1
高趙田朱
Biographies of Gao, Zhao, Tian, and Zhu.
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Gao Renhou’s ancestral line is unknown. He first served Chen Jingxuan, governor of Jiannan West Circuit, as a battalion commander. After Huang Chao seized the capital, the emperor withdrew to Chengdu. Chen Jingxuan sent Li Shen and Gong Xian of the Yellow Head Army with fifteen thousand men to hold Xingping, and they repeatedly routed Huang Chao’s forces. The rebels nicknamed the Shu soldiers “little crows,” and before every battle they would warn one another, “Do not fight the crows.” Delighted that these troops proved so effective, Jingxuan picked out two thousand more men and sent Renhou east to command them.
3
Before this, the capital had its share of idle young men who wore layered headwraps and cloaks, carried clubs, and preyed on the neighborhoods—they were known as the “Xianzi.” Whenever a new prefect of Jingzhao took office, he would execute the worst offenders to terrify the rest. When Dou Yu governed Jingzhao he put hundreds to death, and the hoodlums gradually learned to fear and quiet down. After Huang Chao took the capital, many fled to Baoji for safety, but the Xianzi robbed them there, and the authorities could not stop it. Renhou already knew the situation well and issued orders permitting troops to enter the towns and let the locals strike back freely. When the troops marched in, the Xianzi gathered to jeer at them—whereupon thousands were cut down. Alley gates were barred from inside; none could escape, and all perished. After that the neighborhoods were finally safe.
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會邛州賊阡能眾數萬略諸縣，列壁數十，涪州刺史韓秀升等亂峽中，韓求反蜀州，諸將不能定。 敬瑄召仁厚還，使督兵四討，屯永安。 阡能遣諜者入軍中，吏執以獻，諜自言父母妻子囚於賊，約不得軍虛實且死。 仁厚哀之，曰：「為我報賊，明日我且戰，有能釋甲迎我者，署背曰『歸順』，皆得復農矣。」 縱諜去，命諸將毀柵，鼓而前。 賊渠羅渾擎設伏詐降，仁厚遣將不持兵入諭其眾，皆真降。 渾擎詐窮而逸，吏執之，仁厚曰：「愚人不足語。」 降眾署，皆得免，則告諸壁：「大軍至。」 賊帥句胡僧大驚，斬之，莫能禁，眾執胡僧以降。 韓求知大賊已禽，徇諸壁曰：「敢出者斬！」 眾罵之，求赴水死，眾鉤出，斬以徇，余柵皆下。 仁厚按轡徘徊視賊壘，吏請焚之，仁厚命取財糧，乃縱火，屍賊成都。 仁厚還，天子禦樓勞軍，授仁厚檢校尚書左仆射、眉州刺史。
About then the Qiongzhou rebel Qian Neng led tens of thousands in raiding the counties behind dozens of fortified camps, while Han Xiusheng of Fuzhou and others terrorized the gorges and Han Qiu rose in Shuzhou—none of the commanders could put them down. Jingxuan recalled Renhou and put him in charge of four punitive columns, with headquarters at Yong’an. Qian Neng sent spies into the camp. When one was caught and brought in, he said his parents, wife, and children were hostages of the rebels and that he had sworn to withhold military intelligence—or they would all be killed. Renhou took pity on him and said, “Go tell the rebels for me: I will give battle tomorrow. Whoever lays down his arms to welcome us—mark ‘Surrender’ on your back—and you may all return to your fields.” He let the spy go, then ordered his generals to tear down the stockades and advance to the beat of drums. The rebel leader Luo Hunqing laid an ambush and pretended to surrender. Renhou sent an unarmed officer to address his followers, and they all submitted in earnest. Hunqing’s ruse ran out and he tried to slip away, but officers seized him. Renhou said, “This fool is not worth addressing.” He enrolled the surrendered men and granted them all amnesty, then sent word to the other camps: “The main army is here.” The rebel chief Gou Huseng panicked and had the messenger killed, but he could not restrain his men—they seized Gou Huseng and surrendered. Han Qiu, now that the great rebel had been taken, announced to the camps, “Anyone who comes out will be executed!” His followers cursed him. Qiu tried to drown himself, but they dragged him out with hooks, beheaded him as an example, and the rest of the stockades capitulated. Renhou rode slowly about, surveying the rebel strongholds. When his officers asked to burn them, he ordered the wealth and grain removed first, then set them ablaze. Corpses and booty piled up until they seemed to fill Chengdu. When Renhou returned, the emperor appeared on the palace tower to review and reward the troops, and appointed him Acting Left Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs and prefect of Meizhou.
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Jingxuan took Renhou aside and said, “Until Xiusheng is captured, tribute cannot get through, the court officials go unpaid, and the people cannot even get salt. If you can defeat these rebels, I will give you Eastern Chuan.” Renhou agreed. The court appointed him campaigning vice marshal. Learning that the rebels had stockpiled arms and that their families were in the camp, Renhou posted elite troops along the river, felled trees into the current to block navigation, and drew up his line with the bank at his back. He sent light troops to harry the enemy and, after a long standoff, at night led a thousand men armed with short swords and heavy crossbows in a direct assault on the camp, setting fires and raising a din. Xiusheng led his river force to fight the blaze, but Renhou’s men dived under the boats and scuttled them until every vessel sank. Terrified, most of the rebels broke and fled. Xiusheng tried to stem the rout by executing fleeing soldiers, but his men, enraged, seized him and surrendered. When Renhou questioned him, he answered, “The Son of Heaven is driven into exile—why should I alone be called a rebel?” Renhou sent him in a prisoner cart to the emperor’s camp and had him beheaded in the marketplace.
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東川節度使楊師立初隸神策軍，累遷檢校司空、同中書門下平章事。 聞敬瑄仁厚代己，有望言。 敬瑄諷帝召師立以本官兼尚書右仆射，師立益怒，移檄言敬瑄十罪，殺監軍田繪，屯涪城，遣兵攻綿州，不克。 又檄劍州刺史姚卓文共攻成都，假卓文為指揮應接使，卓文不應。 帝乃下詔削官爵。 敬瑄即表仁厚為東川節度留後，楊茂言為行軍副使，楊棠為諸軍都虞候，率兵三萬討之。 師立遣大將張士安、鄭君雄守鹿頭關。 仁厚次漢州，前軍戰德陽，師立嬰城，閱四旬，夜出兵擾北柵，仁厚設兩翼而伏，披柵門列炬，賊不敢進，伏發，擊走之。 楊茂言謂仁厚且敗，引兵走，久乃還。 明日，會諸將，仁厚曰：「副使當以死報天子。」 斬而徇。 於是士安不敢出，師立自督士，十戰皆北。 仁厚約城中斬首惡者賞，君雄呼於軍曰：「天子所討，反者耳，吾等何與？」 乃與士安嘩而進，以仁厚書示師立曰：「請以死謝眾。」 自沈於池死。 君雄悉誅其家，獻首天子。 仁厚入府，縱系囚，賑貧絕。 詔拜劍南東川節度使。
Yang Shili, military governor of Eastern Chuan, had begun in the Shence Army and rose to Acting Minister of Works and Joint Manager of Affairs with the Secretariat-Chancellery. When he heard that Chen Jingxuan intended to replace him with Renhou, he spoke bitterly of the injustice. Jingxuan persuaded the emperor to recall Shili with his existing rank plus the post of Right Vice Director. Shili grew still angrier, circulated a manifesto listing ten crimes against Chen Jingxuan, killed the supervising commissioner Tian Hui, encamped at Fucheng, and sent troops against Mianzhou without success. He also called on Yao Zhuowen, prefect of Jianzhou, to join in an attack on Chengdu and named him coordinating commander, but Zhuowen ignored him. The emperor then issued an edict stripping him of rank and office. Jingxuan at once memorialized the court to make Renhou acting governor of Eastern Chuan, Yang Maoyan campaigning deputy, and Yang Tang commander of all forces, and marched thirty thousand men against Shili. Shili sent his generals Zhang Shi’an and Zheng Junxiong to hold Lutou Pass. Renhou encamped at Hanzhou while his vanguard fought at Deyang. Shili shut himself in the city for forty days, then one night sallied against the northern camp. Renhou deployed wings and an ambush, threw open the palisade gate, and lined torches along the way—the rebels dared not advance, and when the ambush rose they were driven off. Yang Maoyan decided Renhou was doomed to lose and withdrew with his troops, returning only after a long delay. The next day, at a council of generals, Renhou said, “A deputy who abandons his post ought to die for the Son of Heaven.” He had him beheaded and displayed the head as a warning. After that Shi’an dared not venture out, and when Shili personally led his men in ten engagements he lost every one. Renhou offered rewards within the city for anyone who killed the ringleaders. Junxiong shouted to the troops, “The emperor is punishing rebels—what has that to do with us?” He and Shi’an stormed forward with an uproar, showed Shili Renhou’s letter, and said, “You must die to satisfy the men.” Shili threw himself into a pool and drowned. Junxiong put Shili’s entire family to death and sent his head to the emperor. Renhou entered the governor’s seat, freed the prisoners, and gave relief to the destitute. An edict appointed him military governor of Jiannan East Circuit.
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In the second year of Guangqi he seized Zizhou and broke with Chen Jingxuan. Junxiong, by then prefect of Suizhou, also captured Hanzhou and marched on Chengdu. Jingxuan sent his officer Li Shunzhi to meet him in battle, and Junxiong was killed. He also raised Qiang forces from Wei and Mao prefectures to attack Renhou and had him beheaded. During the Qianning period they were all posthumously made Grand Mentors.
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Zhao Chou, a native of Wanqiu in Chen prefecture, came from a family that had served for generations as staff generals of the Zhongwu Army. Alert and sturdy by nature, as a boy at play he loved to drill mock camps and battle lines, barking orders and directing the others—and none of the children dared disobey. His father Shuwu watched and said, “This boy will bring great honor to our house.” As he grew he took to books, trained in swordsmanship, and became an excellent archer. During the Huichang reign he joined the campaign against Luzhou and helped take Tianjing Pass, then served in the southern expeditions. The Zhongwu Army won many honors, and he rose to senior commander.
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黃巢入長安，所在盜興，陳人詣節度府，請犨為刺史，表於朝，授之。 既視事，會官屬計曰：「巢若不死長安，必東出關，陳其沖也。」 乃培城疏塹，實倉庫，峙槁薪，為守計。 民有貲者悉內之，繕甲兵，募悍勇，悉補子弟領兵。 巢敗，果東奔。 賊將孟楷以萬人寇項，犨擊禽之。 僖宗嘉其功，遷累檢校司空。 巢聞楷死，驚且怒，悉軍據溵水，與秦宗權合兵數十萬，繚長壕五周，百道攻之。 州人大恐，犨令曰：「士貴建功立名節，今雖眾寡不敵，男子當死地求生，徒懼無益也。 且死國，不愈生為賊乎？ 吾家食陳祿，誓破賊以保陳，異議者斬！」 眾聽命。 引銳士出戰，屢破賊。 巢益怒，將必屠之，乃起八仙營於州左，僭象宮闕，列百官曹署，儲糧為持久計。 宗權輸鎧仗軍須，賊益張。 犨小大數百戰，勝負相當，故人心固，乃間道乞師於朱全忠。 未幾，汴軍至，壁西北，陳人思奮，犨引兵急擊賊，破之。 圍凡三百日而解。
When Huang Chao entered Chang’an, brigands sprang up everywhere. The people of Chen went to the circuit seat and asked that Chou be made prefect; the court was petitioned, and the appointment was granted. As soon as he took office he called his staff together and said, “If Huang Chao does not die in Chang’an, he will surely march east through the passes—and Chen stands in his path.” He raised the walls, cleared the moat, filled the granaries, stacked fuel, and prepared for a siege. Wealthy citizens poured in their resources; he repaired arms and armor, recruited the toughest fighters, and placed his own kin in command of every unit. When Huang Chao was defeated he did indeed flee eastward. The rebel general Meng Kai invaded Xiang with ten thousand men, but Chou attacked and took him prisoner. Emperor Xizong praised his achievement and promoted him step by step to Acting Minister of Works. Huang Chao, hearing that Kai was dead, was shocked and furious. He massed his entire army on the Yin River, joined Qin Zongquan for a force of hundreds of thousands, dug five rings of trenches around the city, and assaulted it from every side. The people of the prefecture were terrified. Chou proclaimed, “A true soldier wins fame by deeds of honor. Though we are outnumbered, a man should fight where death is certain if he hopes to live—fear alone will save no one. Is it not better to die for one’s country than to live on as a rebel’s slave? My family has eaten Chen’s grain. I swear to break these rebels and save the city—and anyone who disagrees will be beheaded!” The people obeyed. He led his best troops out again and again and repeatedly routed the rebels. Huang Chao, growing still angrier, resolved to slaughter the city to the last man. He built an “Eight Immortals” camp east of the walls, mock palaces and halls, offices for a full bureaucracy, and stockpiled grain for a long siege. Qin Zongquan sent armor, arms, and supplies, and the rebels grew bolder still. Chou fought hundreds of engagements, great and small, with roughly even success, which kept morale firm. Meanwhile he sent secret envoys to Zhu Quanzhong begging for reinforcements. Before long the Bian army arrived and camped to the northwest. The people of Chen took heart, and Chou led a fierce assault that broke the rebel lines. The siege lasted three hundred days in all before it was lifted.
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In the fifth year of Zhonghe he was made military governor of the Zhangyi Army. Though Huang Chao was beaten, Qin Zongquan now rose to power, seizing territory for thousands of li and massacring people in more than twenty prefectures. Chen alone, thanks to Chou, stood intact. For this he was made Acting Grand Mentor and given the Taining and Zhexi circuits as well—all governed from Chen in his own hands. At the start of the Longji era he was made Grand Councillor and military governor of the Zhongwu Army, still administering Chen. Refugees streamed home. He and his younger brother Chang were deeply devoted to one another. In his later years, as age overtook him, he handed all military affairs to Chang, then died and was posthumously made Grand Commandant.
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Chou poured all his loyalty and strength into holding a single city against the rebels, and Huang Chao was ultimately destroyed. Yet he also leaned on Zhu Quanzhong and owed his recovery to Zhu’s power, so his supplies and levies went to aid Zhu first—ahead of every other circuit, men said.
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Chang, whose style was Dadong, had a striking, commanding presence, yet inwardly he was calm and steady and governed by strict discipline. He won great distinction in the capture of Meng Kai. During Huang Chao’s siege he led the night patrol. Though exhausted, he would fall asleep on watch as if some spirit watched over him. At dawn he fought a decisive battle. His men strove to the death, capturing several rebel chiefs and taking more than a thousand heads. When Chou held Taining he appointed Chang prefect of the circuit and Acting Right Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs. In those days, whenever the regional governors spoke of loyal, forceful administration, they named Chou and Chang. In his old age Chou made him his designated successor, then transferred the Zhongwu governorship to him while both remained at Chen. He was promoted to Acting Grand Mentor. He encouraged farming and sericulture and treated the people with kindness. He was made Grand Councillor. He died in the second year of Qianning at the age of fifty-three and was posthumously made Grand Commandant.
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Chou’s son Pin, whose style was Youjie. Bold and resolute, he loved learning and was skilled in horsemanship and archery. During Huang Chao’s siege he roused his men and bound them by oath to fight to the death. His family tombs lay close to the enemy lines, and he feared the dead would be desecrated. That night he sent volunteers down the walls on ropes to bring the coffins into the city. The arsenal held a great crossbow whose mechanism was broken and could not be drawn. Pin repaired it by instinct; when fired, its bolts carried five hundred paces and pierced men and horses clean through. The rebels feared it and dared not press the attack. For his service he was made Acting Right Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs and given nominal appointment as prefect of Chuzhou.
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When Chang took command of the Zhongwu Army, Pin was made campaigning vice marshal. After Chang’s death he served as acting governor of the Zhongwu Army. His rule was plain and effective, and officers and men alike were content. Zhu Quanzhong petitioned the court to appoint him military governor of the Zhongwu Army. Chen’s poor soil made the walls prone to collapse; Pin faced them with layers of brick, and the problem ceased. He was three times promoted to Acting Grand Guardian. In the third year of Guanghua he was made Grand Councillor, promoted to concurrent Palace Attendant, and enfeoffed as Duke of Tianshui. Following the route of Deng Ai’s old canal, he opened the Zhaiwang Channel to irrigate the rice fields and benefit the farmers. One family held three governorships in succession for more than twenty years, and the people of Chen were well content.
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At the start of the Tianfu era Han Jian took over the Zhongwu Army and appointed Xu acting governor of Tongzhou circuit. When Emperor Zhaozong returned to Chang’an, Xu was summoned to court and given the title “Meritorious Minister Who Welcomed the Imperial Carriage.” As Acting Grand Tutor he became senior general of the Right Golden Crow Guard and accompanied the court’s move east. After a year he resigned on grounds of illness. He died at fifty-five and was posthumously made Palace Attendant. The people of Chen shut down the markets in mourning.
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Tian Yun, whose style was Dechen, came from Hefei in Luzhou. He had some learning in the classics, and was deep, resolute, and ambitious. He and Yang Xingmi were from the same town and swore brotherhood. When the circuit recruited frontier garrison troops, he rose to chief commander. After Xingmi seized Luzhou, Yun supplied most of his stratagems. In the attack on Zhao Huang at Xuanzhou, Huang fled down East Creek on the swollen current, reached a broad stretch of water, and doffed his armor, believing the pursuers could not catch him. Yun gave chase in a light boat. Huang panicked and was taken. Xingmi petitioned the court to appoint Yun commander of all cavalry and infantry.
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The Shatuo defector An Renyi fled to Huainan. Xingmi was delighted, gave him command of the cavalry, and paired him with Yun—the two finest commanders in the army. Together they took Changzhou and killed the prefect Du Ling. Qian Liu had been encamped at Runzhou, but his army collapsed overnight. When Sun Ru marched south, Yun and the others held Danyang. Ru burned Yangzhou and fortified Guangde, but Yun smashed his camp. In the fighting Yun was routed. Xingmi, furious, stripped him of command. Someone urged Xingmi, “With a powerful enemy at the walls, refusing to use Yun is poor strategy.” Xingmi restored Yun to command. Ru sent a feigned letter of friendship to Renyi to sow suspicion against Xingmi, but Xingmi treated Renyi all the more generously and made him campaigning deputy. In the end these two men’s efforts brought about Ru’s capture. He then petitioned the court to make Renyi prefect of Runzhou and Yun military governor of the Ningguo Army. He was promoted in succession to Acting Grand Guardian and Grand Councillor. Renyi rose to Acting Grand Guardian.
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After pacifying Feng Hongduo, Yun came to Yangzhou to pay his respects to Xingmi. His attendants kept demanding gifts, and even the prison clerks asked for bribes. Yun raged, “Do you clerks expect me in your jail?” He also demanded that Chi and She be made his subordinate prefectures. Xingmi refused, and Yun’s resentment began. As he was leaving he pointed at the headquarters gate and said, “I will never set foot in here again.”
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Yun sent his envoy He Xiao to Qian Liu with the message, “Your Highness should withdraw east to Kuaiji—do not waste your men in a pointless slaughter.” Liu replied, “Petty mutinies in the ranks are nothing new. You are a man of standing—why aid a rebel?” Yun attacked the north gate. Liu mounted the wall to parley with him and shot one of Yun’s officers. Yun built fortifications that cut off the roads. Troubled, Liu offered ten cartloads of gold and cash to anyone who could break through. Chen Zhang led three hundred dare-to-die men in a bareheaded charge, retook the ground, and Liu made him prefect of Quzhou. Yun failed to take the city by assault and tried to cross the river to cut off Xiling, but Liu’s generals drove him back and tightened the siege.
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先是，行密欲女镠子，镠急，乃遣元迎女，且告行密曰：「頵得誌，為患必大，請以子為質，願召還頵。」 行密使人謂頵曰：「不還，我遣人代守宣州。」 頵不從。 镠輸錢二百萬緡犒軍，頵又請镠子元瓘出質，乃與綰引兵還。 然內怨行密與镠，因移書曰：「侯王守方以奉天子，譬百川不朝於海，雖狂奔澶漫，終為涸土，不若順流無窮也。 東南揚為大，刀布金玉積如阜，願公上天子常賦，頵請悉儲峙，單車以從。」 行密答曰：「貢賦繇汴而達，適足資敵爾。」 於是頵絕行密，大募兵。 李神福白行密：「頵必叛，宜先圖之。」 行密曰：「頵有大功，而反狀未明，殺之，諸將不為用。」 頵遣其佐杜荀鶴至汴通好，全忠喜，屯宿州須變。 行密以康儒在頵所，故授廬州刺史以間之。 頵怒，族其家，儒曰：「公不用吾謀，死無地矣。」
Earlier Xingmi had sought a marriage alliance with Liu’s son. In desperation Liu sent Yuan Guan to fetch the bride and told Xingmi, “If Yun succeeds the damage will be grave. Take my son as hostage and recall Yun.” Xingmi sent word to Yun: “If you do not return, I will send someone else to hold Xuanzhou.” Yun refused. Liu paid two million strings of cash to reward the army. Yun also demanded that Liu’s son Yuan Guan be left as hostage. Only then did he withdraw with Xu Wan. Yet he nursed resentment against Xingmi and Liu and wrote: “Princes hold their domains in service to the Son of Heaven. It is like the hundred streams not paying court to the sea—however wildly they rush and spread, they end as dry earth; better to follow the current without end. The southeast’s greatest power is Yangzhou, where gold and goods pile like hills. Go yourself to present the emperor’s regular tribute—I will store everything and follow you with a single cart.” Xingmi answered, “Tribute must pass through Bianzhou—that would only arm our enemy.” Yun then broke with Xingmi and raised a great army. Li Shenfu warned Xingmi, “Yun will certainly rebel. You should strike first.” Xingmi said, “Yun has rendered great service, and his treason is not yet proven. If I kill him, the other generals will not follow me.” Yun sent his aide Du Xunhe to Bian to treat with Zhu Quanzhong, who was delighted and encamped at Suzhou to await events. Because Kang Ru was with Yun, Xingmi appointed him prefect of Luzhou to drive a wedge between them. Yun, enraged, executed Kang Ru’s entire family. Ru said, “You would not heed my counsel—now I have nowhere to die but here.”
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Yun allied with An Renyi to attack Shengzhou and seized Li Shenfu’s wife and children, keeping them in comfortable custody. Shenfu was besieging Ezhou with Liu Cun when Xingmi recalled him. Shenfu told his officers, “Yun has rebelled. This is a mortal threat—we must attack at once.” Yun sent Li Gao with a letter offering, “Your family is in my hands. Join me and I will divide the realm and make you a king.” Shenfu answered, “I followed the Prince of Wu from the ranks to high command. I will not change my loyalty for wife and children.” He beheaded Gao and routed Yun’s army at Mount He. Yun’s generals Wang Tan and others pursued with the fleet as far as Jiyang Ford but did not give battle. At dusk Tan struck while Shenfu’s men were half across the river. Shenfu wheeled his boats downstream and counterattacked, routing them and setting fire to the fleet—many drowned or burned. The next day Tan fought again and was beaten at Wankou. Yun then took the field in person. Shenfu said, “The enemy has abandoned his city to fight us here—Heaven means to destroy him.” He fortified his camp along the river and refused battle, while asking Xingmi to block Yun’s line of retreat.
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Renyi burned his warships at Dongtang, attacked Changzhou by night without success, and fought his way to Jiagang. There he raised two banners, laid aside his armor, and rested—his pursuers dared not approach. Yun stationed his fleet at Wuhu. Xingmi sent Wang Maozhang to attack Runzhou. Renyi was the finest archer in the army. Men said Zhu Jin’s spear and Mi Zhicheng’s crossbow were each unmatched in their day. Renyi used to say, “Ten of Mi Zhicheng’s bolts are not worth one thrust of Zhu Jin’s spear; and ten of Zhu Jin’s spear thrusts are not worth one shot from my bow.” People believed him. He also ran a strict camp and knew how to win his men’s loyalty. With only a few hundred men at arms he left the moat bridge intact, opened the gate to fight, called out whom he would hit, and then shot—and hit. Wang Maozhang and the others dared not close with him. Xingmi sent word: “I have not forgotten your service. Surrender and I will restore you as campaigning deputy—but you may not keep an army.” Renyi was ready to yield, but his son dissuaded him and he held back.
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行密召其將臺濛泣語曰：「人嘗告頵必反，我不忍負人，頵果負我。 吾思為將者非公莫可。」 濛頓首謝，率騎度江，為陣以行。 士笑其怯，濛曰：「頵宿將多謀，備之何害？」 與王壇等戰廣德，濛以行密書遺壇諸將，皆再拜氣奪。 濛麾兵擊之，壇走。 神福既以不戰困頵，頵紿言母病，還至蕪湖。 聞壇敗，留精兵二萬屬郭行琮，身走城。 濛之行，為狹營小舍，覘者以為才容二千人，頵輕之，不復召兵。 與戰黃池，矢石始交而濛遁，兵爭逐北，遇伏，頵大敗，召蕪湖兵，不得入。 行琮及壇皆歸行密，頵恚，自料死士數百，號「爪牙都」，身薄戰。 濛退軍示弱，士超隍，濛殊死戰，軍潰。 頵奔城，橋陷，為亂兵所殺，年四十六。 其下猶鬥，示頵首，乃潰。
Xingmi summoned his general Tai Meng and said through tears, “Men warned me Yun would rebel, but I could not bear to wrong him—and he has wronged me. I can think of no commander but you for this.” Meng kowtowed, led his cavalry across the river, and advanced in battle order. His men laughed at his caution. Meng said, “Yun is a seasoned commander and full of stratagems—what harm is there in being ready?” At Guangde he fought Wang Tan and sent Xingmi’s letter to Tan’s officers. They all bowed low, their spirit broken. Meng ordered the attack and Tan fled. Shenfu had worn Yun down by refusing battle. Yun pretended his mother was ill and withdrew to Wuhu. When he heard Tan was beaten, he left twenty thousand picked troops with Guo Xingcong and raced for the city himself. On the march Meng pitched narrow camps and small shelters. Scouts thought he had barely two thousand men. Yun despised him and did not call up reinforcements. At Huangchi, as arrows and stones first flew, Meng feigned retreat. Yun’s men rushed in pursuit, ran into an ambush, and were routed. Yun called for his Wuhu troops but they could not reach him. Xingcong and Tan both went over to Xingmi. Furious, Yun picked several hundred dare-to-die men, called them the “Fang and Claw Corps,” and led the charge himself. Meng drew back as if beaten. Yun’s men crossed the moat; Meng turned and fought desperately. Yun’s army broke. Yun fled for the city, but the bridge gave way and he was killed in the rout at the age of forty-six. His men fought on until Yun’s head was displayed—then they scattered.
25
When Yuan Guan was first sent back as a hostage, Yun would threaten to kill him after every defeat, but Yun’s mother protected him. When Qian Liu and Xingmi joined forces, Yun said, “If we do not win today, I will kill Yuan Guan.” But Yun died first. When his head reached Huainan, Xingmi wept, buried him with commoner rites, buried Kang Ru as well, and sent Yuan Guan back to Hangzhou.
26
Yun was an able administrator—generous by nature, friendly to trade, and beloved by the people. He treated scholars generously. Yang Kui, Kang Kai, Xiahou Shu, Yin Wengui, Wang Xiyu, and others were all honored as chief guests. Wengui enjoyed a fine reputation. Both Zhu Quanzhong and Qian Liu repeatedly invited him, but he refused them all. Yun gave him land and a house, welcomed his mother, and treated him as a sister’s son—so Wengui served him with all his strength. Kui saw that Yun could not stand against Xingmi and wrote “The Rhapsody of Drowning” as a warning, but Yun ignored it.
27
Xingmi had Wang Maozhang tunnel into Runzhou. Renyi put his family on the gate tower as a shield, and the attackers dared not climb up. He summoned Li Decheng and said, “You may trust me with your life.” Then he laid down his bow, submitted to bonds, and he and his son were beheaded in Yangzhou.
28
29
Zhu Yanshou came from Shucheng in Luzhou. He served Yang Xingmi and won the greatest share of credit in defeating Qin Yan, Bi Shiduo, Zhao Huang, and Sun Ru. Xingmi wanted to win loyalty through mercy, but Yanshou was ruthless in killing. Yangzhou had many thieves in those days. When one was caught, Xingmi would return the stolen goods and release him with the warning, “Do not let Yanshou know.” Then he secretly allowed Yanshou to execute them.
30
Earlier, Gao Yanwen of Shouzhou had surrendered his prefecture to Zhu Quanzhong. When Xingmi attacked, the other generals feared the strong walls could not be taken. Yanshou rallied the men, took the city, and was at once made deputy military governor of Huainan. Zhu Quanzhong still held Shouchun. Yanshou led out fresh troops in tight five-man squads under each banner and sent Li Hou with ten banners against the western flank. When Hou was beaten, Yanshou was about to execute him—but Hou begged for five more banners, fought desperately, and drove Zhu Quanzhong away. He then seized Huang, Qi, and Guang prefectures and was made defense commissioner of Shouzhou for his merit.
31
While Emperor Zhaozong was at Fengxiang, Yanshou was ordered to besiege Cai and relieve Zhu Quanzhong’s pressure, and was promoted to military governor of the Fengguo Army. Whenever Zhu Quanzhong’s troops came up, Yanshou would open his gates without preparing defenses—yet they never dared press him. Yanshou often fought larger forces with smaller ones, and beheaded every man who came back defeated.
32
When Tian Yun sided with Zhu Quanzhong, Yanshou secretly pledged, “Whatever you plan, sir, I am ready to serve at your side.” Yun rejoiced, and the two plotted to destroy Yang Xingmi. Xingmi was deeply worried. He pretended to be going blind, stumbled against a pillar, and collapsed. His wife—Yanshou’s elder sister—helped him up. Xingmi wept and said, “I am going blind, and my sons are still young. With my uncle to take my place, I need fear nothing.” He sent an eloquent envoy to summon him, but Yanshou was suspicious and would not come. His sister sent a maid with the truth. Yanshou raced to Yangzhou, but before he could finish his bow soldiers seized and killed him, and his wife was cast aside.
33
The commentator says: Zhu Quanzhong was a robber of the Tang. Yang Xingmi swore he would not rest until Zhu’s head was spiked for all to see. When Tian Yun sent troops and supplies to aid Zhu, his aim was to hold Zhu accountable and then break with him—not loyalty to the Tang. To abandon his patron and reach for supremacy on his own was already folly. Confucius said Meng Gongchuo would excel as steward to the great houses of Zhao and Wei, but could not serve as minister to small states like Teng and Xue. Men like Renhou, Tian, and Zhu lacked the talent even to be stewards in the kingdoms of Wu and Shu—how could they hope to serve the Son of Heaven!