1
錢镠，字具美，杭州臨安人也。 臨安里中有大木，镠幼時與群兒戲木下，镠坐大石指麾群兒為隊伍，號令頗有法，群兒皆憚之。 及壯，無賴，不喜事生業，以販鹽為盜。 縣錄事鐘起有子數人，與镠飲博，起嘗禁其諸子，諸子多竊從之遊。 豫章人有善術者，望牛鬥間有王氣。 牛鬥，錢塘分也，因遊錢塘。 占之在臨安，乃之臨安，以相法隱市中，陰求其人。 起與術者善，術者私謂起曰：「占君縣有貴人，求之市中不可得，視君之相貴矣，然不足當之。」 起乃為置酒，悉召賢豪為會，陰令術者遍視之，皆不足當。 術者過起家，镠適從外來，見起，反走，術者望見之，大驚曰：「此真貴人也！」 起笑曰：「此吾旁舍錢生爾。」 術者召镠至，熟視之，顧起曰：「君之貴者，因此人也。」 乃慰镠曰：「子骨法非常，願自愛。」 因與起訣曰：「吾求其人者，非有所欲也，直欲質吾術爾。」 明日乃去。 起始縱其子等與镠遊，時時貸其窮乏。
Qian Liu, whose style name was Jumei, came from Lin'an in Hangzhou. A great tree stood in his neighborhood in Lin'an. As a boy Liu played beneath it, seated on a large stone while he drilled the other children into formation; his commands were surprisingly disciplined, and the boys all stood in awe of him. When he came of age he was a wastrel who shunned honest work and lived by smuggling salt and raiding as a outlaw. Zhong Qi, the county registrar, had several sons who drank and gambled with Liu. Qi tried to keep his sons away, but they often slipped off to join Liu anyway. A practitioner of divination from Yuzhang observed the Ox and Dipper asterisms and discerned an aura of kingship there. Since those constellations corresponded to the Qiantang area, he went there to investigate. His readings pointed to Lin'an, so he went there, set up as a face-reader in the marketplace, and quietly searched for the man of destiny. Qi knew the diviner well. The man took Qi aside and said, "My readings say a man of great rank is in your county, but I cannot find him in the markets. You yourself look distinguished, yet you are not the one the stars foretell. Qi hosted a feast and invited every leading man in the district, while the diviner studied each guest in secret. None of them matched the omen. The diviner happened to pass Qi's home as Liu was returning from outside. Liu saw Qi and ran the other way, but the diviner glimpsed him and exclaimed in shock, "There is the man of destiny! Qi laughed. "That is just the Qian boy from next door." The diviner called Liu over, studied his face at length, then told Qi, "Whatever greatness awaits you will come through this youth." He urged Liu gently, "Your features are unlike any I have seen. Guard yourself well." Bidding Qi farewell, he added, "I sought him with no ulterior motive—only to prove whether my craft was true." He left the following day. In his early years, Qi let his sons and others go out with Qian Liu, and from time to time helped him out when he was short of means.
2
镠善射與槊，稍通圖緯諸書。 唐乾符二年，浙西裨將王郢作亂，石鑒鎮將董昌募鄉兵討賊，表镠偏將，擊郢破之。 是時，黃巢眾已數千，攻掠浙東，至臨安，镠曰：「今鎮兵少而賊兵多，難以力禦，宜出奇兵邀之。」 乃與勁卒二十人伏山谷中，巢先鋒度險皆單騎，镠伏弩射殺其將，巢兵亂，镠引勁卒蹂之，斬首數百級。 镠曰：「此可一用爾，大眾至何可敵邪！」 乃引兵趨八百里，八百里，地名也，告道旁媼曰：「後有問者，告曰：『臨安兵屯八百里矣。』」 巢眾至，聞媼語，不知其地名，曰：「向十餘卒不可敵，況八百里乎！」 遂急引兵過。 都統高駢聞巢不敢犯臨安，壯之，召董昌與镠俱至廣陵。 久之，駢無討賊意，昌等不見用，辭還，駢表昌杭州刺史。 是時，天下已亂，昌乃團諸縣兵為八都，以镠為都指揮使，成及為靖江都將。
Qian Liu was skilled with bow and spear, and gradually gained some knowledge of astrology, omens, and related texts. In the second year of the Qianfu era (875), Wang Ying, a deputy general in Zhexi, rose in rebellion. Dong Chang, military commissioner at Shijian, recruited local militia to suppress the rebels, had Qian Liu appointed deputy commander, attacked Wang Ying, and defeated him. By then Huang Chao's followers already numbered in the thousands. They raided eastern Zhejiang and reached Lin'an. Qian Liu said, "Our garrison is too small to meet their numbers head-on. We should lay an ambush with a strike force. He took twenty picked men and hid in a mountain valley. Huang Chao's vanguard, traversing the difficult pass, rode singly. Qian Liu's ambush crossbows killed their leader; the rebels broke ranks, and he charged with his picked men, cutting down hundreds. Qian Liu said, "That ruse works once—no more. When their main body arrives, we cannot stand against them. He marched his men to a place called Baibaili (Eight Hundred Li). He told an old woman by the roadside, "If anyone asks later, say, 'The Lin'an troops are stationed at Baibaili.' When Huang Chao's forces arrived and heard the old woman's words, not knowing Baibaili was a place name, they said, "We could barely handle a dozen men just now—how could we face eight hundred li of them!" So they hurried on past without stopping. Gao Piao, the overall commander, heard that Huang Chao had not dared to attack Lin'an and was impressed. He summoned Dong Chang and Qian Liu to Guangling together. In time Gao Piao showed no interest in suppressing the rebels, and Dong Chang and his men were given no role. They asked to leave and returned home; Gao Piao recommended Dong Chang for the post of prefect of Hangzhou. With the empire already in turmoil, Dong Chang organized county militia into eight commands, made Qian Liu overall commander, and Cheng Ji commander of the Jingjiang command.
3
中和二年，越州觀察使劉漢宏與昌有隙，漢宏遣其弟漢宥、都虞候辛約，屯兵西陵。 镠率八都兵渡江，竊取軍號，斫其營，營中驚擾，因焚之，漢宥等皆走。 漢宏復遣將黃珪、何肅屯諸暨、蕭山，镠皆攻破之。 與漢宏遇，戰，大敗之，殺何肅、辛約。 漢宏易服持膾刀以遁，追者及之，漢宏曰：「我宰夫也。」 舉刀示之，乃免。
In the second year of the Zhonghe era (882), Liu Hanhong, military governor of Yue prefecture, fell out with Dong Chang. Hanhong sent his brother Hanyou and chief adjutant Xin Yue to station troops at Xiling. Qian Liu crossed the river with the eight commands, seized their camp signals in stealth, and raided their camp. Panic spread through the encampment; he burned it, and Hanyou and the rest fled. Hanhong sent Huang Gui and He Su to garrison Zhuji and Xiaoshan; Qian Liu defeated them both. He met Liu Hanhong in battle, routed him, and killed He Su and Xin Yue. Liu Hanhong disguised himself and fled with a butcher's cleaver in hand. When pursuers caught up, he said, "I'm just a butcher. He held up the knife to prove it, and they let him go.
4
四年，僖宗遣中使焦居璠為杭、越通和使，詔昌及漢宏罷兵，皆不奉詔。 漢宏遣其將朱褒、韓公玫、施堅實等以舟兵屯望海。 镠出平水，成及夜率奇兵破褒等於曹娥埭，進屯豐山，施堅實等降，遂攻破越州。 漢宏走臺州，臺州刺史執漢宏送於镠，斬於會稽，族其家。 镠乃奏昌代漢寵，而自居杭州。
In the fourth year of Zhonghe (884), Emperor Xizong sent the eunuch Jiao Jufan as peace commissioner between Hang and Yue, ordering Dong Chang and Liu Hanhong to stand down. Neither complied. Liu Hanhong sent Zhu Bao, Han Gongmei, Shi Jianshi, and others with naval forces to station at Wanghai. Qian Liu moved from Pingshui. Cheng Ji led a night raid at Cao'e Dam and routed Zhu Bao's force, then advanced to Fengshan. Shi Jianshi and others surrendered, and they took Yuezhou. Liu Hanhong fled to Taizhou. The prefect there seized him and delivered him to Qian Liu, who executed him at Kuaiji and wiped out his family. Qian Liu then recommended Dong Chang to replace Liu Hanhong, while he himself established his base at Hangzhou.
5
光啟三年，拜镠左衛大將軍、杭州刺史，昌越州觀察使。 是歲，畢師鐸囚高駢，淮南大亂，六合鎮將徐約攻取蘇州。 潤州牙將劉浩逐其帥周寶，寶奔常州，浩推度支催勘官薛朗為帥。 镠遣都將成及、杜棱等攻常州，取周寶以歸，镠具軍禮郊迎，館寶於樟亭，寶病卒。 棱等進攻潤州，逐劉浩，執薛朗，剖其心以祭寶。 然後遣其弟钅求攻徐約，約敗走入海，追殺之。
In the third year of the Guangqi era (887), Qian Liu was appointed Left Guard Grand General and prefect of Hangzhou; Dong Chang became military governor of Yue prefecture. That year Bi Shiduo imprisoned Gao Piao, throwing Huainan into chaos. Xu Yue, military commissioner at Liuhe, captured Suzhou. Liu Hao, a guard officer at Run prefecture, deposed his commander Zhou Bao, who fled to Changzhou. Liu Hao installed Xue Lang, a revenue audit official, as the new commander. Qian Liu sent Cheng Ji, Du Ling, and others to attack Changzhou and bring Zhou Bao back. Qian Liu welcomed him at the city outskirts with full military honors and housed him at Zhang Pavilion, where Zhou Bao died of illness. Du Ling and his men then attacked Runzhou, expelled Liu Hao, captured Xue Lang, and cut out his heart as an offering to Zhou Bao's spirit. He then sent his younger brother Qian Qiu against Xu Yue. Xu Yue was defeated, fled into the sea, and was pursued and killed.
6
昭宗拜镠杭州防禦使。 是時，楊行密、孫儒爭淮南，與镠戰蘇、常間。 久之，儒為行密所殺，行密據淮南，取潤州，镠亦取蘇、常。 唐升越州威勝軍，以董昌為節度使，封隴西郡王； 杭州武勝軍，拜镠都團練使，以成及為副使。 及字弘濟，與镠同事攻討，謀多出於及，而镠以女妻及子仁琇。 镠乃以杜棱、阮結、顧全武等為將校，沈崧、皮光業、林鼎、羅隱為賓客。
Emperor Zhaozong appointed Qian Liu defensive commissioner of Hangzhou. At this time Yang Xingmi and Sun Ru were fighting over Huainan and clashed with Qian Liu in the Suzhou–Changzhou region. In time Sun Ru was killed by Yang Xingmi. Yang Xingmi secured Huainan and took Runzhou; Qian Liu recovered Suzhou and Changzhou. The Tang court elevated Yue prefecture to the Weisheng Army, appointed Dong Chang its military governor, and enfeoffed him as Prince of Longxi; Hangzhou became the Wusheng Army; Qian Liu was named overall military training commissioner, with Cheng Ji as his deputy. Cheng Ji, courtesy name Hongji, fought alongside Qian Liu in many campaigns; much of the strategy came from Cheng Ji, and Qian Liu gave his daughter in marriage to Cheng Ji's son Renxiu. Qian Liu then appointed Du Ling, Ruan Jie, and Gu Quanwu among others as his commanders, and Shen Song, Pi Guangye, Lin Ding, and Luo Yin as his advisers.
7
景福二年，拜镠鎮海軍節度使、潤州刺史。 乾寧元年，加同中書門下平章事。 二年，越州董昌反。 昌素愚，不能決事，臨民訟，以骰子擲之，而勝者為直。 妖人應智王溫、巫韓媼等，以妖言惑昌，獻鳥獸為符瑞。 牙將倪德儒謂昌曰：「曩時謠言有羅平鳥主越人禍福，民間多圖其形禱祠之，視王書名與圖類。」 因出圖以示昌。 昌大悅，乃自稱皇帝，國號羅平，改元順天。 分其兵為兩軍，中軍衣黃，外軍衣白，銘其衣曰「歸義」。 副使黃竭切戒昌以為不可，昌大怒，使人斬竭，持其首至，罵曰：「此賊負我好聖，明時三公不肯作，乃自求死邪！」 投之圊中。 昌乃以書告镠，镠以昌反狀聞。
In the second year of Jingfu, Qian Liu was appointed Military Commissioner of the Zhenhai Army and Prefect of Runzhou. In the first year of Qianning, he was made a Grand Councilor of the Secretariat-Chancellery. In the second year, Dong Chang rebelled at Yuezhou. Chang was naturally dim-witted and incapable of judgment. When common folk brought lawsuits before him, he would toss dice—and whichever side won he declared right. Sorcerers such as Ying Zhi and Wang Wen, and the witch Han Ao, beguiled Chang with occult talk and offered up birds and beasts as portents of imperial destiny. Guard officer Ni Deru said to Chang: "There was once a prophecy about a Luoping Bird that governed the fate of the people of Yue. Country folk widely copied its likeness and set up altars to it—and Your Majesty's written name looks just like that bird in the pictures." With that he brought out the picture and showed it to Chang. Chang was overjoyed. He declared himself emperor, named his realm Luoping, and adopted the reign title Shuntian. He split his forces into two armies—the center corps in yellow, the outer corps in white—with the words "Returning to Righteousness" emblazoned on their uniforms. Vice Commissioner Huang Jie urgently warned Chang that he must not do this. Chang flew into a rage, had Jie executed, and when the severed head was brought before him he cursed it: "This villain spurned my favor in an enlightened age! The rank of the Three Excellencies was his for the taking—yet he chose to throw his life away!" He tossed the head into a privy pit. Chang then wrote to inform Liu, and Liu reported Dong Chang's rebellion to the court.
8
昭宗下詔削昌官爵，封镠彭城郡王，浙江東道招討使。 镠曰：「董氏於吾有恩，不可遽伐。」 以兵三萬屯迎恩門，遣其客沈滂諭昌使改過。 昌以錢二百萬犒軍，執應智等送軍中，自請待罪，镠乃還兵。 昌復拒命，遣其將陳郁、崔溫等屯香嚴、石侯，乞兵於楊行密，行密遣安仁義救昌。 镠遣顧全武攻昌，斬崔溫。 昌所用諸將徐珣、湯臼、袁邠皆庸人，不知兵，遇全武輒敗。 昌兄子真，驍勇善戰，全武等攻之，逾年不能克。 真與其裨將刺羽有隙，羽譖之，昌殺真，兵乃敗。 全武執昌歸杭州，行至西小江，昌顧左右曰：「吾與錢公俱起鄉里，吾嘗為大將，今何面復見之乎！」 左右相對泣下，因瞋目大呼，投水死。
Emperor Zhaozong stripped Chang of his titles by edict, enfeoffed Qian Liu as Prince of Pengcheng, and appointed him Pacification Commissioner for Zhejiang East. Qian Liu said: "The Dong family once did me a kindness. I cannot attack them rashly." He posted thirty thousand men at the Ying'en Gate and sent his retainer Shen Pang to urge Chang to repent and mend his ways. Chang sent two million strings of cash to reward Liu's army, handed over Ying Zhi and his confederates, and submitted himself to judgment. Liu thereupon withdrew his forces. Chang defied orders once more. He posted his generals Chen Yu and Cui Wen at Xiangyan and Shihou, appealed to Yang Xingmi for reinforcements, and Xingmi sent An Renyi to Chang's aid. Qian Liu sent Gu Quanwu against Chang and had Cui Wen killed. The commanders Chang relied on—Xu Xun, Tang Jiu, and Yuan Bin—were mediocre men with no grasp of war. Whenever they faced Quanwu they were routed. Chang's nephew Zhen was bold and skilled in battle. Quanwu and his colleagues besieged him for more than a year without success. Zhen had fallen out with his lieutenant Ci Yu. Yu denounced him, Chang had Zhen executed, and the army's defeat followed. Quanwu captured Chang and marched him back to Hangzhou. At West Xiao River, Chang turned to his attendants and said: "Lord Qian and I came up from the same countryside together. I was once a great commander—what shame could I bear to show my face before him now?" His attendants wept helplessly. Then he glared, cried out, and drowned himself in the river.
9
昭宗以宰相王溥鎮越州，溥請授镠，乃改威勝軍為鎮東軍，拜镠鎮海、鎮東軍節度使、加檢校太尉、中書令，賜鐵券，恕九死。 镠如越州受命，還治錢塘，號越州為「東府」。 光化元年，移鎮海軍於杭州，加镠檢校太師，改镠鄉里曰廣義鄉勛貴裏，镠素所居營曰衣錦營。 婺州刺史王壇叛附於淮南，楊行密遣其將康儒應壇，因攻睦州。 镠遣其弟钅求敗儒於軒渚，壇奔宣州。 昭宗詔镠圖形淩煙閣，升衣錦營為衣錦城，石鑒山曰衣錦山，大官山曰功臣山。 镠遊衣錦城，宴故老，山林皆覆以錦，號其幼所嘗戲大木曰「衣錦將軍」。
Emperor Zhaozong had Grand Councilor Wang Pu take charge of Yuezhou. Pu petitioned that the territory be transferred to Liu, and the Weisheng command was redesignated Zhendong. Qian Liu was made Military Commissioner of both Zhenhai and Zhendong, elevated to Acting Grand Guardian and Director of the Secretariat, and granted an iron tally forgiving nine capital crimes. Qian Liu went to Yuezhou to accept his appointment, returned to rule from Qiantang, and styled Yuezhou his "Eastern Capital." In the first year of Guanghua the Zhenhai command was shifted to Hangzhou. Qian Liu was promoted to Acting Grand Preceptor. His home village was renamed Guangyi Township, Lane of Meritorious Nobility, and the camp where he had long lived was called the Brocade-Robed Camp. Wang Tan, Prefect of Wuzhou, rebelled and went over to Huainan. Yang Xingmi sent his general Kang Ru to join him, and together they attacked Muzhou. Qian Liu sent his younger brother Qian Qiu to defeat Kang Ru at Xuanzhu. Wang Tan fled to Xuanzhou. Emperor Zhaozong commanded that Qian Liu's likeness be enshrined in the Lingyan Pavilion. The Brocade-Robed Camp was elevated to Brocade-Robed City, Stone Mirror Mountain became Brocade-Robed Mountain, and Great Official Mountain was renamed Mountain of Meritorious Ministers. Qian Liu toured Brocade-Robed City and held a feast for the village elders. He had the hills and woods draped in brocade, and named the great tree under which he had played as a boy the "Brocade-Robed General."
10
天復二年，封镠越王。 镠巡衣錦城，武勇右都指揮使徐綰與左都指揮使許再思叛，焚掠城郭，攻內城，镠子傳瑛及其將馬綽、陳為等閉門拒之。 镠歸，至北郭門不得入。 成及代镠與綰戰，斬首百餘級，綰屯龍興寺。 镠微服逾城而入，遣馬綽、王榮、杜建徽等分屯諸門，使顧全武備東府，全武曰：「東府不足慮，可慮者淮南爾，綰急，必召淮兵至，患不細矣。 楊公大丈夫，今以難告，必能閔我。」 镠以為然。 全武曰：「獨行，事必不濟，請擇諸公子可行者。」 镠曰：「吾嘗欲以元鳷婚楊氏。」 乃使隨全武如廣陵。 綰果召田頵於宣州。 全武等至廣陵，行密以女妻元鳷，亟召頵還。 頵取镠錢百萬，質镠子元瓘而歸。
In the second year of Tianfu, Qian Liu was enfeoffed as King of Yue. While Qian Liu was touring Brocade-Robed City, Xu Kuo, Right Commandant of Martial Valour, and Xu Zaisi, Left Commandant, rose in revolt. They burned and looted the outer city and assaulted the inner citadel. Liu's son Chuanying, with the generals Ma Chuo and Chen Wei among others, barred the gates and held them off. When Qian Liu returned he found himself shut out at the North Suburban Gate. Cheng Ji fought Kuo in Liu's place, took more than a hundred heads, and Kuo withdrew to Longxing Temple. Liu slipped in disguised as a commoner. He posted Ma Chuo, Wang Rong, and Du Jianhui at the various gates and ordered Gu Quanwu to secure the Eastern Capital. Quanwu said: "The Eastern Capital is no great concern—the real worry is Huainan. Once Kuo grows desperate he will call in troops from the Huai, and the trouble will be serious. Lord Yang is a man of stature. If we confide our plight to him now, he will surely show us mercy." Qian Liu agreed. Quanwu said: "If one man goes alone the mission will fail. Choose whichever of your sons is fit to accompany me." Liu replied: "I have long wished to marry Qian Yuanqiu into the Yang family." He sent Yuanqiu to accompany Quanwu to Guangling. As expected, Xu Kuo summoned Tian Jun from Xuanzhou. When Quanwu and his party reached Guangling, Yang Xingmi gave his daughter to Qian Yuanqiu in marriage and urgently recalled Tian Jun. Tian Jun took a million strings of Qian Liu's silver, accepted Liu's son Qian Yuanguan as hostage, and marched home.
11
天祐元年，封镠吳王，镠建功臣堂，立碑紀功，列賓佐將校名氏於碑陰者五百人。 四年，升衣錦城為安國衣錦軍。
In the first year of Tianyou Qian Liu was enfeoffed as King of Wu. He built the Hall of Meritorious Ministers and raised a victory stele, inscribing on its reverse the names of five hundred advisers, staff officers, and commanders. In the fourth year Brocade-Robed City was upgraded to the Anguo Brocade-Robed Army command.
12
梁太祖即位，封镠吳越王兼淮南節度使。 客有勸镠拒梁命者，镠笑曰：「吾豈失為孫仲謀邪！」 遂受之。 太祖嘗問吳越進奏吏曰：「錢镠平生有所好乎？」 吏曰：「好玉帶、名馬。」 太祖笑曰：「真英雄也。」 乃以玉帶一匣、打球御馬十匹賜之。 江西危全諷等為楊渥所敗，信州危仔倡奔於镠，镠惡其姓，改曰元。 開平二年，加镠守中書令，改臨安縣為安國縣，廣義鄉為衣錦鄉。 三年，加守太保。
When the Liang Founder took the throne, Qian Liu was enfeoffed as King of Wuyue and concurrently made Military Commissioner of Huainan. When a retainer urged him to defy the Liang investiture, Qian Liu laughed and said: "Am I less than Sun Zhongmou?" He accepted the appointment. The Founder once asked a Wu-Yue memorial clerk: "Did Qian Liu have any special likes in life?” The clerk said, “Jade belts and fine horses—that is what he loves.” The Founder laughed. “Now that is a hero.” He then sent him a case of jade belts and ten imperial horses trained for polo. In Jiangxi, Wei Quanfeng and his allies were routed by Yang Wo. Wei Zichang of Xinzhou fled to Qian Liu, who loathed the surname Wei and had it changed to Yuan. In Kaiping 2, Qian Liu was made Acting Director of the Secretariat. Lin'an County became Anguo County, and Guangyi Township became Yijin Township. In the third year he was further promoted to Acting Grand Preceptor.
13
楊渥將周本、陳章圍蘇州，镠遣其弟鋸、鏢救之。 淮兵為水柵環城，以銅鈴系網沈水中，斷潛行者。 水軍卒司馬福，多智而善水行，乃先以巨竹觸網，淮人聞鈴聲遂舉網，福乃過，入城中，其出也亦然。 乃取其軍號，內外夾攻，號令相應，淮人以為神，遂大敗之，本等走，擒其將閭丘直、何明等。
Yang Wo's generals Zhou Ben and Chen Zhang laid siege to Suzhou. Qian Liu sent his brothers Qian Ju and Qian Biao to relieve the city. The Huainan troops ringed the city with floating barriers, hung copper bells from submerged nets, and blocked anyone who tried to swim through unseen. The fleet private Sima Fu was shrewd and a master of the water. He would poke the net with a great bamboo pole first; when the Huainan men heard the bells they lifted the net, and Fu slipped through into the city—and left the same way. Then he seized their battle signals. Forces inside and out struck together, commands falling in perfect answer. The Huainan troops took it for sorcery and broke in rout. Ben and the rest fled; their generals Luqiu Zhi, He Ming, and others were captured.
14
四年，镠遊衣錦軍，作《還鄉歌》曰：「三節還鄉兮掛錦衣，父老遠來相追隨。 牛鬥無孛人無欺，吳越一王駟馬歸。」 乾化元年，加镠守尚書令，兼淮南、宣潤等道四面行營都統。 立生祠於衣錦軍。 镠弟鏢居湖州，擅殺戍將潘長，懼罪奔於淮南。 二年，梁郢王友珪立，冊尊镠尚父。 末帝貞明三年，加镠天下兵馬都元帥，開府置官屬。 四年，楊隆演取虔州，镠始由海路入貢京師。 龍德元年，賜镠詔書不名。
In the fourth year Qian Liu visited Yijin Army and wrote the "Song of Returning Home": "Homeward with my triple seal, brocade cloak swinging wide— / Elders from far and near trail after me. No ill omen hangs over the Ox Dipper; no man cheats another— / One king rules Wu and Yue; four matched horses bear him home. In Qianhua 1 he was made Acting Director of the Secretariat and Overall Commander of the Mobile Camps on All Four Sides for Huainan, Xuan, Run, and related circuits. A living shrine was raised at Yijin Army. Qian Liu's brother Qian Biao was stationed at Huzhou. He killed the garrison commander Pan Chang on his own authority, feared retribution, and fled to Huainan. In the second year, when Liang's Prince of E, Yougui, took the throne, Qian Liu was ennobled as Imperial Father. In Zhenming 3 of the Last Emperor, Qian Liu was made Overall Commander of All Armies and Horses Under Heaven, opened a grand headquarters, and appointed a full staff. In the fourth year Yang Longyan took Qianzhou, and Qian Liu began sending tribute to the capital by sea. In Longde 1 Qian Liu was granted imperial rescripts that did not name him.
15
唐莊宗入洛，镠遣使貢獻，求玉冊。 莊宗下其議於有司，群臣皆以謂非天子不得用玉冊，郭崇韜尤為不可，既而許之，乃賜镠玉冊金印。 镠因以鎮海等軍節度授其子元瓘，自稱吳越國王，更名所居曰宮殿、府曰朝，官屬皆稱臣，起玉冊、金券、詔書三樓於衣錦軍，遣使冊新羅、渤海王，海中諸國，皆封拜其君長。
When Tang Emperor Zhuangzong entered Luoyang, Qian Liu sent envoys with tribute and asked for a jade register. Zhuangzong referred the request to the ministries. The ministers held that only the Son of Heaven might use a jade register; Guo Chongtao was especially adamant against it. Even so, permission was granted, and Qian Liu received a jade register and gold seal. Qian Liu then transferred the Zhenhai command and related posts to his son Qian Yuanguan, styled himself King of Wu-Yue, renamed his residence "Palace" and his headquarters "Court," and had all officials call themselves ministers. At Yijin Army he built three towers for the jade register, gold voucher, and imperial rescripts; sent envoys to invest the kings of Silla and Bohai; and for every state across the sea, conferred titles on their rulers.
16
元瓘字明寶，少為質於田頵。 頵叛於吳，楊行密會越兵攻之，頵每戰敗歸，即欲殺元瓘，頵母嘗蔽護之。 後頵將出，語左右曰：「今日不勝，必斬錢郎。」 是日頵戰死，元瓘得歸。
Qian Yuanguan, styled Mingbao, spent his youth as a hostage with Tian Jun. When Jun rebelled against Wu, Yang Xingmi joined Wu-Yue troops in attacking him. Each time Jun came back defeated he meant to kill Yuanguan; Jun's mother repeatedly shielded him. Later, as Jun was about to take the field, he told his attendants, "If I do not win today, I will cut off Lord Qian's head. That very day Jun fell in battle, and Yuanguan made it home.
17
镠臥病，召諸大將告之曰：「吾子皆愚懦，不足任後事，吾死，公等自擇之。」 諸將泣下，皆曰：「元瓘從王征伐最有功，諸子莫及，請立之。」 镠乃出管鑰數篋，召元瓘與之曰：「諸將許爾矣。」 镠卒，元瓘立，襲封吳越國王，玉冊、金印，皆如镠故事。
Qian Liu fell ill and summoned his chief generals. "My sons are all dull and timorous," he said, "unfit to carry what comes after. When I die, choose among them yourselves. The generals wept. "Yuanguan followed the Prince on campaign and earned the greatest merit," they said. "None of the sons can match him. We ask that he succeed." Qian Liu brought out several boxes of keys and seals, called Yuanguan forward, and handed them over. "The generals have chosen you," he said. Qian Liu died. Yuanguan succeeded, inherited the kingship of Wu-Yue, and received jade register and gold seal by the same precedent as his father.
18
王延政自立於建州，閩中大亂，元瓘遣其將仰詮、薛萬忠等攻之，逾年，大敗而歸。 元瓘亦善撫將士，好儒學，善為詩，使其國相沈崧置擇能院，選吳中文士錄用之。 然性尤奢僭，好治宮室。 天福六年，杭州大火，燒其宮室迨盡，元瓘避之，火輒隨發。 元瓘大懼，因病狂。 是歲卒，年五十五，謚曰文穆。 子佐立。
Wang Yanzheng declared himself at Jianzhou and threw Min into chaos. Yuanguan sent Yang Quan, Xue Wanzhong, and others against him; after more than a year they were badly beaten and withdrew. Yuanguan also knew how to comfort his troops, loved the Confucian classics, and wrote poetry well. He had his chief minister Shen Song establish the Academy for Selecting Talent and recruited Wu literati for office. Yet he was by nature extravagantly presumptuous and loved to build palaces. In Tianfu 6 a great fire at Hangzhou burned his palaces nearly to ash. Yuanguan fled, and wherever he went the flames followed. Yuanguan was terrified and lost his mind to illness. He died that year at fifty-five. His posthumous title was Wenmu. His son Qian Zuo succeeded.
19
佐字祐，立時年十三，諸將皆少佐，佐初優容之，諸將稍不法，佐乃黜其大將章德安於明州、李文慶於睦州，殺內都監杜昭達、統軍使闞璠，由是國中皆畏恐。
Qian Zuo, styled You, was thirteen when he took the throne. The generals looked down on his youth; at first he indulged them, and they slowly grew unruly. Zuo then banished Zhang Dean, his chief general, to Mingzhou, and Li Wenqing to Muzhou; he executed Internal Overseer Du Zhaoda and Army Controller Kan Fan. From then on the whole realm lived in fear.
20
王延義、延政兄弟相攻，卓儼明、朱文進、李仁達等自相篡殺，連兵不解者數年。 仁達附於李景，已而又叛，景兵攻之，仁達求救於佐。 佐召諸將計事，諸將皆不欲行，佐奮然曰：「吾為元帥，而不能舉兵邪？ 諸將吾家素畜養，獨不肯以身先我乎？ 有異吾議者斬！」 乃遣其統軍使張筠、趙承泰等率兵三萬，水陸赴之。 遣將誓軍，號令齊整。 筠等大敗景兵，俘馘萬計，獲其將楊業、蔡遇等，遂取福州而還，由是諸將皆服。
The brothers Wang Yanyi and Wang Yanzheng turned on each other; Zhuo Yanming, Zhu Wenjin, Li Renda, and others seized and slaughtered one another in turn. War dragged on for years without pause. Li Renda submitted to Li Jing, then rebelled again. When Jing's army attacked him, Renda begged Qian Zuo for aid. Zuo called his generals to council. None wanted to march. He flushed and said, "I am commander-in-chief—can I not raise an army? You generals my house has fed and kept all these years—will not one of you go before me? Whoever opposes me—off with his head! He sent Army Controller Zhang Yun, Zhao Chengtai, and others with thirty thousand men by land and water to their relief. He dispatched a general to swear in the troops; commands rang out in tight order. Zhang Yun and the rest routed Li Jing's army. Captives and severed heads numbered in the tens of thousands; they took Jing's generals Yang Ye, Cai Yu, and others, seized Fuzhou, and returned. From that day the generals submitted in earnest.
21
佐立七年，襲封吳越國王，玉冊、金印，皆如元瓘。 開運四年，佐卒，年二十，謚曰忠獻。 弟俶立。
After seven years on the throne Qian Zuo inherited the kingship of Wu-Yue and received jade register and gold seal by Yuanguan's precedent. In Kaiyun 4 Qian Zuo died at twenty. His posthumous title was Zhongxian. His younger brother Qian Chu succeeded.
22
俶字文德。 佐卒，弟倧以次立。 初，元瓘質於宣州，以胡進思、戴惲等自隨，元瓘立，用進思等為大將。 佐既年少，進思以舊將自待，甚見尊禮，及倧立，頗卑侮之，進思不能平。 倧大閱兵於碧波亭，方第賞，進思前諫以賞太厚，倧怒擲筆水中曰：「以物與軍士，吾豈私之，何見咎也！」 進思大懼。 歲除，畫工獻《鐘馗擊鬼圖》，倧以詩題圖上，進思見之大悟，知倧將殺己。 是夕擁衛兵廢倧，囚於義和院，迎俶立之，遷倧於東府。 俶歷漢、周，襲封吳越國王，賜玉冊、金印。
Qian Chu, styled Wende. When Zuo died, his younger brother Qian Zong succeeded by order of birth. Earlier, when Yuanguan was a hostage at Xuanzhou, Hu Jinsi, Dai Yun, and others went with him. When Yuanguan took the throne he made Jinsi and the rest chief generals. While Zuo was still young, Jinsi, as an old commander, expected respect and was treated with great honor. When Zong succeeded, he was openly slighted and insulted; Jinsi could not swallow the humiliation. Zong held a grand review at Bibo Pavilion and was ranking rewards when Jinsi stepped forward and said the gifts were too lavish. Zong angrily threw his brush into the water. "I am giving things to the soldiers—do you think I am hoarding them? Why reproach me? Jinsi was terrified. At year's end a painter presented "Zhong Kui Beating Demons." Zong inscribed a poem on the scroll. Jinsi read it, understood at once, and knew Zong meant to kill him. That night he rallied the guard, deposed Zong, and imprisoned him in Yihe Hall. They welcomed Chu and set him on the throne; Zong was moved to the Eastern Residence. Qian Chu lived through the Han and Zhou dynasties, inherited the kingship of Wu-Yue, and received jade register and gold seal.
23
世宗征淮南，詔俶攻常、宣二州以牽李景，俶治國中兵以待。 景聞周師將大舉，乃遣使安撫，境上皆戒嚴。 蘇州候吏陳滿不知景使，以謂朝廷已克諸州，遣使安撫矣，亟言於俶，請舉兵以應。 俶相國吳程遽調兵以出，相國元德昭以為王師必未渡淮，與程爭於俶前，不可奪。 程等攻常州，果為景將柴克宏所敗，程裨將邵可遷力戰，可遷子死馬前，猶戰不顧，程等僅以身免。 周師渡淮，俶乃盡括國中丁民益兵，使邵可遷等以戰船四百艘、水軍萬七千人至於通州以會期。
When Emperor Shizong marched on Huainan, he ordered Chu to strike Chang and Xuan prefectures to pin down Li Jing. Chu mustered the realm's forces and waited. Li Jing heard the Zhou army was about to move in strength and sent envoys to soothe the borders. Every frontier post went on alert. Chen Man, a border clerk at Suzhou, did not know Jing's envoys had arrived. He thought the court had already captured the prefectures and sent pacifying envoys, and urgently urged Chu to raise troops in response. Chancellor Wu Cheng hurriedly mobilized and marched out. Chancellor Yuan Dezhao argued before Chu that the imperial army surely had not yet crossed the Huai and disputed with Cheng, but could not prevail. Wu Cheng and the rest attacked Changzhou and were beaten by Li Jing's general Chai Kehong. Cheng's lieutenant Shao Keqian fought on fiercely; his son fell dead before his horse, yet he still would not turn back. Cheng and the others barely escaped with their lives. Once the Zhou army crossed the Huai, Chu conscripted every able-bodied man in the realm to swell his ranks and sent Shao Keqian and others with four hundred warships and seventeen thousand sailors to Tongzhou for the rendezvous.
24
吳越自唐末有國，而楊行密、李據有江淮。 吳越貢賦，朝廷遣使，皆由登、萊泛海，歲常飄溺其使。 顯德四年，詔遣左諫議大夫尹日就、吏部郎中崔頌等使於俶，世宗諭之曰：「朕此行決平江北，卿等還當陸來也。」 五年，王師征淮，正月克靜海軍，而日就等果陸還。 世宗已平淮南，遣使賜俶兵甲旗幟、橐駝羊馬。
Wu-Yue had held its realm since late Tang, while Yang Xingmi and Li Ju controlled the Jiang-Huai. Whenever the court sent envoys for Wu-Yue's tribute, the route ran by sea through Deng and Lai—and year after year envoys were lost to wind and drowning. In Xiande 4 an edict sent Left Remonstrator Yin Riujiu, Ministry of Personnel Bureau Director Cui Song, and others as envoys to Chu. Emperor Shizong told them, "I mean to pacify the lands north of the river on this campaign. When you return, you will come by land. In the fifth year the imperial army marched on Huainan. In the first month Jinghai Army fell—and Yin Riujiu and the rest did return by land. After Shizong pacified Huainan, he sent envoys bearing armor, flags and banners, camels, sheep, and horses as gifts to Chu.
25
錢氏兼有兩浙幾百年，其人比諸國號為怯弱，而俗喜淫侈，偷生工巧，自镠世常重斂其民以事奢僭，下至雞魚卵鷇，必家至而日取。 每笞一人以責其負，則諸案史各持其簿列於廷； 凡一簿所負，唱其多少，量為笞數，以次唱而笞之，少者猶積數十，多者至笞百餘，人尤不勝其苦。 又多掠得嶺海商賈寶貨。 當五代時，常貢奉中國不絕。 及世宗平淮南，宋興，荊、楚諸國相次歸命，俶勢益孤，始傾其國以事貢獻。 太祖皇帝時，俶嘗來朝，厚禮遣還國，俶喜，益以器服珍奇為獻，不可勝數。 太祖曰：「此吾帑中物爾，何用獻為！」 太平興國三年，詔俶來朝，俶舉族歸於京師，國除。 其後事具國史。
The Qian had ruled both Zhe circuits for nearly a hundred years. Neighboring states called their people timid and soft, yet the land loved luxury and excess, clinging to ease and clever in craft. From Qian Liu's day they taxed the people relentlessly to feed royal extravagance—down to chickens, fish, eggs, and nestlings, taken house by house, day by day. Whenever one man was beaten for debt, the clerks of every desk stood in the hall with their ledgers. For each ledger they called out what was owed and fixed the strokes accordingly, beating debtor after debtor in turn. Even the lightest cases piled up to dozens of blows; the heaviest ran to more than a hundred. The people could scarcely endure it. They also seized great store of merchant treasure from the southern coast and the sea lanes. Through the Five Dynasties they never ceased sending tribute to the central court. When Shizong pacified Huainan and the Song dynasty rose, the states of Jing and Chu submitted one after another. Chu grew ever more isolated and began to drain the realm for tribute. Under Emperor Taizu, Chu came to court once. The emperor treated him with great honor and sent him home. Chu rejoiced and redoubled his gifts of vessels, robes, and curios beyond counting. Taizu said, "These are already things in my treasury—why offer them at all? In Taiping Xingguo 3 an edict summoned Chu to court. He brought his whole clan to the capital, and the kingdom was abolished. What followed is set out in the dynastic histories.
26
嗚呼！ 天人之際，為難言也。 非徒自古術者好奇而幸中，至於英豪草竊亦多自托於妖祥，豈其欺惑愚眾，有以用之歟？ 蓋其興也，非有功德漸積之勤，而黥髡盜販，倔起於王侯，而人亦樂為之傳歟？ 考錢氏之始終，非有德澤施其一方，百年之際，虐用其人甚矣，其動於氣象者，豈非其孽歟？ 是時四海分裂，不勝其暴，又豈皆然歟？ 是皆無所得而推歟？ 術者之言，不中者多，而中者少，而人特喜道其中者歟？
Alas! Between heaven and man there are things hard to put into words. It is not only that diviners since old times have been curious and lucky in their hits. Heroes and bandits rising from the wilds also often lean on omens and portents. Did they mean to beguile the foolish multitude—and find in that a tool they could use? Perhaps their rise held no slow accretion of merit, but tattooed outlaws and shaved robber-peddlers suddenly standing among kings and lords—and people were glad to tell their tales? Look at the Qian from first to last: they never showered one region with benevolent rule; across a century they cruelly used their people. Was what stirred in the heavens and earth not their retribution? The four seas were torn apart then. Unable to bear such tyranny—was every land like this? Can nothing at all be inferred from it? Diviners' words mostly miss and rarely hit—yet people love above all to repeat the hits?
27
〈（镠世興滅，諸書皆同，蓋自唐乾寧二年為鎮海、鎮東軍節度使，兼有兩浙，至皇朝太平興國三年國除，凡八十四年。）〉
(Accounts of Qian Liu's rise and fall agree across sources: from Tang Qianning 2 [895], when he became military commissioner of Zhenhai and Zhendong and held both Zhejiang provinces, until our dynasty's Taiping Xingguo 3 [978], when the kingdom was abolished--a total of eighty-four years.)〉