Volume 4 Later Tang Annals 1: Zhuangzong 1

卷四唐本纪第四

Volume 4: Later Tang Annals 1 (Zhuangzong 1).

庄宗光圣神闵孝皇帝，其先本号朱邪，盖出于西突厥，至其后世，别自号曰沙陀，而朱邪为姓。唐德宗时，有朱邪尽忠者，居于北庭之金满州。贞元中，吐蕃赞普攻陷北庭，徙尽忠于甘州而役属之。其后赞普为回鹘所败，尽忠与其子执宜东走。赞普怒，追之，及于石门关。尽忠战死，执宜独走归唐，居之盐州，以隶河西节度使范希朝。希朝徙镇太原，执宜从之，居之定襄神武川之新城。其部落万骑，皆骁勇善骑射，号「沙陀军」。执宜死，其子曰赤心。懿宗咸通十年，神策大将军康承训统十八将讨庞勋于徐州，以朱邪赤心为太原行营招讨沙、陀三部落军使。以从破勋功，拜单于大都护、振武军节度使，赐姓名曰李国昌，以之属籍。

Zhuangzong—the emperor honored as Luminous, Sagely, Divine, Compassionate, and Filial—came of stock first known as the Zhuye, a line said to descend from the Western Turks. His forebears later styled themselves Shatuo while keeping Zhuye as their clan name. Under Emperor Dezong of Tang a man of the Zhuye named Jinzhong lived in Jinman Prefecture in the Beiting protectorate. During the Zhenyuan reign (785–805) the Tibetan ruler stormed Beiting, relocated Jinzhong to Ganzhou, and kept him there as a dependent. When the zanpu was later beaten by the Uyghurs, Jinzhong and his son Zhiyi broke away and fled eastward. Enraged, the zanpu gave chase and overtook them at Shimen Pass. Jinzhong was killed in the fight. Zhiyi alone reached Tang territory, was settled at Yanzhou, and assigned to Fan Xichao, military governor of Hexi. Fan Xichao was later posted to Taiyuan; Zhiyi went with him and his people were resettled at Xincheng on the Dingxiang-Shenwu River. Ten thousand horsemen of the tribe, all fierce mounted archers, were organized as the “Shatuo Army.” Zhiyi’s son, born Chixin, succeeded him. In the tenth year of Xiantong (869), Kang Chengxun, grand general of the Shence Armies, took eighteen generals against Pang Xun at Xuzhou and named the Zhuye Chixin commander of the Shatuo and allied tribal forces marching from Taiyuan. After helping crush Pang Xun he was made Grand Protector of the Chanyu and military governor of Zhenwu, given the Tang name Li Guochang, and enrolled among the imperial kin.

居久之，国昌出击党项，吐浑赫连铎袭破振武。克用闻之，自云州往迎国昌，而云州人亦闭关拒之。国昌父子无所归，因掠蔚、朔间，得兵三千，国昌入保蔚州，克用还据新城。僖宗乃拜铎大同军使，以李钧为代北招讨使，以讨沙陀。乾符五年，沙陀破遮虏军，又破苛岚军，而唐兵数败，沙陀由此益炽，北据蔚、朔，南侵忻、代、岚、石，至于太谷焉。广明元年，招讨使李琢会幽州李可举、云州赫连铎击沙陀，克用与可举相拒雄武军。其叔父友金以蔚、朔州降于琢，克用闻之，遽还。可举追至药儿岭，大败之，琢军夹击，又败之于蔚州。沙陀大溃，克用父子亡入达靼。

Some time later Guochang campaigned against the Tangut, and Helian Duo of the Tuyuhun swept in and overran Zhenwu. Keyong set out from Yunzhou to join his father, only to find the Yunzhou garrison had shut the passes against them. With nowhere to go, father and son plundered through Yu and Shuo, gathering three thousand men. Guochang seized Yu Prefecture for a base while Keyong fell back on Xincheng. Xizong named Duo military governor of Datong and Li Jun commissioner for the campaign against the Shatuo in the northern Dai region. In the fifth year of Qianfu (878) the Shatuo overran the Zhelu and Kelan garrisons. Tang armies kept losing ground, and the Shatuo power spread—Yu and Shuo in the north, Xin, Dai, Lan, and Shi in the south, even to Taigu. In Guangming 1 (880) Li Zhuo, Li Keju of Youzhou, and Helian Duo of Yunzhou combined against the Shatuo while Keyong held Keju at Xiongwu. Keyong’s uncle Youjin yielded Yu and Shuo to Zhuo, and Keyong turned back at once on hearing the news. Keju chased him to Yao’er Ridge and shattered his force; Zhuo’s troops closed in from two sides and beat him again at Yu Prefecture. The Shatuo army broke and scattered. Father and son escaped into Tatar territory.

克用少骁勇，军中号曰「李鸦儿」；其一目眇，及其贵也，又号「独眼龙」，其威名盖于代北。其在达靼，久之，郁郁不得志，又常惧其图己，因时时从其群豪射猎，或挂针于木，或立马鞭，百步射之辄中，群豪皆服以为神。

From boyhood Keyong had been a daring fighter; the troops nicknamed him “Li the Crow.” He had lost an eye, and in his days of power men also called him “One-Eyed Dragon.” His fame dominated the country north of Dai. Exiled among the Tatars he grew restless and suspected them of plotting his death. He hunted often with their leaders, pinning needles in wood or planting whips upright and striking them from a hundred paces without fail. The Tatar chiefs came to treat him as something more than human.

黄巢已陷京师，中和元年，代北起军使陈景思发沙陀先所降者，与吐浑、安庆等万人赴京师，行至绛州，沙陀军乱，大掠而还。景思念沙陀非克用不可将，乃以诏书召克用于达靼，承制以为代州刺史、雁门以北行营节度使。率蕃汉万人出石岭关，过太原，求发军钱。节度使郑从谠与之钱千缗、米千石，克用怒，纵兵大掠而还。二年十一月，景思、克用复以步骑万七千赴京师。三年正月，出于河中，进屯乾坑。巢党惊曰：「鸦儿军至矣！」二月，败巢将黄邺于石堤谷；三月，又败赵璋、尚让于良田坡，横尸三十里。是时，诸镇兵皆会长安，大战渭桥，贼败走入城，克用乘胜追之，自光泰门先入，战望春宫升阳殿，巢败，南走出蓝田关。京师平，克用功第一。天子拜克用检校司空、同中书门下平章事、河东节度使，以国昌为雁门以北行营节度使。十月，国昌卒。

Huang Chao already held Chang’an. In Zhonghe 1 (881) Chen Jingsi, commissioner of the northern-Dai army, called up the surrendered Shatuo along with Tuyuhun and Anqing forces—ten thousand men—to relieve the capital. At Jiangzhou the Shatuo mutinied, looted the countryside, and marched home. Jingsi decided the Shatuo would fight for no one but Keyong. He recalled him from the Tatars with an imperial order and, acting on emergency authority, named him prefect of Dai and commander of the armies north of Yanmen. He led ten thousand mixed Turkic and Chinese troops through Shiling Pass, stopped at Taiyuan, and demanded marching money. The military governor Zheng Congdian offered a thousand strings of cash and a thousand piculs of grain. Keyong flew into a rage, unleashed his men to sack the city, and marched away. In the eleventh month of the second year (882) Jingsi and Keyong again took seventeen thousand foot and horse toward Chang’an. In the first month of the third year they came out by Hezhong and encamped at Qiankeng. Chao’s followers panicked: “The Crow Army is here! In the second month he routed Huang Ye, a general of Chao’s, at Shidi Valley; in the third month he smashed Zhao Zhang and Shang Rang at Liangtian Slope, and the dead covered the ground for thirty li. By then the provincial armies had massed at Chang’an. At Wei Bridge they met the rebels in a great battle, drove them into the city, and Keyong chased hard—entering first through Guangtai Gate, fighting through Wangchun Palace and Shengyang Hall. Chao broke and ran south by Lantian Pass. When Chang’an was recovered, Keyong’s service stood first. The emperor made Keyong honorary Grand Master of the Palace, co-equal grand councilor, and military governor of Hedong, and gave Guochang command north of Yanmen. Guochang died in the tenth month.

十一月，遣其弟克修攻昭义孟方立，取其泽、潞二州。方立走山东，以邢、洺、磁三州自别为昭义军。黄巢南走至蔡州，降秦宗权，遂攻陈州。四年，克用以兵五万救陈州，出天井关，假道河阳，诸葛爽不许，乃自河中渡河。四月，败尚让于太康，又败黄邺于西华。巢且走且战，至中牟，临河未渡，而克用追及之，贼众惊溃。比至封丘，又败之，巢脱身走，克用追之，一日夜驰三百里，至于冤朐，不及而还。洺、磁孟氏据之，故当时有两昭义。

In the eleventh month he sent his brother Kexiu against Meng Fangli of Zhaoyi and seized Ze and Lu. Fangli fled east into Shandong and carved out Xing, Ming, and Ci as his own Zhaoyi command. Huang Chao withdrew to Caizhou, submitted to Qin Zongquan, and turned to besiege Chenzhou. In the fourth year Keyong led fifty thousand men to save Chenzhou, marched out by Tianjing Pass, and sought a road through Heyang. Ge Zhuang barred the way, so he forded the Yellow River from Hezhong. In the fourth month he beat Shang Rang at Taikang and Huang Ye again at Xihua. Chao fought as he fled. At Zhongmou he reached the river before he could cross; Keyong overtook him and the rebel ranks collapsed in terror. Keyong struck him again at Fengqiu. Chao escaped on foot while Keyong chased three hundred li in a single day and night to Yuanqu, then gave up and returned. The Meng family still held Ming and Ci, and for a time two rival Zhaoyi commands existed.

过汴州，休军封禅寺，朱全忠飨克用于上源驿。夜，酒罢，克用醉卧，伏兵发，火起，侍者郭景铢灭烛，匿克用床下，以水醒面而告以难。会天大雨灭火，克用得从者薛铁山、贺回鹘等，随电光，缒尉氏门出，还军中。七月，至于太原，讼其事于京师，请加兵于汴，遣弟克修将兵万人屯于河中以待。僖宗和解之，用破巢功，封克用陇西郡王。

On the march he halted at Bianzhou and rested at Fengchan Temple. Zhu Quanzhong entertained him at Shangyuan Posthouse. That night, after the drinking ended, Keyong fell asleep in his cups. Quanzhong’s men attacked and set the lodge ablaze. Attendant Guo Jingquan snuffed the lamps, pulled Keyong under the bed, dashed water on his face, and warned him of the ambush. A thunderstorm doused the flames. With Xue Tieshan, He Huihu, and a handful of guards Keyong slipped out by rope through the Weishi Gate in the lightning and rejoined his troops. In the seventh month he was back in Taiyuan. He petitioned the capital for justice, demanded reinforcements against Bian, and posted his brother Kexiu at Hezhong with ten thousand men. Xizong imposed a truce. For crushing Huang Chao, Keyong was made Prince of Longxi.

光启元年，河中王重荣与宦者田令孜有隙，徙重荣兖州，以定州王处存为河中节度使，诏克用以兵护处存之镇。重荣使人绐克用曰：「天子诏重荣，俟克用至，与处存共诛之。」因伪为诏书示克用曰：「此朱全忠之谋也。」克用信之，八上表请讨全忠，僖宗不许，克用大怒。重荣既不肯徙，僖宗遣邠州朱玫、凤翔李昌符讨之。克用反以兵助重荣，败玫于沙苑，遂犯京师，纵火大掠。天子出居于兴元，克用退屯河中。朱玫亦反以兵追天子，不及，得襄王煴，迫之称帝，屯于凤翔。僖宗念独克用可以破玫而不能使也，当破黄巢长安时，天下兵马都监杨复恭与克用善，乃遣谏议大夫刘崇望以诏书召克用，且道复恭意，使进兵讨玫等。克用阳诺而不行。

In Guangqi 1 (885) Wang Chongrong of Hezhong clashed with the eunuch Tian Lingzi. Chongrong was ordered to Yanzhou and Wang Chuncun of Dingzhou was named military governor of Hezhong; Keyong was told to march troops escorting Chuncun into the circuit. Chongrong sent an agent to trick Keyong: “The emperor has instructed me that once you arrive, Chuncun and I are to kill you together. He produced a forged edict and told Keyong, “Quanzhong is behind this.” Keyong believed him, petitioned eight times to attack Quanzhong, and raged when Xizong refused. When Chongrong refused to move, Xizong dispatched Zhu Mei of Bin and Li Changfu of Fengxiang against him. Keyong turned his arms to Chongrong’s side, routed Mei at Shayuan, then stormed the capital, burning and looting the city. The emperor fled to Xingyuan; Keyong pulled back to Hezhong. Zhu Mei rebelled in turn, chased the emperor without catching him, seized Prince of Xiang Li Yun, and proclaimed him emperor at Fengxiang. Xizong knew only Keyong could crush Mei—and also knew he would not move without persuasion. During the campaign against Huang Chao, Chief Overseer Yang Fugong had befriended him. The court now sent Liu Chongwang with an edict recalling Keyong, repeating Fugong’s appeal, and commanding him to march against Mei. Keyong promised and did nothing.

明年，孟方立死，其弟迁立。大顺元年，克用击破孟迁，取邢、洺、磁三州，乃遣安金俊攻赫连铎于云州。幽州李匡威救铎，战于蔚州，金俊大败。于是匡威、铎及朱全忠皆请因其败伐之。昭宗以克用破黄巢功高，不可伐，下其事台、省四品官议，议者多言不可。宰相张浚独以谓沙陀前逼僖宗幸兴元，罪当诛，可伐。军容使杨复恭，克用所善也，亦极谏以为不可，昭宗然之，诏谕全忠等。全忠阴赂浚，使持其议益坚，昭宗不得已，以浚为太原四面行营兵马都统，韩建为副使。是时，潞州将冯霸叛降于梁，梁遣葛从周入潞州。唐以京兆尹孙揆为昭义军节度使，克用遣李存孝执揆于长子，又遣康君立取潞州。十一月，浚及克用战于阴地，浚军三战三败，浚、建遁归。克用兵大掠晋、绛，至于河中，赤地千里。克用上表自诉，其辞慢侮，天子为之引咎，优诏答之。

The following year Meng Fangli died and his brother Qian took his place. In Dashun 1 (890) Keyong overthrew Meng Qian and seized Xing, Ming, and Ci, then sent An Jinjun against Helian Duo at Yunzhou. Li Kuangwei of Youzhou marched to relieve Duo. At Yu Prefecture Jinjun was routed. Kuangwei, Duo, and Quanzhong alike petitioned the court to strike Keyong while he was down. Zhaozong, mindful of Keyong’s service against Huang Chao, was reluctant to move against him. He put the question to senior Secretariat and Chancellery officials; most advised against war. Only Chief Councillor Zhang Jun insisted that the Shatuo had once driven Xizong to Xingyuan—a capital offense—and that war was justified. Army Commissioner Yang Fugong, Keyong’s ally, argued just as hard against the campaign. Zhaozong sided with him and sent edicts calming Quanzhong and his allies. Quanzhong bribed Jun behind the scenes until his counsel could not be shaken. Zhaozong yielded and named Jun supreme commander of the Taiyuan campaign, with Han Jian as deputy. Meanwhile Feng Ba, a Lu Prefecture officer, defected to Liang, and Liang sent Ge Congzhou to hold the city. The court named Capital Magistrate Sun Kui military governor of Zhaoyi. Keyong had Li Cunxiao capture Kui at Changzi and Kang Junli recover Lu. In the eleventh month Jun met Keyong at Yindi, lost three engagements in a row, and fled with Han Jian. Keyong’s soldiers ravaged Jin and Jiang all the way to Hezhong until the countryside was stripped bare for a thousand li. Keyong memorialized in his own defense with words both insolent and contemptuous. The emperor accepted blame and replied with a conciliatory edict.

二年二月，复拜克用河东节度使、陇西郡王，加检校太师兼中书令。四月，攻赫连铎于云州，围之百餘日，铎走吐浑。八月，大搜于太原，出晋、绛，掠怀、孟，至于邢州，遂攻王镕于镇州。克用栅常山西，以十餘骑渡滹沱觇敌，遇大雨，平地水深数尺。镇人袭之，克用匿林中，祷其马曰：「吾世有太原者马不嘶。」马偶不嘶以免。前军李存孝取临城，进攻元氏。李匡威救镕，克用还军邢州。景福元年，王镕攻邢州，李存信、李嗣勋等败镕于尧山。二月，会王处存攻镕，战于新市，为镕所败。八月，李匡威攻云州，以牵克用之兵，克用潜入于云州，返出击匡威，匡威败走。十月，李存孝以邢州叛。二年，存孝求援于王镕，克用出兵井陉击镕，且以书招镕，而急攻其平山，镕惧，遂与克用通和，献帛五十万匹，出兵助攻邢州。乾宁元年三月，执存孝，杀之。冬，攻幽州，李匡俦弃城走，追至景城，见杀，以刘仁恭为留后。

In the second month of the second year he was restored as military governor of Hedong and Prince of Longxi and promoted to honorary Grand Preceptor and chief councilor. In the fourth month he besieged Helian Duo at Yunzhou for over a hundred days until Duo fled to the Tuyuhun. In the eighth month he staged a grand hunt at Taiyuan, swept through Jin and Jiang, pillaged Huai and Meng, pushed to Xingzhou, and laid siege to Wang Rong at Zhenzhou. He camped west of Mount Chang and rode out with barely a dozen men to scout across the Hutuo. A downpour flooded the plain several feet deep. Zhenzhou troops closed in. Keyong took cover in a grove and whispered to his horse, “If our line is fated to hold Taiyuan, you will not whinny. The horse stayed silent, and he slipped away unharmed. Vanguard commander Li Cunxiao seized Lincheng and pushed on against Yuan Clan. Li Kuangwei marched to relieve Rong, and Keyong pulled back to Xingzhou. In Jingfu 1 (892) Wang Rong struck Xingzhou; Li Cunxin and Li Sixin beat him at Mount Yao. In the second month he allied with Wang Chuncun against Rong, fought at Xincheng, and lost. In the eighth month Li Kuangwei hit Yunzhou to pin Keyong down. Keyong stole into the city, wheeled out, and routed Kuangwei. In the tenth month Li Cunxiao rebelled and held Xingzhou. The next year Cunxiao called on Wang Rong for help. Keyong drove through Jingxing against Rong, sent letters inviting him to yield, and hammered Pingshan until Rong, terrified, made peace, sent five hundred thousand bolts of silk, and joined the siege of Xingzhou. In the third month of Qianning 1 (894) he captured Cunxiao and put him to death. That winter he marched on Youzhou. Li Kuangchou fled the city, was run down at Jingcheng, and killed. Liu Rengong was installed as acting governor.

二年，河中王重盈卒，其诸子珂、珙争立，克用请立珂，凤翔李茂贞、邠宁王行瑜、华州韩建请立珙。昭宗初两难之，乃以宰相崔胤为河中节度使，既而许克用立珂。茂贞等怒，三镇兵犯京师，闻克用亦起兵，乃皆罢去。六月，克用攻绛州，斩刺史王瑶。瑶，珙弟，助珙以争者。七月，至于河中，同州王行约奔于京师，阳言曰：「沙陀十万至矣！」谋奉天子幸邠州，茂贞假子阎圭亦谋劫幸凤翔，京师大乱，昭宗出居于石门。克用军留月余不进，昭宗遣延王戒丕、丹王允兄事克用，且告急。八月，克用进军渭桥，以为邠宁四面行营都统。昭宗还京师。十一月，克用击破邠州，王行瑜走至庆州，见杀。克用还军云阳，请击茂贞，昭宗慰劳克用，使与茂贞解仇以纾难，拜克用「忠正平难功臣」，封晋王。是时，晋军渭北，遇雨六十日，或劝克用入朝，克用未决，都押衙盖寓曰：「天子还自石门，寝未安席，若晋兵渡渭，人情岂复能安？勤王而已，何必朝哉？」克用笑曰：「盖寓犹不信我，况天下乎！」乃收军而还。

In the second year Wang Chongying of Hezhong died and his sons Ke and Gong fought over the circuit. Keyong backed Ke; Li Maozhen of Fengxiang, Wang Xingyu of Binning, and Han Jian of Huazhou backed Gong. Zhaozong hesitated, named Chief Councillor Cui Yin military governor of Hezhong, then yielded to Keyong and recognized Ke. Maozhen and his allies marched on Chang’an, then dispersed when word came that Keyong was mobilizing too. In the sixth month Keyong took Jiangzhou and beheaded the prefect Wang Yao. Yao was Gong’s brother and had backed his claim. In the seventh month he reached Hezhong. Wang Xingyue of Tongzhou fled to Chang’an crying that a hundred thousand Shatuo were on the march. Court factions schemed to move the emperor to Binzhou while Maozhen’s adopted son Yan Gui plotted to drag him to Fengxiang. Chang’an erupted in chaos and Zhaozong retreated to Shimen. Keyong camped for a month without moving. Zhaozong sent Princes Jiepi of Yan and Yun of Dan to address him as an elder kinsman and beg him to act. In the eighth month he marched to Wei Bridge and was named supreme commander of the campaign against Binning. Zhaozong came back to Chang’an. In the eleventh month Keyong stormed Binzhou. Wang Xingyu fled to Qingzhou, was captured, and executed. Keyong withdrew to Yunyang and asked leave to attack Maozhen. Zhaozong praised him, brokered peace with Maozhen to end the emergency, granted him the title “Meritorious, Upright, and Pacifying in Hard Times,” and enfeoffed him Prince of Jin. The Jin army was then camped north of the Wei, lashed by rain for sixty days. Some urged Keyong to go to court; he hesitated. His chief military adjutant Gai Yu said, “The emperor has only just come back from Shimen—he has not even had time to rest. If Jin troops cross the Wei, who in the capital will feel safe? You came to save the dynasty. Why must you present yourself at court? Keyong laughed. “If even Gai Yu doubts me, what hope is there with the rest of the empire? He thereupon drew off his forces and marched home.

三年正月，昭宗复以张浚为相，克用曰：「此朱全忠之谋也。」乃上表曰：「若陛下朝以浚为相，则臣将暮至阙廷！」京师大恐，浚命遽止。朱全忠之攻兖、郓也，克用遣李存信假道魏州以救朱宣等。存信屯于莘县，军士侵掠魏境，罗弘信伏兵攻之，存信败走洺州。克用自将击魏，战于洹水，亡其子落落。六月，破魏成安、洹水、临漳等十餘邑。十月，又败魏人于白龙潭，进攻观音门，全忠救至，乃解。

In the first month of the third year Zhaozong again named Zhang Jun chief councillor. Keyong said, “Quanzhong is behind this. He memorialized the throne: “If Your Majesty names Jun chancellor at dawn, this servant will be at the palace gates by dusk!” Chang’an panicked, and Jun’s appointment was revoked at once. While Quanzhong was attacking Yan and Yun, Keyong sent Li Cunxin through Weizhou to relieve Zhu Xuan and his allies. Cunxin halted at Shen County, but his men plundered across the Wei border. Luo Hongxin lay in wait, routed him, and drove him back to Mingzhou. Keyong took the field himself against Wei, fought on the Huan River, and lost his son Luoluo in the battle. In the sixth month he overran more than ten Wei towns, among them Cheng’an, Huan River, and Linzhang. In the tenth month he beat the Wei again at Bailong Pool and pushed on Guanyin Gate until Quanzhong’s rescue force came up and the siege broke off.

四年，刘仁恭叛晋，克用以兵五万击仁恭，战于安塞，克用大败。光化元年，朱全忠遣葛从周攻下邢、洺、磁三州。克用遣周德威出青山口，遇从周于张公桥，德威大败。冬，潞州守将薛志勤卒，李罕之据潞州，叛附于朱全忠。

In the fourth year Liu Rengong turned on Jin. Keyong marched on him with fifty thousand troops, met him at Anse, and suffered a crushing defeat. In Guanghua 1 (898) Quanzhong sent Ge Congzhou to seize Xing, Ming, and Ci. Keyong sent Zhou Dewei out the Qing Mountain Pass. Congzhou caught him at Zhanggong Bridge and smashed his force. That winter Xue Zhiqin, the Luzhou commander, died. Li Hanzhi took the city, rebelled, and went over to Quanzhong.

二年，全忠遣氏叔琮攻破承天军，又破辽州，至于榆次，周德威败之于洞涡。秋，李嗣昭复取泽、潞。三年，嗣昭败汴军于沙河，复取洺州，朱全忠自将围之，嗣昭走，至青山口，遇汴伏兵，嗣昭大败。秋，嗣昭取怀州。是岁，汴人攻镇、定，镇、定皆绝晋以附于朱全忠。

In the second year Quanzhong sent Shi Shuzong against Chengtian Army, then overran Liaozhou and pushed as far as Yuci before Zhou Dewei threw him back at Dongwo. That autumn Li Sizhao won back Ze and Lu. In the third year Sizhao routed the Bian at Shahe and retook Mingzhou. Quanzhong came in person to besiege it; Sizhao broke out, but at Qing Mountain Pass he walked into a Bian ambush and was routed again. That autumn Sizhao seized Huaizhou. The same year Bian forces struck Zhen and Ding; both circuits broke with Jin and threw in with Quanzhong.

天复元年，全忠封梁王。梁攻下晋、绛、河中，执王珂以归。晋失三与国，乃下意为书币聘梁以求和。梁王以为晋弱可取，乃曰：「晋虽请盟，而书辞慢。」因大举击晋。四月，氏叔琮入天井，张文敬入新口，葛从周入土门，王处直入飞狐，侯言入阴地。叔琮取泽、潞，其别将白奉国破承天军，辽州守将张鄂、汾州守将李瑭皆迎梁军降，晋人大惧。会天大雨霖，梁兵多疾，皆解去。五月，晋复取汾州，诛李瑭。六月，周德威、李嗣昭取慈、隰。二年，进攻晋、绛，大败于蒲县，梁军乘胜破汾、慈、隰三州，遂围太原。克用大惧，谋出奔云州，又欲奔匈奴，未决，梁军大疫，解去，周德威复取汾、慈、隰三州。四年，梁迁唐都于洛阳，改元曰天祐。克用以谓劫天子以迁都者梁也，天祐非唐号，不可称，乃仍称天复。

In Tianfu 1 (901) Quanzhong was made Prince of Liang. Liang overran the Jin, Jiang, and Hezhong circuits, seized Wang Ke, and marched home with him. Stripped of three allies, Jin swallowed its pride and sent letters and tribute to Liang begging for peace. The Prince of Liang judged Jin feeble and easy prey. “They plead for peace,” he said, “yet their letter reads like an insult. On that pretext he launched a full-scale invasion of Jin. In the fourth month Shi Shuzong came in through Tianjing, Zhang Wenjing through Xinkou, Ge Congzhou through Tumen, Wang Churen through Feihu, and Hou Yan through Yindi. Shuzong seized Ze and Lu while his lieutenant Bai Fengguo overran Chengtian Army. Zhang E at Liaozhou and Li Tang at Fenzhou opened their gates to Liang. Terror swept through Jin territory. Then the skies opened and the rains would not stop. Sickness ravaged the Liang camps, and the invaders pulled back. In the fifth month Jin retook Fenzhou and put Li Tang to death. In the sixth month Zhou Dewei and Li Sizhao recovered Ci and Xi. In the second year they marched on Jin and Jiang, only to be shattered at Pu County. Liang forces swept up the victory, retook Fen, Ci, and Xi, and closed on Taiyuan. Keyong was terrified, plotted flight to Yunzhou, then weighed throwing himself on the northern tribes—he could not choose. Plague broke out in the Liang camps; they lifted the siege, and Zhou Dewei won back Fen, Ci, and Xi. In the fourth year Liang transferred the Tang capital to Luoyang and proclaimed the era Tianyou. Keyong held that Liang had dragged the emperor west by force, that Tianyou was no true Tang era, and refused to use it—he still dated events to Tianfu.

五年，会契丹阿保机于云中，约为兄弟。

In the fifth year he met the Khitan ruler Abaoji at Yunzhong, and the two men swore brotherhood.

六年，梁攻燕沧州，燕王刘仁恭来乞师。克用恨仁恭反覆，欲不许，其子存勖谏曰：「此吾复振之时也。今天下之势，归梁者十七八，强如赵、魏、中山，莫不听命。是自河以北，无为梁患者，其所惮者惟我与仁恭耳，若燕、晋合势，非梁之福也。夫为天下者不顾小怨，且彼常困我而我急其难，可因以德而怀之，是谓一举而两得，此不可失之机也。」克用以为然，乃为燕出兵攻破潞州，梁围乃解去，以李嗣昭为潞州留后。

In the sixth year Liang besieged Cangzhou in Yan, and Liu Rengong came pleading for aid. Keyong, bitter over Rengong’s betrayals, meant to refuse. His son Cunxu urged him: “This is when we can rally. Seven or eight tenths of the empire now bows to Liang. Even great houses like Zhao, Wei, and Zhongshan take their orders from it. North of the Yellow River nothing threatens Liang anymore—only we and Rengong still stand in its way. Let Yan and Jin unite, and Liang’s luck turns. A ruler of empire does not nurse petty slights. They have squeezed us again and again; now they are desperate—we can bind them with generosity and kill two birds with one stone. Such a chance will not come twice. Keyong was persuaded, marched for Yan, stormed Luzhou, and broke the Liang siege. Li Sizhao was left to hold the city.

七年，梁兵十万攻潞州，围以夹城。遣周德威救潞州，军于乱柳。冬，克用疾，是岁，梁灭唐，克用复称天祐四年。

In the seventh year Liang sent a hundred thousand men against Luzhou and penned it inside double walls. Keyong dispatched Zhou Dewei to relieve the city; Dewei camped at Luanliu. That winter Keyong took to his bed. The same year Liang ended Tang; Keyong dated the year as Tianyou four.

五年正月辛卯，克用卒，年五十三。子存勖立，葬克用于雁门。

On the xinmao day of the first month in the fifth year Keyong died, aged fifty-three. His son Cunxu took the succession and buried Keyong at Yanmen.

呜呼，世久而失其传者多矣，岂独史官之缪哉！李氏之先，盖出于西突厥，本号朱邪，至其后世，别自号曰沙陀，而以朱邪为姓，拔野古为始祖。其自序云：沙陀者，北庭之碛也，当唐太宗时，破西突厥诸部，分同罗、仆骨之人于此碛，置沙陀府，而以其始祖拔野古为都督；其传子孙，数世皆为沙陀都督，故其后世因自号沙陀。然予考于传记，其说皆非也。夷狄无姓氏，朱邪，部族之号耳，拔野古与朱邪同时人，非其始祖，而唐太宗时，未尝有沙陀府也。唐太宗破西突厥，分其诸部，置十三州，以同罗为龟林都督府，仆骨为金微都督府，拔野古为幽陵都督府，未尝有沙陀府也。当是时，西突厥有铁勒，延陀、阿史那之类为最大；其别部有同罗、仆骨、拔野古等以十数，盖其小者也；又有处月、处密诸部，又其小者也。朱邪者，处月别部之号耳。太宗二十二年，已降拔野古，其明年，阿史那贺鲁叛。至高宗永徽二年，处月朱邪孤注从贺鲁战于牢山，为契苾何力所败，遂没不见。后百五六十年，宪宗时，有朱邪尽忠及子执宜见于中国，而自号沙陀，以朱邪为姓矣。盖沙陀者，大碛也，在金莎山之阳，蒲类海之东，自处月以来居此碛，号沙陀突厥，而夷狄无文字传记，朱邪又微不足录，故其后世自失其传。至尽忠孙始赐姓李氏，李氏后大，而夷狄之人遂以沙陀为贵种云。

Alas: the longer the ages roll on, the more truth slips away. That is not the historians’ alone to answer for! The Li line traced its roots to the Western Turks under the tribal name Zhuye. Later generations styled themselves Shatuo, kept Zhuye as their clan designation, and named Bayegu as their forebear. In their own telling, Shatuo was the desert tract of Beiting: when Taizong crushed the Western Turks he resettled Tongluo and Pugu clans there, founded a Shatuo prefecture, and installed Bayegu as its commander— and for generations their line held that post, until their descendants took Shatuo as their name.” When I checked the written sources, however, every part of that story failed. Steppe peoples did not use family names; Zhuye was only a tribal label. Bayegu lived in the same age as the Zhuye, not centuries before them, and Taizong’s reign never saw a “Shatuo prefecture.” Taizong shattered the Western Turks and carved their tribes into thirteen districts—Tongluo as Guilin command, Pugu as Jinwei, Bayegu as Youling. Nowhere did he create a Shatuo command. In that day the great powers among the Western Turks were the Tiele, the Yantuo, the Ashina, and their peers; while Tongluo, Pugu, Bayegu, and a dozen like them were secondary tribes; and below them stood Chuyue, Chumi, and other still smaller groups. Zhuye was nothing more than a Chuyue offshoot’s name. Bayegu submitted in Taizong’s twenty-second year; Helu of the Ashina rose the year after. In Gaozong’s Yonghui 2 (651) the Chuyue leader Guzhu of the Zhuye followed Helu to Mount Lao, was crushed by Qibi Heli, and disappeared from history. A century and a half later, under Xianzong, Jinzhong of the Zhuye and his son Zhiyi surfaced within China, called themselves Shatuo, and bore Zhuye as a clan name. Shatuo meant the great sands south of Jingsha Mountain and east of Pulei Sea; since Chuyue days clans had lived there and been known as the Shatuo Turks. But steppe peoples left no chronicles, and the Zhuye were too minor to be noted—so their descendants forgot where they came from. Only Jinzhong’s grandson was granted the surname Li. The house rose to empire, and across the borderlands “Shatuo” became a name to boast of.

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