問計所出，對曰：「無能為也。 懷恩本臣偏將，雖剽果，然素失士心。 今能為亂者，訹思歸之人，劫與俱來，且皆臣故部曲，素以恩信結之，彼忍以刃相向乎？」 帝曰：「善。」 虜寇邠州，先驅至奉天，諸將請擊之。 子儀曰：「客深入，利速戰。 彼下素德我，吾緩之，當自攜貳。」 因下令：「敢言戰者斬！」 堅壁待之，賊果遁。
Pugu Huai'en's troops were pillaging counties throughout Bing and Fen. Alarmed, the emperor made Guo Ziyi concurrent vice supreme commander of Hedong and military commissioner of Hezhong, with orders to hold the region from Hezhong. Huai'en's son Yang was encamped at Yuci when he was killed by his subordinate Zhang Weiyue. Zhang sent Yang's head to the capital and led the troops to submit to Guo Ziyi. Terrified, Huai'en abandoned even his mother and fled to Lingzhou. In the second year of the Guangde era (763), he was promoted to Grand Preceptor and concurrently appointed commissioner for the northern circuit, overseeing Binning, Jingyuan, and Hexi — including relations with Tibet — and pacification commissioner of Shuofang. He declined the post of Grand Preceptor and refused to accept it. Huai'en persuaded Tibetans, Uyghurs, Tanguts, and others — several hundred thousand strong — to invade. The court was terrified and ordered Guo Ziyi to encamp at Fengtian. Asked for his counsel, he replied, "There is little we can do by force. Huai'en was once my subordinate. He is bold in battle, but he has long since lost the loyalty of his men. The forces he leads are men coerced into rebelling who long only to return home — and they are my former troops, whom I have always treated with loyalty and kindness. Would they truly turn their blades on me?" The emperor said, "Well said." The invaders attacked Binzhou, and their vanguard reached Fengtian. The generals urged an immediate attack. Guo Ziyi said, "The enemy has marched deep into our territory and wants a quick fight. His troops have long respected me. If we hold back, they will turn against him on their own." He then ordered, "Anyone who urges battle shall be executed!" They held their fortifications and waited. The rebels soon withdrew.
15
子儀至自涇陽，恩賚崇縟，進拜尚書令，懇辭，不聽。 詔趣詣省視事，百官往慶，敕射生五百騎執戟寵衛。 子儀確讓，且言：「太宗嘗踐此官，故累聖曠不置員，皇太子為雍王，定關東，乃得授，渠可猥私老臣，隳大典？ 且用兵以來，僭賞者多，至身兼數官，冒進亡恥。 今凶醜略平，乃作法審官之時，宜從老臣始。」 帝不獲已，許之，具所以讓付史官。 因賜美人六人，從者自副，車服帷帟鹹具。
On returning from Jingyang, Guo Ziyi received lavish imperial rewards and was promoted to Minister President of the Imperial Secretariat. He pleaded earnestly to decline but the emperor would not hear of it. An edict commanded him to take up his duties at the Secretariat. Officials came to offer congratulations, and five hundred archer-cavalry were detailed with halberds as an honor guard. Guo Ziyi refused again, saying, "Emperor Taizong once held this office, and for that reason successive emperors have long kept it vacant. It was granted only to the crown prince as Prince of Yong when he pacified Guandong. How could Your Majesty lightly bestow it on an aging minister and undermine a great precedent? Since the wars began, excessive rewards have become commonplace, with men holding multiple offices through shameless self-promotion. Now that the rebels are nearly subdued, this is the time to restore proper standards of appointment — and that reform should begin with me." The emperor reluctantly agreed and had Guo Ziyi's refusal recorded in full for the imperial archives. In compensation the emperor granted him six consorts, attendants of corresponding rank, and a full complement of carriages, garments, and furnishings.
16
永泰元年，詔都統河南道節度行營，復鎮河中。 懷恩盡說吐蕃、回紇、常項、羌、渾、奴剌等三十萬，掠涇、邠，躪鳳翔，入醴泉、奉天，京師大震。 於是帝命李忠臣屯渭橋，李光進屯雲陽，馬璘、郝廷玉屯便橋，駱奉先、李日越屯厔盩，李抱玉屯鳳翔，周智光屯同州，杜冕屯坊州，天子自將屯苑中。 急召子儀屯涇陽，軍才萬人。 比到，虜騎圍已合，乃使李國臣、高升、魏楚玉、陳回光、硃元琮各當一面，身自率鎧騎二千出入陣中。 回紇怪問，：「是謂誰？」 報曰：「郭令公。」 驚曰：「令公存乎？ 懷恩言天可汗棄天下，令公即世，中國無主，故我從以來。 公今存，天可汗存乎？」 報曰：「天子萬壽。」 回紇悟曰：「彼欺我乎！」 子儀使諭虜曰：「昔回紇涉萬里，戡大憝，助復二京，我與若等休戚同之。 今乃棄舊好，助叛臣，一何愚！ 彼背主棄親，于回紇何有？」 回紇曰：「本謂公雲亡，不然，何以至此。 今誠存，我得見乎？」 子儀將出，左右諫：「戎狄野心不可信。」 子儀曰：「虜眾數十倍，今力不敵，吾將示以至誠。」 左右請以騎五百從，又不聽。 即傳呼曰：「令公來！」 虜皆持滿待。 子儀以數十騎出，免胄見其大酋曰：「諸君同艱難久矣，何忽亡忠誼而至是邪？」 回紇舍兵下馬拜曰：「果吾父也。」 子儀即召與飲，遺錦彩結歡，誓好如初。 因曰：「吐蕃本吾舅甥國，無負而來，棄親也。 馬牛被數百里，公等若倒戈乘之，若俯取一芥，是謂天賜，不可失。 且逐戎得利，與我繼好，不兩善乎？」 會懷恩暴死，群虜無所統一，遂許諾。 吐蕃疑之，夜引去。 子儀遣將白元光合回紇眾追躡，大軍繼之，破吐蕃十萬於靈台西原，斬級五萬，俘萬人，盡得所掠士女牛羊馬橐駝不勝計。 遂自涇陽來朝，加實封二百戶，還河中。
In the first year of the Yongtai era (765), an edict appointed him overall commander of the Henan circuit expeditionary force, and he resumed his post at Hezhong. Huai'en mustered Tibetans, Uyghurs, Tanguts, Qiang, Hun, Nula, and other peoples — three hundred thousand in all — who ravaged Jing and Bin, swept through Fengxiang, and pushed into Liquan and Fengtian. The capital was shaken with terror. The emperor deployed his forces across the region: Li Zhongchen at Weiqiao, Li Guangjin at Yunyang, Ma Lin and Hao Tingyu at Bianqiao, Luo Fengxian and Li Riyue at Zhouzhi, Li Baoyu at Fengxiang, Zhou Zhiguang at Tongzhou, and Du Mian at Fangzhou — while the emperor himself took command in the imperial parks. Guo Ziyi was urgently recalled to Jingyang — his force numbered barely ten thousand. By the time he arrived, the enemy cavalry had already encircled him. He assigned Li Guochen, Gao Sheng, Wei Chuyu, Chen Huiguang, and Zhu Yuancong each to one sector while he personally led two thousand armored horsemen through the enemy lines. The Uyghurs asked in astonishment: "Who is that?" They were told, "Duke Guo." Astonished, they cried, "Is Duke Guo still alive? Huai'en told us the Heavenly Qaghan had abandoned the realm, Duke Guo was dead, and China had no master — that is why we came. If you are alive, does the Heavenly Qaghan live as well?" They were told, "The Son of Heaven is alive and well." Realizing they had been deceived, the Uyghurs cried, "He lied to us!" Guo Ziyi sent an envoy to address them: "Once the Uyghurs marched ten thousand li to crush the great rebel and help retake the Two Capitals. You and I shared life and death together. Now you throw away that bond to aid a rebel — how foolish! He betrayed his sovereign and abandoned his own kin — what does he owe the Uyghurs?" The Uyghurs replied, "We believed Duke Guo was dead. Otherwise, how could we have come to this? If he truly lives, may we see him?" Guo Ziyi prepared to go out in person. His attendants warned, "The barbarians are treacherous by nature and cannot be trusted." Guo Ziyi said, "They outnumber us tenfold. We cannot fight them — I must show them my good faith in person." When his attendants offered five hundred cavalry as an escort, he refused again. He called out, "The Duke is coming!" The enemy ranks stood with bows fully drawn. Guo Ziyi rode out with a few dozen horsemen, removed his helmet, and faced the Uyghur chieftains: "We have shared hardship for so long — why have you suddenly abandoned loyalty and come to this?" The Uyghurs lowered their weapons, dismounted, and bowed: "It truly is our father." Guo Ziyi invited them to drink, presented them with brocades as tokens of friendship, and renewed their alliance as before. He added, "Tibet is bound to us by ties of marriage and kinship. They came here without cause — they have betrayed family bonds. Their horses and cattle stretch for hundreds of li. If you turn your swords against them, the spoils will be yours for the taking — a gift from Heaven that must not be missed. Drive off the Tibetans for gain, keep your friendship with me — would that not serve us both?" Just then Huai'en died suddenly. With no leader to hold the alliance together, the Uyghurs agreed. Suspicious, the Tibetans withdrew under cover of night. Guo Ziyi sent general Bai Yuanguang with the Uyghur forces in pursuit, followed by the main army. At the western plain of Lingtai they smashed a hundred thousand Tibetans, killing fifty thousand, taking ten thousand prisoners, and recovering untold numbers of captive men and women, cattle, sheep, horses, and camels. He then traveled from Jingyang to court, received an additional two hundred households added to his fief, and returned to Hezhong.
17
大曆元年，華州節度使周智光謀叛，帝間道以蠟書賜子儀，令悉軍討之。 同、華將吏聞軍起，殺智光，傳首闕下。 二年，吐蕃寇涇州，詔移屯涇陽。 邀戰於靈州，敗之，斬首二萬級。 明年，還河中。 吐蕃復寇靈武，詔率師五萬屯奉天，白元光破虜于靈武。 議者以吐蕃數為盜，馬璘孤軍在邠不能支，乃以子儀兼邠甯慶節度使，屯邠州，徙璘為涇原節度使。 回紇赤心請市馬萬匹，有司以財乏，止市千匹。 子儀曰：「回紇有大功，宜答其意，中原須馬，臣請內一歲奉，佐馬直。」 詔不聽，人許其忠。
In the first year of the Dali era (766), Huazhou military commissioner Zhou Zhiguang plotted rebellion. The emperor sent a sealed dispatch by secret courier ordering Guo Ziyi to march with his entire army against him. When the officers of Tong and Hua learned that an army was marching, they killed Zhiguang and sent his head to the capital. The following year, when Tibet attacked Jingzhou, an edict ordered Guo Ziyi to move his encampment to Jingyang. He offered battle at Lingzhou, routed the enemy, and took twenty thousand heads. The following year he returned to Hezhong. When Tibet attacked Lingwu again, an edict ordered him to lead fifty thousand troops to Fengtian while Bai Yuanguang defeated the invaders at Lingwu. Because Tibet kept raiding and Ma Lin's isolated force at Bin could not hold the line, the court made Guo Ziyi concurrent military commissioner of Binning-Qing, stationed at Binzhou, and transferred Ma Lin to Jingyuan. The Uyghur chieftain Chixin requested to purchase ten thousand horses from the court. The ministry, citing insufficient funds, authorized only one thousand. Guo Ziyi said, "The Uyghurs rendered great service to the dynasty. We ought to honor their request. The heartland needs horses — I offer to contribute one year's salary toward the purchase." The edict declined his offer, but people praised his loyalty.
18
九年，入朝，對延英，帝與語吐蕃方強，慷慨至流涕。 退，上書曰：
In the ninth year (779) he came to court for an audience in the Yanying Hall. When the emperor spoke of Tibet's growing power, Guo Ziyi grew so moved that tears streamed down his face. On withdrawing, he submitted a memorial that read:
19
朔方，國北門，西禦犬戎，北虞獫狁，五城相去三千里。 開元、天寶中，戰士十萬，馬三萬匹，僅支一隅。 自先帝受命靈武，戰士從陛下征討無甯歲。 頃以懷恩亂，痍傷雕耗，亡三分之二，比天寶中止十之一。 今吐蕃兼吞河、隴，雜羌、渾之眾，歲深入畿郊，勢逾十倍，與之角勝，豈易得邪？ 屬者虜來，稱四節度，將別萬人，人兼數馬。 臣所統士不當賊四之一，馬不當賊百之二，外畏內懼，將何以安？ 臣惟陛下制勝，力非不足，但簡練不至，進退未一，時淹師老，地廣勢分。 願于諸道料精卒滿五萬者，列屯北邊，則制勝可必。 竊惟河南、河北、江淮大鎮數萬，小者數千，殫屈稟給，未始搜擇。 臣請追赴關中，勒步隊，示金鼓，則攻必破，守必全，長久之策也。
Shuofang is the empire's northern gate — guarding the west against the frontier Rong and the north against the Xianyun. Its five garrison cities stand three thousand li apart. In the Kaiyuan and Tianbao eras, it fielded a hundred thousand soldiers and thirty thousand horses — and that force could barely hold one sector. Since the late emperor received the Mandate at Lingwu, the soldiers have followed Your Majesty on campaign year after year without respite. Huai'en's rebellion recently left the armies wounded and depleted. Two-thirds have perished, leaving barely one-tenth of the Tianbao strength. Now Tibet has swallowed Hexi and Longyou and mustered Qiang and Hun peoples. Each year they thrust deep into the capital region, and their strength exceeds ours tenfold. How easily could victory be won against them? When the invaders came recently, they fielded four separate expeditionary commands, each with ten thousand men — and every soldier rode several horses. The soldiers under my command are less than a quarter of the enemy's, and our horses less than two in a hundred of theirs. Fearing them without and within, how can we be secure? I believe Your Majesty's power to prevail is not insufficient — but training has fallen short, advance and retreat are not coordinated, delays have worn the troops down, and the territory is so broad that our forces are scattered. I ask that fifty thousand picked troops be drawn from the circuits and posted along the northern frontier — then victory can be assured. The great garrisons of Henan, Hebei, and Jianghuai field tens of thousands of men each, the smaller ones several thousands — exhausting the supplies sent to them, yet no one has ever selected the best from among them. I request that they be summoned to Guanzhong, drilled as infantry columns, and marshaled with drums and bells — then attack will surely break the enemy and defense will surely hold. That is the lasting strategy.
20
又自陳衰老，乞骸骨。 詔曰：「朕終始倚賴，未可以去位。」 不許。
He also declared his age and weariness and asked to retire from office. An edict replied, "From first to last I rely upon you. You cannot leave your post." The request was denied.
21
德宗嗣位，詔還朝，攝塚宰，充山陵使，賜號「尚父」，進位太尉、中書令，增實封通前二千戶，給糧千五百人，芻馬二百匹，盡罷所領使及帥。 建中二年，疾病，帝遣舒王到第傳詔省問，子儀不能興，叩頭謝恩。 薨，年八十五。 帝悼痛，廢朝五日。 詔群臣往吊，隨喪所須，皆取於官。 贈太師。 陪葬建陵。 及葬，帝禦安福門，哭過其喪，百官陪位流涕。 賜諡曰忠武，配饗代宗廟廷。 著令，一品墳崇丈八尺，詔特增丈，以表元功。
When Emperor Dezong succeeded to the throne, an edict summoned Guo Ziyi back to court. He served as chief mourner and director of the imperial tomb, was granted the title Imperial Father, and was promoted to Grand Preceptor and Minister President of the Imperial Secretariat. His actual fief was increased by two thousand households, bringing the total to two thousand; he received rations for fifteen hundred men and two hundred fodder horses. All the commissioner and command posts he had held were abolished. In the second year of the Jianzhong era (781), he fell ill. The emperor sent the Prince of Shu to his residence with an edict of inquiry. Guo Ziyi could not rise from his bed and kowtowed in gratitude. He died at the age of eighty-five. The emperor grieved deeply and suspended court for five days. An edict ordered the officials to attend the mourning rites. Everything the funeral required was supplied from the state. He was posthumously appointed Grand Preceptor. He was buried alongside the Jian Mausoleum. At the burial the emperor attended at Anfu Gate, weeping as the procession passed. The officials standing in attendance wept as well. He was granted the posthumous name Zhongwu and enshrined for sacrifice in Emperor Daizong's temple. Regulations fixed the tomb mound of a first-rank official at one zhang and eight chi. An edict specially added another zhang to honor his extraordinary service.
22
子儀事上誠，禦下恕，賞罰必信。 遭幸臣程元振、魚朝恩短毀，方時多虞，握兵處外，然詔至，即日就道，無纖介顧望，故讒間不行。 破吐蕃靈州，而朝恩使人發其父墓，盜未得。 子儀自涇陽來朝，中外懼有變，及入見，帝唁之，即號泣曰：「臣久主兵，不能禁士殘人之墓，人今發先臣墓，此天譴，非人患也。」 朝恩又嘗約子儀修具，元載使人告以軍容將不利公。 其下衷甲願從，子儀不聽，但以家僮十數往。 朝恩曰：「何車騎之寡？」 告以所聞。 朝恩泣曰：「非公長者，得無致疑乎？」 田承嗣傲狠不軌，子儀嘗遣使至魏，承嗣西望拜，指其膝謂使者曰：「茲膝不屈於人久矣，今為公拜。」 李靈耀據汴州，公私財賦一皆遏絕，子儀封幣道其境，莫敢留，令持兵衛送。 麾下宿將數十，皆王侯貴重，子儀頤指進退，若部曲然。 幕府六十餘人，後皆為將相顯官，其取士得才類如此。 與李光弼齊名，而寬厚得人過之。 子儀歲入官俸無慮二十四萬緡。 宅居親仁裏四分之一，中通永巷，家人三千相出入，不知其居。 前後賜良田、美器、名園、甲館不勝紀。 代宗不名，呼為大臣。 以身為天下安危者二十年，校中書令考二十四。 八子七婿，皆貴顯朝廷。 諸孫數十，不能盡識，至問安，但頷之而已。 富貴壽考，哀榮終始，人臣之道無缺焉。
Guo Ziyi served the sovereign with sincerity and commanded his subordinates with forbearance. His rewards and punishments were always trustworthy. Favored ministers Cheng Yuanzhen and Yu Chao'en slandered him. Though the times were perilous and he held troops far from court, whenever an edict arrived he set out the same day without the slightest hesitation. For that reason their slanders never took hold. After he defeated the Tibetans at Lingzhou, Yu Chao'en sent men to open his father's tomb, but they found no treasure. When Guo Ziyi came to court from Jingyang, court and country alike feared trouble. On his audience the emperor offered condolences, and he immediately wailed: "I long commanded troops and could not keep my soldiers from despoiling others' tombs. Now others have opened my father's tomb — this is Heaven's punishment, not human malice." Yu Chao'en once invited Guo Ziyi to a banquet. Yuan Zai sent word that the army inspector intended him harm. His subordinates wore armor under their robes and wished to accompany him. Guo Ziyi refused and went with only a dozen household servants. Chao'en asked, "Why so few carriages and riders?" He told Chao'en what he had heard. Chao'en wept and said, "Had you not been so magnanimous, would I not have been suspected?" Tian Chengsi was arrogant and unruly. Guo Ziyi once sent an envoy to Wei. Chengsi bowed facing west, pointed to his knees, and told the envoy, "These knees have not bent to anyone for a long time — today I bow for you." Li Lingyao held Bianzhou and blocked all public and private revenue. When Guo Ziyi's sealed tribute passed through his territory, no one dared detain it — he ordered armed escorts to see it through. Several dozen veteran generals under his command were nobles of the highest rank, yet Guo Ziyi directed their advance and retreat with a gesture, as though they were his personal retainers. More than sixty men served in his staff office, and later all became generals, chief ministers, or other distinguished officials. Such was his eye for talent. He was equal in fame to Li Guangbi, but surpassed him in the magnanimity that wins men's hearts. Guo Ziyi's annual official salary amounted to no less than two hundred forty thousand strings of cash. His residence occupied a quarter of Qinren Ward, with a central lane running through it. Three thousand household members came and went, and visitors could not tell where he actually lived. Over the years he received fine lands, beautiful vessels, famous gardens, and grand mansions beyond counting. Emperor Daizong never spoke his name, addressing him only as "Great Minister." For twenty years he embodied the safety and peril of the realm, and received twenty-four annual performance reviews as Minister President of the Imperial Secretariat. His eight sons and seven sons-in-law all rose to distinction at court. He had several dozen grandsons and could not know them all. When they came to greet him, he merely nodded. Wealth, honor, long life, and glory from beginning to end — as a minister, nothing was wanting in his career.
23
子曜、旰、晞、昢、晤、曖、曙、映，而四子以才顯。
His sons were Yao, Gan, Xi, Pan, Wu, Ai, Shu, and Ying. Four of them distinguished themselves by talent.
24
子曜
Son: Yao.
25
曜，性沉靜，資貌瑰傑。 累從節度府辟署，破虜有功，為開陽府果毅都尉。 至德初，推子儀功，授衛尉卿，累進太子詹事、太原郡公。 子儀專征伐，曜留治家事，少長無閑言。 諸弟或飾池館，盛車服，曜獨以朴簡自處。 子儀罷兵，遷太子少保，昆弟六人，共制拜官。 子儀薨，以遺命簿上四朝所賜名馬珍物，德宗復賜之，乃悉散諸弟。 居喪以禮，疾甚，或勸茹蔥薤，終不屬口。 後盧杞秉政，忌勳族，子儀婿太僕卿趙縱、少府少監李洞清、光祿卿王宰皆以次得罪。 奸人幸其危，多論奪田宅奴婢，曜大恐，獨宰相張鎰力保護。 德宗稍聞之，詔有司曰：「尚父子儀有大勳力，保乂王家，嘗誓山河，琢金石，許宥十世。 前日其家市田宅奴婢，而無賴者以尚父歿，妄論奪之，自今有司毋得受。」 建中三年，卒，贈太子太傅，諡曰孝。 初，曜襲代國公，食二千戶。 貞元初，詔減半以封晞、曖、映、曙，人二百五十戶。 未幾，復詔四人各減五十戶，封曜子鋒、晤子鐇各百戶雲。
Yao was sedate by nature, with a splendid and commanding presence. He was repeatedly recruited to military commissioner staffs, won merit defeating the enemy, and was made Guoyi Commander of Kaiyang District. At the beginning of the Zhide era (756), in recognition of Guo Ziyi's merit, he was appointed Guardian of the Imperial Insignia and was later promoted to Grand Mentor of the Crown Prince's Household and Duke of Taiyuan. While Guo Ziyi devoted himself to campaigns, Yao remained at home to manage the household — and among the family, young and old alike, there was no gossip. Some of his brothers ornamented their pools and halls and went about in lavish carriages and robes. Yao alone lived plainly. When Guo Ziyi laid down his arms, Yao was made Junior Tutor to the Crown Prince. The six brothers jointly regulated official appointments within the family. When Guo Ziyi died, his will listed the famous horses and treasures granted by four reigns. Emperor Dezong re-granted them, and Yao distributed everything among his brothers. He observed mourning rites properly. When he grew very ill, some urged him to eat leeks and chives, but he never let them touch his lips. Later, when Lu Qi held power, he was jealous of meritorious clans. Guo Ziyi's sons-in-law — Grand Master of Imperial Stud Zhao Zong, Assistant Director of the Palace Stores Li Dongqing, and Director of the Imperial Household Wang Zai — were punished one after another. Villains preyed on the family's peril and seized many estates and slaves. Yao was greatly afraid, and only Chief Minister Zhang Huan forcefully protected him. When Emperor Dezong gradually learned of this, he issued an edict to the offices: "Imperial Father Guo Ziyi rendered great service and preserved the imperial house. An oath sworn on mountains and rivers and carved in metal and stone granted his line exemption for ten generations. Recently his family purchased estates and slaves, yet rogues, citing Imperial Father's death, falsely seized them. From now on the offices shall not accept such claims." In the third year of the Jianzhong era (782) he died. He was posthumously appointed Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince and granted the posthumous name Xiao. Initially Yao inherited the title Duke of Dai, with a fief of two thousand households. At the beginning of the Zhenyuan era (785), an edict halved the fief to enfeoff Xi, Ai, Ying, and Shu with two hundred fifty households each. Before long, another edict reduced each of the four by fifty households and enfeoffed Yao's son Feng and Wu's son Zheng with one hundred households each.
26
子晞
Son: Xi.
27
晞，善騎射，從征伐有功，復兩京，戰最力，出奇兵破賊，累進鴻臚卿。 河中軍亂，子儀召首惡誅之，其支黨猶反仄，晞選親兵晝夜警，以備非常，奸人不得發。 以功拜殿中監。 吐蕃、回紇入寇，加御史中丞，領朔方軍援邠州，與馬璘合軍擊虜，破之。 虜復來，陣涇水北，子儀遣晞率徒兵五千、騎五百襲虜。 晞以兵寡不進，須暮，賊半濟，乃擊，斬首五千級。 加御史大夫，子儀固讓，乃止。 居父喪，值硃泚亂，南走山谷。 賊舁致之，欲汙以官，佯暗不答； 賊露兵脅之，不動。 數以城中事貽書李晟。 既而奔奉天。 天子還，改太子賓客。 子鋼，從朔方杜希全幕府。 希全檄為豐州刺史，晞憐其弱不任事，丐罷。 德宗遣使者召鋼，鋼疑得罪，挺身走吐蕃，不納。 希全執送京師，賜死。 晞坐免，尋復太子賓客。 累封趙國公。 卒，贈兵部尚書。 孫承嘏。
Xi was skilled in riding and archery. He followed the campaigns with merit, fought with the greatest force in recovering the Two Capitals, and broke the rebels with surprise attacks. He was promoted in succession to Director of the Court of Imperial Entertainments. When the Hezhong army mutinied, Guo Ziyi summoned the ringleaders and executed them, but their followers remained restless. Xi selected personal troops to stand guard day and night against trouble, so villains could not act. For this merit he was appointed Palace Supervisor. When Tibet and the Uyghurs invaded, he was made Vice Censor-in-Chief, led the Shuofang army to relieve Binzhou, joined forces with Ma Lin to strike the enemy, and defeated them. When the enemy came again and arrayed north of the Jing River, Guo Ziyi sent Xi with five thousand infantry and five hundred cavalry to attack them. With too few troops to attack at once, Xi held back until dusk. When the enemy were half across the river, he struck and took five thousand heads. He was promoted to Chief Censor, but Guo Ziyi firmly declined on his behalf, and the appointment went no further. While mourning his father, the Zhu Ci rebellion broke out. He fled south into the mountains. The rebels carried him off and tried to force an office on him. He feigned stupidity and gave no answer. When the rebels displayed weapons to threaten him, he did not stir. He repeatedly sent letters to Li Sheng with intelligence about affairs in the city. Before long he fled to Fengtian. When the emperor returned, Xi was made Companion to the Crown Prince. His son Gang served on the staff of Du Xiquan in Shuofang. Xiquan ordered Gang appointed Prefect of Fengzhou. Xi, pitying his son's weakness as unfit for the post, begged that the appointment be withdrawn. Emperor Dezong sent a messenger to summon Gang. Gang suspected he was being punished and fled to Tibet, which refused to receive him. Xiquan arrested him and sent him to the capital, where he was granted death. Xi was demoted for his son's offense but was soon restored as Companion to the Crown Prince. He was eventually enfeoffed as Duke of Zhao. He died and was posthumously appointed Minister of War. Grandson: Chenggu.
28
晞孫承嘏
Xi's grandson: Chenggu.
29
承嘏，字復卿，幼秀異，通《五經》。 元和中，及進士第，累遷起居舍人。 居母喪，以孝聞。 太和六年，為諫議大夫，言政事得失。 文宗以鄭注為太僕卿，承嘏極論其非，注頗懼。 進給事中。 俄出為華州刺史，給事中盧載還詔書，且言：「承嘏數封駁稱職，宜在禁闥。」 帝曰：「朕謂久次，欲優其稍入耳。」 乃復留給事中。 時江淮旱，用度不支，詔宰相分領度支、戶部。 承嘏言：「宰相調和陰陽，安黎庶。 若使閱視簿書，校緡帛，非所宜。」 帝順納。 遷刑部侍郎。 帝嘗稱其儒素，無貴驕氣，不類勳家。 每進對，恩接備厚。 方大任用，會卒。 家無餘貲，親友為辦喪祭。 贈吏部尚書。
Chenggu, style Fuching, was brilliant as a youth and mastered the Five Classics. During the Yuanhe era he passed the jinshi examination and was promoted in succession to Attendant of Daily Affairs. While mourning his mother, he was famed for filial piety. In the sixth year of the Taihe era (832) he became Remonstrance and Policy Grand Master and spoke on the rights and wrongs of government policy. When Emperor Wenzong appointed Zheng Zhu Grand Master of Imperial Stud, Chenggu argued strongly against it, and Zhu was quite alarmed. He was promoted to Supervising Censor. Soon he was sent out as Prefect of Huazhou. Supervising Censor Lu Zai returned the edict and said, "Chenggu has repeatedly memorialized and remonstrated with competence. He ought to remain in the inner court." The emperor said, "I thought he had served long enough and wished to favor him with a slight promotion." He was therefore retained as Supervising Censor. At the time Jianghuai was stricken by drought and expenses could not be met. An edict ordered the chief ministers to divide supervision of the Revenue and Census bureaus. Chenggu said, "Chief ministers harmonize yin and yang and secure the common people. It is not fitting for them to pore over ledgers and audit silk and cash." The emperor readily accepted this. He was promoted to Vice Minister of Justice. The emperor once praised his scholarly plainness and lack of aristocratic arrogance — not at all like the scion of a great military house. Whenever he came forward for audience, the emperor received him with the fullest favor. Just as he was on the verge of great preferment, he died. His household had no surplus wealth, and relatives and friends provided for his funeral rites. He was posthumously enfeoffed as Minister of Civil Appointments.
30
子曖
His son Ai
31
曖，字曖，乙太常主簿尚昇平公主。 曖年與公主侔，十餘歲許昏。 拜駙馬都尉，試殿中監，封清源縣侯，寵冠戚裏。 大曆末，檢校左散騎常侍。 建中時，主坐事，留禁中。 硃泚亂，逼署曖官，辭以居喪被疾。 既而與公主奔奉天。 德宗嘉之，釋主罪，進曖金紫光祿大夫，賜實封五十戶。 尋遷太常卿。 貞元三年，襲代國公。 卒，年四十八，贈尚書左僕射，初，曖女為廣陵郡王妃。 王即位，是為憲宗。 妃生穆宗。 穆宗立，尊妃為皇太后，贈曖太傅。 四子：鑄、釗、鏦、銛。 鑄襲封。
Ai, whose courtesy name was also Ai, married Princess Shengping while serving as Principal Recorder of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. Ai and the princess were the same age; betrothal was arranged when both were barely in their teens. He was appointed Commandant Escort, given probationary rank as Director of the Palace Directorate, and enfeoffed as Marquis of Qingyuan — the favorite among all imperial affines. At the end of the Dali era (766–779), he was appointed Supervisory Commissioner as Left Regular Mounted Companion. During the Jianzhong era (780–783), the princess was implicated in a case and confined to the inner palace. During Zhu Ci's rebellion, the rebels pressed him to accept office, but he declined on the grounds that he was in mourning and ill. He then fled with the princess to Fengtian. Emperor Dezong commended him, absolved the princess of guilt, promoted Ai to Golden Purple-Gleaming Grand Master of the Palace, and granted him a substantive fief of fifty households. He was soon transferred to Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. In the third year of Zhenyuan (787) he inherited the title Duke of Dai. He died at forty-eight and was posthumously enfeoffed as Left Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs. Earlier, Ai's daughter had been consort to the Prince of Guangling. When that prince ascended the throne, he became Emperor Xianzong. The consort bore Muzong. When Muzong took the throne, the consort was honored as Empress Dowager, and Ai was posthumously enfeoffed as Grand Preceptor. He had four sons: Zhu, Zhao, Cong, and Xian. Zhu inherited the noble title.
32
曖子釗
Ai's son Zhao
33
釗，長七尺，方口豐下。 代宗朝，以外孫為奉禮郎。 累官至左金吾大將軍，改檢校工部尚書，為邠甯節度使，入為司農卿。 憲宗寢疾，宦豎或妄議廢立者。 穆宗問計於釗，答曰：「殿下為太子，當旦夕視膳，何外慮乎？」 時稱得元舅體。 穆宗即位，檢校戶部尚書兼司農卿。 俄為河陽三城節度使。 徙河中尹，領晉絳慈隰節度。 敬宗立，召拜兵部尚書，又帥劍南東川。 太和中，南蠻寇蜀，取成都外郛，杜元穎不能禦，詔釗兼領西川節度。 未行，蠻眾已略梓州。 州兵寡，不可用。 釗貽書譙蠻首帟巔以侵叛意。 帟巔曰：「元穎不自守，數侵吾圉，我以是報。」 乃與修好，約無相犯。 天子嘉之，即拜西川節度使。 以疾請代，為太常卿，卒，贈司徒。 子仲文、仲恭、仲詞。 開成二年，詔仲文襲太原郡公。 給事中盧弘宣奏：「劍妻沈，公主女，代宗皇帝外孫，其子仲詞尚饒陽公主。 仲文冒嫡不應襲。 使仲文承嫡，則沈當黜，且仲詞亦不得尚主。」 乃詔仲詞檢校殿中少監、駙馬都尉，襲封。 而仲文乙太皇太后故，置不問。 仲恭曆詹事府丞，亦尚金堂公主。
Zhao stood seven chi tall, with a square mouth and full jaw. During Emperor Daizong's reign, as the emperor's grandson by a daughter, he was made Master of Ceremonial Offerings. He rose to Left General of the Golden Gallant Army, was appointed Supervisory Commissioner as Minister of Works and Military Commissioner of Bianning, and then entered court as Grand Minister of Farming. When Emperor Xianzong lay bedridden with illness, eunuch attendants sometimes recklessly discussed deposing and replacing the heir. Muzong asked Zhao for counsel. Zhao replied, "Your Highness, as heir apparent, should attend to the emperor's meals morning and evening — why fret over outside matters?" At the time people said he had the bearing of a proper chief maternal uncle. When Muzong ascended the throne, Zhao was appointed Supervisory Commissioner as Minister of Revenue, concurrently serving as Grand Minister of Farming. He soon became Military Commissioner of the Three Cities of Heyang. He was transferred to Prefect of Hedong and took command of the Jin, Jiang, Ci, and Li prefectures. When Emperor Jingzong took the throne, Zhao was summoned and appointed Minister of War, and also commanded Eastern Chuan in Jiannan. During the Taihe era, southern tribes raided Shu and took Chengdu's outer wall. Du Yuanying could not repel them, and an edict ordered Zhao to take additional command of Western Chuan. Before he could depart, the tribal forces had already overrun Zizhou. The prefectural troops were too few to be of use. Zhao sent a letter reproaching the tribal chieftain Zhidian for invading and rebelling. Zhidian replied, "Yuanying failed to hold his own posts and repeatedly encroached on our territory — I am merely repaying him in kind." A peace was then concluded with a pact of mutual non-aggression. The emperor commended this and immediately appointed him Military Commissioner of Western Chuan. He later requested relief due to illness, was made Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and died. He was posthumously enfeoffed as Grand Mentor. His sons were Zhongwen, Zhonggong, and Zhongci. In the second year of Kaicheng (837), an edict ordered Zhongwen to inherit the title Duke of Taiyuan Commandery. Supervising Censor Lu Hongxuan memorialized: "Zhao's wife Shen was the daughter of a princess and Emperor Daizong's granddaughter by a daughter. Her son Zhongci married Princess Raoyang. Zhongwen falsely claimed to be the legitimate heir and ought not inherit the title. If Zhongwen were allowed to succeed as legitimate heir, Shen would have to be set aside, and Zhongci would also lose his right to marry a princess." An edict thereupon appointed Zhongci Supervisory Commissioner as Vice Director of the Palace Directorate and Commandant Escort, and granted him the inherited title. But on account of the Grand Empress Dowager, the authorities let the matter rest. Zhonggong served as Assistant Director of the Heir Apparent's Household and also married Princess Jintang.
34
曖子鏦
Ai's son Cong
35
鏦，字利用，尚德陽郡主。 詔裴延齡為主營第長興裏。 順宗立，主進封漢陽公主，擢鏦檢校國子祭酒、駙馬都尉。 自景龍後，外戚多為檢校官，不治事。 宰相薦其才，不當以外戚廢，乃拜右金吾將軍，封太原郡公。 恭遜折節，不以富貴加人。 性周畏，不立赫赫名。 有諫於上，退必毀稿，家人子弟無知者。 別墅在都南，尤勝塏，穆宗嘗幸之，置酒極歡。 改太子詹事，充閑廄宮苑使。 卒，贈尚書左僕射。
Cong, courtesy name Liyong, married the Princess of Deyang Commandery. An edict ordered Pei Yanling to build the princess a mansion in Changxing Ward. When Emperor Shunzong took the throne, the princess was promoted to Princess of Hanyang, and Cong was promoted to Supervisory Commissioner as Chancellor of the Directorate of Education and Commandant Escort. Since the Jinglong era, imperial affines had mostly held supervisory posts without actually administering affairs. The chief ministers recommended his ability and argued he should not be sidelined merely for being an imperial affine. He was therefore appointed Right General of the Golden Gallant Army and enfeoffed as Duke of Taiyuan Commandery. Humble and unassuming, he did not lord his wealth and rank over others. By nature he was circumspect and cautious and sought no blazing reputation. When he remonstrated with the emperor, he always destroyed his draft on returning home, so that even family and household knew nothing of it. His country villa south of the capital stood on especially fine land. Emperor Muzong once visited it and feasted there in great delight. He was made Grand Mentor of the Heir Apparent and Commissioner of the Privy Paddocks and Palace Parks. He died and was posthumously enfeoffed as Left Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs.
36
曖子銛
Ai's son Xian
37
銛，性和易，累為殿中監，尚西河公主。 鏦卒，代為太子詹事、宮苑閑廄使。 長慶三年，暴卒。 太后遣使按問發疾狀，久乃解。 初，西河主降沈氏，生一子，銛無嗣，以沈氏子嗣。
Xian was mild and easygoing by nature, served repeatedly as Director of the Palace Directorate, and married Princess Xihe. When Cong died, Xian succeeded him as Grand Mentor of the Heir Apparent and Commissioner of the Palace Parks and Privy Paddocks. In the third year of Changqing (823) he died suddenly. The empress dowager sent envoys to investigate the circumstances of his sudden death, and the inquiry was not resolved for some time. Earlier, Princess Xihe had married a commoner of the Shen clan and borne a son. Xian had no heir of his own, so he adopted the Shen clan's son as his successor.
38
曖孫曙
Ai's grandson Shu
39
曙，代宗朝累官司農卿。 德宗幸奉天，曙方領家兵獵苑北，聞蹕至，伏謁道左，遂從乘輿入駱穀。 霖雨塗潦，衛兵或異語。 帝召謂曰：「朕不德而苦公等，宜執朕送硃泚，以謝天下。」 諸將皆感泣曰：「願死生從陛下。」 時曙與功臣子李昇、韋清、令狐建、李彥輔被甲請見，言曰：「南行路險，且虞奸變。 臣等世蒙恩，今相誓，願更挾帝馬。」 許之。 帝還，曙、清擢金吾大將軍，餘並為禁軍將軍。 曙終祁國公。
Shu, during Emperor Daizong's reign, rose through several posts to Grand Minister of Farming. When Emperor Dezong fled to Fengtian, Shu was hunting north of the imperial park with his household troops. Hearing the imperial procession approach, he prostrated himself by the roadside and then escorted the emperor's carriage into Luogu Valley. Heavy rains had turned the roads to mire, and some of the guard soldiers murmured dissent. The emperor summoned them and said, "I have been without virtue and have brought hardship upon you all. You ought to seize me and deliver me to Zhu Ci to answer before the realm." The generals wept and said, "We wish to follow Your Majesty in life and death." At that time Shu, together with the sons of meritorious ministers — Li Sheng, Wei Qing, Linghu Jian, and Li Yanfu — came in armor to request an audience. They said, "The road south is perilous, and we fear treachery along the way. We have received the dynasty's grace for generations. We have sworn together that we wish to ride alongside and guard Your Majesty's mount." The emperor granted their request. When the emperor returned, Shu and Qing were promoted to Grand Generals of the Golden Gallant Army, and the rest were all made generals of the imperial guard. Shu ultimately held the title Duke of Qi.
40
子儀母弟幼明，性謹願無過，拙于武，喜賓客。 以子儀故，終少府監，贈太子太傅。
Guo Ziyi's younger uterine brother Youming was cautious and unassuming, free of fault, inept at martial affairs, and fond of entertaining guests. Through Guo Ziyi's influence he rose to Director of the Palace Workshops and was posthumously enfeoffed as Grand Preceptor to the Heir Apparent.
41
子昕，肅宗末為四鎮留後。 關、隴陷，不得歸，朝廷但命官遙領其使。 建中二年，昕始與伊西、北庭節度使曹令忠遣使入朝。 德宗詔曰：「四鎮、二庭，統西夏五十七蕃十姓部落，國朝以來，相與率職。 自關、隴失守，王命阻絕，忠義之徒，泣血固守，奉遵朝法，此皆侯伯守將交修共治之效，朕甚嘉之。 令忠可北廷大都護、四鎮節度留後，賜氏李，更名元忠。 昕可安西大都護、四鎮節度使。 諸將吏超七資敘官」雲。
His son Xin, at the end of Emperor Suzong's reign, served as Rear Commissioner of the Four Garrisons. When Tongguan and Longyou fell, he could not return, and the court could only appoint officials to hold his commission at a distance. In the second year of Jianzhong (781), Xin and Cao Lingzhong, Military Commissioner of Yi-West and Beiting, at last sent envoys to court. Emperor Dezong's edict read: "The Four Garrisons and Two Courts govern fifty-seven tribal peoples and ten surname-groups of the Western Regions. Since the founding of our dynasty they have together performed their duties. Since Tongguan and Longyou were lost and imperial orders could no longer reach them, loyal men held their posts through tears and blood, still observing the laws of the court. This is the fruit of marquises, earls, and garrison commanders governing together in mutual support. I commend them deeply. Cao Lingzhong is hereby confirmed as Supreme Protector of Beiting and Rear Commissioner of the Four Garrisons, granted the imperial surname Li, and renamed Yuanzhong. Guo Xin is hereby confirmed as Supreme Protector of Anxi and Military Commissioner of the Four Garrisons. All generals and officials are to be promoted by more than seven ranks in seniority." Thus the edict concluded.
42
贊曰：天寶末，盜發幽陵，外阻內訌。 子儀自朔方提孤軍，轉戰逐北，誼不還顧。 當是時，天子西走，唐祚若贅斿，而能輔太子，再造王室。 及大難略平，遭讒甚，詭奪兵柄，然朝聞命，夕引道，無纖介自嫌。 及被圍涇陽，單騎見虜，壓以至誠，猜忍沮謀。 雖唐命方永，亦由忠貫日月，神明扶持者哉！ 及光弼等畏偪不終，而子儀完名高節，爛然獨著，福祿永終，雖齊桓、晉文比之為褊。 唐史臣裴垍稱：「權傾天下而朝不忌，功蓋一世而上不疑，侈窮人欲而議者不之貶。」 嗚呼！ 垍誠知言。 其子孫多以功名顯，蓋盛德後雲。
The encomium reads: At the end of the Tianbao era, rebellion broke out from Youling; the empire faced foreign enemies abroad and strife within. Guo Ziyi raised a lone army from Shuofang and fought his way north without once turning back. At that time the emperor fled west, and the Tang dynasty hung by a thread, yet Ziyi was able to support the heir apparent and restore the royal house. When the great crisis had largely passed, he suffered severe slander and was cunningly stripped of military authority, yet whenever he heard an order in the morning he set out the same evening, without the slightest resentment. When besieged at Jingyang, he rode out alone to meet the enemy and overwhelmed them with sincerity, breaking through their suspicion and cruelty to thwart their designs. Though the Tang mandate was then enduring, it was also because his loyalty shone through sun and moon, as if sustained by the spirits themselves! Whereas men like Li Guangbi, fearing pressure, did not finish well, Guo Ziyi preserved his name and lofty integrity, shining alone in splendor, with fortune and honors lasting to the end — even compared with Duke Huan of Qi and Duke Wen of Jin, others seem narrow by contrast. The Tang historian Pei Ba wrote: "His power leaned over the empire yet the court did not resent him; his merit capped a generation yet the sovereign did not doubt him; his extravagance exhausted every human desire yet critics did not demean him." Alas! Pei Ji's words were indeed apt. Most of his descendants won distinction through achievement and office — such is the legacy of great virtue.