1
朱宣 〈（弟瑾）〉
Zhu Xuan (Younger brother Jin appended)〉
2
朱宣，宋州下邑人也。 少從其父販鹽為盜，父抵法死，宣乃去事青州節度使王敬武為軍校，敬武以隸其將曹全晟。 中和二年，敬武遣全晟入關與破黃巢。 還過鄆州，鄆州節度使薛崇卒，其將崔君預自稱留後。 全晟攻殺君預，遂據鄆州。 宣以戰功，為鄆州馬步軍都指揮使。 已而全晟死，軍中推宣為留後，唐僖宗即拜宣天平軍節度使。
Zhu Xuan came from Xiayi in Songzhou. As a boy he hawked salt with his father and drifted into banditry. When his father was executed, Xuan entered the service of Wang Jingwu, governor of Qingzhou, as a camp officer. Jingwu assigned him to his general Cao Quansheng. In Zhonghe 2 (882) Jingwu sent Quansheng through the passes to help crush Huang Chao. On the march home they passed Yunzhou. The governor Xue Chong had died; his officer Cui Junyu declared himself acting governor. Quansheng struck, killed Junyu, and took Yunzhou. For his fighting Xuan was made commander of all horse and foot at Yunzhou. Quansheng died soon after. The troops made Xuan acting governor, and Tang’s Emperor Xizong named him military governor of Tianping.
3
梁太祖鎮宣武，以兄事宣。 太祖新就鎮，兵力尚少，數為秦宗權所困，太祖乞兵於宣。 宣與其弟瑾以兗、鄆之兵救汴，大破蔡兵，走宗權。 是時，太祖已襲取滑州，稍欲並吞諸鎮，宣、瑾既還，乃馳檄兗、鄆，言宣、瑾多誘宣武軍卒亡以東，乃發兵收亡卒，因攻之，遂為敵國，苦戰曹、濮間。 是時，梁又東攻徐州，西有蔡賊，北敵強晉，宣、瑾兄弟自相首尾，然卒為梁所滅。 乾寧四年，宣敗，走中都，為葛從周所執，斬於汴橋下。
Zhu Wen, holding Xuanyi, treated Xuan like an elder brother. Zhu Wen had only just secured his post; his army was still thin, and Qin Zongquan kept pinning him down. He begged Xuan for men. Xuan and his brother Jin marched from Yanzhou and Yunzhou to relieve Bian, shattered the Cai host, and drove Zongquan away. By then Zhu Wen had taken Huazhou and was swallowing rival domains one by one. When Xuan and Jin went home, he fired proclamations at Yanzhou and Yunzhou accusing them of luring Xuanyi troops east. He sent men to hunt deserters, then attacked—brothers became enemies, and the war between Cao and Pu turned savage. Liang was striking Xuzhou in the east, fighting Cai in the west, and facing powerful Jin in the north. The brothers Xuan and Jin shielded each other—yet Liang destroyed them in the end. In Qianning 4 (897) Xuan broke, fled to Zhongdu, was taken by Ge Congzhou, and beheaded beneath Bian Bridge.
4
瑾，宣從父弟也。 從宣居鄆州，補軍校。 少倜儻，有大志，兗州節度使齊克讓愛其為人，以女妻之。 瑾行親迎，乃選壯士為輿夫，伏兵器輿中。 夜至兗州，兵發，遂虜克讓，自稱留後。 僖宗即拜瑾泰寧軍節度使。
Jin was Xuan’s cousin. He followed Xuan to Yunzhou and served as a camp officer. Young, he was bold and high-spirited. Qi Kerang, governor of Yanzhou, admired him and gave him his daughter. For the wedding procession Jin chose strong men as litter-bearers and hid weapons inside the bridal sedan. He reached Yanzhou by night. The men leaped out, seized Kerang, and Jin declared himself acting governor. Emperor Xizong immediately named him military governor of Taining.
5
瑾與宣已破秦宗權於汴州，梁太祖責瑾誘宣武軍卒以歸，遣朱珍攻瑾，取曹州，又攻濮州，而太祖自攻鄆。 瑾兄弟往來相救，凡十餘年，大小數十戰，與太祖屢相勝敗。 太祖得宣將賀瑰、何懷寶及瑾兄瓊，乃將瓊等至兗城下，告瑾曰：「汝兄敗矣！ 今瓊等已降，不如早自歸。」 瑾偽曰：「諾。」 乃遣牙將胡規持書幣詣軍門請降。 太祖大喜，至延壽門與瑾交語，瑾曰：「願得瓊送符印。」 太祖信之，遣客將劉捍送瓊往。 瑾伏壯士橋下，單騎迎瓊，揮手語捍曰：「請瓊獨來！」 瓊前，壯士擒之，遂閉門，責瓊先降，斬之，擲其首城外。 太祖度不可下，乃留兵圍之而去。
After Jin and Xuan had routed Qin Zongquan at Bian, Zhu Wen accused Jin of luring Xuanyi troops away, sent Zhu Zhen against him, took Caozhou, then Pu—and marched on Yan himself. The brothers raced to rescue each other. For more than ten years they fought dozens of battles with Zhu Wen, winning and losing by turns. Zhu Wen took Xuan’s generals He Gui and He Huaibao and Jin’s brother Qiong, marched them to the walls of Yanzhou, and shouted: “Your brother is finished! Qiong and the rest have already surrendered. Yield while you can.” Jin lied: “Done.” He sent his yamen officer Hu Gui to the camp with letters and gifts to sue for surrender. Zhu Wen was delighted. At the Yanshou Gate he parleyed with Jin, who said: “Send Qiong here with the tally and seal.” Zhu Wen believed him and sent his guest officer Liu Han to bring Qiong in. Jin hid men under the bridge, rode out alone to meet Qiong, and called to Han: “Send Qiong forward alone!” Qiong came forward. The ambush seized him. The gates slammed shut. Jin accused him of yielding first, cut off his head, and threw it over the wall. Zhu Wen saw the city would not fall, left an army to besiege it, and marched away.
6
瑾嬰城自守，而與葛從周等戰城下，瑾兵屢敗，宣亦敗於鄆州，乃乞兵於晉，晉遣李承嗣、史儼等以騎兵五千救之。 太祖已破宣，乃急趨兗。 瑾城中食盡，與承嗣等掠食豐、沛間，梁兵奄至，瑾將康懷英等以城降梁。 瑾等將麾下兵走沂州，沂州刺史尹處賓不納。 又走海州，梁兵急追之，乃奔於淮南。 楊行密聞瑾來，大喜，解其玉帶贈之，表瑾領武寧軍節度使，以為行軍副使。 其後，梁遣龐師古、葛從周等攻淮南，行密用瑾，大破梁兵於清口，斬師古。 行密累表瑾東南諸道行營副都統、領平盧軍節度使、同中書門下平章事。
Jin held the walls and fought Ge Congzhou below them, but his men kept breaking. Xuan lost at Yunzhou and begged Jin for help. Jin sent Li Chengsi and Shi Yan with five thousand horsemen. Zhu Wen had already crushed Xuan and now raced on Yanzhou. Yanzhou ran out of grain. Jin and Chengsi raided for food between Feng and Pei. Liang troops swept in. Kang Huaiying and other officers handed the city to Liang. Jin fled with his men toward Yizhou. The prefect Yin Chubin refused them entry. They ran for Haizhou; Liang gave chase; they crossed into Huainan. Yang Xingmi rejoiced at Jin’s arrival, gave him his own jade belt, had him named military governor of Wuning, and kept him as field deputy. Later Liang sent Pang Shigu and Ge Congzhou against Huainan. Xingmi put Jin in the line. At Qingkou they shattered Liang’s army and killed Shigu. Xingmi repeatedly had Jin named deputy supreme commander of the southeastern field armies, governor of Pinglu, and Grand Councilor equal to the Secretariat-Chancellery.
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行密死，渥及隆演相繼立，皆年少，徐溫與其子知訓專政，畏瑾，欲除之，瑾乃謀殺知訓。 嘗以月旦遣愛妾候知訓家，知訓強通之，妾歸自訴，瑾益不平。 屢勸隆演誅徐氏，以去國患，隆演不能為。 既而知訓以泗州建靜淮軍，出瑾為節度使。 將行，召之夜飲。 明日，知訓過瑾謝，延之升堂，出其妻陶氏，知訓方拜，瑾以笏擊踣之，伏兵自戶突出，殺之。 初，瑾以二惡馬擊庭中，知訓入而釋馬，使相踶嗚，故外人莫聞其變。 瑾攜其首馳示隆演曰：「今日為吳除患矣！」 隆演曰：「此事非吾敢知！」 遽起入內。 瑾忿然以首擊柱，提劍而出，府門已闔，因逾垣，折其足。 瑾顧路窮，大呼曰：「吾為萬人去害，而以一身死之！」 遂自刎。 潤州徐知誥聞亂，以兵趨廣陵，族瑾家。 瑾妻陶氏臨刑而泣，其妾曰：「何為泣乎？ 今行見公矣！」 陶氏收淚，欣然就戮，聞者哀之。
After Xingmi died, Wo and Longyan were boys in turn on the throne. Xu Wen and his son Zhixun ran everything, feared Jin, and wanted him gone. Jin plotted Zhixun’s death. Each month’s first day he sent a favorite concubine to Zhixun’s house. Zhixun took her by force. She came home in tears. Jin’s rage deepened. Again and again he pressed Longyan to kill the Xu clan and lift the peril on the state. Longyan would not act. Zhixun then founded the Jinghuai army at Sizhou and posted Jin out as its governor. On the eve of his departure he called Jin to a night’s drinking. Next day Zhixun came to thank him. Jin drew him into the hall, brought out his wife Lady Tao, and as Zhixun bowed smashed him with his court tablet. Men hidden in the doorways rushed out and killed him. Jin had set two savage horses fighting in the courtyard. When Zhixun entered he loosed them to kick and scream, so no one outside heard the killing. Jin rode to Longyan with the head in his hand and cried: “Today I have rid Wu of its plague!” Longyan said: “This is not mine to know!” He rose at once and fled inside. Jin smashed the head against a pillar, drew his sword, and rushed out. The gates were shut. He scaled the wall and broke his foot. Cornered, he shouted: “I killed the tyrant for the people—and I alone pay with my life!” Then he cut his own throat. Xu Zhigao at Runzhou heard the alarm, marched on Guangling, and wiped out Jin’s house. Lady Tao wept on the block. A concubine said: “Why cry? You will see your husband soon enough!” She dried her tears and went to the blade smiling. All who heard it grieved for her.
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瑾名重江淮，人畏之。 其死也，屍之廣陵北門，路人私共瘞之。 是時，民多病瘧，皆取其墓上土，以水服之，雲病輒愈，更益新土，漸成高墳。 徐溫等惡之，發其屍，投於雷公塘。 後溫病，夢瑾挽弓射之。 溫懼，網其骨，葬塘側，立祠其上。 初，瑾嘗病疽，醫者視之，色懼，瑾曰：「但理之，吾非以病死者。」 於是果然。 卒年五十二。
Jin’s name cast a long shadow on the Jiang-Huai. Men feared him. When he died his body lay at Guangling’s north gate. Travelers buried him in secret. Malaria was rife. People took soil from his grave, mixed it with water, and drank—sickness lifted, they said—and kept adding fresh earth until a high mound rose. Xu Wen hated the cult. His men dug up the corpse and threw it into Leigong Pond. Later Wen fell ill and dreamed Jin drawing a bow on him. Terrified, he gathered the bones, buried them by the pond, and built a shrine above. Once Jin had a carbuncle. The doctor looked, face white with fear. Jin said: “Treat it. I will not die of sickness.” And so it was. He died at fifty-two.
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王師範
Wang Shifan
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王師範，青州人也。 其父敬武，為平盧軍牙將。 唐廣明元年，無棣人洪霸郎為盜齊、棣間，平盧節度使安師儒遣敬武率兵擊破之。 敬武反，兵逐師儒，自稱留後，都統王鐸承制拜敬武節度使。 敬武卒，師範尚幼，其棣州刺史張蟾叛。 昭宗以為師範年少，其下不服從，乃拜太子少師崔安潛為平盧節度使。 師範不受代，蟾迎安潛入棣州。 師範遣其將盧洪攻蟾，洪以兵返襲青州，師范陽為好辭，遣人迎語洪曰：「吾幼未能任事，賴諸將共持之爾。 不然，聽公所為也。」 洪以師範無能為，遽還，不為備。 師範伏兵於道，語其仆劉鄩曰：「洪來，為我斬之！ 用爾為牙將。」 明日，洪來，師範出迎，鄩於坐上斬之，伏兵發，盡殺其餘兵，乃急攻棣州，破張蟾，安潛奔歸於京師。 昭宗乃拜師範節度使。
Wang Shifan came from Qingzhou. His father Jingwu was a yamen officer in the Pinglu army. In Tang’s first Guangming year (880) Hong Balang of Wudi raided Qi and Di. An Shiru, governor of Pinglu, sent Jingwu to crush him. Jingwu turned on his own army. The troops expelled Shiru. Jingwu made himself acting governor. Wang Duo, supreme commander, confirmed him as military governor. Jingwu died while Shifan was still a boy. Zhang Chan, governor of Di prefecture, rebelled. Emperor Zhaozong thought the boy could not hold his men and named Cui Anqian, junior tutor to the heir apparent, governor of Pinglu. Shifan refused to step down. Chan brought Anqian into Di prefecture. Shifan sent Lu Hong against Chan. Hong wheeled his army back on Qingzhou. Shifan sent soft words to meet him: “I am young and cannot yet rule. I lean on you generals to hold the domain together. If not, do as you please.” Hong judged Shifan helpless, marched back at once, and set no guard. Shifan hid men on the road and told his servant Liu Zan: “When Hong comes, strike off his head! I will make you a yamen officer.” Next day Hong came. Shifan met him at the gate. Zan struck him down at table. The ambush rose and slaughtered the rest, then stormed Di, broke Zhang Chan, and Anqian fled to the capital. Emperor Zhaozong then named Shifan military governor.
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師範頗好儒學，聚書至萬卷，為政有威愛。 梁太祖圍昭宗於鳳翔，宦官韓全誨等矯詔召諸鎮兵以擊梁。 詔至青州，師範泣曰：「諸鎮有兵，所以藩捍天子，今天子危辱，而諸鎮反以兵自衛； 吾雖力不足，當成敗以之。」 乃遣使乞兵於楊行密。 是時，梁已東下兗、鄆，師範乃遣劉鄩與其弟師魯分攻兗、密諸州。 遣張居厚以壯士二百為輿夫，伏兵輿中，西馳梁軍，稱師範使者聘梁，因欲劫殺太祖。 居厚至華州東城，華州將婁敬思疑其有異，剖輿視之，見其兵。 居厚遂擊殺敬思，以兵攻西城，不克而反。 劉鄩逐葛從周取兗州，而平盧諸州皆起兵攻梁。
Shifan loved the classics, amassed ten thousand scrolls, and ruled with sternness and mercy together. Zhu Wen besieged Emperor Zhaozong at Fengxiang. The eunuch Han Quanhui forged an edict calling every circuit to march on Liang. The edict reached Qingzhou. Shifan wept and said: “Circuits keep armies to shield the Son of Heaven. Now the throne is in peril, and the circuits hide behind their walls instead; my strength is small, but I will stake everything on it.” He sent envoys to beg troops from Yang Xingmi. Liang was already driving east on Yanzhou and Yunzhou. Shifan sent Liu Zan and his brother Shilu against Yan, Mi, and the neighboring prefectures. He sent Zhang Juhou west with two hundred strong men as litter-bearers, weapons hidden in the sedan, galloping toward Liang’s camp as Shifan’s envoy to pay court—and to kill Zhu Wen. Juhou reached Huazhou’s east wall. Lou Jingsi, an officer of Huazhou, smelled a trap, split the sedan open, and found the soldiers. Juhou killed Jingsi, stormed the west wall, failed, and turned back. Liu Zan drove Ge Congzhou off and took Yanzhou. Every Pinglu prefecture rose against Liang.
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其後，梁太祖自鳳翔東還，遣朱友寧攻師範，友寧戰死。 復遣楊師厚攻之，屯於臨朐。 師範以兵迫之，師厚陽為怯不敢出，間遣人陽言曰：「梁兵少，方乞兵於鳳翔，今糧且絕，當還軍。」 師範以為然，乃遣師魯悉兵攻之，師厚拒而不戰。 師魯兵卻，師厚追擊至聖王山，師魯大敗，遂傅其城，而梁別將劉重霸下其棣州，師範乃請降，太祖許之。 師範素服乘驢詣太祖請罪，太祖待以客禮。 久之，表師範河陽節度使。
Zhu Wen came east from Fengxiang and sent Zhu Youning against Shifan. Youning fell in battle. He sent Yang Shihou next. Shihou camped at Linqu. Shifan pressed the camp. Shihou played coward, would not fight, and let men spread word: “Liang is weak, begging reinforcements from Fengxiang. Grain is almost gone. They will pull back.” Shifan believed it and sent Shilu with every man. Shihou shut the gates and would not fight. Shilu withdrew. Shihou chased him to Shengwang Mountain and broke him utterly, then pressed the city. Liu Chongba took Di prefecture. Shifan sued for peace. Zhu Wen accepted. Shifan came in plain dress on a donkey to beg pardon. Zhu Wen received him as a guest. In time he had Shifan named military governor of Heyang.
13
李罕之
Li Hanzhi
14
李罕之，陳州項城人也。 為人驍勇，力兼數人。 少學，讀書不成，去為僧，以其無賴，所往皆不容。 乃乞食酸棗市中，市中人皆不與，罕之擲器於地，裂其衣，又去為盜。 是時，黃巢起曹、濮，乃往依之。 巢北渡江，罕之與其麾下走淮南，自歸於高駢，駢表光州刺史。 歲餘，秦宗權急攻光州，罕之不能守，還走項城，收其餘眾，依諸葛爽於河陽，爽以罕之為懷州刺史。 巢已敗走，爽降唐，僖宗拜爽東南面招討使，以攻宗權，爽表罕之副使，以兵屯宋州，又表河南尹、東都留守。 秦宗權遣孫儒攻河南，罕之兵少，西走澠池，儒燒宮闕，剽掠而去。 罕之壁澠池。
Li Hanzhi was a man of Xiangcheng in Chenzhou. He was a terror in battle—said to have the strength of several men. He tried his hand at books as a boy and failed. He took the tonsure, but his rowdiness got him turned out of every monastery that would have him. He ended up begging in the Zaozao market. When the townsfolk refused him, he smashed his bowl, ripped off his monk’s robes, and turned bandit. When Huang Chao rose in Cao and Pu, Hanzhi threw in with him. Chao marched north across the Yangtze. Hanzhi broke away with his men to Huainan and offered himself to Gao Pian, who had him named prefect of Guang. A year on, Qin Zongquan hammered Guang until Hanzhi could not hold the city. He fell back to Xiangcheng, scraped up what men he had left, and threw in with Zhuge Shuang at Heyang. Shuang gave him Huai. Chao was already broken and on the run. Shuang came over to Tang, and Xizong made him commissioner to crush Zongquan. Shuang named Hanzhi his deputy, camped him at Song, and had him posted as Henan governor and defender of the eastern capital. Zongquan sent Sun Ru against Henan. Outnumbered, Hanzhi fell back west to Mianchi. Ru torched the palace quarter and stripped the region bare on his way out. Hanzhi dug in at Mianchi.
15
歲餘，諸葛爽死，其將劉經立爽子仲方。 仲方年少，事皆任經，經慮罕之兇勇難制，以兵攻之，罕之返擊走經。 罕之追至鞏縣，陳舟於汜水，將渡河，經遣張言拒之河上，言反背經，與罕之合攻河陽，為經所敗，退保懷州。 已而孫儒陷河陽，仲方奔於梁。 梁兵擊走儒，罕之襲取河陽，言取河南，皆附於梁。
Another year passed and Zhuge Shuang died. His officer Liu Jing put Shuang’s young son Zhongfang in his place. Zhongfang was a boy; Jing ran the show. Jing feared Hanzhi’s violence and that he could not be tamed, and sent troops against him. Hanzhi wheeled about and routed Jing. Hanzhi chased Jing to Gong, lined boats on the Sishui, and prepared to cross. Jing sent Zhang Yan to hold the north bank. Yan betrayed Jing, joined Hanzhi in a strike on Heyang, was beaten, and pulled back to defend Huai. Soon Sun Ru seized Heyang, and Zhongfang fled to Liang. Liang forces drove Ru away. Hanzhi snatched Heyang; Yan took Henan. Both men now served Liang.
16
罕之與言皆爽叛將，事已成，乃相與交臂為盟，誓同休戚不相忘。 罕之禦眾無法，性苛暴，頗失士心。 而言善治軍旅，教民播殖，務為積聚。 罕之用兵，言嘗供給其乏。 罕之求取無已，言頗苦之，不能輸，罕之召言軍吏笞責之，言益不平。 罕之悉兵攻晉、絳，言夜襲河陽，罕之奔晉。 晉表罕之澤州刺史，使李存孝以兵三萬助罕之攻言。 言求救於梁。 罕之敗於沇河，乃歸太原，李克用延之帳中。 罕之留其子頎事晉，乃之澤州，日以兵鈔懷、孟間，啖人為食。 居民屯聚摩雲山，罕之悉攻殺之，立柵其上，時人號曰李摩雲。 是時，晉方徇地山東，頗倚罕之為捍蔽。 李茂貞等犯京師，克用以兵至渭北，僖宗以克用為邠州四面行營都統，表罕之為副。 破王行瑜，加檢校太尉，食邑千戶。
Hanzhi and Yan were both renegades from Shuang’s camp. When the fighting was done, they clasped arms and swore one fortune for both—never to forget the bond. Hanzhi ruled by terror and had no discipline in camp. His cruelty cost him the loyalty of his men. Yan was the opposite: a soldier who could run an army and a province—he put people to the plow and hoarded grain for hard times. Whenever Hanzhi marched, Yan fed his shortfalls. Hanzhi’s demands never stopped. Yan wearied of them. When he could not deliver, Hanzhi had Yan’s supply officers beaten in public. Yan’s resentment turned to hatred. Hanzhi marched in full force on Jin and Jiang. Yan struck Heyang by night. Hanzhi ran to Jin. Jin named him prefect of Ze and sent Li Cunxiao with thirty thousand men to help him crush Yan. Yan called on Liang for help. Hanzhi lost on the Yan River and retreated to Taiyuan. Li Keyong took him into his tent. He left his son Qi at Jin’s court and returned to Ze, raiding Huai and Meng every day—and feeding his men on human flesh. Refugees had crowded Mount Moyun. Hanzhi slaughtered them to the last, threw up a stockade on the peak, and the country took to calling him Li Moyun—Li Who Touches the Clouds. Jin was carving up Shandong and counted on Hanzhi to hold the frontier. Li Maozhen and his allies struck the capital. Keyong marched to the Wei’s north bank. Xizong named Keyong supreme commander against Bin and made Hanzhi his second. They shattered Wang Xingyu. Hanzhi was made acting Grand Guardian with a fief of a thousand households.
17
罕之自以功多於晉，私謂蓋寓曰：「自吾脫身河陽，賴晉容我，未能有以報之； 今行老矣，無能為也。 若吾王見憐，與一小鎮，使休兵養疾而後歸老，幸也！」 寓為言之，克用不對。 佗日，諸鎮擇守將，未嘗及罕之，罕之心益怏怏。 寓告克用，懼罕之有佗心，克用曰：「吾於罕之，豈惜一鎮，然鷹鳥之性，飽則揚矣！」
Hanzhi believed he had done more for Jin than Jin admitted. He told Gai Yu in private: “Jin took me in when I fled Heyang. I have never repaid that debt; I am old now, and useless. If the Prince would grant me some small town, let me stand down my men and heal, then die at home—that would be mercy.” Gai Yu carried the plea to Keyong. Keyong said nothing. Days later the circuits picked new garrison chiefs. Hanzhi’s name was never on the list. His resentment deepened. Yu warned Keyong that Hanzhi might turn disloyal. Keyong said: “I would not begrudge him a town—but a hawk flies once its belly is full.
18
罕之初背梁而歸晉，晉王以罕之守澤州，罕之留其子頎與莊宗遊，甚狎。 後罕之背晉以歸梁，晉王怒，欲殺頎，莊宗與之駿馬，使奔於梁。 太祖得頎父子大喜，使與友倫將兵以衛昭宗，故頎當太祖時，常掌禁兵。 末帝誅友珪，頎與其謀，拜右羽林統軍、澶州刺史。 事唐，歷衛、衍二州刺史，累遷右領軍衛上將軍。 天福中卒，年七十，贈太尉。
When Hanzhi first left Liang for Jin, Keyong put him in Ze and left his son Qi at Taiyuan with the heir Li Cunxu—they were thick as kin. When Hanzhi later betrayed Jin for Liang, Keyong wanted Qi dead. Li Cunxu gave the boy a swift horse and sent him racing to Liang. Taizu was delighted to have father and son. He paired Qi with Zhu Youlun to guard Zhaozong, and Qi spent those years commanding the palace guard. When the Last Emperor killed Zhu Yougui, Qi helped plot it and was made commander of the Right Imperial Guard and prefect of Cao. Under Tang he governed Wei and Yan in turn and rose to Right Leader of the Imperial Guard. He died in the Tianfu reign at seventy and was posthumously made Grand Guardian.
19
孟方立
Meng Fangli
20
孟方立，邢州平鄉人也。 少為軍卒，以勇力選為隊將。 唐廣明中，潞州節度使高潯攻諸葛爽於河陽，遣方立將兵出天井關為先鋒。 潯為其將劉廣所逐，廣為亂軍所殺。 方立聞亂，引兵自天井入據潞州，唐因以為昭義軍節度使。 昭義所節制澤、潞、邢、洺、磁五州，而治潞州。 方立以謂潞州山川高險，而人俗勁悍，自劉積以來嘗逐其帥； 且己邢人也，因徙其軍於邢州。 而潞人怨方立之徙也，因以澤、潞二州歸於晉。 晉遣李克修為澤潞節度使，方立以邢、洺、磁三州自為昭義軍。
Meng Fangli was a man of Pingxiang in Xing. He began as a common soldier and was picked to lead a company for his strength. In Tang’s Guangming era Gao Xun of Luzhou marched on Zhuge Shuang at Heyang and sent Fangli through Tianjing Pass at the head of the column. Xun was overthrown by his officer Liu Guang; the mutineers then killed Guang. Hearing of the chaos, Fangli marched back through Tianjing and took Luzhou. Tang named him governor of Zhaoyi. Zhaoyi held Ze, Lu, Xing, Ming, and Ci—five prefectures—from its seat at Lu. Fangli decided Lu was all cliffs and hard country, its people violent and proud—since Liu Zong, governors had been thrown out as often as installed; and he was a Xing man himself. He shifted his army to Xing. Lu resented the move. Ze and Lu went over to Jin. Jin sent Li Kexiu to hold Ze and Lu. Fangli kept Xing, Ming, and Ci and called them Zhaoyi still.
21
方立將石元佐者，善兵而多智，方立嘗信用之。 忠信之敗也，元佐為晉將安金俊所得，金俊厚遇之，問以攻邢之策，元佐曰：「方立善守而邢城堅，若攻之，必不得志。 宜急攻其磁州，方立來救，可以敗也。」 金俊以為然。 軍於滏水之西，方立果帥兵來救，為金俊所敗，馳入邢州，閉壁不復出。 外無救兵，城中食且盡，方立夜出巡城，號令守者，守者皆不應，方立知不可，乃歸飲鴆而卒。
Fangli’s officer Shi Yuankuo knew war and scheming; Fangli leaned on him. After Xi Zhongxin’s defeat, Yuankuo fell into the hands of Jin’s An Jinjun. Jinjun treated him well and asked how to take Xing. Yuankuo said: “Fangli is a stubborn defender and Xing’s walls are high. A direct assault will fail. Hit Ci hard and fast. When Fangli rushes to save it, you can break him in the field.” Jinjun took the advice. Jinjun camped west of the Fushui. Fangli came as predicted, was smashed, and bolted into Xing. He barred the gates and would not fight again. No help came. The granaries ran dry. Fangli walked the walls at night, shouting orders; no one answered. He knew the game was over, went home, and drank poison.
22
王珂，河中人也。 其仲父重榮，以河中兵破黃巢，有功於唐，拜河中節度使。 重榮無子，以其兄重簡子珂為後。 重榮卒，弟重盈立，重盈卒，軍中乃以珂重榮子，立之。 重盈子陜州節度使珙、絳州刺史瑤，與珂爭立，珙、瑤以書與梁太祖，言珂故王氏蒼頭，小字忠兒，不應得立。 珂亦求援於晉，晉人言之朝，昭宗以晉故，許之。 而珙、瑤亦西結王行瑜、韓建、李茂貞為援，行瑜等交章論列，昭宗報以重榮與晉於唐嘗有大功，業許之，不可易。 行瑜等怒，以兵犯京師，殺宰相李磎等而去。 珙、瑤連兵攻珂河中，珂求援於晉，晉兵西討三鎮，行下絳州，斬瑤而過，至於渭北，擊破行瑜。 昭宗卒以珂為河中節度使。 晉以女妻之，遣李嗣昭將兵助珂攻珙陜州。 珙為人慘刻，嘗斬人擲其首於前，言笑自若，其下苦之。 偏將李璠因珙戰敗，殺珙，自稱留後。
Wang Ke was a man of Hezhong. His uncle Wang Chongrong had smashed Huang Chao with Hezhong’s army and earned Tang’s gratitude; Tang made him governor of the circuit. Chongrong had no sons. He adopted Chongjian’s boy Ke as his heir. Chongrong died; his brother Chongying followed him. When Chongying died, the army declared Ke Chongrong’s true heir and raised him up. Chongying’s sons Gong of Shaan and Yao of Jiang fought Ke for the seat. They wrote Taizu that Ke had been a Wang household bondservant—pet name Zhong’er—and had no claim. Ke appealed to Jin. Jin’s envoys pleaded at court, and for Jin’s sake Zhaozong assented. Gong and Yao also courted Wang Xingyu, Han Jian, and Li Maozhen in the west. Memorials flooded the throne. Zhaozong answered that Chongrong and Jin had saved Tang once; the promise stood—it would not be undone. Xingyu and his allies marched on the capital in fury, murdered Chief Minister Li Xi and others, and withdrew. Gong and Yao besieged Ke in Hezhong. Ke called Jin. Jin marched west against the three allies, cut down Yao at Jiang on the way, reached the Wei’s north bank, and shattered Xingyu. At last Zhaozong confirmed Ke as governor of Hezhong. Jin gave him a princess and sent Li Sizhao to help him take Shaan from Gong. Gong was vicious. He would cut off a man’s head and set it on the table while he joked over wine. His officers hated him. When Gong lost a battle, his officer Li Fan killed him and named himself acting governor.
23
是時，梁已下鎮、定，將移兵西，而昭宗為劉季述所廢，京師大亂。 崔胤陰召梁以兵西，梁太祖以珂在河中，懼為患，乃顧張存敬、侯言，以一大繩與之，曰：「為我持縛珂來！」 存敬等兵出含山，破晉、絳二州，遣何絪以兵守之，絕晉援。 存敬圍河中，珂告急於晉，晉以絪故不得前。 珂乃遣其妻以書告晉王曰：「賊勢如此，朝夕乞食於梁矣！ 大人何忍而不救邪？」 晉王報之曰：「梁兵為阻，眾寡不敵，救之則並晉俱亡，不若與王郎自歸朝廷。」 珂乃為書與李茂貞曰：「天子初返正，詔藩鎮無相侵以安王室。 今朱公棄約以見攻，其勢不止於弊邑； 若弊邑朝亡，則西北諸鎮非諸君所能守也！ 願與華州出兵潼關以為應。」 茂貞不報。 珂計窮，乃治舟於河，將歸於京師。 珂夜登城諭守陴者，守陴者皆不應。 牙將劉訓夜入珂寢白事，珂叱之曰：「兵欲反邪！」 訓乃解衣自索而入曰：「公茍懷疑，請先斷臂！」 珂曰：「事急矣！ 計安出乎？」 訓曰：「公若攜家夜濟，人必爭舟，一夫鴟張，大事即去。 不若遲明以情諭軍中，願從者猶得其半。 不然，且為款狀以緩梁兵，徐圖向背。」 珂以為然。
Liang had taken Zhen and Ding and was turning west when Liu Jishu deposed Zhaozong and the capital dissolved into chaos. Cui Yin quietly called Liang west. Taizu feared Ke in Hezhong and turned to Zhang Cunjing and Hou Yan with a heavy rope. “Bind Ke and bring him to me,” he said. Cunjing marched from Hanshan, overran Jin and Jiang, and posted He Yin to choke off relief from Taiyuan. Cunjing tightened the siege. Ke begged Jin for rescue, but He Yin’s blockade held the Jin army still. Ke had his wife write Keyong: “The enemy is this strong—we will soon be eating Liang’s scraps! My lord, how can you leave us to die?” Keyong answered: “Liang blocks the road. We are too few. If I march, Jin and Hezhong fall together. Better you surrender to the throne on your own.” Ke wrote Li Maozhen: “The Son of Heaven has only just been restored. He ordered the circuits not to tear at one another—to keep the house of Tang whole. Now Zhu Wen breaks the pact and strikes us. He will not stop at our one circuit; if we fall tomorrow, you will not hold the northwest. March from Huazhou through Tong Pass and meet me.” Maozhen never answered. Out of options, Ke fitted boats on the river to flee to the capital. That night he climbed the wall and called to the men on the battlements. No one answered. His guard officer Liu Xun came to Ke’s chamber at night on business. Ke snapped: “Are my soldiers mutinying?” Xun tore off his jacket, bound his own arms, and stepped in. “If you still doubt me, take my arm first.” Ke said: “We are out of time. What is left to do?” Xun said: “If you put your family in boats tonight, men will fight for the planks. One panic and everything is gone. Wait for dawn. Speak to the army honestly—perhaps half will still follow you. If not, feign surrender to buy time, then choose your side.” Ke agreed.
24
梁太祖自同州降唐，即依重榮，以母王氏，故事重榮為舅。 珂乃登城呼存敬曰：「吾於梁王有家世之舊，兵當退舍，俟梁王來，吾將聽命。」 存敬乃退舍，使馳詣太祖於洛陽。 太祖至河中，先之城東，哭於重榮之墓而後入。 珂欲面縛牽羊以見太祖，太祖謂曰：「太師阿舅之恩何時可忘，郎君若以亡國之禮見，太師其謂我何？」 珂迎於路，握手噓唏，乃徙珂於汴。 太祖以珂晉婿也，疑其貳己，使珂西入覲，行至華州，使人殺之傳舍。
When Taizu came over to Tang from Tong, he had clung to Chongrong. His mother was a Wang by birth, so by custom he called Chongrong uncle. Ke climbed the wall and shouted to Cunjing: “Taizu and I are family. Pull your men back. When he comes, I will yield to him.” Cunjing lifted the siege and galloped a messenger to Taizu in Luoyang. Taizu reached Hezhong, wept at Chongrong’s tomb east of the city, and only then went in. Ke meant to come out bound, leading a sheep—the rite of a conquered prince. Taizu said: “Your uncle’s kindness—I could never forget it. If you greet me like a dead kingdom, what would he think of me?” Ke met him on the road. They clasped hands and wept. Then Ke was sent to Bian. Taizu still feared Ke—he was Jin’s son-in-law—and ordered him west to pay homage. At Huazhou, assassins cut him down in the post house.
25
瓚，重盈之諸子也，梁太祖已執珂，自領河中節度使，以瓚為吏。 瓚事梁，為諸衛大將軍，泰寧、鎮國軍節度使。 末帝時，為開封尹。 貞明五年，代賀瑰為北面行營招討使。 是時，晉已城德勝，瓚自黎陽渡河攻澶州，不克，退屯楊村，扼河上流，與晉人相持經年，大小百餘戰，瓚卒無功，末帝遣戴思遠代，瓚復為開封尹。 莊宗自鄆入京師，末帝聞唐兵且至，日夜涕泣，不知所為，自持國寶，指其宮室謂瓚曰：「使吾保此者，系卿之畫如何耳！」 唐兵已過宛朐，瓚驅率市人登城拒守。 唐兵攻封丘門，瓚開門迎降，伏地請死，莊宗勞而起之曰：「朕與卿家世婚姻，然人臣各為主耳，復何罪邪！」 因以為開封尹，遷宣武軍節度使。 已而故梁臣趙巖、張漢傑等相次誅死，瓚以憂卒。 贈太子太師。
Zan was a younger son of Wang Chongying. Once Taizu had taken Wang Ke, he kept Hezhong for himself and set Zan to clerical work. Under Liang he rose to grand general of the guards and military commissioner of Taining and Zhenguo. Under the Last Emperor he governed Kaifeng as its prefect. In Zhenming 5 (919) he replaced He Gui as northern campaign commissioner. Jin had already walled Desheng. Zan crossed from Liyang to strike Cangzhou, failed, and fell back to Yangcun to choke the upper river. For a year he traded blows with Jin in more than a hundred fights and won nothing. The court sent Dai Siyuan in his place; Zan returned to Kaifeng. Zhuangzong marched on the capital from Yan. The Last Emperor heard Tang was coming and wept for days, clutching the regalia and pointing at his halls. “Whether I keep any of this,” he told Zan, “is in your hands!” Tang had already passed Wanyu. Zan pressed the market folk onto the battlements. Tang struck the Fengqiu Gate. Zan opened it, threw himself down, and asked to die. Zhuangzong lifted him up. “Our houses have married for generations,” he said. “You served your lord—I see no crime in that.” He made Zan prefect of Kaifeng, then military commissioner of Xuanwu. Soon former Liang ministers such as Zhao Yan and Zhang Hanjie were put to death in turn. Zan died of grief. He was posthumously made Grand Preceptor of the Heir Apparent.
26
趙犨，其先青州人也。 世為陳州牙將。 犨幼與群兒戲道中，部分行伍，指顧如將帥，雖諸大兒皆聽其節度，其父叔文見之，驚曰：「大吾門者，此兒也！」 及壯，善用弓劍，為人勇果，重氣義，刺史聞其材，召置麾下。 累遷忠武軍馬步軍都虞候。 王仙芝寇河南，陷汝州，將犯東都，犨引兵擊敗之，仙芝乃南去。 已而黃巢起，所在州縣，往往陷賊。 陳州豪傑數百人，相與詣忠武軍，求得犨為刺史以自保，忠武軍表犨陳州刺史。 已而巢陷長安，犨語諸將吏曰：「以吾計，巢若不為長安市人所誅，必驅其眾東走，吾州適當其沖矣！」 乃治城池為守備，遷民六十里內者皆入城中，選其子弟，配以兵甲，以其弟昶、珝為將。 巢敗，果東走，先遣孟楷據項城，昶擊破之，執楷以歸。 巢從後至，聞楷被執，大怒。
Zhao Chou’s family came from Qingzhou. For generations they served Chen Prefecture as yamen soldiers. As a boy Chou drilled other children in the street like a general; even the older boys took his orders. His father Shuwen stared and said: “This child will raise our house!” Grown, he was deadly with bow and blade, bold and loyal. The prefect heard of him and took him into his service. He rose to chief inspector of the Zhongwu army’s horse and foot. Wang Xianzhi swept Henan, took Ru, and marched on Luoyang. Chou met him and broke his army; Xianzhi turned south. Then Huang Chao rose, and town after town fell to him. Hundreds of Chen gentry went to the Zhongwu command and asked for Chou as their prefect. The army so memorialized, and Chou was made prefect of Chen. Chao took Chang’an. Chou told his staff: “If the Chang’an people do not kill him, he will drive east—and Chen lies in his path!” He rebuilt the walls, pulled every soul within sixty li inside, armed the young men, and put his brothers Chang and Xu in command. Chao broke and ran east, sending Meng Kai to take Xiangcheng. Chang shattered him, took Kai prisoner, and marched him in. Chao followed, learned Kai was taken, and flew into a rage.
27
既而秦宗權以蔡州附巢，巢勢甚盛，乃悉眾圍犨，置舂磨，糜人之肉以為食。 陳人恐，犨語其下曰：「吾家三世陳將，必能保此。 爾曹男子，當於死中求生，建功立業，未必不因此時。」 陳人皆踴躍。 巢柵城北三里為八仙營，起宮闕，置百官，聚糧餉，欲以久弊之，其兵號二十萬。 陳人舊有巨弩數百，皆廢壞，後生弩工皆不識其器。 珝創意理之，弩矢激五百步，人馬皆洞，以故巢不敢近。 圍凡三百日，犨食將盡，乃乞兵於梁。 梁太祖與李克用皆自將會陳，擊敗巢將黃鄴於西華。 西華有積粟，巢恃以為餉，及鄴敗，巢乃解圍去。
Qin Zongquan of Cai threw in with Chao, and Chao’s strength swelled. He surrounded Chen with his whole host, set up pounding mills, and fed his men on ground human flesh. Terror spread through Chen. Chou told his men: “Three generations of my house have defended Chen. We can hold it. You are men. Win your lives from death, make your names—this siege may be your chance.” The town answered with a roar. Chao built the Eight Immortals Camp three li north of the walls, threw up halls, named officials, stockpiled grain, and settled in for a long war of attrition. His host was said to be two hundred thousand strong. Chen once had hundreds of great crossbows, all broken; the young smiths no longer knew how to build them. Xu figured out how to repair them. Their bolts tore five hundred paces and punched through men and horses alike. Chao would not come close. The siege ran three hundred days. When grain ran low Chou begged Liang for relief. Taizu and Li Keyong both marched on Chen in person and broke Chao’s general Huang Ye at Xihua. Xihua held the granaries Chao lived on. Ye’s defeat broke the siege; Chao withdrew.
28
梁太祖入陳州，犨兄弟迎謁馬首甚恭。 然犨陰識太祖必成大事，乃降心屈跡，為自托之計。 以梁援己恩，為太祖立生祠，朝夕拜謁。 以其子巖尚太祖女，是謂長樂公主。 黃巢已去，秦宗權復亂淮西，陷旁二十餘州，而陳去蔡最近，犨兄弟力拒之，卒不能下。 後巢、宗權皆敗死，唐昭宗即以陳州為忠武軍，拜犨節度使。 犨已病，乃以位與其弟昶，後數月卒。
Taizu entered Chen. Chou and his brothers met him at the stirrup with deep courtesy. Chou had already read Taizu’s future. He humbled himself and courted him, planning how to bind his house to Liang. Grateful for Liang’s rescue, he raised a living shrine to Taizu and bowed there every dawn and dusk. He married his son Yan to Taizu’s daughter, the Princess of Changle. Chao was gone, but Qin Zongquan ravaged the Huai west and swallowed twenty-odd prefectures. Chen lay nearest Cai; the brothers held the line and Zongquan never took the city. Chao and Zongquan fell and died. Zhaozong made Chen the Zhongwu command and Chou its military commissioner. Chou fell ill, handed the seal to Chang, and died a few months later.
29
昶乘大寇新滅，乃休兵課農，事梁尤謹。 梁兵攻戰四方，昶饋免供億，未嘗少懈。 昶卒，珝代立。
With the great rebels barely gone, Chang rested his men and put the farmers back to the fields, serving Liang with meticulous loyalty. Liang fought on every front; Chang fed and equipped its armies without a day’s lapse. Chang died; Xu took his place.
30
珝頗知書，乃求鄧艾故跡，決翟王陂溉民田。 兄弟居陳二十餘年，陳人大賴之。 梁太祖已降韓建，取同、華，徙珝為同州留後。 入唐，為右金吾衛上將軍。 歲餘，以疾免官歸，卒於家，陳人為之罷市。
Xu was a reader. He traced Deng Ai’s old works, broke open the Zhaiwang Embankment, and watered the fields. For more than twenty years the brothers held Chen, and the people prospered under them. Once Taizu had broken Han Jian and taken Tong and Hua, he shifted Xu to acting governor of Tong. Under Tang he rose to general of the Right Golden Crow Guard. A year later illness ended his office; he went home and died. Chen closed its markets in grief.
31
犨次子巖，梁末帝時為戶部尚書、租庸使，與張漢傑、漢倫等居中用事。 梁自太祖以暴虐殺戮為事，而末帝為人特和柔恭謹，然性庸愚，以漢傑婦家，而巖婿也，故親信之，大臣老將皆切齒，末帝獨不悟，以至於亡。
Chou’s second son Yan, under the Last Emperor, was Minister of Revenue and transport commissioner; with Zhang Hanjie, Han Lun, and others he ruled from the center. From the Founder, Liang had ruled by the blade. The Last Emperor was gentle and timid by nature, but dull. He favored Hanjie as kin by marriage and Yan as son-in-law; old soldiers and ministers seethed while he slept on—until the house fell.
32
初，友珪殺太祖自立，以末帝為東都留守。 巖如東都，末帝與之飲酒，從容以誠款告之。 巖為末帝謀，遣人召楊師厚兵起事。 巖還西都，卒與袁象先以禁兵誅友珪，取傳國寶以授末帝。
When Yougui murdered the Founder and usurped the throne, he left the Last Emperor as garrison commander of the eastern capital. Yan visited the eastern capital. Over wine the Last Emperor opened his heart to him. Yan laid plans for him and called Yang Shihou’s army to revolt. Back in the western capital Yan joined Yuan Xiangxian; the palace guard killed Yougui, and Yan handed the imperial seal to the Last Emperor.
33
末帝立，巖自以有功於梁，又尚公主，聞唐駙馬杜悰位至將相，自奉甚豐，恥其不及。 乃占天下良田大宅，裒刻商旅，其門如市，租庸之物，半入其私，巖飲食必費萬錢。
Enthroned, Yan counted his service to Liang and his princess marriage high. Tang’s son-in-law Du Cong had reached general and minister and lived in splendor—Yan burned with shame that he had not. He seized the best land and mansions in the realm, shook down merchants until his gate thronged like a market, skimmed half the transport tax into his pocket, and spent ten thousand cash on a single meal.
34
故時，魏州牙兵驕，數為亂，羅紹威盡誅之。 太祖崩，楊師厚逐羅氏，據魏州，復置牙兵二千，末帝患之。 師厚死，巖與租庸判官邵贊議曰：「魏為唐患，百有餘年，自先帝時，嘗切齒紹威，以其前恭而後倨。 今先帝新棄天下，師厚復為陛下憂，所以然者，以魏地大而兵多也。 陛下不以此時制之，寧知後人不為師厚也？ 不若分相、魏為兩鎮，則無北顧之憂矣。」 末帝以為然，乃分相、澶、衛為昭德軍。 牙兵亂，以魏博降晉，梁由是盡失河北。
Wei’s guard troops had once been proud and mutinous; Luo Shaowei slaughtered them to the last man. At the Founder’s death Yang Shihou expelled the Luo house, took Wei, and raised two thousand guard troops again. The Last Emperor brooded over it. After Shihou died, Yan and tax judge Shao Zan argued: “Wei has plagued Tang for a century. The Founder himself gnashed his teeth at Shaowei—humble at first, arrogant later. The Founder is barely in his grave and Shihou’s shadow already haunts you—because Wei is vast and its armies numerous. If you do not break it now, the next man may be another Shihou. Split Xiang and Wei into two commands, and the north need never trouble you again.” The Last Emperor agreed and carved Xiang, Cang, and Wei into the Zhaode command. The guard troops rose. Wei-Bo went over to Jin, and Liang lost Hebei entire.
35
鎮州張文禮殺王镕，使人告梁曰：「臣已北召契丹，願梁以兵萬人出德、棣州，則晉兵憊矣。」 敬翔以為然，巖與漢傑皆以為不可，乃止。 其後黜王彥章用段凝，皆巖力也。
Zhang Wenli of Zhen murdered Wang Rong and wrote Liang: “I have called Khitan from the north. Send ten thousand men from De and Di, and Jin will break.” Jing Xiang agreed; Yan and Hanjie refused, and nothing was done. Later the fall of Wang Yanzhang and the rise of Duan Ning were Yan’s work.
36
莊宗兵將至汴，末帝惶惑不知所為，登建國樓以問群臣，或曰：「晉以孤軍遠來，勢難持久，雖使入汴，不能守也。 宜幸洛陽，保險以召天下兵，徐圖之，勝負未可知也。」 末帝猶豫，巖曰：「勢已如此，一下此樓，何人可保！」 末帝卒死於樓上。
As Zhuangzong neared Bian the Last Emperor panicked. On the Jianguo Tower he asked his ministers. Some said: “Jin marches far with a thin host. Even if they enter Bian they cannot keep it. Flee to Luoyang, hold the passes, rally the realm’s armies, and wait—the fight is not lost.” He wavered. Yan said: “It has come to this. Step off this tower and who will answer for your life?” In the end he died on the tower.
37
當巖用事時，許州溫韜尤曲事巖，巖因顧其左右曰：「吾常待韜厚，今以急投之，必不幸吾為利。」 乃走投韜，韜斬其首以獻。 莊宗已滅梁，巖素所善段凝奏請誅巖家屬，乃族滅之。
In Yan’s days Xu’s Wen Tao flattered him hardest. Yan told his men: “I have been good to Tao. Now I flee to him—he will not sell me.” He ran to Tao. Tao took his head and sent it in. Liang fell. Duan Ning, whom Yan had favored, asked that Yan’s house be wiped out—and it was.
38
嗚呼，禍福之理，豈可一哉！ 君子小人之禍福異也。 老子曰：「禍兮福所倚，福兮禍所伏。」 後世之談禍福者，皆以其言為至論也。 夫為善而受福，焉得禍？ 為惡而受禍，焉得福？ 惟君子之罹非禍者，未必不為福； 小人求非福者，未嘗不及禍，此自然之理也。 始，犨自以先見之明，深結梁太祖，及其子孫皆享其祿利，自謂知所托矣，安知其族卒與梁俱滅也？ 犨之求福於梁，蓋老氏之所謂福也，非君子之所求也，不可戒哉！
Alas—can fortune and ruin ever be one simple thing? Gentlemen and petty men do not meet the same fate. Laozi said: “Calamity is where fortune leans; fortune is where calamity hides.” Later moralizers have treated that as the final truth about luck. Do good and win blessing—where is the ruin in that? Do evil and earn disaster—where is the luck in that? Only the gentleman who suffers what looks like ill luck may yet find luck in it; the petty man who chases what looks like luck has never missed ruin. That is nature’s law. Chou trusted his foresight, clung to Taizu, and saw his sons and grandsons feast on Liang’s favor, sure he had chosen well—who dreamed the house would die with Liang? The fortune Chou sought from Liang was Laozi’s kind of fortune, not the gentleman’s. Take warning.
39
馮行襲
Feng Xingxi
40
馮行襲，字正臣，均州人也。 唐末，山南盜孫喜以眾千人襲均州刺史呂燁，燁不能禦。 行襲為州校，乃陰選勇士伏江南，獨乘小舟逆喜，告曰：「州人聞公至，皆欲歸矣。 然知公兵多，民懼虜掠，恐其驚擾，請留兵江北，獨與腹心數人從行，願為前導，以慰安州民，事可立定。」 喜以為然，乃留其兵江北，獨與行襲渡江。 軍吏前謁，行襲擊喜仆地，斬之，伏兵發，盡殺從行者。 餘兵在江北，聞喜死，皆潰。 山南節度使劉巨容表行襲均州刺史。
Feng Xingxi, styled Zhengchen, came from Jun Prefecture. Late in Tang the Shannan outlaw Sun Xi struck Jun with a thousand men. Prefect Lü Ye could not hold him. Xingxi was a prefectural trooper. He hid picked men south of the river, took a skiff alone upstream to Xi, and said: “Jun’s people hear you are coming and wish to yield. But your host is large and they fear looting. Leave your men on the north bank; cross with only your inner circle. I will go ahead to calm the town, and all will be settled quickly.” Xi agreed, left his army north of the river, and crossed with Xingxi alone. Clerks came to greet them. Xingxi knocked Xi down and took his head; the ambush rose and killed every man who had crossed. North of the river the rest heard Xi was dead and melted away. Liu Jurong of Shannan made him prefect of Jun.
41
是時，僖宗在蜀，諸鎮貢獻行在者皆道山南，盜賊多據州西長山以邀劫之，行襲盡破諸賊。 洋州葛佐辟行襲行軍司馬，使以兵鎮谷口，通秦、蜀道，行襲由此知名。 李茂貞兼領山南，遣子繼臻守金州，行襲逐之，遂據金州。 昭宗乃以金州為戎昭軍，拜行襲節度使。 昭宗在岐，梁太祖引兵而西，中尉韓全誨遣中官郤文晏等二十餘人召兵江淮，以拒太祖，行襲已附梁，乃盡殺文晏等。 太祖攻趙匡凝於襄陽，行襲遣子勖以舟兵會均、房，以功遷匡國軍節度使。 行襲為人嚴酷少恩，而所至輒天幸，境旱有蝗，則飛鳥食之，歲兇，田中鹵谷自生。 唐衰，知梁必興，尤盡心傾附事梁，官至司空，封長樂郡王，卒贈太傅，謚曰忠敬。
Zhaozong was in Shu; tribute routes ran through Shannan, and robbers held Changshan west of the prefecture to ambush them. Xingxi broke band after band. Ge Zuo of Yang Prefecture took him as acting army marshal, posted him at Gukou to hold the Qin-Shu road open, and his name spread. Li Maozhen held Shannan too and sent his son Jizhen to guard Jin. Xingxi expelled him and took Jin. Zhaozong formed the Rongzhao command at Jin and made Xingxi its commissioner. Zhaozong was at Qi when Taizu marched west. Han Quanhui sent twenty-odd eunuchs including Xi Wenyan to raise Jiang-Huai troops against him. Xingxi had already bowed to Liang and killed them all. Taizu besieged Zhao Kuangning at Xiangyang. Xingxi sent his son Xu with river forces from Jun and Fang. For that service he was made Kuangguo military commissioner. He was harsh and stingy with mercy, yet luck dogged him: locusts came and birds devoured them; famine years and salty grain sprang from the fields on its own. As Tang waned he saw Liang rising and gave it his whole loyalty; he rose to Minister of Works and was made Prince of Changle, and when he died was posthumously honored as Grand Preceptor with the epithet Loyal and Reverent.