Volume 192 Biographies 117: Loyalty and Righteousness 2

忠義中顏杲卿春卿賈循隱林張巡許遠南霽雲雷萬春姚訚

Loyalty and Righteousness (continued): biographies of Yan Gaoqing, Chunqing, Jia Xun, Yin Lin, Zhang Xun, Xu Yuan, Nan Jiyun, Lei Wanchun, and Yao Yan

顏杲卿字昕，與真卿同五世祖，以文儒世家。父元孫，有名垂拱間，為濠州刺史。杲卿以蔭調遂州司法參軍。性剛正，蒞事明濟。嘗為刺史詰讓，正色別白，不為屈。開元中，與兄春卿、弟曜卿並以書判超等，吏部侍郎席豫咨嗟推伏。再以最遷范陽戶曹參軍。安祿山聞其名，表為營田判官，假常山太守。

Yan Gaoqing, whose courtesy name was Xin, was a fifth-generation kinsman of Yan Zhenqing and came from a long line of scholars and officials. His father Yuansun won renown during the Chonggong years and held office as prefect of Hao. Gaoqing received his first appointment through hereditary privilege as judicial assistant in Suizhou. He was stern and upright by nature, and in office he handled matters with clarity and decisiveness. When a prefect once rebuked him, he answered with a grave face, setting right and wrong plainly, and would not be cowed. During the Kaiyuan reign, he and his brothers Chunqing and Yaoging all earned top marks in the document-examination circuit, and Xi Yu, vice minister of personnel, marveled and spoke highly of them. He was promoted again, on highest evaluation, to revenue assistant in Fanyang. An Lushan, hearing of his reputation, recommended him as agricultural colony judge and gave him acting rank as prefect of Changshan.

祿山反，杲卿及長史袁履謙謁於道，賜杲卿紫袍，履謙緋袍，令與假子李欽湊以兵七千屯土門。杲卿指所賜衣謂履謙曰：「與公何為著此？」履謙悟，乃與真定令賈深、內丘令張通幽定謀圖賊。杲卿稱疾不視事，使子泉明往返計議，陰結太原尹王承業為應，使平盧節度副使賈循取幽州。謀泄，祿山殺循，以向潤客、牛廷玠守。杲卿陽不事事，委政履謙，潛召處士權渙、郭仲邕定策。時真卿在平原，素聞賊逆謀，陰養死士為拒守計。李憕等死，賊使段子光傳首徇諸郡，真卿斬子光，遣甥盧逖至常山約起兵，斷賊北道。杲卿大喜，以為兵掎角可挫賊西鋒。乃矯賊命召欽湊計事，欽湊夜還，杲卿辭城門不可夜開，舍之外郵；使履謙及參軍馮虔、郡豪翟萬德等數人飲勞，既醉，斬之，並殺其將潘惟慎，賊黨殲，投屍滹沱水。履謙以首示杲卿，則喜且泣。

When Lushan rose in rebellion, Gaoqing and Chief Administrator Yuan Lüqian went out to meet him on the road. Lushan gave Gaoqing a purple robe and Lüqian a scarlet one, then sent them with his foster son Li Qincou and seven thousand men to hold Tumen Pass. Gaoqing pointed at the robes they had been given and said to Lüqian, "Why in the world are you wearing these?" Lüqian took his meaning at once. He joined Zhending magistrate Jia Shen and Neiqiu magistrate Zhang Tongyou in a secret plan to strike at the rebels. Gaoqing pleaded illness and stayed out of office, while his son Quanming shuttled back and forth carrying their plans. In secret he aligned with Taiyuan intendant Wang Chengye and ordered Pinglu deputy commissioner Jia Xun to seize Youzhou. When the plot was exposed, Lushan executed Xun and placed Xiang Runkè and Niu Tingjie in command of the city. Gaoqing pretended to take no part in affairs, leaving government to Lüqian while quietly summoning the recluses Quan Huan and Guo Zhongyong to shape their strategy. Zhenqing was then in Pingyuan. He had long known of the rebels' designs and was quietly training loyal men to hold the region. When Li Qin and his fellows were killed, the rebels sent Duan Ziguang to display their heads in the commanderies. Zhenqing beheaded Ziguang, sent his nephew Lu Ti to Changshan to arrange a rising, and aimed to sever the rebels' northern line of advance. Gaoqing was overjoyed, believing that with allied forces striking from two sides they could blunt the rebels' drive westward. They forged rebel orders summoning Qincou for consultation. When he returned at night, Gaoqing refused to open the gates after dark and put him up at the outer relay station; Lüqian, Assistant Feng Qian, the local leader Zhai Wande, and several others were sent to wine and feast him. Once he was drunk they cut off his head, killed his officer Pan Weishèn as well, destroyed the rebel band, and cast the corpses into the Hutuo. When Lüqian showed him the head, Gaoqing wept for joy.

先是，祿山遣將高邈召兵范陽未還，杲卿使城尉崔安石圖之。邈至滿城，虔、萬德皆會傳舍，安石紿以置酒，邈舍馬，虔叱吏縛之。而賊將何千年自趙來，虔亦執之。日未中，送二賊。杲卿乃遣萬德、深、通幽傳欽湊首，械兩賊送京師，與泉明偕。至太原，王承業欲自以為功，厚遣泉明還，陰令壯士翟喬賊於路。喬不平，告之故，乃免。玄宗擢承業大將軍，送吏皆被賞。已而事顯，乃拜杲卿衛尉卿兼御史中丞，履謙常山太守，深司馬。即傳檄河北，言王師二十萬入土門，遣郭仲邕領百騎為先鋒，馳而南，曳柴揚塵，望者謂大軍至。日中，傳數百里。賊張獻誠方圍饒陽，棄甲走。於是趙、鉅鹿、廣平、河間並斬偽刺史，傳首常山。而樂安、博陵、上谷、文安、信都、魏、鄴諸郡皆自固。杲卿兄弟兵大振。

Earlier, Lushan had sent General Gao Miao to raise troops in Fanyang, and he had not yet returned. Gaoqing set the city commandant Cui Anshi to take him. Miao reached Mancheng, where Qian and Wande waited at the relay inn. Anshi lured him in with wine; as soon as Miao dismounted, Qian ordered the clerks to seize him. When the rebel general He Qiannian arrived from Zhao, Qian captured him too. Before noon they had both rebels on their way. Gaoqing sent Wande, Shen, and Tongyou ahead with Qincou's head while the two captives were shackled and sent to the capital with Quanming escorting them. At Taiyuan, Wang Chengye wanted the credit for himself. He sent Quanming back with lavish rewards and secretly told the warrior Zhai Qiao to waylay the prisoners on the road. Qiao, offended by the order, revealed the plot, and the prisoners were spared. Emperor Xuanzong promoted Chengye to great general, while every man in the escort received a reward. When word of their deeds spread, Gaoqing was made Minister of the Court for the Imperial Insignia and concurrent censor-in-chief, Lüqian was confirmed as prefect of Changshan, and Shen became military aide. He at once sent proclamations across Hebei claiming two hundred thousand imperial troops had entered Tumen Pass. Guo Zhongyong led a hundred horsemen south as vanguard, dragging brush to raise dust so that watchers believed a great army was upon them. By midday the rumor had raced hundreds of li. The rebel Zhang Xiancheng, who was besieging Raoyang, threw down his armor and fled. Then Zhao, Julu, Guangping, and Hejian all executed the rebel prefects and sent their heads to Changshan. The commanderies of Le'an, Boling, Shanggu, Wen'an, Xindu, Wei, and Ye likewise sealed their walls and held out on their own. The armies of Gaoqing and his kinsmen surged to new strength.

祿山至陜，聞兵興，大懼。使史思明等率平盧兵度河攻常山，蔡希德自懷會師。不涉旬，賊急攻城。兵少，未及為守計，求救於河東，承業前已攘殺賊功，兵不出。杲卿晝夜戰，井竭，糧、矢盡，六日而陷，與履謙同執。賊脅使降，不應。取少子季明加刃頸上曰：「降我，當活而子。」杲卿不答。遂並盧逖殺之。杲卿至洛陽，祿山怒曰：「吾擢爾太守，何所負而反？」杲卿瞋目罵曰：「汝營州牧羊羯奴耳，竊荷恩寵，天子負汝何事，而乃反乎？我世唐臣，守忠義，恨不斬汝以謝上，從從爾反耶？」祿山不勝忿，縛之天津橋柱，節解以肉啖之，詈不絕，賊鉤斷其舌，曰：「復能罵否？」杲卿含胡而絕，年六十五。履謙既斷手足，何千年弟適在傍，咀血噴其面，賊臠之，見者垂泣。杲卿宗子近屬皆被害。杲卿已虜，諸郡復為賊守。

When Lushan reached Shanzhou and heard that armies had risen against him, he was badly shaken. He sent Shi Siming and others with Pinglu troops across the river against Changshan, while Cai Xide marched up from Huai to join them. In less than ten days the rebels were pressing the city hard. They had too few men and no time to prepare a proper defense. They pleaded for help from Hedong, but Chengye, who had already claimed the rebels' heads as his own merit, refused to march. Gaoqing fought without rest day and night until the wells ran dry and food and arrows were gone. On the sixth day the city fell, and he and Lüqian were taken together. The rebels pressed him to surrender; he would not yield. They seized his younger son Jiming, laid a blade to the boy's throat, and said, "Surrender to us and your son will live." Gaoqing said nothing. They then killed Jiming and Lu Ti together. When Gaoqing was brought to Luoyang, Lushan raged: "I made you prefect—what debt did I owe you that you turned against me?" Gaoqing glared and shouted back: "You are nothing but a Jie shepherd from Yingzhou who stole the throne's favor. What did the Son of Heaven ever owe you that you dared rebel? My family has served Tang for generations. I keep faith and duty, and only regret that I could not cut off your head to answer to my emperor. Do you think I would join your rebellion?" Lushan, beside himself, had him bound to a pillar on the Tianjin Bridge, cut him apart joint by joint, and fed him his own flesh, yet the curses never stopped. The rebels hooked out his tongue and sneered, "Can you still curse us now?" Gaoqing could only mumble through his ruined mouth and died, aged sixty-five. After Lüqian's limbs were severed, He Qiannian's younger brother stood nearby. Lüqian chewed blood and spat it in the man's face, and the rebels hacked him apart. All who watched wept. Every clansman and close kinsman of Gaoqing's line was put to death. After Gaoqing was taken, the commanderies fell back into rebel hands.

張通幽以兄相賊，譖杲卿於楊國忠，故不加贈。肅宗在鳳翔，真卿表其枉，會通幽為普安太守，上皇杖殺之。李光弼、郭子儀收常山，出杲卿、履謙二家親屬數百人於獄，厚給遺，令行喪。乾元初，贈杲卿太子太保，謚曰忠節，封其妻崔清河郡夫人。初，博士裴郡以杲卿不執政，但謚曰忠，議者不平，故以二惠謚焉。逖、季明及宗子等皆贈五品官。建中中，又贈杲卿司徒。初，杲卿被殺，徇首於衢，莫敢收。有張湊者，得其發，持謁上皇。是昔見夢，帝寤，為祭。後湊歸發於其妻，妻疑之，發若動雲。後泉明購屍將葬，得刑者言，死時一足先斷，與履謙同坎瘞。指其域得之，乃葬長安鳳棲原。季明、逖同塋。

Zhang Tongyou's elder brother had joined the rebels, so Tongyou slandered Gaoqing to Yang Guozhong, and for that reason no posthumous honors were granted at first. At Fengxiang, Suzong received Zhenqing's memorial on the injustice. Tongyou was then prefect of Pu'an, and the retired emperor had him beaten to death. When Li Guangbi and Guo Ziyi retook Changshan, they freed several hundred relatives of Gaoqing's and Lüqian's households from prison, gave them generous support, and saw that proper mourning was carried out. Early in the Qianyuan era Gaoqing was posthumously made Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent with the posthumous title Loyal and Upright, and his wife Lady Cui was enfeoffed as Lady of Qinghe. At first Academician Pei Jun, noting that Gaoqing had never held high central office, proposed only the single character Loyal for his posthumous name. Critics objected, and the fuller title Loyal and Upright was adopted. Ti, Jiming, and the sons of the clan were all granted posthumous fifth-rank offices. During the Jianzhong reign he was posthumously raised again to Minister of Education. When Gaoqing was killed, his head was displayed in the streets, and no one dared claim it. A man named Zhang Cou recovered a lock of his hair and brought it before the retired emperor. That night Gaoqing appeared to him in a dream. The emperor woke and offered sacrifice. Later Cou brought the hair home to his wife. She was uneasy, for the strands seemed to stir like drifting clouds. Later Quanming bought the body for burial. An executioner told him that one foot had already been cut off at death and that Gaoqing lay in the same grave as Lüqian. Guided to the spot, he recovered the remains and buried them at Fengqi Plain in Chang'an. Jiming and Ti were laid in the same grave.

泉明有孝節，喜振人之急。既為承業所遣，未至而常山陷，故客壽陽。史思明圍李光弼，獲泉明，裹以革，送幽州，間關得免。思明歸國，而真卿方為蒲州刺史，令泉明到河北求宗屬。始，一女及姑女並流離賊中，及是並得之，悉錢三萬贖姑女還，取貲復往，則己女復失之。履謙及父故將妻子奴隸尚三百餘人，轉徙不自存，泉明悉力贍給，分多勻薄，相扶挾度河托真卿。真卿隨所歸資送之。泉明之殯父，與履謙分柩，護還長安。履謙妻疑斂具儉狹，發視之，與杲卿等，乃號踴，待泉明如父。肅宗拜泉明郫令，政化清明，誅宿盜，人情翕然。成都尹舉其課第一，遷彭州司馬。家貧，居官廉，而孤藐相從百口，飦鬻不給，無慍嘆。居母喪，毀骨立。其行義，當世以為難。

Quanming was known for filial devotion and integrity and took pleasure in helping others in desperate need. Chengye had sent him back before he could return, and Changshan fell while he was still on the road, so he stayed on as a guest in Shouyang. When Shi Siming besieged Li Guangbi he captured Quanming, bound him in hides, and sent him toward Youzhou, but Quanming escaped after many close calls. After Siming submitted again to the court, Zhenqing was prefect of Pu and sent Quanming into Hebei to find their kinsmen. His own daughter and a cousin's daughter had both been lost to the rebels. He now found them, spent every coin he had—thirty thousand cash—to ransom the cousin's child and send her home, raised more funds and went back, and lost track of his own daughter again. More than three hundred people—Lüqian's household, his father's old officers, their wives, children, and servants—were wandering destitute. Quanming supported them as best he could, sharing what he had fairly, and helped them cross the river to Zhenqing. Zhenqing gave each party funds according to where they were bound and sent them on their way. Quanming buried his father, shared the coffin with Lüqian's remains, and escorted them back to Chang'an. Lüqian's wife feared the burial had been stinted. When she opened the coffin she found her husband laid out with the same honor as Gaoqing. She broke into loud mourning and thereafter treated Quanming as she would a father. Suzong appointed Quanming magistrate of Pi. His rule was clear and firm, he executed entrenched bandits, and the people rallied to him. The intendant of Chengdu rated his performance the best in the circuit, and he was promoted to military aide of Pengzhou. Though his household was poor and he lived frugally in office, more than a hundred orphans and dependents followed him. Often there was not enough porridge to go around, yet he never showed anger or resentment. While mourning his mother he grieved until he was skin and bone. Men of his day held his conduct and moral courage to be extraordinary.

春卿，倜儻美姿儀，通當世務。十六舉明經、拔萃高第，調犀浦主簿。嘗送徒於州，亡其籍，至廷，口記物色，凡千人，無所差。長史陸象先異之，轉蜀尉。蘇颋代為長史，被譖系獄，為《棕櫚賦》自托，颋遽出之。魏征遠孫瞻罪抵死，春卿為請玉真公主，得不死，時人高其節。終偃師丞。臨終，捉真卿臂曰：「爾當大吾族，顧我不得見，以諸子諉汝。」後真卿主其昏嫁。

Chunqing was bold and open in spirit, handsome in bearing, and thoroughly versed in the affairs of his day. At sixteen he passed the Mingjing and Baodi examinations with top marks and was posted as chief clerk of Xipu. Once, escorting convicts to the prefectural seat, he lost the register. At court he described every man from memory—nearly a thousand in all—and did not mistake a single one. Chief Administrator Lu Xiangxian was so impressed that he moved him to a sheriff's post in Shu. When Su Ting became chief administrator, Chunqing was slandered and thrown into prison. He wrote the "Palm Rhapsody" to plead his case, and Ting released him at once. Wei Zheng's distant descendant Zhan faced execution for a capital crime. Chunqing appealed to Princess Yuzhen and saved his life. Contemporaries admired his moral courage. He ended his days as assistant magistrate of Yanshi. On his deathbed he seized Zhenqing's arm and said, "You will bring greatness to our clan. I shall not live to see it, so I leave my sons in your care." Zhenqing later saw to their marriages.

沈盈者，亦杲卿甥，有行義，明黃老學。解褐博野尉，與杲卿同死難，贈大理正，官其二子遙、達。」

Shen Ying, another nephew of Gaoqing's, was a man of integrity and well versed in Huang-Lao thought. He left private life to serve as sheriff of Boye, died with Gaoqing in the same ordeal, was posthumously made Director of the Court of Judicial Review, and offices were granted to his sons Yao and Da."

賈循者，京兆華原人，其先家常山。父會，有高節嘗稱疾不答辟署，裏中號「一龍」。親亡，負土成墓，廬其左，手蒔松柏，時號「關中曾子」。卒，縣人私謚曰廣孝征君。

Jia Xun came from Huayuan in Jingzhao; his family had long been settled in Changshan. His father Hui was a man of lofty integrity who once pleaded illness and refused every summons to office; neighbors called him "the lone dragon." When his parents died he carried earth to build their tomb, raised a mourning hut beside it, and planted pine and cypress with his own hands. Men of the time called him "the Zengzi of Guanzhong." After his death the people of the county privately styled him Lord of Expansive Filiality, Recluse.

循有大略，禮部尚書蘇颋嘗謂今頗、牧，及為益州，表署列將。敗吐蕃於西山，三遷靜塞軍營田使。張守珪北伐，次灤河，屬凍泮，欲濟無梁。循揣廣狹為橋以濟，破虜而還，以功擢遊擊將軍、榆關守捉使。地南負海，北屬長城，林埌岑翳，寇所蔽伏。循調土斬木開道，賊遁去。范陽節度使李適之薦為安東副大都護。安祿山兼平盧節度，表為副，遷博陵太守。祿山欲擊奚、契丹，復奏循光祿卿自副，使知留後。九姓叛，祿山兼節度河東，而循亦兼雁門副之。母亡將葬，宅有枯桑，一夕再生，芝出北庸，人以為瑞。玄宗以循有功，詔贈其父常山太守。

Xun possessed great strategic vision. Su Ting, minister of rites, once said he was a Yan and Mu of the present age, and when Ting served in Yizhou he recommended him for command among the generals. He defeated the Tibetans in the western hills and was promoted three times, ending as agricultural colony commissioner of the Jingsai Army. On Zhang Shougui's northern campaign the army halted at the Luan River just as the ice broke up. They needed to cross but had no bridge. Xun measured the channel, built a bridge to get the army across, routed the enemy, and returned. For this feat he was made irregular general and defender of Yuguan Pass. The region bordered the sea to the south and the Great Wall to the north, its woods and hills thick with cover where raiders could lie in ambush. Xun rallied the locals to cut timber and clear a road, and the bandits withdrew. Li Shizhi, military governor of Fanyang, recommended him for appointment as deputy grand protector of the Eastern Pacification. When An Lushan also took command of Pinglu, he petitioned to have Xun serve as his deputy and had him appointed prefect of Boling. When Lushan planned to campaign against the Xi and Khitan, he again petitioned for Xun to be made Minister of Imperial Entertainments and serve as his deputy, leaving him in charge as acting governor. After the Nine Surnames rose in revolt, Lushan added Hedong to his commands, and Xun was concurrently appointed deputy governor at Yanmen. As his mother lay dead awaiting burial, a dead mulberry tree in the family compound put forth fresh growth overnight, and a lingzhi fungus appeared in the north courtyard; people regarded it as a good omen. In recognition of Xun's achievements, Emperor Xuanzong issued an edict posthumously ennobling his father as prefect of Changshan.

祿山反，使循守幽州，故杲卿招之，以傾賊巢穴，循許可。為向潤客等發其謀，賊縊之。建中二年，贈太尉，謚曰忠。

When An Lushan rebelled, he posted Xun to defend Youzhou. Yan Gaoqing, who had formerly served there, summoned him to strike at the rebel stronghold, and Xun consented. Xiang Runke and others betrayed the conspiracy, and the rebels hanged him. In 781, he was posthumously honored as Grand Preceptor and given the posthumous name Zhong, "Loyal."

從子隱林，為永平兵馬使。當入衛，屬朱泚難，率眾扈行在。德宗見隱林，偉其貌，問家世，答曰：「故范陽節度副使循，臣從父也。」帝異之，引至臥內，以手板畫地陳攻守計，即奏曰：「臣嘗夢日墜，以首承之。」帝曰：「非朕邪？」因令糾察行在，遷檢校右散騎常侍，封武威郡王。

His nephew Yin Lin held the post of military commissioner at Yongping. He was on his way to the capital to take up palace guard duty when Zhu Ci's revolt erupted, and he led his men to protect the emperor's mobile court. Emperor Dezong was struck by Yin Lin's imposing bearing and asked about his lineage. Yin Lin replied, "My father's cousin was Jia Xun, former deputy military governor of Fanyang. The emperor was intrigued and brought him into his private quarters. Yin Lin traced battle plans on the floor with his official tablet, then said, "I once dreamed the sun fell from the sky and I caught it on my head." The emperor asked, "Was that not me?" On that basis he was put in charge of policing the traveling court, promoted to acting Right Regular Attendant, and enfeoffed as Prince of Wuwei.

賊圍急，隱林與侯仲莊冒矢石死戰。已而解，從臣稱慶，隱林流涕前曰：「泚已奔，群臣大慶宗社無疆之休，然陛下資性急，不能容掩。若不悛，雖今賊亡，憂未艾也。」帝不以為忤，拜神策統軍。卒，帝思其質直，贈尚書左仆射，以實戶三百封其家。

As the rebel siege tightened, Yin Lin and Hou Zhongzhuang fought through a hail of arrows and stones as if death meant nothing. Once the siege was broken, the courtiers broke into celebration. Yin Lin stepped forward in tears and said, "Zhu Ci has fled, and we all rejoice that the dynasty may endure. Yet Your Majesty is quick-tempered and cannot abide the least concealment. If you do not change, the rebels may be gone now, but your troubles will not end with them. The emperor took no offense and appointed him commander of the Shence Army. After his death, the emperor recalled his blunt honesty, posthumously made him Left Vice Minister of the Department of State Affairs, and granted his family an estate of three hundred tax households.

張巡字巡，鄧州南陽人。博通群書，曉戰陣法。氣誌高邁，略細節，所交必大人長者，不與庸俗合，時人叵知也。開元末，擢進士第。時兄曉已位監察御史，皆以名稱重一時。巡由太子通事舍人出為清河令，治績最，而負節義，或以困厄歸者，傾貲振護無吝。秩滿還都。於是楊國忠方專國，權勢可炙。或勸一見，且顯用，答曰：「是方為國怪祥，朝宦不可為也。」更調真源令。土多豪猾，大吏華南金樹威恣肆，邑中語曰：「南金口，明府手。」巡下車，以法誅之，赦餘黨，莫不改行遷善。政簡約，民甚宜之。

Zhang Xun, styled Xun, was a native of Nanyang in Dengzhou. He was deeply read in the classics and well versed in the art of war. High-minded and broad in spirit, he cared little for petty detail. He sought out only men of stature and integrity, shunning the commonplace, and his contemporaries found him hard to fathom. Near the close of the Kaiyuan reign he earned his jinshi degree. By then his elder brother Zhang Xiao was already an investigating censor, and both brothers enjoyed great renown. Leaving his post as attendant to the crown prince, Zhang Xun became magistrate of Qinghe, where his governance ranked first in the realm. A man of honor, he gave freely of his fortune to shelter and support those who came to him in distress. When his term ended, he returned to the capital. Yang Guozhong then dominated the court, his power so fierce it seemed to burn the hand that touched it. Some urged him to pay Yang a visit and win high office. He replied, "That man is a calamity upon the state. I want no part of court rank under him. He was reassigned instead as magistrate of Zhenyuan. The district swarmed with bold ruffians, and the chief clerk Hua Nanjin had grown tyrannical. Local people said, "Whatever Nanjin asks for, the magistrate grants. As soon as Xun took office he had Hua Nanjin executed according to law, pardoned the rest of his gang, and not one failed to mend his ways. His rule was spare and fair, and the people flourished under it.

安祿山反，天寶十五載正月，賊酋張通晤陷宋、曹等州，譙郡太守楊萬石降賊，逼巡為長史，使西迎賊軍。巡率吏哭玄元皇帝祠，遂起兵討賊，從者千餘。初，靈昌太守嗣吳王祗受詔合河南兵拒祿山，有單父尉賈賁者，閬州刺史璿之子，率吏稱吳王兵，擊宋州。通晤走襄邑，為頓丘令盧韺所殺。賁引軍進至雍丘，巡與之合，有眾二千。是時雍丘令令狐潮舉縣附賊，遂自將東敗淮陽兵，虜其眾，反接在廷，將殺之，暫出行部。淮陽囚更解縛，起殺守者，迎賁等入。潮不得歸，巡乃屠其妻子，礫城上。祗聞，承制拜賁監察御史。潮怨賁，還攻雍丘，賁趨門，為眾躪死。巡馳騎決戰，身被創不顧，士乃奉巡主軍。間道表諸朝，騰箋祗府，祗乃舉兗以東委巡經略。

When An Lushan rose in rebellion, in the first month of 755 the rebel leader Zhang Tongwu seized Songzhou, Caozhou, and neighboring prefectures. Yang Wanshi, governor of Qiao Prefecture, surrendered and compelled Zhang Xun to serve as his chief aide, then ordered him west to greet the rebel forces. Zhang Xun led his officials in mourning at the shrine of the Mysterious Origin Emperor, then took up arms against the rebels. More than a thousand men rallied to him. Earlier, Wang Zhi, Prince of Wu and governor of Lingchang, had received orders to assemble Henan forces against An Lushan. A district captain of Danyang named Jia Ben—son of Langzhou prefect Xuan—raised troops in the prince's name and attacked Songzhou. Zhang Tongwu fled to Xiangyi, where he was killed by Lu Yin, magistrate of Dunqiu. Jia Ben marched on Yongqiu, where Zhang Xun joined him; together they fielded two thousand men. By then Linghu Chao, magistrate of Yongqiu, had surrendered the entire county to the rebels. He marched east, routed the Huaiyang garrison, took the survivors prisoner, bound them in the hall pending execution, and then left briefly on official business. The Huaiyang captives broke free, killed their guards, and opened the gates to Jia Ben and his men. Unable to return, Linghu Chao looked on as Zhang Xun had his wife and children put to death and their bodies displayed on the battlements. On hearing of this, Wang Zhi, acting on imperial authority, appointed Jia Ben investigating censor. Linghu Chao, nursing a grudge against Jia Ben, returned to assault Yongqiu. Ben ran to the gate and was trampled to death in the press of battle. Zhang Xun charged out for a decisive fight. Though wounded, he never faltered, and the troops thereupon accepted him as their commander. Zhang Xun sent secret reports to the court and urgent messages to Wang Zhi's headquarters. Wang Zhi then entrusted all territory east of Yanzhou to his command.

潮以賊眾四萬薄城，人大恐。巡諭諸將曰：「賊知城中虛實，有輕我心。今出不意，可驚而潰也，乘之，勢必折。」諸將曰：「善。」巡乃分千人乘城，以數隊出，身前驅，直薄潮軍，軍卻。明日賊攻城，設百樓，巡柵城上，束芻灌膏以焚焉，賊不敢向，巡伺隙擊之。積六旬，大小數百戰，士帶甲食，裹瘡鬥，潮遂敗走，追之，幾獲。潮怒，復率眾來。然素善巡，至城下，情語巡曰：「本朝危蹙，兵不能出關，天下事去矣。足下以羸兵守危堞，忠無所立，盍相從以茍富貴乎？」巡曰：「古者父死於君，義不報。子乃銜妻孥怨，假力於賊以相圖，吾見君頭幹通衢，為百世笑，奈何？」潮赧然去。

Linghu Chao advanced on the city with forty thousand rebel troops, and the populace was seized with terror. Zhang Xun told his officers, "The enemy knows how weak we really are and despises us for it. Strike where they do not expect us, and we can shock them into flight. Press hard, and they will surely collapse. The officers agreed: "Well said." Zhang Xun left a thousand men on the walls and led several squads out himself at the head of the charge, driving straight into Linghu Chao's lines until the enemy fell back. The next day the rebels attacked with a hundred siege towers. Zhang Xun raised barricades along the wall, soaked bundles of straw in oil, and set the towers ablaze. The enemy dared not come near, and he harried them whenever he saw an opening. For sixty days they fought hundreds of battles, large and small. The men ate in their armor and fought with fresh bandages still on their wounds. At last Linghu Chao broke and fled; they pursued him nearly to capture. Furious, Linghu Chao gathered his forces and returned. He had always been on friendly terms with Zhang Xun, and now, coming to the foot of the wall, he spoke to him frankly: "The dynasty is dying. Imperial armies cannot break out of the passes. The empire is already lost. You are holding a doomed city with a handful of worn-out men. There is no glory in this loyalty. Come over to my side and at least save yourself some fortune and honor. Zhang Xun replied, "In ancient times, when a man died serving his lord, his son did not avenge the deed. You resent me for your wife and children, and now you would use the rebels' power to destroy me. I see your head rotting in the public square, a mockery for a hundred generations. Have you no shame?" Linghu Chao withdrew, flushed with shame.

當此時，王命不復通，大將六人白巡以勢不敵，且上存亡莫知，不如降。六人者，皆官開府、特進。巡陽許諾，明日堂上設天子畫像，率軍士朝，人人盡泣。巡引六將至，責以大誼，斬之。士心益勸。

By then no orders came from the court. Six senior generals privately urged Zhang Xun that resistance was hopeless and that, with the emperor's fate unknown, surrender was the wiser course. All six held exalted honorary ranks—opening grand general or special eminence. Zhang Xun pretended to agree. The next day he placed the emperor's portrait in the hall and led the troops in homage until every man was weeping. Then he summoned the six generals, denounced them for betraying their duty, and had them beheaded. The troops' resolve only grew stronger.

會糧乏，潮餉賊鹽米數百艘且至，巡夜壁城南，潮悉軍來拒，巡遣勇士銜枚濱河，取鹽米千斛，焚其餘而還。城中矢盡，巡縛槁為人千餘，被黑衣，夜縋城下，潮兵爭射之，久，乃槁人；還，得箭數十萬。其後復夜縋人，賊笑，不設備，乃以死士五百斫潮營，軍大亂，焚壘幕，追奔十餘里。賊慚，益兵圍之。薪水竭，巡紿潮：「欲引眾走，請退軍二舍，使我逸。」潮不知其謀，許之。遂空城四出三十里，撤屋發木而還為備。潮怒，圍復合。巡徐謂潮曰：「君須此城，歸馬三十匹，我得馬且出奔，請君取城以藉口。」潮歸馬，巡悉以給驍將，約曰：「賊至，人取一將。」明日，潮責巡，答曰：「吾欲去，將士不從，奈何？」潮怒欲戰，陣未成，三十騎突出，禽將十四，斬百餘級，收器械牛馬。潮遁還陳留，不復出。七月，潮率賊將瞿伯玉攻城，遣偽使者四人傳賊命詔巡，巡斬以徇，余縶送祗所。圍凡四月，賊常數萬，而巡眾才千餘，每戰輒克。於是河南節度使嗣虢王巨屯彭城，假巡先鋒。

As food grew scarce, several hundred boatloads of salt and grain bound for the rebel camp were nearing the city. Zhang Xun strengthened the southern defenses by night. Linghu Chao marched out his entire force to block him, but Zhang Xun sent silent raiders along the riverbank to seize a thousand bushels of supplies, burn the rest, and withdraw. When the city ran out of arrows, Zhang Xun fashioned more than a thousand scarecrows, dressed them in black, and lowered them from the walls by night. Linghu Chao's men shot at them furiously until, after a long while, they realized they were only straw. When the dummies were hauled back up, the defenders recovered several hundred thousand arrows. Later they lowered dummies again by night. The rebels laughed and took no precautions—whereupon five hundred picked warriors fell upon Linghu Chao's camp. The enemy lines broke in chaos; the raiders burned tents and stockades and chased the fugitives more than ten li. Humiliated, the rebels brought up reinforcements and tightened the siege. When firewood and water ran out, Zhang Xun tricked Linghu Chao, saying, "I mean to break out with my men. Pull your army back two stages and give us room to escape. Linghu Chao, unaware of the ruse, agreed. The defenders then emptied the city and ranged thirty li in every direction, tearing down houses and stripping timber before returning to strengthen their defenses. Enraged, Linghu Chao closed the ring of siege once more. Zhang Xun then told Linghu Chao calmly, "You want this city. Send back thirty horses, and once I have mounts I will break out—then you can take the city and save face. Linghu Chao sent the horses back. Zhang Xun handed them all to his boldest officers with this order: "When the enemy comes, each of you seize one of their generals." The next day Linghu Chao reproached him. Zhang Xun replied, "I wanted to go, but my officers and men refused to follow. What could I do?" Linghu Chao, furious, prepared to give battle—but before his lines were set, thirty horsemen burst out, seized fourteen enemy officers, killed more than a hundred men, and captured arms, cattle, and horses. Linghu Chao fled back to Chenliu and never came out again. In the seventh month Linghu Chao returned with the rebel general Qu Boyu to assault the city and sent four false envoys bearing rebel orders to Zhang Xun. He had them beheaded as a warning, bound the rest, and sent them to Wang Zhi. The siege lasted four months altogether. The rebels often numbered in the tens of thousands, while Zhang Xun had barely a thousand men—yet he won every fight. By then Wang Ju, Prince of Guo and military governor of Henan, was encamped at Pengcheng and appointed Zhang Xun his vanguard.

俄而魯、東平陷賊，濟陰太守高承義舉郡叛，巨引兵東走臨淮。賊將楊朝宗謀趨寧陵，絕巡餉路。巡外失巨依，拔眾保寧陵，馬裁三百，兵三千。至睢陽，與太守許遠、城父令姚訚等合。乃遣將雷萬春、南霽雲等領兵戰寧陵北，斬賊將二十，殺萬餘人，投屍於汴，水為不流。朝宗夜去。有詔拜巡主客郎中，副河南節度使。巡籍將士有功者請於巨，巨才授折沖、果毅。巡諫曰：「宗社尚危，圍陵孤外，渠可吝賞與貲？」巨不聽。

Soon Lu and Dongping fell to the rebels. Gao Chengyi, governor of Jiyin, surrendered his entire command, and Wang Ju marched east, falling back to Linhuai. The rebel general Yang Chaozong planned to seize Ningling and sever Zhang Xun's supply lines. Cut off from Wang Ju's support, Zhang Xun withdrew to Ningling with only three hundred horses and three thousand men. He reached Suiyang and joined forces with the prefect Xu Yuan, the magistrate of Chengfu Yao Yin, and others. He sent Lei Wanchun, Nan Jiyun, and other officers to fight north of Ningling, where they beheaded twenty rebel commanders, killed more than ten thousand men, and threw the dead into the Bian River until its waters dammed and ceased to flow. Yang Chaozong withdrew under cover of night. An imperial edict appointed Zhang Xun chief minister of the host and deputy military governor of Henan. Zhang Xun submitted a roll of meritorious officers and men and asked Wang Ju to reward them. Wang Ju granted only the lower ranks of assault-resolute and brave-fruits. Zhang Xun protested: "The dynasty is still in mortal danger, and Ningling stands alone beyond the lines. How can you be miserly with honors and pay? Wang Ju refused to listen.

至德二載，祿山死，慶緒遣其下尹子琦將同羅、突厥、奚勁兵與朝宗合，凡十餘萬，攻睢陽。巡勵士固守，日中二十戰，氣不衰。遠自以材不及巡，請稟軍事而居其下，巡受不辭，遠專治軍糧戰具。前此，遠將李滔救東平，遂叛入賊，大將田秀榮潛與通。或以告遠曰：「晨出戰，以碧帽為識。」視之如言，盡覆其眾。還輒曰：「我誘之也。」請以精騎往，易錦帽。遠以告巡，巡召登城，讓之，斬首示賊。因出薄戰，子琦敗，獲車馬牛羊，悉分士，秋豪無入其家。有詔拜巡御史中丞，遠侍御史，訚吏部郎中。

In 757, after An Lushan's death, his son An Qingxu sent Yin Ziqi at the head of Tongluo, Turk, and Xi crack troops to join Yang Chaozong—more than a hundred thousand men in all—in an assault on Suiyang. Zhang Xun roused his men to stand fast. By midday they had fought twenty engagements, and their fighting spirit never flagged. Judging his own abilities inferior to Zhang Xun's, Xu Yuan asked to take orders from him and serve under his command. Zhang Xun accepted without demur, and Xu Yuan devoted himself entirely to supplies and materiel. Earlier, Xu Yuan's officer Li Tao had marched to relieve Dongping, then gone over to the rebels; the senior general Tian Xiurong was secretly in contact with the enemy. Someone warned Xu Yuan, "If you sortie at dawn, mark your men with blue caps. He looked and found it exactly as foretold, and annihilated the entire force. Each time he returned he would say, "I baited them. He then asked to ride out with picked cavalry and swap their caps for brocade ones. Xu Yuan reported the matter to Zhang Xun. Zhang Xun had Li Tao called up onto the wall, rebuked him, and beheaded him, then displayed the head to the enemy. They then sortied for a sharp engagement. Yin Ziqi was beaten. The chariots, horses, cattle, and sheep they captured were all divided among the men—not a hair's worth went into Zhang Xun's own stores. An imperial edict appointed Zhang Xun Censor-in-Chief, Xu Yuan Attending Censor, and Yao Yin a bureau director in the Ministry of Personnel.

巡欲乘勝擊陳留，子琦聞，復圍城。巡語其下曰：「吾蒙上恩，賊若復來，正有死耳。諸君雖捐軀，而賞不直勛，以此痛恨！」聞者感概。乃椎牛大饗，悉軍戰。賊望兵少，大笑。巡、遠親鼓之，賊潰，追北數十里。其五月，賊刈麥，乃濟師。巡夜鳴鼓嚴隊，若將出。賊申警。俄自鼓，賊覘城上兵休，乃弛備。巡使南霽雲等開門徑抵子琦所，斬將拔旗。有大酋被甲，引拓羯千騎麾幟乘城招巡。巡陰縋勇士數十人隍中，持鉤、陌刀、強弩，約曰：「聞鼓聲而奮。」酋恃眾不為備，城上噪，伏發禽之，弩註矢外向，救兵不能前。俄而縋士復登陴，賊皆愕眙，乃按甲不出。巡欲射子琦，莫能辨，因剡蒿為矢，中者喜，謂巡矢盡，走白子琦，乃得其狀。使霽雲射，一發中左目，賊還。七月，復圍城。

Zhang Xun wanted to follow up the victory with an attack on Chenliu. When Yin Ziqi learned of it, he laid siege to the city again. Zhang Xun told his officers, "The throne has shown me great favor. If the rebels return, death is all that awaits us. You may lay down your lives, yet the honors paid will not equal your deeds. That is what grieves me most! All who heard him were deeply moved. He slaughtered oxen for a great feast, then sent the entire army into battle. Seeing how few defenders there were, the rebels burst out laughing. Zhang Xun and Xu Yuan beat the drums in person. The enemy broke and fled, and they chased the rout north for dozens of li. In the fifth month the rebels harvested the wheat, then moved their army across the river. That night Zhang Xun beat the drums and formed the ranks as though he were about to break out. The rebels tightened their watch all through the night. Before long he ceased drumming. The rebels spied the walls and saw the defenders at rest, and let their guard down. Zhang Xun sent Nan Jiyun and others to fling open the gates and drive straight to Yin Ziqi's position, where they cut down officers and ripped out enemy banners. A great chieftain in armor, at the head of a thousand Tuojie cavalry with banners flying, rode up onto the wall and called for Zhang Xun. Zhang Xun secretly lowered several dozen picked warriors into the moat with hooks, mo dao, and heavy crossbows, and told them, "At the sound of the drum, strike. The chieftain, confident in his numbers, took no precautions. A clamor rose on the wall, the hidden men sprang up and seized him, and crossbows with arrows aimed outward kept his rescuers from coming near. Soon the men in the moat were back on the battlements. The rebels stood stunned, then kept their armor on and would not venture out. Zhang Xun wanted to shoot Yin Ziqi but could not tell which man he was. He carved reeds into arrow shafts. Those who were hit rejoiced, thinking his quiver was empty, and ran to tell Ziqi—thus revealing what he looked like. He had Nan Jiyun take the shot. One arrow struck Yin Ziqi's left eye, and the rebels withdrew. In the seventh month the rebels besieged the city once more.

初，睢陽谷六萬斛，可支一歲，而巨發其半餫濮陽、濟陰，遠固爭，不聽。濟陰得糧即叛。至是食盡，士日賦米一勺，龁木皮、煮紙而食，才千餘人，皆臒劣不能彀，救兵不至。賊知之，以雲沖傅堞，巡出鉤銘幹拄之，使不得進，篝火焚梯。賊以鉤車、木馬進，巡輒破碎之。賊服其機，不復攻，穿壕立柵以守。巡士多餓死，存者皆痍傷氣乏。巡出愛妾曰：「諸君經年乏食，而忠義不少衰，吾恨不割肌以啖眾，寧惜一妾而坐視士饑？」乃殺以大饗，坐者皆泣。巡強令食之，遠亦殺奴僮以哺卒，至羅雀掘鼠，煮鎧弩以食。

At first Suiyang held sixty thousand hu of grain, enough to last a year. But Wang Ju sent half of it as rations to Puyang and Jiyin. Xu Yuan protested fiercely, but Wang Ju would not listen. Jiyin rebelled the moment it received the grain. By then the stores were exhausted. Each man received one spoon of rice a day. They gnawed bark and boiled paper to survive. Barely a thousand men were left, all gaunt and too weak to fight, and still no relief came. The rebels knew their plight. They drove siege towers up against the walls. Zhang Xun thrust out hooked spears and poles to hold them back and set beacon fires to burn the ladders. The rebels brought up hook carts and wooden-horse engines, and each time Zhang Xun smashed them to pieces. Impressed by his resourcefulness, the rebels stopped assaulting the walls and instead dug trenches and built palisades to keep the city bottled up. Many of Zhang Xun's men starved to death. The survivors were wounded and spent. Zhang Xun brought forward his favorite concubine and said, "You have gone a year short of food, yet your loyalty has hardly faded. I only wish I could cut flesh from my own body to feed you. How can I keep one woman and watch my men starve? He killed her and served the meat at a great feast. Every man present wept. Zhang Xun forced them to eat. Xu Yuan killed slaves and servants to feed the troops. In the end they were snaring birds, digging out rats, and boiling armor and crossbow parts to eat.

賊將李懷忠過城下，巡問：「君事胡幾何？」曰：「二期。」巡曰：「君祖、父官乎？」曰：「然。」君世受官，食天子粟，奈何從賊，關弓與我確？」懷忠曰：「不然，我昔為將，數死戰，竟歿賊，此殆天也。」巡曰：「自古悖逆終夷滅，一日事平，君父母妻子並誅，何忍為此？」懷忠掩涕去，俄率其黨數十人降。巡前後說降賊將甚多，皆得其死力。

The rebel officer Li Huaizhong passed beneath the walls. Zhang Xun called out, "How long have you served the rebels? He answered, "Two years. Zhang Xun asked, "Did your grandfather and father hold office? He said, "They did. Your family has held office for generations and eaten the emperor's grain. Why follow the rebels and draw your bow against me? Li Huaizhong said, "It is not as you say. I was once a commander and fought again and again at the point of death, yet in the end I fell among the rebels. Surely that was Heaven's will. Zhang Xun said, "Traitors have always been wiped out in the end. When the realm is restored, your parents, wife, and children will all be put to death. How can you bring yourself to this? Li Huaizhong wiped away his tears and withdrew. Before long he came over with several dozen of his men. Again and again Zhang Xun talked rebel commanders into surrendering, and each served him with unstinting loyalty.

御史大夫賀蘭進明代巨節度，屯臨淮，許叔冀、尚衡次彭城，皆觀望莫肯救。巡使霽雲如叔冀請師，不應，遣布數千端。霽雲嫚罵馬上，請決死鬥，叔冀不敢應。巡復遣如臨淮告急，引精騎三十冒圍出，賊萬眾遮之，霽雲左右射，皆披靡。既見進明，進明曰：「睢陽存亡已決，兵出何益？」霽雲曰：「城或未下。如已亡，請以死謝大夫。」叔冀者，進明麾下也，房琯本以牽制進明，亦兼御史大夫，勢相埒而兵精。進明懼師出且見襲，又忌巡聲威，恐成功，初無出師意。又愛霽雲壯士，欲留之。為大饗，樂作，霽雲泣曰：「昨出睢陽時，將士不粒食已彌月。今大夫兵不出，而廣設聲樂，義不忍獨享，雖食，弗下咽。今主將之命不達，霽雲請置一指以示信，歸報中丞也。」因拔佩刀斷指，一座大驚，為出涕。卒不食去。抽矢回射佛寺浮圖，矢著磚，曰：「吾破賊還，必滅賀蘭，此矢所以誌也！」至真源，李賁遺馬百匹；次寧陵，得城使廉坦兵三千，夜冒圍入。賊覺，拒之，且戰且引，兵多死，所至才千人。方大霧，巡聞戰聲，曰：「此霽雲等聲也。」乃啟門，驅賊牛數百入，將士相持泣。

Helan Jinming, Censor-in-Chief, replaced Wang Ju as military governor and encamped at Linhuai. Xu Shuji and Shang Heng held Pengcheng. All of them looked on and refused to march to the rescue. Zhang Xun sent Nan Jiyun to Xu Shuji to ask for troops. Xu Shuji would not answer the call, but sent several thousand bolts of cloth instead. From horseback Nan Jiyun cursed him and demanded a fight to the death. Xu Shuji did not dare answer. Zhang Xun sent him on to Linhuai with an urgent plea for help. With thirty picked horsemen he broke through the siege. Ten thousand rebels barred his path, but Nan Jiyun shot to either side and drove them aside. When he reached Helan Jinming, Jinming said, "Suiyang's fate is already sealed. What good would it do to send troops? Nan Jiyun said, "The city may still stand. If it has already fallen, let me die here in your place, my lord. Xu Shuji served under Helan Jinming. Fang Guan had originally been posted to keep Jinming in check and also held the title of Censor-in-Chief. The two were evenly matched, and both commanded elite troops. Helan Jinming feared that if he marched out he would be attacked, and he resented Zhang Xun's fame, afraid that Zhang Xun might succeed without him. From the outset he had no wish to send relief. He also admired Nan Jiyun as a brave man and wanted to keep him. He laid on a great feast. When the music began, Nan Jiyun wept and said, "When I left Suiyang yesterday, the officers and men had not eaten grain in a full month. You will not send troops, yet here you spread music and feasting. I cannot in good conscience feast alone. Though food is set before me, I cannot swallow it. Your orders have not been carried out. Let me leave one finger with you as proof, so I may return and report to the Censor-in-Chief. With that he drew his belt knife and cut off a finger. The whole hall was stunned, and many burst into tears. In the end he left without touching the food. He nocked an arrow and shot back at the pagoda of a Buddhist temple. The shaft lodged in the brickwork. "When I break the enemy and return," he said, "I will destroy the house of Helan. This arrow marks my vow! At Zhenyuan, Li Ben gave him a hundred horses. At Ningling he picked up three thousand men under the city magistrate Lian Tan, and by night broke back through the siege into Suiyang. The rebels discovered them and closed in. Fighting as they fell back, many were killed, and barely a thousand men made it through. A heavy fog lay over the field. Zhang Xun heard fighting and said, "That is Nan Jiyun and his men. He opened the gates and drove several hundred captured oxen inside. Officers and men clung to one another and wept.

賊知外援絕，圍益急。眾議東奔，巡、遠議以睢陽江、淮保障也，若棄之，賊乘勝鼓而南，江、淮必亡。且帥饑眾行，必不達。十月癸丑，賊攻城，士病不能戰。巡西向拜曰：「孤城備竭，弗能全。臣生不報陛下，死為鬼以癘賊。」城遂陷，與遠俱執。巡眾見之，起且哭，巡曰：「安之，勿怖，死乃命也。」眾不能仰視。子琦謂巡曰：「聞公督戰，大呼輒眥裂血面，嚼齒皆碎，何至是？」答曰：「吾欲氣吞逆賊，顧力屈耳。」子琦怒，以刀抉其口，齒存者三四。巡罵曰：「我為君父死，爾附賊，乃犬彘也，安得久！」子琦服其節，將釋之。或曰：「彼守義者，烏肯為我用？且得眾心，不可留。」乃以刃脅降，巡不屈。又降霽雲，未應。巡呼曰：「南八！男兒死爾，不可為不義屈！」霽雲笑曰：「欲將有為也，公知我者，敢不死！」亦不肯降。乃與姚訚、雷萬春等三十六人遇害。巡年四十九。初，子琦議生致一慶緒所，或曰：「用兵拒守者，巡也。」乃送遠洛陽，至偃師，亦以不屈死。巨之走臨淮，巡有姊嫁陸氏，遮王勸勿行，不納，賜百縑，弗受，為巡補縫行間，軍中號「陸家姑」，先巡被害。

The rebels knew outside help was gone, and pressed the siege harder. Some urged flight to the east. Zhang Xun and Xu Yuan argued that Suiyang was the shield of the Yangtze and Huai basins. If it were abandoned, the rebels would drum south in triumph and the whole region would fall. Besides, starving men on the march would never reach safety. On the guichou day of the tenth month the rebels stormed the walls. The defenders were too sick to fight. Zhang Xun bowed toward the west and said, "This isolated city has exhausted its defenses and cannot be saved. Living, I have failed Your Majesty. Dead, I shall become a ghost to harry the rebels. The city fell, and he was taken together with Xu Yuan. When Zhang Xun's men saw him taken, they rose up weeping. He said, "Be calm. Do not be afraid. Death is fate. They could not lift their eyes to look at him. Yin Ziqi said to Zhang Xun, "They say that when you commanded the battle you shouted until your eyes split and blood ran down your face, and you ground your teeth to shards—how have you come to this? He answered, "I meant to devour the rebels in my rage. My strength simply gave out. Yin Ziqi in fury pried his mouth open with a knife. Only three or four teeth were left. Zhang Xun cursed him: "I die for emperor and father. You serve traitors—you are less than dogs and swine. You will not endure! Yin Ziqi admired his steadfastness and was about to set him free. Someone said, "He is a man of unbending loyalty. How could he ever serve us? Besides, he holds the hearts of the army. He cannot be allowed to live. They then put blades to his throat to force his surrender, but Zhang Xun would not yield. They tried to win over Nan Jiyun as well, but he would not answer. Zhang Xun shouted, "Nan Eight! A man dies, and that is all there is to it. Do not submit to what is wrong! Nan Jiyun smiled and said, "You know I mean to do what must be done. You know me. How could I fail to die? He too refused to submit. Then he, together with Yao Yin, Lei Wanchun, and thirty-six others in all, were put to death. Zhang Xun was forty-nine years old. At first Yin Ziqi had planned to take Xu Yuan alive to An Qingxu. Someone said, "The man who commanded the defense was Zhang Xun. So Xu Yuan was sent to Luoyang, and at Yanshi he too was killed for refusing to submit. When Wang Ju fled to Linhuai, Zhang Xun's elder sister, who had married into the Lu family, barred his path and begged him not to go. He would not listen. She was offered a hundred bolts of silk and refused them, instead sewing for Zhang Xun as the army marched. The troops called her "Auntie Lu." She was killed before Zhang Xun.

巡長七尺，須髯每怒盡張。讀書不過三復，終身不忘。為文章不立稿。守睢陽，士卒居人，一見問姓名，其後無不識。更潮及子琦，大小四百戰，斬將三百、卒十餘萬。其用兵未嘗依古法，勒大將教戰，各出其意。或問之，答曰：「古者人情敦樸，故軍有左右前後，大將居中，三軍望之以齊進退。今胡人務馳突，雲合鳥散，變態百出，故吾止使兵識將意，將識士情，上下相習，人自為戰爾。」其械甲取之於敵，未嘗自脩。每戰，不親臨行陣，有退者，巡已立其所，謂曰：「我不去此，為我決戰。」士感其誠，皆一當百。待人無所疑，賞罰信，與眾共甘苦塞暑，雖廝養，必整衣見之，下爭致死力，故能以少擊眾，未嘗敗。被圍久，初殺馬食，既盡，而及婦人老弱凡食三萬口。人知將死，而莫有畔者。城破，遣民止四百而已。

Zhang Xun stood seven feet tall, and when he grew angry his beard and whiskers flared outward. He need only read a text three times to know it by heart for life. When he wrote, he never needed a draft. During the defense of Suiyang he asked every soldier and townsman his name on first meeting, and never forgot a face afterward. In campaigns against Yang Chaozong and Yin Ziqi he fought four hundred engagements, great and small, beheading three hundred commanders and more than a hundred thousand enemy soldiers. He never fought by the old manuals. He had his senior commanders drill the men, each in his own way. When asked why, he answered, "In ancient times men were plain and direct, so armies had left, right, front, and rear, the commander in the center, and all three wings moving as one. Today the enemy lives by the charge. They mass like clouds and break like birds, shifting shape without end. So I ask only that the men know their commander's mind, the commander know his men's spirit, officers and ranks be well acquainted, and each man fight on his own. He took weapons and armor from the enemy and never bothered to maintain his own. In every fight he did not plunge into the front rank himself. If a man fell back, Zhang Xun was already standing where that man had stood. "I will not leave this place," he would say. "Fight it out for me here. Moved by his sincerity, every man fought as though he were worth a hundred. He never doubted the men under him. Rewards and punishments were swift and sure. He shared every hardship—hunger, thirst, heat, and cold—and even when receiving a groom or camp servant, he would straighten his robes before appearing. His soldiers answered with their lives, and so he could defeat larger forces with smaller ones and was never once beaten. The siege wore on. First they slaughtered the horses for food. When those were gone, they turned to the women, the elderly, and the weak. In all, thirty thousand people were eaten. Every man knew death was near, yet not one turned traitor. When the city fell, only four hundred people remained alive.

始，肅宗詔中書侍郎張鎬代進明節度河南，率浙東李希言、浙西司空襲禮、淮南高適、青州鄧景山四節度掎角救睢陽，巡亡三日而鎬至，十日而廣平王收東京。鎬命中書舍人蕭昕誄其行。時議者或謂：巡始守睢陽，眾六萬，既糧盡，不持滿按隊出再生之路，與夫食人，寧若全人？於是張淡、李紓、董南史、張建封、樊晁、朱巨川、李翰鹹謂巡蔽遮江、淮，沮賊勢，天下不亡，其功也。翰等皆有名士，由是天下無異言。天子下詔，贈巡揚州大都督，遠荊州大都督，霽雲開府儀同三司、再贈揚州大都督，並寵其子孫。睢陽、雍丘賜徭稅三年。巡子亞夫拜金吾大將軍，遠子玖婺州司馬。皆立廟睢陽，歲時致祭。德宗差次至德以來將相功效尤著者，以顏杲卿、袁履謙、盧弈及巡、遠、霽雲為上。又贈姚訚潞州大都督，官一子。貞元中，復官巡它子去疾、遠子峴。贈巡妻申國夫人，賜帛百。自是訖僖宗，求忠臣後，無不及三人者。大中時，圖巡、遠、霽雲像於淩煙閣。睢陽至今祠享，號「雙廟」雲。

At the outset Emperor Suzong appointed Zhang Hao, vice director of the Secretariat, to replace He Jinming as military governor of Henan and sent him with Li Xiyan of Zhedong, Sikong Xili of Zhexi, Gao Shi of Huainan, and Deng Jingshan of Qingzhou in a coordinated relief of Suiyang. Zhang Xun had already been dead three days when Hao arrived; ten days later the Prince of Guangping retook Luoyang. Zhang Hao commissioned the drafting officer Xiao Xin to write a eulogy commemorating Zhang Xun's deeds. Some at court argued that when Zhang Xun first held Suiyang he had sixty thousand men. Once food ran out, he failed to march his full force out in good order toward safety—and instead resorted to cannibalism. Would it not have been better to save those lives? Then Zhang Dan, Li Shu, Dong Nanshi, Zhang Jianfeng, Fan Chao, Zhu Juchuan, and Li Han all spoke as one: Zhang Xun had shielded the Yangtze and Huai, blunted the rebel advance, and kept the empire from falling—that was his achievement. Li Han and his fellows were all celebrated scholars, and after their judgment the realm raised no further objection. The emperor issued an edict posthumously ennobling Zhang Xun as grand general of Yangzhou, Xu Yuan as grand general of Jingzhou, and Nan Jiyun as grand general with an honor guard equal to the Three Excellencies, with a further posthumous grant as grand general of Yangzhou, and extended honors to all their sons and grandsons. Suiyang and Yongqiu were exempted from labor service and taxation for three years. Zhang Xun's son Yafu was made general of the golden guard, and Xu Yuan's son Jiu was made secretary of Wuzhou. Temples were raised for them at Suiyang, and seasonal sacrifices were performed there. Emperor Dezong ranked the most distinguished generals and ministers since the Zhide era, placing Yan Gaoqing, Yuan Lüqian, Lu Yi, and Zhang Xun, Xu Yuan, and Nan Jiyun in the highest tier. Yao Yin was likewise posthumously made grand general of Luzhou, and one of his sons received an official appointment. During the Zhenyuan reign, Zhang Xun's other son Quji and Xu Yuan's son Xian were again restored to office. Zhang Xun's wife was posthumously ennobled as Lady of Shen and granted a hundred bolts of silk. From that time down to Emperor Xizong, whenever the throne sought descendants of loyal ministers, these three were never passed over. In the Dazhong era, portraits of Zhang Xun, Xu Yuan, and Nan Jiyun were placed in the Lingyan Pavilion. Suiyang still honors them with sacrifice to this day, in a shrine known as the Twin Temples.

許遠者，右相敬宗曾孫。寬厚長者，明吏治。初客河西，章仇兼瓊辟署劍南府，欲以子妻之，固辭。兼瓊怒，以事劾貶高要尉。更赦還。會祿山反，或薦遠於玄宗，召拜睢陽太守。遠與巡同年生而長，故巡呼為兄。

Xu Yuan was a great-grandson of the Right Chancellor Xu Jingzong. A generous man of mature character, he was adept at administration. He had first lived as a guest in Hexi. Zhangqiu Jianqiong recruited him to the Jiannan commandery staff and wished to marry his daughter to him, but Xu Yuan firmly refused. Zhangqiu Jianqiong flew into a rage, impeached him on a pretext, and had him demoted to assistant magistrate of Gaoyao. He was recalled after a general amnesty. When An Lushan rose in rebellion, someone recommended Xu Yuan to Emperor Xuanzong, who summoned him and appointed him prefect of Suiyang. Xu Yuan was Zhang Xun's age but the elder of the two, and Zhang Xun called him Elder Brother.

大歷中，巡子去疾上書曰：「孽胡南侵，父巡與睢陽太守遠各守一面。城陷，賊所入自遠分。尹子琦分郡部曲各一方，巡及將校三十餘皆割心剖肌，慘毒備盡，而遠與麾下無傷。巡臨命嘆曰：『嗟乎，人有可恨者！』賊曰：『公恨我乎？』答曰：『恨遠心不可得，誤國家事，若死有知，當不赦於地下。』故遠心向背，梁、宋人皆知之。使國威喪衄，巡功業墮敗，則遠於臣不共戴天，請追奪官爵，以刷冤恥。」詔下尚書省，使去疾與許峴及百官議。皆以去疾證狀最明者，城陷而遠獨生也。且遠本守睢陽，凡屠城以生致主將為功，則遠後巡死不足惑。若曰後死者與賊，其先巡死者謂巡當叛，可乎？當此時去疾尚幼，事未詳知。且艱難以來，忠烈未有先二人者，事載簡書，若日星不可妄輕重。議乃罷。然議者紛紜不齊。

During the Dali reign, Zhang Xun's son Quji submitted a memorial: "When the rebel forces swept south, my father Zhang Xun and the Suiyang prefect Xu Yuan each held one side of the wall. When the city fell, the breach through which the rebels entered was on Xu Yuan's side. Yin Ziqi posted the prefecture's household troops in separate sectors. Zhang Xun and more than thirty officers and commanders were disemboweled and flayed—every cruelty was visited upon them—while Xu Yuan and his men went untouched. Facing death, Zhang Xun sighed and said, "Alas! There are men a man can hate!" The rebels asked, "Do you hate us?" He answered, "I hate that Xu Yuan's heart could never be read, and that he ruined the nation's cause. If the dead have knowledge, he shall find no forgiveness beneath the earth." So the people of Liang and Song all knew where Xu Yuan's loyalty had truly stood. If the empire's honor was disgraced and Zhang Xun's achievement was undone, then Xu Yuan and I are enemies who cannot live under the same heaven. I ask that his posthumous titles and ranks be stripped away to wash away this injustice and shame. An edict went down to the Ministry of Personnel directing Quji to confer with Xu Xian and the officials of the court. All agreed that Quji's clearest evidence was this: when the city fell, Xu Yuan alone survived. Moreover, Xu Yuan had originally held Suiyang. In any sack of a city, delivering the commander alive counts as merit—so his surviving after Zhang Xun's death ought not to be surprising. If one holds that the man who died later was in league with the rebels, must one then say that those who died before Zhang Xun were traitors? At that time Quji was still young and did not know the full story. Moreover, since the rebellion, no loyal martyrs have surpassed these two. Their deeds stand in the official record like sun and stars—one must not lightly tamper with their standing. The deliberation was then abandoned. Yet opinion among the commentators remained divided.

元和時，韓愈讀李翰所為巡傳，以為闕遠事非是。其言曰：「二人者，守死成名，先後異耳。二家子弟材下，不能通知其父誌，使世疑遠畏死而服賊。遠誠畏死，何苦守尺寸地，食其所愛之肉，抗不降乎？且見援不至，人相食而猶守，雖其愚亦知必死矣，然遠之不畏死甚明。」又言：「城陷自所守，此與兒童之見無異。且人之將死，其臟腑必有先受病者；引繩而絕之，其絕必有處。今從而尤之，亦不達於理矣。」愈於褒貶尤慎，故著之。

In the Yuanhe era, Han Yu read Li Han's biography of Zhang Xun and judged that leaving out Xu Yuan's story was a mistake. He wrote: "These two men held the city until death and won fame—the only difference was which of them died first. The sons of both families lacked the ability to make their fathers' true intent known, and so the world came to suspect that Xu Yuan had feared death and bowed to the rebels. If Xu Yuan truly feared death, why would he cling to a few feet of wall, eat the flesh of those he loved, and still refuse to surrender? And when he saw that relief would never come, and men were eating one another, and still he held the city—even a fool would know death was certain. That Xu Yuan did not fear death is plain enough. He also wrote: "To say the city fell on the wall he defended is no better than a child's reasoning. When a man is about to die, some organ within him must fail first; pull a rope until it breaks, and the break must come at some point. To blame him afterward for that is to miss the point entirely. Han Yu was especially careful in judgment, and therefore recorded this in writing.

南霽雲者，魏州頓丘人。少微賤，為人操舟。祿山反，鉅野尉張沼起兵討賊，拔以為將。尚衡擊汴州賊李廷望，以為先鋒。遣至睢陽，與張巡計事。退謂人曰：「張公開心待人，真吾所事也。」遂留巡所。巡固勸歸，不去。衡賫金帛迎，霽雲謝不受，乃事巡，巡厚加禮。始被圍，築臺募萬死一生者，數日無敢應。俄有喑鳴而來者，乃霽雲也。巡對泣下。霽雲善騎射，見賊百步內乃發，無不應弦斃。

Nan Jiyun was a native of Dunqiu in Weizhou. Born to humble station, he made his living poling boats for others. When An Lushan rebelled, Zhang Zhao, assistant magistrate of Juye, raised troops against the rebels and made him a commander. Shang Heng fought the Bianzhou rebel Li Tingwang and appointed him vanguard. He was sent to Suiyang to confer with Zhang Xun. On his return he told others, "Lord Zhang receives men with an open heart. He is truly the man I would follow. He stayed on at Zhang Xun's headquarters. Zhang Xun pressed him to go back, but he refused to leave. Shang Heng came with gold and silk to fetch him home, but Nan Jiyun politely refused. He entered Zhang Xun's service instead, and Zhang Xun honored him generously. When the siege began, Zhang Xun built a platform to recruit men willing to risk death for a single chance at life. For days no one stepped forward. Then someone came forward, sobbing under his breath—it was Nan Jiyun. Zhang Xun looked at him and wept. Nan Jiyun excelled at riding and archery. He would not loose an arrow until the enemy was within a hundred paces, and none failed to drop dead at the twang of the string.

子承嗣，歷涪州刺史。劉辟叛，以無備謫永州。

His son Chengsi later served as prefect of Fuzhou. When Liu Pi rebelled, he was demoted to Yongzhou for being unprepared.

雷萬春者，不詳所來，事巡為偏將。令狐潮圍雍丘，萬春立城上與潮語，伏弩發六矢著面，萬春不動。潮疑刻木人，諜得其實，乃大驚。遙謂巡曰：「向見雷將軍，知君之令嚴矣。」潮壁雍丘北，謀襲襄邑、寧陵。巡使萬春引騎四百壓潮，先為賊所包。巡突其圍，大破賊，潮遁去。

Lei Wanchun, whose origins are unknown, served Zhang Xun as a lieutenant general. When Linghu Chao besieged Yongqiu, Lei Wanchun stood on the wall and spoke with him. Hidden crossbows fired six bolts into his face, yet he did not move. Linghu Chao thought he was a wooden dummy. Spies learned the truth, and he was thunderstruck. From a distance he called to Zhang Xun, "When I saw General Lei just now, I knew how stern your discipline is. Linghu Chao entrenched north of Yongqiu and planned a surprise attack on Xiangyi and Ningling. Zhang Xun sent Lei Wanchun with four hundred horsemen to press Linghu Chao, but they were first encircled by the enemy. Zhang Xun smashed through the encirclement, broke the enemy completely, and Linghu Chao fled.

萬春將兵，方略不及霽雲，而強毅用命。每戰，巡任之與霽雲鈞。

As a commander Lei Wanchun lacked Nan Jiyun's tactical brilliance, but he was fierce, steadfast, and utterly reliable. In every battle Zhang Xun relied on him as fully as on Nan Jiyun.

姚訚者，開元宰相崇從孫。父弇，楚州刺史。訚性豪蕩，好飲謔，善絲竹。歷壽安尉。素善巡，及為城父令，遂同守睢陽。累加東平太守。

Yao Yin was a grandnephew of the Kaiyuan chancellor Yao Chong. His father Yan had been prefect of Chuzhou. Yao Yin was bold and free by nature, loved wine and rough humor, and was accomplished at music. He served as assistant magistrate of Shou'an. He had long been friendly with Zhang Xun, and when he became magistrate of Chengfù he joined him in the defense of Suiyang. He was promoted in stages to prefect of Dongping.

巡之遣霽雲、萬春敗賊於寧陵也，別將二十有五：石承平、李辭、陸元锽、朱珪、宋若虛、楊振威、耿慶禮、馬日升、張惟清、廉坦、張重、孫景趨、趙連城、王森、喬紹俊、張恭默、祝忠、李嘉隱、翟良輔、孫廷皎、馮顏，其後皆死巡難，四人逸其姓名。

When Zhang Xun sent Nan Jiyun and Lei Wanchun to defeat the rebels at Ningling, twenty-five lieutenant generals fought under them: Shi Chengping, Li Ci, Lu Yuanhuan, Zhu Gui, Song Ruoxu, Yang Zhenwei, Geng Qingli, Ma Risheng, Zhang Weiqing, Lian Tan, Zhang Chong, Sun Jingqu, Zhao Liancheng, Wang Sen, Qiao Shaojun, Zhang Gongmo, Zhu Zhong, Li Jiayin, Zhai Liangfu, Sun Tingjiao, and Feng Yan—all later perished in Zhang Xun's disaster; the names of four were lost.

贊曰：張巡、許遠，可謂烈丈夫矣。以疲卒數萬，嬰孤墉，抗方張不制之虜，鯁其喉牙，使不得搏食東南，牽掣首尾，豗潰梁、宋間。大小數百戰，雖力盡乃死，而唐全得江、淮財用，以濟中興，引利償害，以百易萬可矣。巡先死不為遽，遠後死不國屈。巡死三日而救至，十日而賊亡，天以完節付二人，畀名無窮，不待留生而後顯也。惟宋三葉，章聖皇帝東巡，過其廟，留駕裴回，咨巡等雄挺，盡節異代，著金石刻，贊明厥忠。與夷、齊餓踣西山，孔子稱仁，何以異雲。

The historian writes: Zhang Xun and Xu Yuan were men of fierce honor. With a few exhausted thousands they held a lone wall against an enemy at the height of its power, choking its throat so it could not devour the southeast, pulling at head and tail until it shattered across Liang and Song. They fought hundreds of engagements, large and small. Though they died only when their strength was gone, Tang kept the wealth of the Yangtze and Huai intact and used it to fuel the restoration. Measured profit against harm, a hundred lives traded for ten thousand was a bargain. Zhang Xun's dying first was no haste; Xu Yuan's dying later was no disgrace to the state. Relief came three days after Zhang Xun's death; the rebels were gone ten days later. Heaven gave these two men integrity unto death and fame without end—they did not need to live on to be honored. Only under the third generation of Song, when Emperor Zhensheng traveled east and passed their temple, he halted his carriage and lingered, asking after the heroic stature of Zhang Xun and his companions, who had given their all in another age. He had their loyalty carved in metal and stone and proclaimed for all to read. What difference is there between this and Boyi and Shuqi starving to death on Mount West, whom Confucius praised as men of humanity?

Cite this Chapter