Volume 152 Biographies 77: Zhang, Jiang, Wu, Li, Song

張姜武李宋

Zhang, Jiang, Wu, Li, and Song

張鎰，字季權，一字公度，國子祭酒後胤五世孫也。父齊丘，朔方節度使、東都留守。鎰以蔭授左衛兵曹參軍，郭子儀表為元帥府判官，遷累殿中侍御史。乾元初，華原令盧樅以公事譙責邑人齊令詵。令詵，宦人也，銜之，構樅罪。鎰按驗當免官，有司承風以死論。鎰不直之，乃白其母曰：「今理樅，樅免死而鎰坐貶。嘿則負官，貶則為太夫人憂，敢問所安？」母曰：「兒無累於道，吾所安也。」遂執正其罪，樅得流，鎰貶撫州司戶參軍。徙晉陵令。江西觀察使張鎬表為判官，遷屯田、右司二員外郎。居母喪，以孝聞。不妄交遊，特與楊綰、崔祐甫善。

Zhang Yi, courtesy name Jiquan and also known as Gongdu, was five generations removed from the heir of a Director of the Imperial Academy. His father Qiqiu served as military commissioner of Shuofang and as left-behind commissioner of the Eastern Capital. Yi entered service as a Left Guard Army staff officer through hereditary privilege. Guo Ziyi recommended him as judge of the marshal's headquarters, and he rose in due course to the post of Palace Attendant Censor. Early in the Qianyuan era, Lu Cong, magistrate of Hua Yuan, publicly rebuked a local man named Qi Lingshen in the course of official business. Lingshen was a eunuch. He bore a grudge and contrived to have Cong charged with a crime. Yi investigated the case and found that Cong deserved dismissal from office, but the authorities, swayed by the prevailing mood, pressed for a death sentence. Yi would not endorse this course. He told his mother, "If I now see justice done for Cong, he will escape death, but I will be demoted. If I stay silent, I fail my office; if I am demoted, I bring distress upon you, my lady. Where, then, should I find my peace?" His mother replied, "My son, so long as you do not compromise the Way, that is peace enough for me." He upheld the proper sentence. Cong was banished, and Yi was demoted to registrar of Fuzhou. He was later transferred to serve as magistrate of Jinling. Zhang Gao, observation commissioner of Jiangxi, recommended him as a judge. He was promoted to vice director of the Bureau of State Farms and vice director of the Right Secretariat. During his mother's mourning period he became renowned for filial devotion. He did not cultivate friendships lightly and was especially close to Yang Guan and Cui Youfu.

大歷初，出為濠州刺史，政條清簡，延經術士講教生徒。比去，州升明經者四十人。李靈耀反於汴，鎰團閱鄉兵嚴守禦，有詔褒美，擢侍御史，兼緣淮鎮守使。以最遷壽州刺史。歷江西、河中觀察使。不閱旬，改汴滑節度使，以病固辭，詔留私第。

Early in the Dali era he was appointed prefect of Hao. His administration was clear and restrained, and he invited classical scholars to lecture and instruct students. By the time he left office, forty men from the prefecture had passed the Mingjing examination. When Li Lingyao rebelled at Bian, Yi mustered the local militia and organized a tight defense. The court issued an edict praising him, promoted him to Attending Censor, and appointed him concurrently as commissioner for defense along the Huai. On account of outstanding merit he was transferred to serve as prefect of Shou. He served in succession as observation commissioner of Jiangxi and of Hezhong. Within less than ten days he was reassigned as military commissioner of Biansui. He firmly declined on grounds of illness, and the emperor ordered him to remain at his private residence.

建中二年，拜中書侍郎、同中書門下平章事。明年，以兩河用兵，詔省薄禦膳及皇太子食物，鎰因奏減堂餐錢及百官稟奉三分一，以助用度。時黜陟使裴伯言薦潞州處士田佐時，詔除右拾遺、集賢院直學士。鎰以為禮輕，恐士不勸，復詔州縣吏以絹百匹、粟百石就家致聘，佐時卒不至。

In the second year of Jianzhong he was appointed Vice Director of the Secretariat and concurrent Grand Councilor. The following year, with armies engaged in the two He regions, the court ordered reductions in the imperial table and the crown prince's provisions. Yi memorialized to cut hall-meal allowances and official salaries by one third to help meet wartime expenses. At that time Pei Boyan, commissioner for promotions and demotions, recommended Tian Zuoshi, a recluse of Lu prefecture. An edict appointed him Right Reminder and direct academician of the Hall of Assembled Worthies. Yi judged the ceremonial treatment too slight and feared it would not encourage scholars. The court then ordered local officials to visit his home with one hundred bolts of silk and one hundred shi of grain, but Zuoshi never came.

郭子儀婿太仆卿趙縱為奴告，下御史劾治，而奴留內侍省。鎰奏言：「貞觀時有奴告其主謀反者，太宗曰：『謀反理不獨成，尚當有他人論之，豈藉奴告耶？』乃著令：奴告主者斬。由是賤不得幹貴，下不得淩上，教本既修，悖亂不萌。頃者，長安令李濟以奴得罪，萬年令霍晏因婢坐譴。輿臺下類，主反畏之，悖慢成風，漸不可長。建中元年五月辛卯詔書：奴婢告主，非謀叛者，同自首法，並準律論。由是獄訴衰息。今縱事非叛逆，而奴留禁中，獨下縱獄，情所不厭。且將帥功孰大於子儀，冢土僅乾，兩婿前已得罪，縱復繼之，不數月斥其三婿。假令縱實犯法，事不緣奴，尚宜錄勛念亡，以從蕩宥，況為奴所訴耶？陛下方貴武臣以討賊，彼雖見寵一時，不能忘懷於異日也。」帝納之，貶縱循州司馬，杖奴死。鎰召子儀家僮數百，暴示奴屍。

Zhao Zong, Minister of the Stud and son-in-law of Guo Ziyi, was denounced by a slave. The case was referred to the censorate for investigation, yet the slave was kept in the Palace Domestic Service. Yi memorialized: "In the Zhenguan era, when a slave accused his master of plotting rebellion, Emperor Taizong said, 'A charge of rebellion cannot stand on its own. Others must still weigh the case—how can one rely on a slave's accusation? He then promulgated a statute: any slave who denounced his master was to be executed. From that time the low could not meddle with the high, nor inferiors overbear their superiors. Once the roots of instruction were secured, perverse disorder did not arise. Recently Chang'an magistrate Li Ji was punished on account of a slave, and Wannian magistrate Huo Yan was censured because of a maid. Menials and carriage attendants had come to be feared by their masters. Insolence had become a fashion, and the trend could not be allowed to spread. An edict of the fifth month of the first year of Jianzhong, on the day xinmao, ruled that when slaves or maids denounced their masters in cases other than rebellion, the matter was handled under the law on voluntary surrender and both parties were judged by statute. After that, such lawsuits declined sharply. Zong's case is not one of rebellion, yet the slave is kept in the inner palace while only Zong is sent to prison. Such a course is intolerable to right feeling. Moreover, what general's merit exceeded Guo Ziyi's? His ancestral tomb had scarcely dried when two sons-in-law had already been punished. If Zong were punished as well, within a few months all three sons-in-law would have been cast aside. Even if Zong had truly broken the law and the matter had nothing to do with the slave, the court should still have weighed his merit and remembered the dead man, granting broad pardon. How much less should this be done when the charge comes from a slave? Your Majesty is now honoring military men to suppress rebels. Though they may enjoy favor for the moment, they will not forget such treatment when another day comes." The emperor accepted his advice, demoted Zong to defender of Xun prefecture, and had the slave beaten to death. Yi summoned several hundred of Ziyi's household servants and publicly displayed the slave's corpse.

盧杞忌鎰剛直，欲去之。時朱泚以盧龍卒戍鳳翔，帝擇人以代，杞即謬曰：「鳳翔將校，班秩素高，非宰相信臣，不可鎮撫，臣宜行。」帝不許，杞復曰：「陛下必以臣容貌蕞陋，不為三軍所信，恐後生變，臣不敢自謀，惟陛下擇之。」帝乃顧鎰曰：「文武兼資，望重內外，無易卿者，其為朕撫盧龍士。」乃以中書侍郎為鳳翔、隴右節度使。鎰知為杞陰中，然辭窮，因再拜受詔。頃之，與吐蕃相尚結贊盟清水，約牛馬為牲。鎰恥與盟，將末殺其禮，乃紿語吐蕃，以羊豕犬代之。

Lu Qi resented Yi's firm uprightness and sought to remove him. At that time Zhu Ci was garrisoning Fengxiang with troops from Lulong, and the emperor sought someone to replace him. Qi at once said deceitfully, "The officers at Fengxiang have always held high rank. None but a chief minister or a trusted minister of the throne can command them. I ought to go." The emperor refused. Qi said again, "If Your Majesty thinks my appearance too mean to inspire the army's trust and fears trouble later, I dare not decide for myself. Let Your Majesty choose." The emperor then turned to Yi and said, "You combine civil and military talent and command respect within and without the court. There is no one to replace you. Go and pacify the Lulong troops for me." Yi was appointed Vice Director of the Secretariat and military commissioner of Fengxiang and Longyou. Yi knew Qi had maneuvered against him in secret, but he had no reply left. He bowed twice and accepted the edict. Shortly afterward he made alliance with the Tibetan minister Shang Jiezan at Qingshui, agreeing to offer cattle and horses as sacrificial victims. Ashamed to join the alliance on equal terms, Yi sought to diminish its ritual standing. He deceived the Tibetans by substituting sheep, pigs, and dogs for the agreed victims.

帝幸奉天，鎰罄家貲將自獻行在。而營將李楚琳者，嘗事朱泚，得其心。軍司馬齊映等謀曰：「楚琳必為亂。」乃遣屯隴州。楚琳知之，稽故未行。鎰以帝在外，心憂惑，謂已亟去，不為備。楚琳夜率其黨王汾、李卓、牛僧伽等作亂，齊映自竇出，齊抗托傭，皆免。鎰縋城走，不及遠，與二子為候騎所執，楚琳殺之，屬官王沼、張元度、柳遇、李漵皆死。詔贈鎰太子太傅。

When the emperor went to Fengtian, Yi exhausted his family wealth to send it to the traveling court. But a camp general named Li Chulin had once served Zhu Ci and won his confidence. Army Vice Marshal Qi Ying and others plotted together, saying, "Chulin is certain to rebel." They then ordered him transferred to garrison Long prefecture. Chulin learned of the plan and, citing old grounds, refused to depart. With the emperor away from the capital, Yi was anxious and distracted. He assumed Chulin would soon depart and made no preparations. Chulin led his followers Wang Fen, Li Zhuo, Niu Sengqie, and others in a night revolt. Qi Ying escaped through a hole in the wall; Qi Kang passed himself off as a hired laborer. Both survived. Yi lowered himself from the city wall and fled, but before he had gone far he and his two sons were seized by scout horsemen and killed by Chulin. Subordinate officials Wang Zhao, Zhang Yuandu, Liu Yu, and Li Qin also died. An edict posthumously enfeoffed Yi as Grand Mentor of the Heir Apparent.

姜公輔，愛州日南人。第進士，補校書郎，以制策異等授右拾遺，為翰林學士。歲滿當遷，上書以母老賴祿而養，求兼京兆戶曹參軍事。公輔有高材，每進見，敷奏詳亮，德宗器之。

Jiang Gongfu was a native of Rinan in Ai prefecture. He passed the jinshi examination and was appointed collator. For distinguished performance in the policy examination he was made Right Reminder and Hanlin academician. When his term ended and promotion was due, he memorialized that his aged mother depended on his salary and asked to serve concurrently as registrar of the Jingzhao household bureau. Gongfu possessed great talent. Whenever he appeared before the throne his presentations were thorough and lucid, and Emperor Dezong valued him highly.

朱滔助田悅也，以蜜裹書間道邀泚，太原馬燧獲之，泚不知也，召還京師。公輔諫曰：「陛下若不能坦懷待泚，不如誅之，養虎無自詒害。」不從。俄而涇師亂，帝自苑門出，公輔叩馬諫曰：「泚嘗帥涇原，得士心，向以滔叛奪之兵，居常怫郁不自聊，請馳騎捕取以從，無為群兇得之。」帝倉卒不及聽。既行，欲駐鳳翔倚張鎰。公輔曰：「鎰雖信臣，然文吏也，所領皆朱泚部曲，漁陽突騎，泚若立，涇軍且有變，非萬全策也。」帝亦記桑道茂言，遂之奉天。不數日，鳳翔果亂，殺鎰。帝在奉天，有言泚反者，請為守備。盧杞曰：「泚忠正篤實，奈何言其叛，傷大臣心！請百口保之。」帝知群臣多勸杞奉迎乘輿者，乃詔諸道兵距城一舍止。公輔曰：「王者不嚴羽衛，無以重威靈。今禁旅單寡而士馬處外，為陛下危之。」帝曰：「善。」悉內諸軍。泚兵果至，如所言，乃擢公輔諫議大夫、同中書門下平章事。

While Zhu Tao was aiding Tian Yue, he sent a letter wrapped in honey by a secret route inviting Zhu Ci to join him. Ma Sui of Taiyuan intercepted it. Ci knew nothing of this and was summoned back to the capital. Gongfu remonstrated: "If Your Majesty cannot receive Ci with open sincerity, it would be better to execute him. Do not rear a tiger and bring harm upon yourself." The emperor did not heed him. Before long the Jing army rebelled, and the emperor fled through the park gate. Gongfu seized the bridle and remonstrated: "Ci once commanded Jingyuan and won the soldiers' loyalty. When Tao rebelled, his troops were taken from him, and he has brooded ever since. Let me ride ahead and seize him to follow Your Majesty—do not let the rebels get to him first." In his haste the emperor had no time to listen. After setting out, he wished to halt at Fengxiang and rely on Zhang Yi. Gongfu said, "Yi is a trusted minister, but he is a civil official. The troops under his command are Zhu Ci's old followers—Fanyang shock cavalry. If Ci were installed in power, the Jing army would turn as well. This is not a plan of complete safety." The emperor also recalled the prophecy of Sang Daomao and continued on to Fengtian. Within a few days Fengxiang did indeed erupt in disorder, and Yi was killed. While the emperor was at Fengtian, someone reported that Ci had rebelled and urged defensive preparations. Lu Qi said, "Ci is loyal, upright, and sincere—how can you speak of rebellion and wound a great minister's heart! I stake a hundred lives on his loyalty." The emperor knew that many ministers were urging Qi to welcome the imperial carriage back to the capital. He therefore ordered the armies of the various circuits to halt one stage from the city. Gongfu said, "A ruler who does not maintain strict guard cannot lend weight to his majesty. The palace guard is now thin, while troops and horses remain outside. I fear for Your Majesty's safety." The emperor said, "Well said." He ordered all the armies brought within the walls. Ci's troops arrived just as he had predicted. Gongfu was then promoted to Remonstrating Grand Master and concurrent Grand Councilor.

帝徙梁，唐安公主道薨。主性仁孝，許下嫁韋宥，以播遷未克也。帝悼之甚，詔厚其葬。公輔諫曰：「即平賊，主必歸葬，今行道宜從儉，以濟軍興。」帝怒，謂翰林學士陸贄曰：「唐安之葬，不欲事塋壟，令累甓為浮圖，費甚寡約，不容宰相關預，茍欲指朕過爾！」贄曰：「公輔官諫議，職宰相，獻替固其分。本立輔臣，朝夕納誨，微而弼之，乃其所也。」帝曰：「不然，朕以公輔才不足以相，而又自求解，朕既許之，內知且罷，故賣直售名爾。」遂下遷太子左庶子，以母喪解。復為右庶子。

When the emperor moved to Liang, Princess Tang'an died on the journey. The princess was by nature benevolent and filial. She had been promised in marriage to Wei You, but the turmoil of exile had prevented the wedding. The emperor mourned her deeply and ordered a lavish burial. Gongfu remonstrated: "Once the rebels are pacified, the princess will certainly be returned for burial at the capital. For the present journey the funeral should be kept frugal to aid military preparations. The emperor was angry and said to Hanlin academician Lu Zhi, "For Tang'an's burial I did not wish to raise a tomb mound. I ordered only a brick pagoda, at very modest expense. A chief minister has no business interfering. He merely wished to point out my fault!" Zhi replied, "Gongfu holds the office of Remonstrating Grand Master and serves as chief minister. Offering correction is indeed his duty. Assisting ministers exist so that morning and evening they may offer instruction and subtly support the throne. That is their proper role." The emperor said, "Not so. I judged Gongfu's talent insufficient for the chancellorship, and he himself asked to be released. I had already agreed in my heart to dismiss him. He is merely selling uprightness to purchase a reputation." He was demoted to Left Mentor of the Heir Apparent and resigned when his mother died. He was later restored to the post of Right Mentor.

久不遷，陸贄為相，公輔數求官，贄密謂曰：「竇丞相嘗言，為公擬官屢矣，上輒不悅。」公輔懼，請為道士，未報。它日又言之，帝問故，公輔隱贄言，以參語對。帝怒，黜公輔泉州別駕，遣使賫詔讓參。順宗立，拜吉州刺史，未就官卒。憲宗時，贈禮部尚書。

For a long time he received no promotion. When Lu Zhi became chief minister, Gongfu repeatedly sought an appointment. Zhi told him privately, "Chief Minister Dou once said that he had repeatedly proposed offices for you, but the emperor was always displeased." Gongfu was alarmed and asked to become a Daoist priest. No reply came. On another day he raised the matter again. When the emperor asked why, Gongfu concealed Zhi's words and answered with Dou Can's statement. The emperor was enraged. He demoted Gongfu to vice prefect of Quanzhou and sent an envoy bearing an edict to reprove Dou Can. When Emperor Shunzong was enthroned, Gongfu was appointed prefect of Ji, but he died before taking up the post. Under Emperor Xianzong he was posthumously enfeoffed as Minister of Rites.

武元衡，字伯蒼。曾祖載德，則天皇后之族弟。祖平一，有名。元衡舉進士，累為華原令。畿輔鎮軍督將，皆驕橫橈政，元衡移疾去。德宗欽其才，召拜比部員外郎，歲內三遷至右司郎中，以詳整任職。擢為御史中丞。嘗對延英，帝目送之，曰：「是真宰相器！」

Wu Yuanheng, courtesy name Bocang. His great-grandfather Zaide was a younger clansman of Empress Wu Zetian. His grandfather Pingyi was a man of renown. Yuanheng passed the jinshi examination and served in succession as magistrate of Huayuan. The supervising generals of garrison armies in the capital region were all arrogant and obstructed government. Yuanheng pleaded illness and resigned. Emperor Dezong admired his talent, summoned him, and appointed him Vice Director of the Revenue Bureau. Within a year he was promoted three times to Director of the Right Secretariat, discharging his duties with thoroughness and precision. He was promoted to Vice Censor-in-Chief. Once, during an audience at Yan Ying Hall, the emperor watched him leave and said, "Here is a man truly fit to be chief minister!"

順宗立，王叔文使人誘以為黨，拒不納。俄為山陵儀仗使，監察御史劉禹錫求為判官，元衡不與，叔文滋不悅。數日，改太子右庶子。會冊皇太子，元衡贊相，太子識之。及即位，是為憲宗，復拜中丞，進戶部侍郎。元和二年，拜門下侍郎、同中書門下平章事，兼判戶部事。帝素知元衡堅正有守，故眷禮信任異它相。浙西李锜求入覲，既又稱疾，欲賒其期。帝問宰相鄭絪，絪請聽之，元衡曰：「不可，锜自請入朝，詔既許之，而復不至，是可否在锜。陛下新即位，天下屬耳目，若奸臣得遂其私，則威令去矣。」帝然之，遽追锜。而锜計窮，果反。

When Emperor Shunzong took the throne, Wang Shuwen sent men to draw him into their faction, but he refused. Before long he was made Commissioner for Imperial Mausoleum Ceremonies. Palace Attendant Censor Liu Yuxi asked to serve as judge on his staff, but Yuanheng refused, and Shuwen grew all the more displeased. Within a few days he was reassigned as Right Vice Grand Tutor of the Heir Apparent. When the crown prince was invested, Yuanheng assisted in the ceremony, and the Heir Apparent came to know him. When he took the throne as Emperor Xianzong, Yuanheng was again appointed Vice Censor-in-Chief and promoted to Vice Minister of Revenue. In the second year of Yuanhe, he was appointed Vice Minister of the Chancellery, Co-Deputy Director of the Chancellery with concurrent portfolio as chief minister, with concurrent charge of Revenue Bureau affairs. The emperor had long known Yuanheng to be upright and principled, and so favored and trusted him as he did no other chief minister. Li Qi of Zhexi asked to come to court for an audience, then claimed illness and sought to postpone the date. The emperor asked chief minister Zheng Yin, who asked to allow it. Yuanheng said, "That will not do. Qi himself requested to come to court; the edict has already granted permission, yet he does not come. Whether this is permitted or not is Qi's to decide. Your Majesty has newly ascended the throne, and the realm watches with all its eyes and ears. If wicked ministers can have their way, imperial authority will be lost." The emperor agreed and immediately ordered Qi to report to court. Qi, his stratagems exhausted, did rebel.

是時，蜀新定，高崇文為節度，不知吏治，帝難其代。詔元衡檢校吏部尚書，兼門下侍郎、同平章事，為劍南西川節度使，繇蕭縣伯封臨淮郡公，帝禦安福門慰遣之。崇文去成都，盡以金帛、帟幕、伎樂、工巧行，蜀幾為空。元衡至，綏靖約束，儉己寬民，比三年，上下完實，蠻夷懷歸。雅性莊重，雖淡於接物，而開府極一時選。

At that time Shu had just been pacified. Gao Chongwen served as military commissioner but knew nothing of civil administration, and the emperor found it difficult to replace him. Yuanheng was ordered appointed Acting Minister of Civil Appointments, concurrently Vice Minister of the Chancellery and Co-Deputy Director with concurrent portfolio as chief minister, and military commissioner of Jiannan West Circuit. He was enfeoffed from Baron of Xiao County to Duke of Linhuai County, and the emperor went to Anfu Gate to console and send him off. When Chongwen left Chengdu, he carried off all its gold, silk, hangings, entertainers, and skilled artisans, and Shu was nearly emptied. When Yuanheng arrived, he pacified the region and imposed order, living frugally himself and treating the people leniently. Within about three years, government and populace alike were secure and prosperous, and the frontier tribes submitted willingly. By nature he was solemn and dignified. Though reserved in his dealings with others, when he opened his staff he chose the finest men of the age.

八年，召還秉政。李吉甫、李絳數爭事帝前，不葉，元衡獨持正無所違附，帝稱其長者。吉甫卒，淮、蔡用兵，帝悉以機政委之。王承宗上疏請赦吳元濟，使人白事中書，悖慢不恭，元衡叱去。承宗怨，數上章誣詆。未幾入朝，出靖安裏第，夜漏未盡，賊乘暗呼曰：「滅燭！」射元衡中肩，復擊其左股，徒禦格鬥不勝，皆駭走，遂害元衡，批顱骨持去。邏司傳噪盜殺宰相，連十餘里，達朝堂，百官恟懼，未知主名。少選，馬逸還第，中外乃審知。是日，仗入紫宸門，有司以聞，帝震驚，罷朝，坐延英見宰相，哀慟，為再不食。贈司徒，謚曰忠湣。詔金吾、府、縣大索，或傳言曰：「無搜賊，賊窮必亂。」又投書於道曰：「毋急我，我先殺汝。」故吏卒不窮捕。兵部侍郎許孟容言於帝曰：「國相橫屍路隅而盜不獲，為朝廷辱。」帝乃下詔：「能得賊者賞錢千萬，授五品官。與賊謀及舍賊能自言者亦賞。有不如詔，族之。」積錢東西市以募告者。於是左神策將軍王士則、左威衛將軍王士平以賊聞，捕得張晏等十八人，言為承宗所遣，皆斬之。逾月，東都防禦使呂元膺執淄青留邸賊門察、訾嘉珍，自言始謀殺元衡者，會晏先發，故藉之以告師道而竊其賞，帝密誅之。

In the eighth year he was recalled to take charge of the government. Li Jifu and Li Jiang often disputed matters before the emperor without reaching agreement. Yuanheng alone held to what was right without siding with either, and the emperor called him a man of mature character. When Jifu died, with war underway against Huai and Cai, the emperor entrusted all strategic decisions to him. Wang Chengzong submitted a memorial requesting amnesty for Wu Yuanji and sent a man to report the matter to the Secretariat. The man was insolent and disrespectful, and Yuanheng rebuked him and sent him away. Chengzong resented this and repeatedly submitted memorials slandering him. Before long he came to court. Leaving his residence in Jing'an Lane before the night watch had ended, assailants took advantage of the darkness and shouted, "Put out the candles!" They shot Yuanheng in the shoulder, then struck his left thigh. His attendants fought but could not prevail and fled in terror. They then killed Yuanheng, sliced off his skull, and carried it away. The patrol relay spread word that bandits had killed a chief minister, the clamor continuing for more than ten li until it reached the court hall. All officials were alarmed and fearful, not knowing who had been killed. After a short while his horse ran back to his residence, and then court and capital alike knew for certain. That day, as the imperial guard entered Zichen Gate, the authorities reported what had happened. The emperor was shaken, dismissed court, and received the chief ministers in Yan Ying Hall. Grieving in anguish, he twice went without food. He was posthumously enfeoffed as Grand Tutor and given the posthumous title Loyal and Sorrowful. An edict ordered the Gold Guard, the prefectural office, and the counties to conduct a thorough search. Some spread a rumor: "Do not search for the bandits; when bandits are cornered they will surely cause disorder." Others cast letters on the road saying, "Do not press me; I will kill you first." Because of this, the clerks and soldiers did not pursue the bandits to the end. Vice Minister of War Xu Mengrong said to the emperor, "The state minister lies dead at a roadside corner while the bandits go uncaught. This is a disgrace to the court." The emperor then issued an edict: "Whoever captures the bandits shall be rewarded with ten million cash and granted a fifth-rank office. Those who conspired with the bandits, or who sheltered them but confess of their own accord, shall also be rewarded. Whoever fails to comply with the edict shall have his entire clan exterminated." Cash was piled in the East and West Markets to recruit informants. Thereupon Left Shence General Wang Shize and Left Weiwu General Wang Shiping reported the bandits. Zhang Yan and eighteen others were captured; they said they had been sent by Chengzong, and all were executed. More than a month later, Eastern Capital Defense Commissioner Lu Yuanying arrested the Ziqing lodging-house bandits Men Cha and Zi Jiazhen. They confessed that they had originally plotted to kill Yuanheng, but as Yan had acted first, they had used that to inform Shi Daodao and steal the reward. The emperor had them secretly executed.

初，京師大恐，城門加兵誰何，其偉狀異服、燕趙言者，皆驗訊乃遣。公卿朝，以家奴持兵呵衛，宰相則金吾彀騎導翼，每過裏門，搜索喧嘩。因詔寅漏上二刻乃傳點雲。

At first the capital was gripped by terror. Extra troops were posted at the city gates for scrutiny; anyone of imposing stature, unusual dress, or Yan-Zhao accent was interrogated before being allowed to pass. When grandees attended court, they had household slaves bearing arms as escorts. Chief ministers were flanked by Gold Guard armored horsemen, and at every lane gate searches raised a clamor. Accordingly an edict was issued delaying the morning bell by two clepsydra marks beyond the third quarter of the night watch.

從父弟儒衡。儒衡，字廷碩，姿狀秀偉，不妄言，與人交，終始一節。宰相鄭餘慶不事華潔，門下客多垢衣敗服，獨儒衡上謁，未嘗有所易，以莊詞正色見重於餘慶。元衡歿，帝待之益厚，累遷戶部郎中，知諫議大夫事，俄兼知制誥。皇甫镈以宰相領度支，剝下以媚天子，儒衡疏其狀。镈自訴於帝，帝曰：「乃欲報怨邪？」镈不敢對。

His paternal cousin Ruheng. Ruheng, courtesy name Tingshuo, was handsome and imposing in bearing. He did not speak rashly, and in his dealings with others he maintained one consistent principle from beginning to end. Chief minister Zheng Yuqing did not favor elegance and ornament, and most clients at his gate wore shabby, worn clothes. Only Ruheng, when paying calls, never altered his dress. With solemn words and upright bearing he won Yuqing's esteem. After Yuanheng's death, the emperor treated him all the more generously, promoting him in succession to Director of the Revenue Bureau, acting Remonstrance and Review Grand Counselor, and soon concurrently Drafting Secretariat. Huangfu Bo, serving as chief minister, also headed the Finance Commission and squeezed the people to please the emperor. Ruheng submitted a memorial exposing this. Bo complained to the emperor himself. The emperor said, "So you wish to settle a grudge, do you?" Bo did not dare reply.

儒衡論議勁正，有風節，且將大用。宰相令狐楚忌之，會以狄兼謨為拾遺，楚自草制，引武后革命事，盛推仁傑功，以指切儒衡，且沮止之。儒衡泣見上曰：「臣祖平一，當天后時，避仕終老，不涉於累。」帝慰勉之，自是薄楚為人也。遷中書舍人。時元稹倚宦官，知制誥，儒衡鄙厭之。會食瓜，蠅集其上，儒衡揮以扇，曰：「適從何處來，遽集於此？」一坐皆失色。然以疾惡太分明，終不至大任，以兵部侍郎卒，年五十六，贈工部尚書。

Ruheng's discourse was forceful and upright, and he had moral integrity; he was on the verge of high appointment. Chief minister Linghu Chu envied him. When Di Jianmo was appointed Reminder, Chu himself drafted the appointment edict, citing Empress Wu's seizure of power and lavishly praising Di Renjie's merit, to aim indirectly at Ruheng and block his advancement. Ruheng tearfully had an audience with the emperor and said, "My grandfather Pingyi, in Empress Wu's time, avoided office and lived out his days in retirement, never entangled in scandal." The emperor consoled and encouraged him. From then on he thought less of Chu as a man. He was transferred to Secretariat Drafter. At that time Yuan Zhen relied on eunuchs and served as Drafting Secretariat; Ruheng despised him. Once while eating melon, flies gathered on it. Ruheng waved them away with a fan and said, "Whence did you just come, that you suddenly cluster here?" All present turned pale. Yet because his hatred of evil was too sharply drawn, he never reached high office. He died as Vice Minister of War at the age of fifty-six and was posthumously enfeoffed as Minister of Works.

李絳，字深之，系本贊皇。擢進士、宏辭，補渭南尉，拜監察御史。元和二年，授翰林學士，俄知制誥。會李锜誅，憲宗將輦取其貲，絳與裴垍諫曰：「锜僭侈誅求，六州之人怨入骨髓。今元惡傳首，若因取其財，恐非遏亂略、惠綏困窮者。願賜本道，代貧民租賦。」制可。樞密使劉光琦議遣中人持赦令賜諸道，以裒饋餉，絳請付度支鹽鐵急遞以遣，息取求之弊。光琦引故事以對，帝曰：「故事是耶，當守之；不然，當改。可循舊哉！」

Li Jiang, courtesy name Shenzhi, traced his lineage to Zanhuang. He passed the jinshi and comprehensive literary examinations, was appointed assistant magistrate of Weinan, and was made Palace Attendant Censor. In the second year of Yuanhe he was appointed Hanlin Academician and soon placed in charge of drafting edicts. When Li Qi was executed, Emperor Xianzong intended to have his wealth carted away. Jiang and Pei Ji remonstrated, saying, "Qi was extravagant and oppressive in his exactions; the people of six prefectures hated him to the marrow. Now that the chief villain's head has been sent, if we seize his wealth on that account, I fear this is not the way to restrain rebellion or succor the distressed and impoverished. We ask that it be granted to his circuit to cover the tax and corvée levies of the poor." The edict approved. Privy Envoy Liu Guangqi proposed sending palace envoys to carry amnesty edicts to the various circuits to collect provisions. Jiang asked that the task be entrusted to the Finance Commission and Salt and Iron Bureau's express relay, to end the evils of extortion. Guangqi cited precedent in reply. The emperor said, "If precedent is correct, it should be kept; if not, it should be changed. How can one simply follow the old ways!"

帝嘗稱太宗、玄宗之盛：「朕不佞，欲庶幾二祖之道德風烈，無愧謚號，不為宗廟羞，何行而至此乎？」絳曰：「陛下誠能正身勵己，尊道德，遠邪佞，進忠直。與大臣言，敬而信，無使小人參焉；與賢者遊，親而禮，無使不肖與焉。去官無益於治者，則材能出；斥宮女之希禦者，則怨曠銷。將帥擇，士卒勇矣；官師公，吏治輯矣。法令行而下不違，教化篤而俗必遷。如是，可與祖宗合德，號稱中興，夫何遠之有？言之不行，無益也；行之不至，無益也。」帝曰：「美哉斯言，朕將書諸紳。」即詔絳與崔群、錢徽、韋弘景、白居易等搜次君臣成敗五十種，為連屏，張便坐。帝每閱視，顧左右曰：「而等宜作意，勿為如此事。」

The emperor once praised the greatness of Taizong and Xuanzong: "I am not clever, yet I wish to approach the moral virtue and majestic example of the two founders, not unworthy of their posthumous titles and not shaming the ancestral temple—by what conduct can one reach this?" Jiang said, "If Your Majesty can truly correct your person and exhort yourself, honor moral virtue, keep the wicked and fawning at a distance, and advance the loyal and upright— in speaking with grand ministers, be respectful and trusting, and do not let petty men participate; in keeping company with the worthy, be intimate yet courteous, and do not let the unworthy join in. Remove officials who do no good for governance, and talent will emerge; dismiss palace women who hope for imperial favor, and grievances from enforced separation will dissolve. Choose generals well, and the soldiers will be brave; make officers and teachers impartial, and civil administration will be orderly. When laws and orders are carried out and subordinates do not violate them, when instruction is sincere, custom will surely change. In this way one can join in virtue with the ancestors and be called a restoration—how far off could that be? To speak without acting is of no benefit; to act without reaching the goal is of no benefit." The emperor said, "How fine these words! I shall write them on my belt sash." He immediately ordered Jiang, together with Cui Qun, Qian Hui, Wei Hongjing, Bai Juyi, and others, to compile fifty accounts of success and failure among rulers and ministers, made them into linked screens, and hung them in the informal audience hall. Whenever the emperor reviewed them, he would turn to those beside him and say, "You should take heed—do not do such things."

是時，盛興安國佛祠，幸臣吐突承璀請立石紀聖德焉，營構華廣，欲使絳為之頌，將遺錢千萬。絳上言：「陛下蕩積習之弊，四海延頸望德音，忽自立碑，示人以不廣。《易》稱：『大人與天地合德。』謂非文字所能盡，若令可述，是陛下美有分限。堯、舜至文、武，皆不傳其事，惟秦始刻嶧山，揚暴誅伐巡幸之勞，失道之君，不足為法。今安國有碑，若敘遊觀，即非治要；述崇飾，又非政宜。請罷之。」帝怒，絳伏奏愈切，帝悟曰：「微絳，我不自知。」命百牛倒石，令使者勞諭絳。襄陽裴均違詔書，獻銀壺甕數百具，絳請歸之度支，示天下以信。帝可奏，仍赦均罪。時議還盧從史昭義，已而將復召之，從史以軍無見儲為解。李吉甫謂鄭絪漏其謀，帝召絳議，欲逐絪，絳為開白，乃免。

At that time the Anguo Buddhist temple was flourishing. The favorite Tu Tuchengcui requested that a stele be erected to record the sage virtue. Construction was magnificent and extensive, and he wished to have Jiang compose its encomium, offering ten million cash. Jiang submitted: "Your Majesty has swept away accumulated abuses; the four seas stretch their necks awaiting words of virtue. Suddenly to erect a stele yourself shows the people a lack of breadth. The Changes says: 'The great man joins in virtue with Heaven and Earth.' This means it cannot be fully expressed in writing. If your command can be narrated, then Your Majesty's excellence has a limit. From Yao and Shun down to Wen and Wu, none transmitted their deeds in this way. Only the First Emperor of Qin carved Mount Yi, proclaiming the labors of violent punishment, conquest, and imperial tours—a ruler who lost the Way, unfit to be a model. Now if the Anguo stele narrates sightseeing, it is not a priority of governance; if it describes grandeur and ornament, it is again unsuitable for government. I ask that it be stopped." The emperor was angry. Jiang prostrated himself and remonstrated all the more urgently. The emperor came to understand and said, "But for Jiang, I would not have known myself." He ordered a hundred oxen to pull down the stone and sent an envoy to console and commend Jiang. Pei Jun of Xiangyang violated an edict and presented several hundred silver jars and urns. Jiang asked that they be returned to the Finance Commission to show the realm that the court keeps its word. The emperor approved the memorial and also pardoned Jun's offense. At the time there was discussion of returning Lu Congshi to Zhaoyi. Soon he was to be summoned again, but Congshi excused himself on the grounds that the army had no provisions on hand. Li Jifu said Zheng Yin had leaked their plan. The emperor summoned Jiang to discuss it and intended to expel Yin. Jiang spoke in Yin's defense, and Yin was spared.

絳見浴堂殿，帝曰：「比諫官多朋黨，論奏不實，皆陷謗訕，欲黜其尤者，若何？」絳曰：「此非陛下意，必憸人以此營誤上心。自古納諫昌，拒諫亡。夫人臣進言於上，豈易哉？君尊如天，臣卑如地，加有雷霆之威，彼晝度夜思，始欲陳十事，俄而去五六，及將以聞，則又憚而削其半，故上達者財十二。何哉？幹不測之禍，顧身無利耳。雖開納獎勵，尚恐不至，今乃欲譴訶之，使直士杜口，非社稷利也。」帝曰：「非卿言，我不知諫之益。」

Jiang had an audience at the Bath Hall. The emperor said, "Lately remonstrance officials form many factions; their memorials and reports are untrue and all descend into slander. I wish to dismiss the worst offenders. What do you think?" Jiang said, "This is not Your Majesty's intent. Sly men must be using this scheme to mislead your heart. From antiquity, states that accepted remonstrance prospered, and those that rejected it perished. For a minister to speak forth to his sovereign—how could it be easy? The sovereign is lofty as heaven and the minister lowly as earth, and on top of that there is the awe of thunder. They reckon by day and brood by night: at first they mean to set forth ten matters, but soon five or six fall away; when they are about to speak, fear cuts the rest in half—so barely one or two in ten ever reach the throne. Why? They risk unforeseeable disaster while gaining nothing for themselves. Even with open welcome and rewards for remonstrance, one still fears that none will come forward—yet now you wish to rebuke and reproach them and make upright men seal their lips. That is not to the state's benefit." The emperor said, "But for your words, I would not have known the benefit of remonstrance."

初，承璀討王承宗，議者皆言古無以宦人統師者，絳當制書，固爭，帝不能奪，止詔宰相授敕。承璀果無功還，加開府儀同三司。絳奏：「承璀喪師，當抵罪，今寵以崇秩，後有奔軍之將，蹈利幹賞，陛下何以處之？」又數論宦官橫肆，方鎮進獻等事。自知言切，且斥去，悉取內署所上疏稿焚之，以俟命。帝果怒，絳謝曰：「陛下憐臣愚，處之腹心之地，而惜身不言，乃臣負陛下；若上犯聖顏，旁忤貴幸，因而獲罪，乃陛下負臣。」於是帝動容曰：「卿告朕以人所難言者，疾風知勁草，卿當之矣。」遂繇司勛郎中進中書舍人。翌日，賜金紫，親擇良笏與之，且曰：「異時膺顧托南面，當如此。」絳頓首。

Earlier, when Cheng Cui was campaigning against Wang Chengzong, critics all said that antiquity knew no eunuch commanding armies. Jiang was charged with drafting the edict and remonstrated firmly. The emperor could not override him and stopped at ordering the chief ministers to deliver the commission. Cheng Cui indeed returned without success and was promoted to Grand Guardian with ceremonial parity to the Three Excellencies. Jiang memorialized, "Cheng Cui lost his army and should be punished, yet now he is favored with exalted rank. Later, when generals flee battle and rush for profit to seek reward, how will Your Majesty deal with them?" He also repeatedly argued about the wanton license of eunuchs, the tribute offerings of regional commanders, and other such matters. Knowing his words were sharp and that he might soon be dismissed, he gathered all draft memorials he had submitted in the inner secretariat, burned them, and awaited his fate. The emperor was indeed angry. Jiang apologized, saying, "Your Majesty took pity on my dullness and placed me in the seat of your innermost trust. If I prized my safety and did not speak, then I failed Your Majesty; if by offending Your Majesty's countenance and going against powerful favorites I suffer punishment, then Your Majesty failed me." Thereupon the emperor was moved and said, "You have told me what others find hard to say. 'Strong winds reveal tough grass'—you have met the test." He was then promoted from director in the Bureau of Merits to drafting secretary of the Secretariat. The next day he was granted the gold seal and purple robe. The emperor personally chose a fine court tablet and gave it to him, saying, "When you later receive the trust of rule and face south as sovereign, it should be like this." Jiang bowed his head to the ground.

烏重胤縛盧從史，而承璀牒署昭義留後，絳曰：「澤潞據山東要害，磁、邢、洺跨兩河間，可制其合從。今孽豎就禽，方收威柄，遽以偏將蒞本軍，綱紀大紊矣。河南、北諸鎮，謂陛下啗以官爵，使逐其帥，其肯默然哉？宜以孟元陽為澤潞，而以重胤節度三城，兩河諸侯聞之，必欣然。」帝從之。

Wu Chongyin bound Lu Congshi, while Cheng Cui by memorandum appointed the acting commander of Zhaoyi. Jiang said, "Ze-Lu occupies the strategic points of Shandong; Ci, Xing, and Ming span the space between the two He regions and can check their alliance. Now that the evil upstart has been captured and authority is just being reclaimed, to send a subordinate general abruptly to take command of the army itself will throw discipline into great disorder. The various commands north and south of the Yellow River will think Your Majesty is baiting them with offices and titles to make them drive out their commanders—will they keep silent? It is fitting to appoint Meng Yuanyang over Ze-Lu and make Chongyin military commissioner of the three prefectures. When the lords of the two He regions hear this, they will surely be pleased." The emperor followed this advice.

張茂昭舉族入覲，絳上言：「任迪簡既往代，則士之從茂昭，皆為定人，宜亟授以官，且遣使者詔其麾下皆聽茂昭節度。」有詔拜河中節度使。會迪簡以帑廥匱竭，稍簡罷士之疲老者，人情不安，迪簡亦危，絳請斥禁帑絹十萬以濟事機。吳少誠病甚，絳建言：「淮西地不與賊接，若朝廷命帥，今乃其時，有如阻命，則決可討矣。然鎮、蔡不可並取，願赦承宗，趣立蔡功。」時江淮大旱，帝下赦令有所蠲弛，絳言：「江淮流亡，所貸未廣，而宮人猥積，有怨鬲之思，當大出之，以省經費。嶺南之俗，鬻子為業，可聽；非券劑取直者，如掠賣法，敕有司一切苛止。」帝皆順納。

Zhang Maozhao brought his whole clan to court. Jiang submitted, "If Ren Dijian were allowed to remain in office, the men who followed Maozhao would all become settled personnel. He should promptly be granted office, and an envoy should be sent to command all under him to obey Maozhao's command." An edict appointed him military commissioner of Hezhong. Just then Dijian, because the treasury and storehouses were exhausted, began gradually selecting and dismissing weary and aged soldiers. Morale was unsettled and Dijian himself was imperiled. Jiang asked that a hundred thousand bolts of silk from the forbidden treasury be released to meet the emergency. Wu Shaocheng was gravely ill. Jiang proposed, "Huai-Xi's territory does not border the rebels. If the court appoints a commander, now is the time. Should anyone resist the order, a punitive campaign can certainly be decided. Yet Zhen and Cai cannot both be taken at once. I ask that Chengzong be pardoned and that effort be hastened to establish success at Cai." At the time the Jiang-Huai region suffered great drought. The emperor issued an amnesty with some remissions and relaxations. Jiang said, "Refugees are streaming through the Jiang-Huai, and relief granted is not broad enough, while palace women are piled up in great numbers, giving rise to resentful thoughts of separation. They should be released in large numbers to save state expenditure. In the customs of Lingnan, selling children is a trade—this may be tolerated; but where there is no contract or receipt for payment, treat it as abduction and sale by law, and order the authorities strictly to stop it altogether." The emperor accepted all of this.

後閱月不賜對，絳謂：「大臣持祿不敢諫，小臣畏罪不敢言，管仲以為害霸最甚。今臣等飽食不言，無履危之患，自為計得矣，顧聖治如何？」有詔明日對三殿。帝嘗畋苑中，至蓬萊池，謂左右曰：「絳嘗以諫我，今可返也。」其見禮憚如此。

After more than a month without being granted audience, Jiang said, "Great ministers hold salary but dare not remonstrate; lesser officials fear punishment and dare not speak. Guan Zhong regarded this as the greatest harm to hegemony. Now we are well fed and say nothing; we have no danger of treading on peril—fine for our private reckoning, but what of sagely governance?" An edict ordered audience in the Three Halls the next day. Once when the emperor was hunting in the park and reached Penglai Pool, he said to those beside him, "Jiang once remonstrated with me about this—it is time to turn back. Such was the esteem and deference shown him.

帝怪前世任賢以致治，今無賢可任，何耶？對曰：「聖王選當代之人，極其才分，自可致治。豈借賢異代，治今日之人哉？天子不以己能蓋人，痛折節下士，則天下賢者乃出。」帝曰：「何知其必賢而任之？」對曰：「知人誠難，堯、舜以為病。然循其名，驗以事，所得十七。夫任官而辨廉，措事不阿容，無希望依違之辭，無邪媚愉悅之容，此近於賢矣。賢則當任，任則當久。賢者中立而寡助，舉其類則不肖者怨，杜邪徑則懷奸者疾，一制度則貴戚毀傷，正過失則人君疏忌。夫然，用賢豈容易哉？」帝曰：「卿言得之矣。」

The emperor wondered that in former ages rulers appointed the worthy and thereby achieved good order, yet now there were no worthies to appoint—why? He replied, "Sagely kings select men of their own age and bring their talents to their fullest limits—good order follows of itself. How could one borrow worthies from another age to govern the people of today? When the Son of Heaven does not let his own abilities overshadow others and painfully bends his stature to defer to men below, then the worthies of the realm emerge." The emperor said, "How does one know they are surely worthy and appoint them?" He replied, "Knowing men is truly difficult—even Yao and Shun regarded it as their affliction. Yet follow their reputation and test them by deeds, and you will obtain seven or eight out of ten. When one holds office and distinguishes integrity, handles affairs without flattery, has no words of hopeful equivocation, and no countenance of wicked fawning pleasure—this approaches worthiness. If worthy, then appoint; if appointed, then keep long. The worthy stand in the middle with few helpers. Promote their kind and the unworthy resent it; block crooked paths and those harboring treachery hate it; unify regulations and noble kin are wounded; correct faults and the ruler grows distant and suspicious. Thus, is employing the worthy easily done?" The emperor said, "What you say hits the mark."

六年，罷學士，遷戶部侍郎，判本司。帝以戶部故有獻，而絳獨無有，何哉？答曰：「凡方鎮有地則有賦，或嗇用度易羨余以為獻。臣乃為陛下謹出納，烏有羨贏哉？若以為獻，是徙東庫物實西庫，進官物結私恩。」帝瞿然悟。帝每有詢訪，隨事補益，所言無不聽，欲遂以相。而承璀寵方盛，忌其進，陰有毀短，帝乃出承璀淮南監軍。翌日，拜絳中書侍郎、同中書門下平章事。封高邑男。方江淮歲儉，民薦饑，有御史使還，奏不為災，帝以語絳，答曰：「方隅皆陛下大臣，奏孰不實？而御史茍悅陛下耳。凡君人者當任大臣，無使小臣得以間，願出其名顯責之。」李吉甫嘗盛贊天子威德，帝欣然，絳獨曰：「陛下自視今日何如漢文帝時？」帝曰：「朕安敢望文帝？」對曰：「是時賈誼以為措火積薪下，火未及然，因以為安，其憂如此。今法令所不及者五十餘州，西戎內訌，近以涇、隴為鄙，去京師遠不千里，烽燧相接也；加比水旱無年，倉廩空虛。誠陛下焦心銷誌求濟時之略，渠便高枕而臥哉！」帝入謂左右曰：「絳言骨鯁，真宰相也。」遣使者賜酴醿酒。

In the sixth year he was removed as Hanlin Academician and transferred to vice director of the Revenue Ministry, with concurrent authority over that bureau. The emperor asked, "The Revenue Ministry customarily has tribute offerings—why does Jiang alone have none?" He replied, "Whenever a regional command has territory it has taxes. Some stint their expenditures and trade surplus for tribute offerings. I am simply careful in receipt and disbursement for Your Majesty—how could there be surplus profit? If these were offered as tribute, it would be moving goods from the eastern storehouse into the western storehouse—presenting official property to forge private favor." The emperor started awake in sudden understanding. Whenever the emperor inquired of him, Jiang would add what was lacking according to the matter; nothing he said went unheeded, and the emperor wished to make him chief minister. But Cheng Cui's favor was then at its height; jealous of Jiang's advancement, he secretly slandered him. The emperor then sent Cheng Cui out as army supervisor at Huainan. The next day Jiang was appointed vice director of the Secretariat and concurrent grand councilor of the Secretariat and Chancellery. He was enfeoffed as Baron of Gaoyi. Just then the Jiang-Huai year was lean and the people suffered repeated famine. A censor returning from a mission reported that there was no disaster. The emperor told Jiang, who replied, "The regions are all Your Majesty's chief ministers—whose reports are not truthful? But the censor merely seeks to please Your Majesty. For one who rules men, chief ministers should be entrusted and lesser officials must not be allowed to interfere. I ask that his name be published and he be openly censured." Li Jifu once lavishly praised the Son of Heaven's majesty and virtue. The emperor was pleased, but Jiang alone said, "Does Your Majesty see today as comparable to the time of Emperor Wen of Han?" The emperor said, "How dare I compare myself to Emperor Wen?" He replied, "At that time Jia Yi said firewood was piled beneath a fire, the flame had not yet kindled, and yet they deemed themselves secure—such was his worry. Today more than fifty prefectures lie beyond the reach of law and decree. The western Rong are in internal strife, yet recently Jing and Long serve as the frontier—scarcely a thousand li from the capital, with beacon fires linking one to the next; moreover in recent years flood and drought alternate without respite, and granaries stand empty. If Your Majesty truly burned heart and consumed spirit seeking policies to succor the age, how could you simply rest easy on a high pillow!" The emperor went inside and said to those beside him, "Jiang's words are bone-hard—he is a true chief minister." He sent an envoy to bestow wine of tutilage.

魏博田季安死，子懷諫弱，軍中請襲節度，吉甫議討之，絳曰：「不然，兩河所懼者，部將以兵圖己也，故委諸將總兵，皆使力敵任均，以相維制，不得為變。若主帥強，則足以制其命。今懷諫乳方臭，不能事，必假權於人，權重則怨生，向之權力均者，將起事生患矣。眾所歸必在寬厚簡易、軍中素所愛者，彼得立，不倚朝廷亦不能安。惟陛下蓄威以俟之。」俄而田興果立，以魏博聽命，帝大悅。吉甫復請命中人宣尉，因刺其變，徐議所宜。絳獨謂：「不如推誠撫納，即假旄節。它日使者持三軍表來，請與興，則制在彼，不在此，可奏與特授，安得同哉？」然帝重違吉甫，故詔張忠順持節往，而授興留後。絳固請曰：「如興萬有一不受命，即姑息，復如向時矣。」由是即拜興節度使。絳復曰：「王化不及魏博久矣，一日挈六州來歸，不大犒賞，人心不激。請斥禁錢百五十萬緡賜其軍。」有言太過者，絳曰：「假令舉十五萬眾，期歲而得六州，計所轉給三倍於費。今興天挺忠義，首變汙俗，破兩河之膽，可嗇小費隳機事哉？」從之。

When Tian Ji'an of Weibo died, his son Huaijian was weak. The army asked to inherit the command. Jifu argued for a punitive campaign. Jiang said, "Not so. What the two He regions fear is that their officers will use troops to plot against them. Therefore they entrust the generals with overall command, all made equal in strength and equal in burden, mutually restraining one another so none can rebel. If the commander is strong, he can fully control their conduct. Now Huaijian still reeks of milk and cannot govern; he must borrow authority from others. When authority grows heavy, resentment arises; those who once kept power equal will stir up trouble and breed disorder. Whom the masses follow must be one of generous simplicity whom the army has long loved. When he is established, even without leaning on the court he cannot be secure. Only let Your Majesty store up authority and wait." Before long Tian Xing was indeed established; Weibo obeyed the court's orders, and the emperor was greatly pleased. Jifu again asked that a palace envoy be sent to announce consolation, probe their intentions, and slowly discuss what was fitting. Jiang alone said, "Better to meet them with sincere trust and conciliation and promptly grant the standard and tokens of command. Another day, when an envoy comes bearing the three armies' petition requesting it for Xing, then control lies with them, not with us—we may then memorialize and grant it by special appointment. How can the two cases be the same?" Yet the emperor was reluctant to go against Jifu, so he issued an edict to Zhang Zhongshun to go bearing credentials and granted Xing the post of acting commander. Jiang firmly asked, "If by any chance Xing should not accept the order, then it is mere indulgence—the same as before." Thereupon Xing was immediately appointed military commissioner. Jiang again said, "Imperial transformation has not reached Weibo for a long time. In a single day it brings six prefectures back in submission—without a large reward the people's hearts will not be stirred. I ask that one million five hundred thousand strings of cash from the forbidden treasury be released to reward the army." When some said this was excessive, Jiang said, "Suppose one raised a hundred fifty thousand men and in the space of a year took six prefectures—the cost of provisioning would be triple this sum. Now Xing was born upright and loyal, the first to change a corrupt custom and break the courage of the two He regions—can we stint a small expense and ruin the opportunity?" The emperor agreed.

帝患朋黨，以問絳。答曰：「自古人君最惡者朋黨，小人揣知，故常藉口以激怒上心。朋黨者，尋之則無跡，言之則可疑。小人常以利動，不顧忠義；君子者，遇主知則進，疑則退，安其位不為它計，故常為奸人所乘。夫聖人同跡，賢者求類，是同道也，非黨也。陛下奉遵堯、舜、禹、湯之德，豈謂上與數千年君為黨耶？道德同耳。漢時名節骨鯁士，同心愛國，而宦官小人疾之，起黨錮之獄，訖亡天下。趨利之人，常為朋比，同其私也；守正之人，常遭構毀，違其私也。小人多，譖言常勝；正人少，直道常不勝。可不戒哉！」絳居中介特，尤為左右所不悅，遂因以自明。

The emperor was troubled by factional cliques and asked Jiang about it. He replied, "From antiquity what rulers most hated were factions. Petty men infer this and constantly use it as a pretext to inflame the sovereign's heart. Faction: search for it and there is no trace; speak of it and suspicion arises. Petty men are often moved by profit and heed neither loyalty nor righteousness; gentlemen advance when the ruler shows understanding and withdraw when he shows doubt; they keep their positions and do not scheme otherwise—thus they are often taken advantage of by schemers. Sages follow the same tracks; the worthy seek their kind—this is shared Way, not faction. Your Majesty reverently follows the virtue of Yao, Shun, Yu, and Tang—would one say Your Majesty forms a faction with rulers thousands of years ago? It is merely that the Way and virtue are the same. In Han times, men of repute and bone-hard integrity loved the state with one heart, while eunuchs and petty men hated them and raised the Faction Imprisonment cases, until the realm was lost. Those who rush for profit constantly form cliques—joining together in private interest; those who uphold rectitude constantly suffer fabricated slander—because they oppose private interest. Petty men are many; calumny often wins; upright men are few, and the straight path seldom wins. Should one not take warning!" Jiang held an independent position between the factions and was especially displeasing to those at the emperor's side; he therefore used this occasion to clarify his own stance.

王播為鹽鐵使，而事月進。絳曰：「比禁天下正賦外不得有它獻，而播妄名羨余，不出祿稟家貲，願悉付有司。」帝曰：「善。」訖絳在位，獻不入禁中。吐蕃犯涇州，掠人畜，絳因言：「濱塞虛籍多，實兵少。今京西、北神策鎮軍，本防盛秋，坐仰衣食，不使戰。事至之日，乃先稟中尉。夫兵不內禦，要須應變，失毫氂，差千里。請分隸本道，則號令齊一，前戰不還踵矣。」然士卒樂兩軍姑息，宦者以為言，議遂寢。嘗盛夏對延英，帝汗浹衣，絳欲趨出，帝曰：「朕宮中所對，惟宦官、女子，欲與卿講天下事，乃其樂也。」

Wang Bo served as Salt and Iron Commissioner and made monthly presents to the court. Jiang said, "Recently it was forbidden throughout the realm to make any tribute beyond regular taxes, yet Bo presumptuously labels his gifts surplus revenue, not drawn from salary or household assets. I ask that all of it be handed over to the proper offices." The emperor said, "Well said." Throughout Jiang's tenure in office, such presents did not enter the palace. The Tibetans invaded Jing prefecture and carried off people and livestock. Jiang therefore said, "Along the border garrisons the rolls are inflated, but actual troops are few. Now the Shence garrison armies west and north of the capital were originally posted against autumn raids, yet they sit idle receiving food and clothing and are not sent to fight. When an emergency arises, orders must first be reported to the army supervisors. Troops ought not be used for internal defense alone; they must be able to respond to changing conditions. Miss by a hair's breadth and the error is a thousand li. I ask that they be assigned to their original circuits. Then commands will be unified, and troops at the front need not turn back." However the soldiers were content with the indulgence of the two armies. Eunuchs spoke against it, and the proposal was shelved. Once in midsummer at an audience in the Yanying Hall, the emperor's sweat soaked his robes. Jiang wished to withdraw hastily. The emperor said, "In the palace I converse only with eunuchs and women. To discuss the affairs of the realm with you—that is my pleasure."

絳或無所論諍，帝輒詰所以然。又言：「公等得無有姻故冗食者，當為惜官。」吉甫、權德輿皆稱無有。絳曰：「崔祐甫為宰相，不半歲除吏八百人。德宗曰：『多公姻故，何耶？』祐甫曰：『所問當與不當耳，非臣親舊，孰知其才？其不知者，安敢與官？』時以為名言。武後命官猥多，而開元中有名者皆出其選。古人言拔十得五，猶得其半。若情故自嫌，非聖主責成意。」帝曰：「誠然，在至當而已。」帝又問：「玄宗開元時致治，天寶則亂，何一君而相反耶？」絳曰：「治生於憂危，亂生於放肆。玄宗嘗歷試官守，知人之艱難，臨禦初，任用姚崇、宋璟，勵精聽納，故左右前後皆正人也。洎林甫、國忠得君，專引傾邪之人，分總要劇。於是上不聞直言，嗜欲日滋，內則盜臣勸以興利，外則武夫誘以開邊，天下騷動，故祿山乘隙而奮。此皆小人啟導，從逸而驕。系時主所行，無常治，亦無常亂。」帝曰：「凡人舉事，病不通於理，追咎其失，古人處此有道耶？」絳曰：「事或過差，聖哲所不免。天子有諫臣，所以救過。上下同體，猶手足之於心膂，交相為用。但矜能護失，常情所蔽，聖人改過不吝，願陛下以此處之。」

When Jiang sometimes offered no remonstrance, the emperor would immediately ask why. He also said, "You gentlemen surely have no relations or old associates holding idle posts? You ought to be sparing with office." Jifu and Quan Deyu both said there were none. Jiang said, "When Cui Youfu served as chief minister, in less than half a year he appointed eight hundred officials. Dezong said, 'Many are your relations and old associates—why?' Youfu said, 'What matters is whether the appointment is right or wrong. If they were not my kin or old associates, who would know their talent? Those of whose talent I am ignorant—how would I dare give them office? At the time this was regarded as a celebrated saying. Empress Wu's appointments were excessively numerous, yet the celebrated men of the Kaiyuan era all came from her selections. The ancients said that if you choose ten and get five, you still have half. If one shrinks from personal ties, that is not what a sage ruler intends when he charges you with results." The emperor said, "Indeed—it is merely a matter of what is perfectly fitting." The emperor also asked, "Under Xuanzong the Kaiyuan era brought good governance, but the Tianbao era brought disorder—how could one ruler be so opposite to himself?" Jiang said, "Order arises from worry and peril; disorder arises from license. Xuanzong had once served in trial posts as prefect and minister and knew the difficulty of assessing men. At the start of his reign he employed Yao Chong and Song Jing, exerting himself in diligence and heeding counsel, so those at his side and all around were upright men. When Li Linfu and Yang Guozhong gained the ruler's trust, they exclusively brought in corrupt men and divided among themselves the weightiest duties. Thereupon the ruler above no longer heard plain speech; appetites daily increased. Within, grasping ministers urged profit-making; without, warriors enticed frontier campaigns. The realm seethed, and so An Lushan seized the opening and rose up. All this was the leading of petty men—from ease to arrogance. It depended on what the ruler of the time did—there is no constant order, and no constant disorder." The emperor said, "When anyone undertakes a task, the fault is not understanding principle. When one revisits one's mistakes afterward, did the ancients have a Way for this?" Jiang said, "Matters may overshoot—even sages cannot avoid this. The Son of Heaven has remonstrance ministers—that is how errors are remedied. Ruler and minister share one body, like hands and feet to the heart and backbone—each serving the other. Yet pride in one's ability and shielding one's faults are common blindness. Sages do not grudge correcting error. I pray Your Majesty handle matters in this spirit."

教坊使稱密詔閱良家子及別宅婦人內禁中，京師囂然。絳將入言於帝，吉甫曰：「此諫官所論列。」絳曰：「公嘗病諫官論事，此難言者，欲移之耶？」吉甫乃欲諷詔使止之，絳以吉甫畏不敢諫，遂獨上疏。帝曰：「朕以丹王等無侍者，比命訪閭裏，以貲致之，彼不諭朕意，故至嘩擾。」乃悉歸所取。

The Director of the Music Bureau claimed a secret edict to inspect sons of good families and women from separate residences for admission to the inner palace, and the capital was in an uproar. Jiang was about to enter and speak to the emperor. Jifu said, "This is something for remonstrance officials to discuss." Jiang said, "You once complained that remonstrance officials raised too many matters. This is a hard thing to speak of—do you wish to shift it onto them?" Jifu then wanted to prompt an edict to stop it. Jiang, taking Jifu to be afraid and not daring to remonstrate, submitted a memorial alone. The emperor said, "Because the Prince of Dan and others had no attendants, I recently ordered inquiries in the lanes to obtain them by payment. They did not understand my intent, and thus the commotion arose." All those taken were then returned.

以足疾求免，罷為禮部尚書。帝乃召承璀於淮南。絳雖去位，猶懷不能已，因上言：「北虜方強，其憂有五。彼蔑信重利，歲入馬求直，今則置不取，當貯他謀，一也。屯士不足，斥候不明，城無完堞，非可應卒，二也。今之營築，不詢眾謀，遠規塞外，城非要地，虜一入寇，應援艱阻，三也。比年通好，往來窺覘，河山兵甲，悉知之矣，若寇掠驅脅，援兵非十日不至，既至虜去，兵罷復來，四也。北狄、西戎久為仇敵，今回鶻思叛，脫相連約，數道並進，何以遏之？五也。」

He pleaded illness of the feet and asked to be relieved. He was dismissed from his chief ministership and made Minister of Rites. The emperor then summoned Cheng Cui from Huainan. Though Jiang had left office, his concern could not cease. He submitted a memorial: "The northern barbarians are strong just now; there are five worries. They hold treaties in contempt and value profit highly. Each year they entered horses seeking payment; now we refuse to take them—they must be storing up some other design. That is the first. Garrison troops are insufficient, scouts are unclear, and city walls lack intact parapets—this cannot meet sudden emergencies. That is the second. Present fortification work consults no broad counsel. It looks far beyond the passes and builds where the ground is not vital. If the barbarians raid once, relief will be hard pressed to arrive. That is the third. In recent years of friendly relations, they came and went spying—the rivers, mountains, and armaments are all known to them. If they raid and drive people off, relief cannot arrive in less than ten days. Once it arrives the barbarians are gone, and when the troops stand down they come again. That is the fourth. The northern Di and the western Rong have long been mutual enemies. Now the Uyghurs consider rebellion. If by chance they join in treaty and advance on several routes together, how could we check them? That is the fifth."

十年，出為華州刺史。承璀田多在部中，主奴擾民，絳捕系之。會遣五坊使，帝戒曰：「至華宜自戢；絳，大臣，有奏即行法矣。」州有捕鷂戶，歲責貢限，絳以為言，並勸止畋獵，有詔澤潞、太原、天威府並罷之。入為兵部尚書，母喪免。還授河中觀察使。河中故節制，而皇甫镈惡絳，故薄其恩，議者不直。镈得罪，復以兵部召。遷御史大夫。穆宗數遊畋，絳率其屬叩延英切諫，不納。以疾辭，還兵部尚書，歷東都留守，徙東川節度使，復為留守。寶歷初，拜尚書左仆射。絳偉儀質，以直道進退，望冠一時，賢不肖太分，屢為讒邪所中。御史中丞王璠遇絳於道，不之避。絳引故事論列，宰相李逢吉右璠，下遷絳太子少師，分司東都。

In the tenth year he went out to serve as prefect of Hua. Cheng Cui's fields were mostly in that prefecture. His stewards and slaves harassed the people, and Jiang had them arrested and bound. When the Five-Workshop envoys were sent out, the emperor warned them, "When you reach Hua you ought to restrain yourselves; Jiang is a great minister—if he memorializes about you, the law will be applied at once." The prefecture had households that captured hawks, with annual tribute quotas. Jiang spoke against this and also urged an end to hunting. An edict abolished these offices in Ze, Lu, Taiyuan, and Tianwei prefecture. He returned to court as Minister of War, then resigned on his mother's death. On returning from mourning he was appointed observation commissioner of Hezhong. Hezhong had formerly been a military commission. Huangfu Bo hated Jiang and therefore stinted his favor, and commentators did not regard this as fair. When Bo fell from favor, Jiang was again summoned as Minister of War. He was transferred to serve as Censor-in-Chief. Muzong frequently went hunting. Jiang led his subordinates to knock at the Yanying gate and remonstrate urgently, but they were not heeded. He pleaded illness and resigned, returning as Minister of War. He served successively as Eastern Capital left-behind commissioner, was transferred to military commissioner of Dongchuan, and again served as left-behind commissioner. At the beginning of the Baoli era he was appointed Left Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs. Jiang was imposing in bearing and steadfast in advancing and withdrawing by the straight Way; his renown topped his age. He divided the worthy and unworthy too sharply and was repeatedly struck down by slanderous wicked men. Vice Censor-in-Chief Wang Fan met Jiang on the road and did not yield to him. Jiang cited precedent and memorialized. Chief Minister Li Fengji sided with Fan, and Jiang was demoted to Junior Preceptor of the Heir Apparent with assignment at the Eastern Capital.

文宗立，召為太常卿，以檢校司空為山南西道節度使，累封趙郡公。四年，南蠻寇蜀道，詔絳募兵千人往赴，不半道，蠻已去，兵還。監軍使楊叔元者，素疾絳，遣人迎說軍曰：「將收募直而還為民。」士皆怒，乃噪而入，劫庫兵。絳方宴，不設備，遂握節登陴。或言縋城可以免，絳不從。牙將王景延力戰歿，絳遂遇害，年六十七。幕府趙存約、薛齊皆死。事聞，諫官崔戎等列絳冤，冊贈司徒，謚曰貞，賻禮甚厚。景延亦贈官，祿一子。大中初，詔史官差第元和將相，圖形淩煙閣，絳在焉，獨留中。絳所論事萬餘言，其甥夏侯孜以授蔣偕，次為七篇。

When Wenzong ascended, Jiang was summoned as Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. As Acting Minister of Works he became military commissioner of Shannan West Circuit and was repeatedly enfeoffed as Duke of Zhao commandery. In the fourth year, southern barbarians raided the Shu road. An edict ordered Jiang to raise a thousand troops to go to the rescue. Before they were halfway there the barbarians had already gone, and the troops returned. The army supervisor Yang Shuyuan had long resented Jiang. He sent men to meet the troops and told them, "The commander intends to take the enlistment pay and send you back to be civilians." The soldiers were all enraged. They raised a clamor and burst in, seizing weapons from the arsenal. Jiang was at a banquet and made no preparations. He then grasped his credential and mounted the ramparts. Some said he could escape by lowering himself from the wall by rope, but Jiang would not. Defensive officer Wang Jingyan fought fiercely and died. Jiang was then killed at the age of sixty-seven. Staff members Zhao Cunyue and Xue Qi both died. When word reached court, remonstrance officials such as Cui Rong set forth Jiang's grievance. He was posthumously enfeoffed as Grand Tutor with the posthumous title Zhen, and funeral gifts were very generous. Jingyan was also granted posthumous office, and one son was given a salary. At the beginning of the Dazhong era, an edict ordered the historiographers to rank the chief ministers and generals of the Yuanhe era and portray them in the Lingyan Pavilion. Jiang was among them, with his portrait kept only within the palace. Jiang's memorials on affairs ran to more than ten thousand words. His nephew Xiahou Zi gave them to Jiang Xie, who arranged them into seven sections.

子璋，字重禮。大中初擢進士第，辟盧鈞太原幕府。遷監察御史，奏太廟祫享復用宰相攝事。進起居郎。舊制，設次郊丘，太仆盤車載樂，召群臣臨觀，璋奏罷之。咸通中，累官尚書右丞、湖南宣歙觀察使。

His son Zhang, courtesy name Chongli. At the beginning of Dazhong he passed the jinshi examination and was invited to Lu Jun's Taiyuan headquarters staff. He was transferred to Palace Attendant Censor and memorialized that at the Great Temple joint autumnal sacrifices the chief ministers should again act in proxy. He was promoted to Diarist. Under the old system, on staging at the suburban altars the Imperial Stud used a turntable carriage to carry music, and all officials were summoned to witness it. Zhang memorialized to abolish the practice. During the Xiantong era he rose in succession to Right Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs and observation commissioner of Hunan, Xuan, and She.

宋申錫，字慶臣，史失其何所人。少而孤，擢進士第，累辟節度府，後頻遷起居舍人，以禮部員外郎為翰林學士。敬宗時，拜侍講學士。長慶、寶歷間，風俗囂薄，驅煽朋黨，申錫素孤直少與，及進用，議者謂可以激浮競。

Song Shenxi, courtesy name Qingchen—the history does not record his native place. Orphaned in youth, he passed the jinshi examination and was repeatedly invited to military headquarters staffs. He later rose in succession to Diarist and served as Hanlin Academician while Vice Director of the Ministry of Rites. During Jingzong's reign he was appointed Lecturing Academician. During the Changqing and Baoli eras, customs were clamorous and shallow, and cliques drove and inflamed one another. Shenxi had always been upright and isolated with few associates. When he was promoted, commentators said he could stir against empty rivalry.

文宗即位，再轉中書舍人，復為翰林學士。帝惡宦官權寵震主，再致宮禁之變，而王守澄典禁兵，偃蹇放肆，欲剟除本根，思可與決大議者。察申錫忠厚，因召對，俾與朝臣謀去守澄等，且倚以執政，申錫頓首謝。未幾拜尚書右丞，逾月進同中書門下平章事。乃除王璠京兆尹，密諭帝旨。璠漏言，而守澄黨鄭註得其謀。太和五年，遣軍候豆盧著誣告申錫與漳王謀反，守澄持奏浴堂，將遣騎二百屠申錫家，宦官馬存亮爭曰：「謀反者獨申錫耳，當召南司會議，不然，京師跂足亂矣。」守澄不能對。時二月晦，群司皆休，中人馳召宰相，馬奔乏死於道，易所乘以復命。申錫與牛僧孺、路隋、李宗閔至中書，中人唱曰：「所召無宋申錫。」申錫始知得罪，望延英門，以笏叩額還第。僧孺等見上出著告牒，皆駭愕不知所對。守澄捕申錫親吏張全真、家人買子緣信及十六宅典史，脅成其罪。帝乃罷申錫為太子右庶子，召三省官、御史中丞、大理卿、京兆尹會中書集賢院雜驗申錫反狀。京師嘩言相驚，久乃定。

When Wenzong ascended, he was twice transferred to Drafting Secretariat Drafter and again served as Hanlin Academician. The emperor hated that eunuchs' power and favor shook the throne and twice brought palace upheavals. Wang Shoucheng commanded the forbidden armies, arrogant and unrestrained. The emperor wished to cut out the root and sought someone with whom he could decide great affairs. Finding Shenxi honest and steadfast, he summoned him for audience, had him join court ministers in plotting to remove Shoucheng and the others, and intended to rely on him to govern. Shenxi kowtowed in thanks. Before long he was appointed Right Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs. After a month he was advanced to Co-signer of the Central Secretariat and the Chancellery. He then appointed Wang Fan Intendant of Jingzhao and secretly conveyed the emperor's intent. Fan leaked word of it, and Shoucheng's faction member Zheng Zhu learned of the plot. In the fifth year of Taihe, he sent Army Aide Dou Luzhuo to lodge a false accusation that Shenxi and the Prince of Zhang plotted rebellion. Shoucheng brought the memorial to the Bath Hall and was about to send two hundred riders to slaughter Shenxi's household. Eunuch Ma Cunliang objected, "The rebel is Shenxi alone. The Court of Southern Affairs should be summoned to deliberate; otherwise the capital will rise on tiptoe in disorder." Shoucheng could not reply. It was the last day of the second month, and all offices were closed. Palace eunuchs galloped to summon the chief ministers. Horses ran until exhausted and died on the road, and other mounts were taken to deliver the reply. Shenxi arrived at the Secretariat with Niu Sengru, Lu Sui, and Li Zongmin. A palace attendant announced, "Among those summoned there is no Song Shenxi." Shenxi then knew he had fallen from favor. He gazed toward Yan Ying Gate, struck his forehead with his court tablet, and returned home. Sengru and the others saw the emperor produce Zhu's denunciation. They were all stunned and did not know what to say. Shoucheng arrested Shenxi's close clerk Zhang Quanzhen, his household retainer Maizi Yuanxin, and clerks of the Sixteen Mansions, and coerced them into fabricating the case. The emperor then demoted Shenxi to Right Vice Grand Tutor of the Heir Apparent and summoned officials of the Three Departments, the Vice Censor-in-Chief, the chief judge of the Court of Judicial Review, and the Jingzhao magistrate to meet at the Secretariat and Hall of Assembled Worthies to examine the charges of rebellion against Shenxi. The capital erupted in rumor and alarm, and only after a long while did order return.

翌日，延英召宰相群官悉入，初議抵申錫死，仆射竇易直率然對曰：「人臣無將，將而必誅。」聞者不然。於是左散騎常侍崔玄亮、給事中李固言、諫議大夫王質、補闕盧鈞、舒元褒、羅泰、蔣系、裴休、竇宗直、韋溫，拾遺李群、韋端符、丁居晦、袁都等伏殿陛，請以獄付外。帝震怒，叱曰：「吾與公卿議矣，卿屬第出！」玄亮、固言執據愈切，涕泣懇到，繇是議貸申錫於嶺表。京兆尹崔琯、大理卿王正雅苦請出著與申錫劾正情狀，帝悟，乃貶申錫開州司馬，從而流死者數十百人，天下以為冤。擢豆盧著兼殿中侍御史。

The next day the emperor summoned all the chief ministers and officials to Yan Ying Hall. At first they debated sentencing Shenxi to death. Left Vice Director Dou Yizhi answered bluntly, "A minister must not harbor designs of rebellion; if he does, he must be executed." Those who heard this were not persuaded. Thereupon Cui Xuanliang, Li Guyin, Wang Zhi, Lu Jun, Shu Yuanbao, Luo Tai, Jiang Xi, Pei Xiu, Dou Zongzhi, Wei Wen, Li Qun, Wei Duanfu, Ding Juhui, Yuan Du, and others prostrated themselves on the palace steps and asked that the case be referred to the regular judicial offices. The emperor was furious and shouted, "I have already deliberated with the chief ministers and officials. You lot, withdraw at once!" Xuanliang and Guyin pressed their argument all the more urgently, weeping with earnest pleading. Because of this the court decided to spare Shenxi's life and banish him to the Lingnan frontier. Jingzhao magistrate Cui Guan and chief judge Wang Zhengya earnestly asked that Zhu be produced so the true circumstances of the case against Shenxi could be examined. The emperor came to his senses and demoted Shenxi to defender of Kai prefecture. In the aftermath scores died in exile, and the empire regarded it as a grave injustice. Doulu Zhu was promoted to concurrent Palace Attendant Censor.

初，申錫既歸，易素服俟命外舍，其妻責謂曰：「公何負天子，乃反乎？」申錫曰：「吾起孤生，位宰相，蒙國厚恩，不能鉏奸亂，反為所陷，我豈反者乎？」初，申錫以清節進，疾要位者納賕餉，敗風俗，故自為近臣，凡四方賄謝一不受。既被罪，有司驗劾，悉得所還問遺書，朝野為咨閔。然在宰府無它謀略。七年，感憤卒，有詔歸葬。

When Shenxi returned home, he wore plain clothes and waited for orders in an outer room. His wife reproached him, saying, "What have you done to wrong the Son of Heaven that you would be called a rebel?" Shenxi said, "I rose from humble origins to the chancellorship and received the state's great favor. I could not cut down treachery and disorder and was instead trapped by it. How could I be a rebel?" Shenxi had risen through pure integrity and detested powerful men who accepted bribes and corrupted public morals. Once he became a close minister, he refused every gift and bribe sent from the four quarters. After he was charged, the authorities investigated and recovered all the letters and gifts he had returned unopened. Court and country sighed in sympathy. Yet in the chancellery he had shown little strategic capacity. In the seventh year he died of grief and indignation. An edict ordered his remains returned for burial.

開成元年，李石因延英召對，從容言曰：「陛下之政，皆承天心，惟申錫之枉，久未原雪。」帝慚曰：「我當時亦悟其失，而詐忠者迫我以社稷計故耳。使逢漢昭、宣時，當不坐此。」因追復右丞、同中書門下平章事，贈兵部尚書，錄其子慎微為城固尉。會昌二年，賜謚曰貞。

In the first year of Kaicheng, Li Shi was summoned to audience at Yan Ying Hall and said calmly, "Your Majesty's government follows Heaven's intent in all things, yet Shenxi's wrongful case has long gone unredressed." The emperor said in shame, "I too came to see the error at the time, but men who feigned loyalty pressed me with arguments for the altars of state. Had he lived in the times of the Han emperors Zhao and Xuan, he would not have suffered such a fate." He thereupon posthumously restored Shenxi as Right Vice Director and concurrent Grand Councilor, enfeoffed him as Minister of War, and appointed his son Shenwei as magistrate of Chenggu. In the second year of Huichang he was granted the posthumous title Zhen.

贊曰：鎰、元衡暴忠王室，絳巨德大臣，皆為賊奸所乘，不歿元身，蓋福善禍淫之訓有時而橈。雖然，賢者於忠誼，寧以一不幸，遽使慊然於其心哉！要躬可殞，而名與岱、崧等矣。公輔隙開，而猶納說焉。申錫謀小任大，顛沛從之，惜乎！

The encomium says: Yi and Yuanheng openly displayed loyalty to the throne; Jiang was a great minister of towering virtue. All were undone by villainous traitors and did not die natural deaths. Perhaps the teaching that fortune follows the good and calamity the wicked is sometimes bent aside. Even so, would the worthy, in loyalty and righteousness, let one misfortune suddenly fill their hearts with resentment! Their bodies might perish, yet their names stand with Mount Tai and Mount Song. Though a rift had opened between them, the emperor still heeded Gongfu's remonstrance. Shenxi's plans were too slight for the great charge he bore, and hardship followed in their wake. Alas!

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