1
鮑李蕭薛樊王吳鄭陸盧柳崔
Bao, Li, Xiao, Xue, Fan, Wang, Wu, Zheng, Lu, Lu, Liu, and Cui.
2
鮑防，字子慎，襄州襄陽人。 少孤窶，強誌於學，善辭章。 及進士第，歷署節度府僚屬。 入為職方員外郎。 薛兼訓帥太原，被病，代宗授防少尹、節度行軍司馬，召見，慰遣之。 俄知留後，兼太原尹、節度使。 人樂其治，詔圖形別殿。 入為御史大夫，歷福建、江西觀察使，召拜左散騎常侍。 從德宗奉天，進禮部侍郎，封東海郡公。
Bao Fang, whose courtesy name was Zishen, came from Xiangyang in Xiang Prefecture. Orphaned in youth and poor, he threw himself into learning and proved gifted at literary writing. After passing the jinshi examination, he held a series of posts on regional military staffs. He was summoned to court and appointed Vice Director of the Bureau of Military Appointments. When Xue Jianxun, who held Taiyuan, fell ill, Emperor Daizong made Fang Junior Guardian of the Capital and acting chief of staff for the circuit, received him in audience, comforted him, and dispatched him there. Before long he was acting military commissioner, and also served as Taiyuan Intendant and full military commissioner. The people were pleased with his rule, and the throne ordered his likeness painted for a side hall of the palace. Recalled to serve as Censor-in-Chief, he later governed Fujian and Jiangxi as regional inspector before being summoned back as Left Regular Attendant. He accompanied Emperor Dezong to Fengtian, was promoted to Vice Minister of Rites, and created Duke of Donghai.
3
貞元元年，策賢良方正，得穆質、裴復、柳公綽、歸登、崔邠、韋純、魏弘簡、熊執易等，世美防知人。 時比歲旱，策問陰陽祲沴，質對：「漢故事，免三公，卜式請烹弘羊。」 指當時輔政者。 右司郎中獨孤愐欲下質，防不許，曰：「使上聞所未聞，不亦善乎？」 卒置質高第，帝見策嘉揖。
In Zhenyuan 1, when he examined candidates for Worthy and Upright service, he selected Mu Zhi, Pei Fu, Liu Gongchuo, Gui Deng, Cui Bin, Wei Chun, Wei Hongjian, Xiong Zhiyi, and others, and contemporaries praised his eye for talent. Drought had dragged on for years, and the examination theme was omens and calamities in the cosmic order. Mu Zhi answered: "Under Han precedent the Three Excellencies were removed from office, and Bu Shi offered to boil Sang Hongyang alive." —a pointed attack on the men then directing the government. Dugu Min of the Right Department wished to demote Zhi, but Fang refused, saying, "Let the emperor hear what he has never heard before—is that not a good thing?" In the end Zhi was ranked at the top; when the emperor read his answer he praised it with a bow of approval.
4
初，防與知雜御史竇參遇，導騎不引避，參謫其仆。 及為相，防尹京兆，迫使致仕，授工部尚書。 防咤曰：「吾與蕭昕子齒，而同昕老，坐宰相余忿邪！」 不得誌卒，年六十九，贈太子少保，謚曰宣。 防於詩尤工，有所感發，以譏切世敝，當時稱之。 與中書舍人謝良弼友善，時號「鮑謝」雲。
Earlier, when Fang encountered Associate Censor Dou Can in the street, his outriders failed to give way, and Can punished his attendants. Once Can rose to chancellor, Fang was serving as Jingzhao intendant; Can forced him into retirement and gave him the post of Minister of Works. Fang cried out in indignation: "Xiao Xin and I are the same age, yet I am growing old alongside him—am I to be sidelined because a chancellor still bears a grudge?" He died at sixty-nine without seeing his ambitions realized; he was posthumously made Grand Mentor of the Heir Apparent with the posthumous title Xuan. Fang was especially accomplished in poetry; moved by what he had lived through, he used verse to skewer the failings of the times, and contemporaries acclaimed him for it. He was close friends with Secretariat Drafter Xie Liangbi, and people of the time spoke of them as "Bao and Xie."
5
李自良，兗州泗水人。 天寶亂，往從兗鄆節度使能元皓。 以戰多，累授右衛率。 從袁傪討賊袁晁，積閥至試殿中監，事浙東薛兼訓節度府。 兼訓徙太原，又為牙將。 鮑防代總節度事，會回紇入寇，防遣大將焦伯瑜等擊之。 自良曰：「寇遠來，難與爭鋒。 請築二壘搤歸路，堅壁勿出，求戰不許，師老而墮，其勢易乘。」 防不聽。 伯瑜戰百井，大敗。 由是知名。
Li Ziliang came from Sishui in Yan Prefecture. During the Tianbao rebellion he joined the staff of Neng Yuanhao, military commissioner of Yan and Yan. His long record in combat won him repeated promotion, eventually to colonel of the Right Guard. He campaigned under Yuan Chai against the rebel Yuan Chao, rose on merit to acting director of the palace domestic service, and served on Xue Jianxun's staff in Zhedong. When Jianxun moved to Taiyuan, Ziliang again served as an officer in his guard corps. While Bao Fang was acting military commissioner, the Uyghurs raided the frontier; Fang sent his senior generals Jiao Boyu and others to meet them. Ziliang said, "The raiders have marched a great distance; we should not try to beat them in a pitched fight. Build two forts to block their line of retreat, hold fast behind the walls, and refuse every challenge to fight; once their troops grow tired and careless, we can strike at an advantage." Fang would not heed him. Boyu gave battle at Baijing and was routed. From that time his name became known.
6
馬燧代防，表為軍候。 自良為人勤且有謀，燧倚信之。 從討田悅還，攻李懷光河中，數履鋒陷陣，功在諸將右。 貞元三年，燧來朝，德宗罷燧兵，以自良代之。 自良以事燧久，不敢當，議者多其讓，乃授右龍武大將軍。 入謝，帝終以河東近胡，謂曰：「卿於進退寧不有禮？ 然守北門無易卿者，勉為朕行。」 乃以檢校工部尚書充河東節度使。 居治九年，舉不愆法，簡儉易循，民不知有軍，上下諧附。 卒於官，贈尚書左僕射。
When Ma Sui succeeded Fang, he recommended Ziliang as army adjutant. Diligent and resourceful by nature, Ziliang won Sui's full trust. After the campaign against Tian Yue he helped crush Li Huai'guang in Hezhong, repeatedly leading charges into the enemy lines until his achievements outshone every other commander. In Zhenyuan 3, when Sui came to court, Dezong stripped him of command and named Ziliang to succeed him. Ziliang had served under Sui for years and shrank from taking his place; court opinion praised his modesty, and for the moment he was made grand general of the Right Dragon Martial Guard. When he came in to give thanks, the emperor said at last, mindful that Hedong lay on the northern frontier: "Surely you know the proprieties of office—why hang back? Yet there is no one better suited to hold the northern gate; do this for me." He was appointed acting Minister of Works and military commissioner of Hedong. He governed for nine years without a breach of law, ruling with simplicity and thrift so that the people scarcely felt the presence of troops and officers and men alike were united. He died in office and was posthumously made Left Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs.
7
蕭昕，字中明，梁鄱陽王恢七世孫，世居河南。 再中博學宏辭科，調壽安尉，累遷左補闕。 哥舒翰為副元帥拒安祿山，辟掌書記，翰敗，儳道走蜀。 肅宗立，奉誥冊見行在。 歷中書舍人、禮部侍郎。 代宗狩陜，昕由武關從帝，擢國子祭酒。 建請崇太學以樹教本，帝寤其言，詔群臣有籍於朝及神策六軍子弟隸業者，聽補生員。
Xiao Xin, courtesy name Zhongming, was a seventh-generation descendant of Prince Hui of Poyang of Liang, and his family had long lived in Henan. He twice passed the Broad Learning and Eloquent Expression examination, was posted as magistrate of Shou'an, and rose step by step to Left Remonstrator. When Geshu Han served as deputy supreme commander against An Lushan he took Xin on as chief secretary; after Han's defeat Xin made his way by back roads into Shu. After Emperor Suzong took the throne, Xin presented the enthronement documents and was received at the mobile court. He served in turn as secretariat drafter and Vice Minister of Rites. When Emperor Daizong withdrew into Shaan, Xin followed him through Wuguan Pass and was promoted to chancellor of the Directorate of Education. He urged that the Imperial Academy be elevated to anchor the foundations of learning; the emperor took his point and ordered that sons of court officials on the roster and youths of the Shence Six Armies enrolled in study might be admitted as academy students.
8
大歷中，持節吊回紇。 回紇恃功，廷讓昕曰：「乃中國亂，非我無以平，奈何市馬不時歸我直？」 眾失色。 昕徐曰：「國家龕定寇難，功雖絲毫不遺賞，況鄰國乎？ 仆固懷恩，我之叛臣，爾與連禍，又引吐蕃暴我郊甸。 天舍其衷，吐蕃敗北，回紇悔懼，叩顙乞和。 非天子恤舊功，則只馬不得出塞下，孰為失信者？」 回紇大慚，因厚禮昕，遣使者約和。 轉工部尚書，封晉陵侯。 德宗出奉天，昕年八十餘，步出城。 賊求之急，獨竄山谷間，僅至奉天。 遷太子少傅，爵郡公，兼禮部尚書，知貢舉。 久之，以太子少師致仕。 卒，年九十三，贈揚州大都督，謚曰懿。
During the Dali era he was dispatched with imperial credentials to offer condolences to the Uyghurs. Taking credit for their service, the Uyghurs confronted Xin in open court: "China was in chaos—without us you could never have restored order—so why do you not pay promptly for the horses you buy?" Everyone in the embassy party blanched. Xin answered calmly: "The empire has put down the rebellion; not the smallest merit goes unrewarded at home—how much less a neighboring power? Pugu Huai'en was our traitor, yet you shared his fate, and you even brought the Tibetans to ravage our borderlands. Heaven turned from them: Tibet was beaten back, the Uyghurs were filled with remorse and fear, and they knocked their foreheads on the ground begging for peace. If the Son of Heaven had not shown mercy for past service, not one horse would have crossed the frontier—so who is it that failed to keep faith?" The Uyghurs were deeply shamed, treated Xin with great honor, and sent envoys to negotiate peace. He was made Minister of Works and enfeoffed as Marquis of Jinling. When Dezong withdrew to Fengtian, Xin was more than eighty years old and left the capital on foot. The rebels hunted him hotly; he hid alone in the hills and barely reached Fengtian alive. He was promoted to Junior Tutor of the Heir Apparent, created Duke of a commandery, and also served as Minister of Rites in charge of the civil examinations. In time he retired with the title of Junior Preceptor of the Heir Apparent. He died at ninety-three and was posthumously made Grand Governor-General of Yangzhou with the posthumous title Yi.
9
昕始薦張鎬、來瑱，在禮部擢杜黃裳、高郢、裴垍。 其後鎬興布衣，不數年位將相，瑱為將有威名，黃裳等繼輔政，並為名宰雲。
Xin had early on recommended Zhang Hao and Lai Tian, and as Minister of Rites he elevated Du Huangchang, Gao Ying, and Pei Ji. Hao later rose from common life to general and chancellor within a few years; Tian won renown as a commander; Huangchang and the others in turn held the highest offices—all became celebrated statesmen.
10
薛播，河中寶鼎人。 曾祖文思，官中書舍人。 播早孤，伯母林通經史，善屬文，躬授經諸子及播兄弟，故開元、天寶間，播兄弟七人皆擢進士第，為衣冠光韙。 累授殿中侍御史，遷武功、萬年令。 溫敏而裕，與人交有常，李棲筠、常袞、崔祐甫並器之。 祐甫輔政，拜中書舍人，出為汝州刺史。 坐小累，貶泉州，再遷至河南尹。 以禮部侍郎卒，贈本曹尚書。
Xue Bo came from Baoding in Hezhong. His great-grandfather Wensi had served as secretariat drafter. Orphaned early, Bo was raised by his aunt Lin, who knew the classics and histories and wrote well; she taught her own sons and the Bo brothers herself, and during the Kaiyuan and Tianbao eras all seven brothers passed the jinshi—a shining honor for their clan. He rose to attending censor within the hall and later served as magistrate of Wugong and Wannian. Warm, quick-witted, and generous, he was steady in friendship; Li Qiyun, Chang Gun, and Cui Youfu all held him in high regard. When Youfu came to power, Bo was made secretariat drafter and then sent out as prefect of Ru. A minor offense sent him down to Quanzhou; he was later promoted again to intendant of Henan. He died while Vice Minister of Rites and was posthumously made minister of that same department.
11
子公達，擢進士第。 佐鳳翔軍。 會帥不文，嘗集射，設的高數十尺，令曰：「中者酬錦與金。」 一軍莫能中。 公達執弓矢揖曰：「請為公歡。」 射三發連中，眾大呼笑。 帥不喜，乃自免去。 復佐河陽軍。 以國子助教居東都卒。
His son Gongda passed the jinshi examination. He served on the staff of the Fengxiang army. The commander was a coarse man; once he called an archery contest, set the target dozens of feet high, and announced, "Whoever hits it wins brocade and gold." No man in the army could hit it. Gongda took up bow and arrows, bowed, and said, "Let me entertain you, sir." He loosed three arrows in a row and hit every time; the men roared with laughter and delight. The commander took offense, and Gongda resigned on his own. He then served on the staff of the Heyang army. He died in the Eastern Capital while serving as assistant instructor of the Directorate of Education.
12
樊澤，字安時，河中人。 少孤，依外家客河朔。 相衛節度使薛嵩表為堯山令。 舉賢良方正，次潼關，雨淖，困不能前。 有熊執易者，同舍逆旅，哀之，輟所乘馬，傾褚以濟，自罷所舉。 是歲，澤上第，楊炎善之，擢左補闕。
Fan Ze, whose courtesy name was Anshi, came from Hezhong. Orphaned in youth, he lived with his mother's kin as a guest in the Heshuo region. Xue Song, military commissioner of Xiang and Wei, recommended him as magistrate of Yaoshan. Nominated for Worthy and Upright service, he halted at Tong Pass in rain and mud and could go no farther. Xiong Zhiyi was staying at the same inn; moved by Ze's plight, he gave up his own mount, poured out his purse to help him on, and withdrew his own candidacy. That year Ze took first place; Yang Yan took a liking to him and had him appointed Left Remonstrator.
13
澤有武力，喜兵法，議者謂有將帥器。 嘗召對延英，德宗嘆其論兵「與我意合」。 累遷山南東道司馬，就拜節度使。 每射獵，諸將憚其材武。 數與李希烈確，禽票將張嘉瑜、杜文朝、梁悛之等，賊氣沮縮，遂取唐、隨二州。 貞元三年，為荊南節度使。 會山南東道嗣曹王臯卒，軍亂，剽居人。 以澤威惠著襄、漢間，復徙山南東道，加檢校尚書右僕射。 十四年卒，年五十七，贈司空，謚曰成。 訃至，帝為撤宴廢朝。
Ze was physically powerful and loved the art of war; observers said he had the makings of a field commander. Once called to audience in the Yanying Hall, Dezong declared that Ze's views on warfare "match my own thinking exactly." He rose to military commissioner aide of Shannan East Circuit and was then appointed military commissioner on the spot. Whenever he went out hunting, his generals stood in awe of his strength and skill. He fought Li Xilie again and again, captured enemy generals such as Zhang Jiayu, Du Wenchao, and Liang Junzhi, broke the rebels' morale, and seized Tang and Sui. In Zhenyuan 3 he was made military commissioner of Jingnan. When Li Gao, Prince of Cao, died in Shannan East Circuit, the troops mutinied and looted the townspeople. Because his authority and kindness were well known between Xiangyang and Hanzhong, he was moved back to Shannan East Circuit and made acting Right Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs. He died in the fourteenth year of his commission at fifty-seven and was posthumously made Minister of Works with the posthumous title Cheng. When word of his death reached the capital, the emperor canceled a banquet and suspended court in mourning.
14
子宗師，字紹述。 始為國子主簿，元和三年，擢軍謀宏遠科，授著作佐郎。 歷金部郎中、綿州刺史。 徙絳州，治有跡。 進諫議大夫，未拜卒。 始，宗師家饒於財，悉散施姻舊賓客，妻子告不給，宗師笑不答。 然力學多通解，著《春秋傳》、《魁紀公》、《樊子》凡百餘篇，別集尚多。 韓愈稱宗師論議平正有經據，嘗薦其材雲。
His son Zongshi, whose courtesy name was Shaoshu. He began as registrar of the Directorate of Education; in Yuanhe 3 he passed the Broad Military Strategy examination and was appointed assistant editor in the Palace Library. He served as director of the Bureau of Revenue and then as prefect of Mian. Transferred to Jiang Prefecture, he left a clear record of effective rule. Promoted to Remonstrating Grand Master, he died before he could take up the appointment. Early on his family was wealthy, but he gave everything away to relatives, old friends, and guests; when his wife and children said they had nothing left, he only laughed and said nothing. Yet he studied tirelessly and mastered many subjects, writing more than a hundred works including a Spring and Autumn commentary, Duke Kuiji, and Master Fan, with many pieces still in separate collections. Han Yu said Zongshi's arguments were fair, well grounded in the classics, and once recommended him for his ability.
15
王緯，字文卿，并州太原人。 父之鹹，為長安尉，與弟之賁、之奐皆有文。 緯舉明經，以書判入等，歷長安尉。 大歷中，與李泌俱為路嗣恭江西觀察判官。 泌見惡於元載，嗣恭希意欲殺之，緯護解，僅免。 泌執政，奏於己有私恩，德宗許為泌報，故進緯給事中。 浙西觀察使缺，泌擬緯，帝曰：「是朕為君報德者乎？ 黃門要地，獨不留議事耶？」 對曰：「浙西賦入尤劇，緯清而忠，能惠養民，故請遣之。」 制可。 初，州縣有韓滉時罷錢未入者十八萬緡，府史請裒為進奉，緯上疏願蠲以紓民，詔聽之。 貞元十年，加御史大夫兼諸道鹽鐵轉運使。 裴延齡以諸道負錢四百萬緡獻為羨錢，以圖寵，緯奏「此諸州經費」，大忤延齡意，改檢校工部尚書。 卒，年七十一，贈太子少保。
Wang Wei, whose courtesy name was Wenqing, came from Taiyuan in Bing Prefecture. His father Zhixian had been magistrate of Chang'an, and he and his younger brothers Zhiben and Zhihuan were all known for their writing. Wei passed the Mingjing examination, ranked in the top tier of the document-judgment test, and served as magistrate of Chang'an. During the Dali era he and Li Mi both served as aides to Lu Sigong, regional inspector of Jiangxi. Mi had earned Yuan Zai's enmity; Sigong, eager to please Zai, meant to kill him, but Wei shielded and pleaded for him until Mi barely escaped with his life. Once Mi came to power he reported a personal debt to Wei; Dezong agreed to repay Mi by promoting Wei to Attendant Within the Yellow Gate. When the Zhexi regional inspectorship fell vacant, Mi nominated Wei; the emperor asked, "Is this how I repay your favor—by sending him away? A key post at court—and you would not keep him here to advise me?" Mi answered, "Zhexi's revenues are especially heavy; Wei is upright and loyal and can govern the people with kindness—that is why I ask to send him there." The appointment was approved. At first the prefectures still owed 180,000 strings in suspended levies dating from Han Huang's time; clerks wanted to collect them as tribute, but Wei memorialized for remission to ease the people, and the throne agreed. In Zhenyuan 10 he was made Censor-in-Chief and also commissioner for salt and iron transport on all circuits. Pei Yanling reported four million strings of circuit debts as surplus revenue to win favor; Wei protested that these were ordinary prefectural funds, deeply angering Yanling, and was transferred to acting Minister of Works. He died at seventy-one and was posthumously made Junior Mentor of the Heir Apparent.
16
緯居官以清白稱，然好用刻深吏督察其下，條約苛碎，人不聊雲。
Wei was known for integrity in office, yet he relied on harsh overseers and petty regulations so exacting that his subordinates could find no rest.
17
吳湊，章敬皇后弟也。 由布衣與兄漵一日賜官封皆等，而湊畏太盛，乞解太子詹事，換檢校賓客兼家令。 進累左金吾衛大將軍。
Wu Cou was the younger brother of Empress Zhangjing. Raised overnight from common life, he and his elder brother Su received equal offices and titles in a single day; fearing too much favor, Cou asked to step down as Mentor of the Heir Apparent and take the lesser posts of acting guest and director of the heir's household. He rose step by step to grand general of the Left Golden Crow Guard.
18
湊才敏銳，而謙畏自將，帝數顧訪，尤見委信。 是時，令狐彰、田神功等繼沒，其下乘喪挾兵，輒偃蹇搖亂。 湊持節至汴、滑，委悉慰說，裁所欲為奏，各盡其情，亦度朝廷可行者，故軍中附。 帝才其為，重之。 元載當國久，愎狀日肆，帝陰欲誅，未發也，顧左右無可與計，即召湊圖之。 俄而收載賜死。 於是王縉、楊炎、王昂、韓會、包佶等皆當坐，湊建言：「法有首從，從不應死，一用極刑，虧德傷仁。」 縉等繇是得減死。 丁後母喪解職。 既除，拜右衛將軍。
Quick-witted yet self-effacing, Cou was repeatedly consulted by the emperor and enjoyed his special trust. Linghu Zhang, Tian Shenggong, and others had lately died in succession, and their subordinates used the funerals as pretexts to seize arms and stir trouble. Bearing imperial credentials, Cou went to Bian and Hua, heard every grievance, shaped their petitions into what the court could accept, and won the armies' loyalty. The emperor admired his work and held him in high regard. Yuan Zai had dominated the government for years and grew more arrogant by the day; the emperor meant to kill him but had no confidant—until he called Cou in to plan the move. Before long Zai was arrested and ordered to take his own life. Wang Jin, Yang Yan, Wang Ang, Han Hui, Bao Ji, and others all faced punishment; Cou argued, "The law distinguishes leaders from followers—followers should not die. Mass executions would stain the throne's virtue and harm its humanity." Thanks to this, Jin and the others escaped death. He left office to mourn his stepmother. When mourning ended he was appointed general of the Right Guard.
19
德宗初，出為福建觀察使，政勤清，美譽四騰。 與宰相竇參有憾，參數加短毀，又言湊風痹不良趨走，帝召還，驗其疾，非是，繇是不直參。 擢湊陜虢觀察使，代李翼。 翼，參黨也。 宣武劉玄佐死，以湊檢校兵部尚書領節度使馳代。 未至，汴軍亂，立玄佐子士寧。 帝欲遣兵內湊，而參請授士寧以沮湊，還為右金吾衛大將軍。
Early in Dezong's reign he was sent out as regional inspector of Fujian, where his diligent, upright rule won praise everywhere. He feuded with Chancellor Dou Can, who repeatedly slandered him and claimed Cou's rheumatism kept him from walking properly; recalled and examined, Cou proved healthy, and the emperor thereafter distrusted Can. Cou was promoted to regional inspector of Shan-Guo, replacing Li Yi. Yi belonged to Can's faction. When Liu Xuanzuo of Xuanwu died, Cou was made acting Minister of War and military commissioner and hurried to take command. Before he arrived the Bian army mutinied and installed Xuanzuo's son Shining. The emperor meant to send troops to install Cou, but Can secured the appointment for Shining to block him; Cou returned as grand general of the Right Golden Crow Guard.
20
貞元十四年夏，大旱，谷貴，人流亡，帝以過京兆尹韓臯，罷之。 即召湊代臯，已謝，督視事，明日詔乃下。 湊為人強力劬儉，瞿瞿未嘗擾民，上下愛向。 京師苦宮市強估取物，而有司附媚中官，率阿從無敢爭。 湊見便殿，因言：「中人所市，不便宵民，徒紛紛流議。 宮中所須，責臣可辦。 若不欲外吏與聞禁中事，宜料中官高年謹信者為宮市令，平賈和售，以息眾讙。」 又言：「掌閑、廣騎、飛龍、內園、芙蓉園、禁兵諸司雜供役手，資課太繁，宜有蠲省。」 帝輒順可。 初，府中易湊貴戚子，不便簿領，每有疑獄，時其將出，則遮湊取決，幸倉卒得容欺。 湊叩鞍一視，凡指擿，盡中其弊，初無留思，眾畏服，不意湊精裁遣如此。 僚史非大過不榜責，召至廷，詰服原去，其下傳相訓勖，舉無稽事。
In the summer of Zhenyuan 14 a severe drought drove up grain prices and sent refugees streaming away; the emperor blamed Jingzhao intendant Han Gao and dismissed him. Cou was summoned at once to replace Gao; he had already thanked the emperor and taken up duties before the formal edict arrived the next day. Forceful, industrious, and frugal, Cou was vigilant in office and never harassed the people; officials and commoners alike admired him. The capital groaned under the palace market's forced purchases at inflated prices; officials curried favor with eunuchs and none dared object. In audience at the side hall Cou said, "Eunuch buyers in the market harm ordinary townspeople and only breed endless complaint. Whatever the palace needs, your servant can supply it. If you prefer that outside officials not meddle in palace affairs, appoint older, trustworthy eunuchs as market commissioners to buy at fair prices and quiet the uproar." He also urged cuts in the heavy corvée levies on the palace parks, cavalry offices, and guard units." The emperor approved each proposal. At first the staff, treating Cou as a mere court favorite, kept sloppy accounts; on doubtful cases they would waylay him as he left, hoping haste would let them slip through. Cou would glance once from his saddle; every point he made exposed their tricks without hesitation, and the staff, astonished at his sharp judgment, submitted in awe. For minor faults he did not post public punishments but summoned clerks to court, questioned them until they confessed, and let them go; under his example the staff disciplined one another until nothing was left unchecked.
21
文敬太子、義章公主仍薨，帝悼念，厚葬之，車土治墳，農事廢。 湊候帝閑徐言，極爭不避。 或勸論事宜簡約，不爾，為上厭苦。 湊曰：「上明睿，憂勞四海，不以愛所鐘而疲民以逞也。 顧左右鉗噤自安耳，若反復啟寤，幸一聽之，則民受賜為不少。 撟舌阿旨固善，有如窮民上訴，叵雲罪何？」 以能進兼兵部尚書。
Crown Prince Wenhui and Princess Yizhang died in close succession; the emperor mourned them with lavish burials that tied up carts and labor for tomb-building until farming stopped. When the emperor was at leisure, Cou spoke frankly and argued without holding back. Some warned him to keep his remonstrances short or the emperor would tire of him. Cou replied, "The emperor is wise and cares for the realm—he would not exhaust the people to indulge his grief. His attendants only hold their tongues to stay safe; if I keep waking him and he listens even once, the people will gain greatly. Flattery may be pleasant, but when the poor cry out for justice, who is guilty then?" For this service he was promoted to concurrent Minister of War.
22
及屬病，門不內醫巫，不嘗藥，家人泣請。 對曰：「吾以庸謹起田畝，位三品，顯仕四十年，年七十，尚何求？ 自古外戚令終者可數，吾得以天年歸侍先人地下，足矣！」 帝知之，詔侍醫敦進湯劑，不獲已，一飲之。 卒，年七十一，贈尚書右僕射，謚曰成。
When illness came upon him he refused doctors and shamans at his door and would not take medicine, though his family wept and pleaded. He answered, "I rose from the fields through plain diligence, reached the third rank, served prominently for forty years, and am seventy—what more could I want? Few imperial in-laws ever die in peace; to live out my years and join my ancestors below is blessing enough!" When the emperor heard, he ordered physicians to press medicine on him; unable to refuse further, Cou drank one dose. He died at seventy-one and was posthumously made Right Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs with the posthumous title Cheng.
23
先是，街樾稀殘，有司蒔榆其空，湊曰：「榆非人所蔭玩。」 悉易以槐，及槐成而湊已亡，行人指樹懷之。 唐興，後族退居奉朝請者，猶以事失職，而湊任中外，未嘗以罪過罷，為世外戚表雲。
Earlier the street trees had thinned out, and officials planted elms in the gaps; Cou said, "Elms are not trees people care to rest under." He replaced them all with locusts; by the time they matured Cou was dead, and passersby pointed to the trees in remembrance of him. Since the dynasty's founding, imperial in-laws in honorary posts often lost office over scandals, yet Cou served at court and in the provinces without ever being removed for misconduct—a model for his kind.
24
漵子士矩。 士矩文學蚤就，喜與豪英遊，故人人助為談說。 開成初，為江西觀察使，饗宴侈縱，一日費凡十數萬。 初至，庫錢二十七萬緡，晚年才九萬，軍用單匱，無所仰。 事聞，中外共申解，得以親議，文宗弗窮治也，貶蔡州別駕。 諫官執處其罪，不納。 於是御史中丞狄兼謨建言：「陛下擢任士矩，非私也； 士矩負陛下而治之，亦非私也。 請遣御史至江西即訊，使杜江淮它鎮循習意。」 帝聽，乃流端州。
Su's son was Shiju. Shiju showed early literary promise and loved the company of men of spirit, so people everywhere spoke up for him. Early in the Kaicheng era he became regional inspector of Jiangxi and threw lavish feasts that could cost hundreds of thousands in a single day. When he arrived the treasury held 270,000 strings; by the end only 90,000 remained, leaving military funds exhausted with nowhere to turn. When the scandal broke, court and country alike pleaded for leniency on grounds of kinship; Wenzong did not press the case to the limit and demoted him to assistant administrator of Cai. Censors demanded sterner punishment, but the throne refused. Then Vice Censor-in-Chief Di Jianmo argued, "Your Majesty appointed Shiju without favoritism; to punish him for failing Your Majesty would likewise not be favoritism. Send censors to Jiangxi at once to investigate, lest other circuits along the Yangtze and Huai take the same lesson." The emperor agreed and exiled him to Duan.
25
鄭權，汴州開封人。 擢進士第，佐涇原節度劉昌府。 昌被病入朝，度其軍必亂，以權寬厚容眾，檄主後務。 昌去，軍果亂，權挺身冒白刃，明諭逆順，殺首亂者，一軍畏伏。 德宗方厭兵，藩屯校佐得士心者，皆就命之，權自試參軍拜行軍司馬。 擢累河南尹，進拜山南東道節度使，徙領德棣滄景軍。 時討李師道，權身將兵出屯，奏置歸化縣，綏納降附。 滄州刺史李宗奭數違命，權劾奏，詔追之，宗奭以州兵留己自解。 憲宗更以烏重胤代權，滄人懼，共逐宗奭還京師，有詔斬以徇，徙權節度邠寧。 或訟宗奭為權所誣，左遷原王傅。 改右金吾衛大將軍。
Zheng Quan came from Kaifeng in Bian Prefecture. After passing the jinshi examination he served on the staff of Liu Chang, military commissioner of Jingyuan. When Chang fell ill and went to court, Quan foresaw mutiny; knowing Quan was broad-minded and popular, Chang left him in charge of rear affairs by dispatch. After Chang left the army did mutiny; Quan faced drawn swords, explained loyalty and treason, executed the ringleaders, and brought the troops to heel. Dezong, weary of war, promoted officers who held their men's loyalty; Quan rose from trial adjutant to acting chief of staff. He rose to intendant of Henan, then military commissioner of Shannan East Circuit, and later commanded the De, Di, Cang, and Jing forces. During the campaign against Li Shidao he led troops in the field, memorialized for the creation of Guihua County, and pacified surrendering forces. Cang prefect Li Zongyi repeatedly defied orders; Quan impeached him and the court ordered his recall, but Zongyi used local troops to hold his post and force his own dismissal. Xianzong replaced Quan with Wu Chongyin; the people of Cang, alarmed, drove Zongyi back to the capital, where he was executed; Quan was transferred to Bin-Ning. Some claimed Zongyi had been framed; Quan was demoted to tutor of the Prince of Yuan. He was later made grand general of the Right Golden Crow Guard.
26
穆宗立，以左散騎常侍持節為回鶻告哀使，以足疾辭，不許，肩舁就道。 權識詣魁然，有閎辯。 與可汗爭曲直，持議明壯，虜禮異之。 使還，三遷工部尚書。 用度豪侈，乃結權幸求鎮守，於是檢校尚書右僕射、嶺南節度使。 多裒資珍，使吏輸送，凡帝左右助力者皆有納焉，人笑之。 卒於官。
When Muzong took the throne, Quan was sent as Left Regular Attendant to announce mourning to the Uyghurs; he pleaded foot trouble in vain and was carried on men's shoulders to begin the journey. Quan was imposing in presence and spoke with force and breadth. He argued principle with the qaghan in clear, bold terms, and the nomads treated him with unusual respect. On his return he was promoted three times to Minister of Works. His spending was extravagant; he cultivated court favorites to win a frontier post and was made acting Right Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs and military commissioner of Lingnan. He amassed treasures and sent clerks to deliver gifts to everyone who had the emperor's ear, and people mocked him for it. He died in office.
27
陸亙，字景山，蘇州吳人。 元和三年，策制科中第，補萬年丞。 再遷太常博士。 禮史孟真練容典，博士降色訪逮，史倚以倨橫。 會將冊皇太子，草儀，真參議偃蹇，亙榜逐之，胥曹失色。 遷累戶部郎中、太常少卿。 歷兗蔡虢蘇四州刺史、浙東觀察使，徙宣歙。 太和八年卒，年七十一，贈禮部尚書。
Lu Gen, whose courtesy name was Jingshan, came from Wu in Suzhou Prefecture. In Yuanhe 3 he passed the Policy and System examination and was appointed aide of Wannian. He was soon promoted to erudite of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. Rites clerk Meng Zhen knew the ceremonial codes by heart; when the erudite came to consult him deferentially, Meng grew arrogant on the strength of it. On the eve of investing the crown prince, while the ceremonial protocols were being drafted, Consultant Cen Zhen grew arrogant and defiant. Geng posted a public notice ordering his removal, and every clerk in the office blanched. He rose through the ranks to Vice Director in the Ministry of Revenue and then Vice Minister of Rites. He held successive appointments as prefect of Yan, Cai, Guo, and Su, served as Zhedong Observation Commissioner, and was later transferred to Xuanshe. He died in the eighth year of Taihe at seventy-one, and the court posthumously honored him as Minister of Rites.
28
亙文明嚴重，所到以善政稱。 初為兗州，對延英，具陳：「節度分兵屯屬州，刺史不能制，故易亂。」 帝因詔屯士得隸刺史。 溫州瀕海，經賊亂，奪官吏半祿代民租，後相沿，更以為奸，亙還官全稟，繩贓罪，吏畏而賴之。
Geng was learned, grave, and imposing, and in every post he earned a reputation for wise and effective rule. Early in his tenure as Prefect of Yan, he addressed the emperor in the Yanchi Hall and laid out the problem plainly: "When circuit armies are stationed in subordinate prefectures, the prefect has no authority over them—and that is why rebellion follows so easily. The emperor promptly issued an edict placing garrison troops under prefectural command. Wenzhou lay on the coast. After years of banditry, local officials had been forced to surrender half their salaries to cover the people's tax burden—a custom that lingered and grew ever more corrupt. Geng restored full pay, prosecuted graft, and the clerks came both to fear him and to depend on him.
29
盧坦，字保衡，河南洛陽人。 仕為河南尉。 時杜黃裳為尹，召坦立堂下，曰：「某家子與惡人遊，破產，盍察之？」 坦曰：「凡居官廉，雖大臣無厚畜，其能積財者必剝下以致之。 如子孫善守，是天富不道之家，不若恣其不道，以歸於人。」 黃裳驚其言，自是遇加厚。
Lu Tan, styled Baoheng, came from Luoyang in Henan. He began his career as Assistant Magistrate of Henan County. Du Huangchang was then magistrate of the capital district. He called Tan before him in the courtyard and said, "The son of a prominent family keeps company with scoundrels and has squandered his inheritance. Should we not look into it? Tan replied, "An honest official, even at the highest rank, never hoards great wealth. Anyone who amasses a fortune must squeeze it from those beneath him. If the heirs are clever enough to hold on to it, that is a house the heavens have fattened by wrongdoing. Better to let them ruin themselves and return what they stole to the people." Huangchang was startled by the answer and thereafter treated Tan with marked regard.
30
李復為鄭滑節度使，表為判官。 監軍薛盈珍數幹政，坦每據理拒之。 有善笛者，大將等悅之，詣復請為重職。 坦笑曰：「大將久在軍，積勞亟遷，乃及右職。 奈何自薄，欲與吹笛少年同列邪？」 諸將慚，遽出就坦謝。 復病甚，盈珍以甲士五百內牙中，封府庫，舉軍大恐。 坦勸止之，軍乃安。 復卒，詔姚南仲代之。 盈珍以南仲本書生，易之，曰：「是將材邪？」 坦私謂人曰：「姚大夫外柔中剛，監軍若侵之，必不受。 我留，恐及禍。」 乃從復喪歸東都，為壽安令。 盈珍果與南仲不相中，幕府多黜死者。
When Li Fu was appointed military commissioner of the Zheng-Sliding circuit, he named Tan his chief adjutant. The army inspector Xue Yingzhen meddled constantly in civil affairs, and Tan rebuffed him every time on grounds of principle. The generals had taken a liking to a talented flute player and asked Li Fu to give him a senior appointment. Tan laughed and said, "You generals have served for years, earned your honors, and risen swiftly even to the highest ranks. Why would you belittle yourselves by asking to share rank with a boy who plays the flute? The generals flushed with shame and rushed out to apologize to Tan. When Li Fu fell gravely ill, Yingzhen marched five hundred armored troops through the inner gate, sealed the treasury, and threw the entire army into panic. Tan persuaded him to stand down, and the army gradually calmed. After Fu's death, the court appointed Yao Nanzhong to succeed him. Yingzhen dismissed Nanzhong as a bookish man and easy prey. "Is this one even fit to command?" he said. Tan confided to others, "Commissioner Yao is soft in manner but iron at the core. If the inspector pushes him, he will not yield. If I stay, I fear I will be caught in the fallout. He therefore escorted Fu's coffin back to the eastern capital and took up the post of magistrate of Shou'an. Yingzhen and Nanzhong clashed as Tan had foreseen, and many men in the headquarters were demoted or killed.
31
河南賦限已窮，縣人訴機織未就，坦詣府請申十日。 不聽。 坦諭縣人第輸，勿顧限，違之不過罰令俸爾。 由是知名。 累為刑部郎中，兼侍御史知雜事。 赤縣尉為臺所按，京兆尹密救之，帝遣中人就釋。 坦白中丞，請中覆，中人走以聞，帝曰：「吾固宜先命有司。」 遂下詔，乃釋。 數月遷中丞。
Henan's tax deadline had passed, and the people of the county pleaded that their weaving was still unfinished. Tan went to the prefecture and asked for ten more days. The request was denied. Tan told the people to pay household by household and ignore the deadline—the worst that could happen, he said, was a fine against the magistrate's own salary. From that episode his name spread. He rose to Vice Director in the Ministry of Justice and concurrently served as Supervising Censor handling general censorial business. When a capital-district assistant magistrate came under censorial investigation, the Jingzhao governor secretly intervened on his behalf, and the emperor dispatched eunuchs to have him freed. Tan filed an open protest and demanded a proper review. The eunuchs rushed back to the palace with the news, and the emperor said, "I should have sent the matter through the proper channels first. Only after an edict was issued was the man released. A few months later he was appointed Censor-in-Chief.
32
初，諸道長吏罷還者，取本道錢為進奉，帝因赦令一切禁止，而山南節度使柳晟、浙西觀察使閻濟美格詔輸獻，坦劾奏，晟、濟美白衣待罪。 帝諭坦曰：「二人所獻皆家財，朕已許原，不可失信。」 坦曰：「所以布大信者，赦令也。 今二臣違詔，陛下奈何以小信失大信乎！」 帝曰：「朕既受之，奈何？」 坦曰：「出歸有司，以明陛下之德。」 帝納之。 李锜誅，有司將毀其祖墓，坦上疏諫止。 裴均為僕射，將居諫議、常侍上，坦引故事及姚南仲舊比。 均曰：「南仲何人？」 曰：「守正而不交權幸者。」 均怒，遂罷為左庶子。
Formerly, outgoing regional governors had carried home local funds as tribute. The emperor banned the practice in a general amnesty, but Shannan Military Commissioner Liu Sheng and Zhexi Observation Commissioner Yan Jimei submitted gifts anyway. Tan impeached them, and both men appeared in white to await judgment. The emperor told Tan, "Both men gave from their own purses, and I have already promised to forgive them. I cannot go back on my word. Tan replied, "Your Majesty's great pledge to the realm is the amnesty edict itself. These two ministers have defied it. How can you sacrifice the empire's trust for the sake of a private promise? The emperor said, "But I have already accepted their gifts. What am I to do?" Tan said, "Return the gifts to the proper offices. That will show the court's integrity." The emperor took his counsel. When Li Qi was put to death, the authorities planned to demolish his family tombs. Tan memorialized the throne to forbid it. When Pei Jun was made Left Vice Director and was to take precedence over the remonstrance and regular attendant officials, Tan invoked precedent and the earlier case of Yao Nanzhong. Pei demanded, "Who is this Nanzhong? Tan answered, "A man who held to principle and refused to court the powerful." Pei flew into a rage, and Tan was stripped of his post and relegated to Left Subordinate Mentor to the Heir Apparent.
33
數月，拜宣歙池觀察使。 初，劉辟婿蘇強坐誅。 強兄弘，宦晉州，自免去，人莫敢用者。 坦奏「弘有才行，其弟從辟時，距三千里，宜不通謀，今坐廢，非用人意」，因請署判官，帝曰：「使強不誅，尚錄其材，況彼兄耶？」 時江淮旱，谷踴貴，或請抑其價。 坦曰：「所部地狹，谷來他州，若直賤，谷不至矣，不如任之。」 既而商以米坌至，乃多貸兵食出諸市，估遂平。
A few months later he was appointed Observation Commissioner of Xuanshe and Chi. Some time before, Su Qiang—son-in-law of the rebel Liu Pi—had been executed. Qiang's elder brother Hong had held office in Jin Prefecture and then resigned on his own. No one would hire him. Tan wrote, "Hong has both talent and character. When his brother joined Liu Pi's rebellion, he was three thousand li away and could not have plotted with him. To ruin him by disqualification is not how men of merit should be treated," and asked to appoint him adjutant. The emperor replied, "If Qiang himself had lived, we would still have recorded his gifts—how much more his brother!" A drought struck the Jiang-Huai region, and grain prices shot upward. Some urged the government to force prices down. Tan said, "My circuit is small and depends on grain from elsewhere. If we hold prices down, merchants will simply stop bringing grain. Better to leave the market alone. Soon traders were flooding in with rice. Tan released large stores of army grain onto the market, and prices settled.
34
再遷戶部侍郎，判度支。 或告泗州刺史薛謇為代北水運時，畜異馬，不以獻，事下度支。 坦遣吏驗，未反，帝遲之，更遣中人劉泰昕往。 坦曰：「事付有司，而又遣宦官，豈有司不足信乎？」 三奏，帝乃止。 表韓重華為代北水運使，開廢田，列壁二十，益兵三千人，歲收粟二十萬石。
He was promoted again to Vice Minister of Revenue and given charge of the Directorate of Budgets. An informer accused Sizhou Prefect Xue Qian of hoarding rare horses while serving on the northern water-transport route instead of presenting them to the throne. The case went to the Directorate of Budgets. Tan sent clerks to investigate, but before they returned the emperor grew restless and dispatched the eunuch Liu Taixin as well. Tan protested, "The case belongs to the civil authorities. To send eunuchs on top of that—is Your Majesty saying the offices cannot be trusted? After three memorials the emperor relented. He recommended Han Chonghua as northern water-transport commissioner. Chonghua reclaimed fallow land, built twenty fortified posts, added three thousand troops, and harvested two hundred thousand shi of grain a year.
35
河毀西受降城，宰相李吉甫議徙天德。 坦以為：「城當磧口，得制北狄之要，美水豐草，邊鄣所利。 若避河流，不過退徙數里，奈何徇一時省費，墮萬世策邪？ 天德故城，地壤墝瘠，北倚山，去河遠，烽候無所統接，虜騎唐突，勢不容知，是無故而蹙地二百里，故曰非便。」 城使周懷義亦以為言。 吉甫不悅，出坦為東川節度。 後數月，懷義憂死，燕重旰代之，遂徙天德。 師人怨，殺重旰，覆其家。
When the Yellow River wrecked Western Shouxiang City, Chancellor Li Jifu proposed relocating the garrison to Tiande. Tan objected: "That city sits at the desert gate and commands the northern tribes. Its streams are sweet and its pastures thick—the very resources the frontier depends on. Retreating before the river would mean shifting only a few li. How can we save a little money now and throw away a plan meant to last ten thousand years? Tiande's old site is barren and thin-soiled, pressed against the mountains and far from the river. Its beacon towers would no longer link up, and nomad horsemen could strike before word arrived. We would surrender two hundred li of territory for nothing. That is why I say the move is unwise. Garrison commander Zhou Huaiyi made the same argument. Li Jifu took offense and had Tan posted out as military commissioner of Dongchuan. A few months later Huaiyi died of anxiety. Yan Chonggan replaced him, and the garrison was duly moved to Tiande. The troops were furious. They killed Chonggan and wiped out his family.
36
初，坦與宰相李絳議多協，絳藉為己助，及坦出半歲而絳罷。 治東川，盡蠲山澤鹽井榷率之籍。 吳少誠之誅，詔以兵二千屯安州，坦每朔望使人問其父母妻子，視疾病醫藥，故士皆感慰，無逃還者。 惟請收軍吏閏月糧助行營，為人所非。 元和十二年卒，年六十九，贈禮部尚書。
Tan and Chancellor Li Jiang had often seen eye to eye, and Jiang counted on him as an ally—but half a year after Tan was sent away, Jiang too was removed. As governor of Dongchuan he abolished every salt-well monopoly register in the hills and marshes. After Wu Shaocheng's execution, two thousand troops were garrisoned at Anzhou. On every new and full moon Tan sent men to ask after their parents, wives, and children and to see to their sickness and medicine. The soldiers were deeply grateful, and not one deserted. His one controversial move was to levy the intercalary month's grain allowance from army officers to feed the field camps. He died in the twelfth year of Yuanhe at sixty-nine, and the court posthumously honored him as Minister of Rites.
37
舊制，官、階、勛俱三品始聽立戟，後雖轉四品官，非貶削者戟不奪。 坦為戶部侍郎時，階朝議大夫，勛護軍，以嘗任宣州刺史三品，請立戟，許之。 時鄭餘慶淹練舊章，以為非是。 為憲司劾正，詔罰一月俸，奪戟。 自貞元以來，立戟十八家不應令，並追正之。
By old regulation, halberds could be displayed at one's gate only when office, salary grade, and merit all reached the third rank. Later, even after transfer to a fourth-rank post, the halberds were not taken away unless the holder suffered demotion. While Tan was Vice Minister of Revenue, his salary grade stood at Regular Grand Master of the Palace and his merit title at Protector of the State—but having once served as third-rank Prefect of Xuan, he petitioned for halberds and the request was granted. Zheng Yuqing, a master of ancient precedent, declared the award improper. The censorate investigated and corrected the error. An edict fined Tan one month's salary and stripped him of the halberds. Going back to the Zhenyuan era, eighteen families that had displayed halberds in violation of the rules were all called to account.
38
閻濟美者，第進士，有長者名。 貞元末，繇婺州刺史為福建觀察使，徙浙西。 為治簡易，居鎮未嘗增常賦。 罷浙西也，方在道，見詔而貢獻無所還，故帝為言之。 尋出華州刺史，入為秘書監，以工部尚書致仕。 卒，謚曰溫。
Yan Jimei was a jinshi degree holder known as a man of upright character. Late in the Zhenyuan reign he rose from Prefect of Wu to Fujian Observation Commissioner, then transferred to Zhexi. His rule was light and straightforward. Throughout his tenure he never raised the standing tax assessments. When he departed Zhexi he was still on the road when the edict reached him. Because the tribute he had sent could not be returned, the emperor interceded on his behalf. He was soon appointed Prefect of Hua, later recalled as Director of the Secretariat, and finally retired with the title Minister of Works. After his death he was given the posthumous name Wen.
39
柳晟，河中解人。 六世祖敏，仕後周為太子太保。 父潭，尚和政公主，官太仆卿。 晟年十二，居父喪，為聞孝。 代宗養宮中，使與太子諸王受學於吳大瓘並子通玄，率十日輒上所學。 既長，詔大瓘等即家教授。 拜檢校太常卿。
Liu Sheng came from Jie in Hezhong. His sixth-generation ancestor Min had served the Later Zhou as Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince. His father Tan married Princess Hezheng and served as Grand Master of the Imperial Stud. At twelve, while mourning his father, Liu Sheng won wide praise for his filial devotion. Emperor Daizong brought him up in the palace and set him to study alongside the crown prince and the imperial princes under Wu Daqun and Wu's son Tongxuan, with progress reports submitted to the throne every ten days. Once he came of age, an edict directed Daqun and the others to continue his instruction at home. He was appointed Acting Grand Master of Ceremonies.
40
德宗立，晟親信用事。 朱泚反，從帝至奉天，自請入京師說賊黨以攜沮之，帝壯其誌，得遣。 泚將右將軍郭常、左將軍張光晟皆晟雅故，晟出密詔，陳禍福逆順，常奉詔受命，約自拔歸。 要籍朱既昌告其謀，泚捕系晟及常外獄，晟夜半坎垣毀械而亡，斷發為浮屠，間歸奉天，帝見，為流涕。 乘輿還京師，擢原王府長史。 吳通玄得罪，晟上書理其辜，其弟止曰：「天子方怒，無詒悔！」 不聽。 凡三上書，帝意解，通玄得減死。
When Dezong ascended the throne, Liu Sheng became a personal favorite entrusted with state affairs. When Zhu Ci rose in rebellion, Liu Sheng followed the emperor to Fengtian and offered to enter the capital to win over the rebels and break their unity. The emperor admired his courage and sent him. Zhu Ci's right general Guo Chang and left general Zhang Guangcheng were old friends of Liu Sheng. Liu Sheng showed them a secret edict and laid out the rewards of loyalty and the ruin of treason. Chang accepted the commission and pledged to break away and come home. A registry clerk named Zhu Jichang betrayed the plot. Zhu Ci seized Liu Sheng and Chang and locked them in the outer prison. At midnight Liu Sheng tunneled through the wall, snapped his chains, and fled. He shaved his head, passed as a monk, and stole back to Fengtian. When the emperor saw him, he wept. After the emperor returned to the capital, Liu Sheng was promoted to chief secretary of the Prince of Yuan's household. When Wu Tongxuan ran afoul of the throne, Liu Sheng memorialized to prove his innocence. His younger brother begged him to stop: "The Son of Heaven is in a rage—you will only invite disaster! He would not be dissuaded. He submitted three memorials in all; the emperor relented, and Tongxuan's death sentence was commuted.
41
晟累遷將作少監，以護作崇陵，封河東縣子，授山南西道節度使。 府兵討劉辟還，未叩城，復詔戍梓州，軍曹怒，脅監軍謀變。 晟聞，疾驅入勞士卒，既而問曰：「若等何為成功？」 曰：「誅驕不受命者。」 晟曰：「若知劉辟得罪天子而誅之，奈何復欲使後人誅若等耶？」 士皆免胄拜，從所徙。 入為將作監。 使回鶻，奉冊立可汗，逆謂曰：「屬聞可汗無禮自大，去信自疆。 夫禮信不能為，何足奉中國乎？」 可汗諸貴人愕然駭，皆跪伏成禮。 還為左金吾衛大將軍，爵為公。 卒，年六十九，詔從官臨吊，贈太子少保。
He rose to vice director of the Directorate of Works, supervised construction of Chongling Mausoleum, was enfeoffed as Viscount of Hedong County, and appointed military commissioner of Shannan West Circuit. Troops returning from the campaign against Liu Pi had not even reached the city when a new edict sent them to garrison Zizhou. The clerks grew furious and pressured the army inspector to mutiny. Hearing of it, Sheng rode in hard to address the men, then asked, "What do you think you will gain by this? They answered, "Kill the arrogant men who refuse orders." Sheng said, "You know Liu Pi defied the Son of Heaven and was put to death—do you want the same done to you afterward?" The men removed their helmets and bowed, then marched where they were ordered. He was recalled as director of the Directorate of Works. On a mission to the Uyghurs to invest the qaghan, he said on his return, "I hear the qaghan has been rude and arrogant, abandoning good faith to puff himself up. If he cannot keep ritual and good faith, what right has he to deal with China? The qaghan's nobles were stunned; one after another they knelt in full ceremony. On his return he was made grand general of the Left Golden Crow Guard and enfeoffed as duke. He died at sixty-nine; the court ordered officials to attend his funeral and posthumously made him Junior Mentor of the Heir Apparent.
42
晟敏於辯，下士樂施。 唯自興元入朝，貢獻不如詔，為御史中丞盧坦所劾，憲宗以其賢，置弗暴雲。
Sheng was sharp in debate and generous to those below him. After entering court from Xingyuan his tribute fell short of the edict's requirements; Lu Tan impeached him, but Xianzong, judging him a worthy man, let the matter pass without public scandal.
43
崔戎，字可大，玄韋從孫也。 舉明經，補太子校書郎。 判入等，調藍田主簿。 辟淮南李庸阝府。 衛次公代庸阝，憲宗稱戎才，故次公倚成於職。 裴度節度太原，署參謀。 時王承宗以鎮叛，度請戎往諭，承宗至泣下，乃聽命。 入為殿中侍御史，擢累諫議大夫。
Cui Rong, whose courtesy name was Keda, was a collateral descendant of Cui Xuanwei. He passed the Mingjing examination and became a proofreader in the heir apparent's household. He ranked in the top tier of the document-judgment test and was posted as chief clerk of Lantian. He joined the Huainan staff of Li Yong. When Wei Cigong succeeded Li Yong, Xianzong praised Rong's ability, and Cigong leaned on him to run the command. When Pei Du held Taiyuan as military commissioner, he made Rong his military planner. Wang Chengzong was in rebellion; Pei Du sent Rong to reason with him, and Chengzong wept and submitted. Recalled to court, he became attending censor within the hall and rose to Remonstrating Grand Master.
44
雲南蠻亂成都，詔戎持節劍南為宣撫使。 奏罷稅外姜芋錢； 當賦錢者率三之，以其一準繒布，優其估以與民； 綏招流亡。 凡廢若置，公私莫不便之。 還拜給事中。 出為華州刺史。 吏以故事置錢萬緡為刺史私用，戎不取。 及去，召吏曰：「籍所置錢享軍，吾重矯激以誇後人也。」 徙兗海沂密觀察使，民擁留於道不得行，乃休傳舍，民至抱持取其靴。 時詔使尚在，民泣詣使，請白天子丐戎還，使許諾。 戎恚責其下，眾曰：「留公而天子怒，不過斬吾二三老人，則公不去矣。」 戎夜單騎亡去，民追不及乃止。 至兗州，鉏滅奸吏十餘輩，民大喜。 歲餘卒，年五十五，贈禮部尚書。
When Yunnan tribesmen rioted in Chengdu, the throne sent Rong to Jiannan with imperial credentials as pacification commissioner. He memorialized to abolish the surtax on ginger and taro; taxpayers were generally assessed at one-third of the standard levy, with one portion payable in silk at a favorable valuation; he pacified refugees and brought them home; and whether he abolished old abuses or introduced reforms, officials and commoners alike benefited. On his return he was made Attendant Within the Yellow Gate. He was sent out as prefect of Hua. By custom the clerks set aside ten thousand strings for the prefect's private use; Rong refused the money. As he departed he told the clerks, "Put that money toward a feast for the troops—I will not play the hypocrite for posterity's praise. Transferred to Yan-Hai-Yi-Mi, he was stopped on the road by crowds who would not let him leave; at a relay station they seized his boots in protest. An imperial envoy was still on the scene; the people wept before him and begged him to ask the emperor to keep Rong. The envoy agreed to plead their case. Rong rebuked his staff, but the people said, "If keeping you angers the emperor, he can only kill a few of us old men—you still will not go. That night Rong rode off alone; the crowd could not overtake him and at last dispersed. At Yanzhou he rooted out more than ten corrupt officials, to the people's great delight. A little over a year later he died at fifty-five and was posthumously made Minister of Rites.
45
子雍，字順中，由起居郎出為和州刺史。 龐勛以兵劫烏江，雍不能抗，遣人持牛酒勞之，密表其狀。 民不知，訴諸朝，宰相路巖素不平，因是傅其罪，賜死宣州。
His son Yong, courtesy name Shunzhong, rose from attendant on the emperor's movements to prefect of He. When Pang Xun's army seized Wujiang, Yong could not hold them off; he sent cattle and wine as a gesture of conciliation and secretly reported the situation to court. The people, unaware, petitioned the throne against him; Chancellor Lu Yan, who had long borne him a grudge, made the case worse, and Yong was ordered to take his own life at Xuanzhou.