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卷三 本紀第三: 憲宗

Volume 3 Annals 3: Xianzong

Chapter 3 of 元史 · History of Yuan
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Chapter 3
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1
Xianzong, styled the Emperor Huansu, bore the personal name Möngke and was the eldest son of Ruizong Tolui. His mother was Empress Dowager Zhuang Sheng of the Kereit, Sorghaghtani Beki. He was born on the third day of the twelfth month of the wuchen year. A stargazer of the Yellow Quda tribe declared that the child was destined for greatness, and for that reason he was named Möngke. Möngke, in Chinese, means "eldest son." While Ögedei was still heir apparent, he took the boy as a son and placed him under the care of Empress Anggwi. When he came of age he was given Huolicha, a daughter of the Qorolas, as his consort, together with a portion of that tribe's households. After Ruizong's death he was ordered back to his own princely establishment. On campaign after campaign he won distinction again and again. Once, in an attack on the Qipchaq, their chieftain Bachman escaped to a sea island. When he heard this, he pressed the army forward at once. At the site a great wind drove the sea back, and the shallows became fordable. Delighted, he said, "Heaven has cleared a path for me." He advanced, cut down Bachman's followers, and seized Bachman himself. Ordered to kneel, Bachman replied, "I am king of a nation — shall I grovel merely to survive? And I am no camel — why should I kneel to another man?" He was taken and imprisoned. Bachman told his guards, "When I fled into the sea I was little better than a fish, yet I was taken in the end — Heaven willed it. The returning tide is nearly upon us. The army should withdraw while it still can." The Emperor heard him and ordered an immediate withdrawal. The water was already rising; in the rear some men were swept away as they crossed. He campaigned again with Prince Batu against the Rus', reached Yaroslavl, fought in the front ranks himself, and took the city.
2
禿 使
In the wushen year Güyük died. For a long time the throne stood empty; alarm spread through court and camp alike, and though many looked to Möngke, others coveted the succession and no agreement could be reached. Princes Batu, Möngke, Ariq Böke, Sögtü, and Tachar, together with the generals Uriyangqadai, Sübetei, Temüder, and Yesu Buqa, assembled at Alagh Tagh, where Batu first moved to have him raised up. Bal, an envoy of Güyük's empress Oghul Qaimish, was present and said, "Ögedei once commanded that his grandson Shiremün succeed him, and every prince and official heard the order. Shiremün is still alive. If you mean to set the succession elsewhere, what place is left for him?" Möngke answered, "Who would dare defy Ögedei's command? Yet when Güyük was chosen, it was Empress Töregene and your party who did it. You were the ones who broke Ögedei's command — whom do you blame now?" Bal had no reply. Uriyangqadai said, "Möngke's intelligence is known to all. Batu's proposal is right." Batu announced the decision to the assembly. All agreed, and the choice was settled.
3
西西 便
In the first year (xinhai), in the sixth month of summer, the western princes Berke and Toghtamur, the eastern princes Yeke, Toghu, Yissüngge, Ajai, Tachar, and Belgütei, the western generals led by Barchin, and the eastern generals led by Yesu Buqa met again at Kötö'ü Adal and together enthroned him on the Onon River. Shiremün and his brothers, among them Naqu, nursed their resentment and murmured against the choice. The Emperor sent Prince Hulagu and Mangqasar with troops to keep watch over them. Princes Yesü Möngke, Buri, Qoja, and others failed to appear on time; Bulghu was dispatched with troops to stand ready against them. He then reorganized the government: his brother Kublai was put in charge of Mongol and Han households; Taer, Orbu, Chaqil, Saiyid Ajall, Zhao Bi, and others were sent to Yanjing to reassure the army and people; Mangqasar was appointed chief judge; Bolghu was charged with issuing orders, receiving tribute and petitions, and handling all reports from within and without; Qongqor was left to guard the Karakorum palace and treasury, assisted by Arghun Aqa; Yarlaghchi, Bujir, Orbu, Tuda'er, and others were made heads of the Yanjing Branch Secretariat, with Saiyid Ajall and Nizam al-Din as deputies; Negü, Talqai, Mas'ud, and others were appointed to the Beshbaligh Branch Secretariat, with Endureltü, Ahmad, and Yazid assisting; Arghun was put in charge of the Amu Darya Branch Secretariat, with Fakhr al-Din and Nizam al-Din as deputies; Chaghan and Yol Qan were given command of the Mongol and Han forces in the Two Huai; Taidar of those in Sichuan; and Qoridai of those in Tibet — each continuing the campaigns already under way; the monk Haiyun was placed over Buddhist affairs and the Daoist Li Zhenchang over Daoist affairs. Yesünto, Ajai, Changgi, Jaqan, Qadaqutling, Ariq, Gang Qudan, Asan, Qutluq, and others who had straddled both factions were found guilty of inciting princes to revolt and were all put to death. Useful reforms were then proclaimed throughout the realm: every seal, edict, and commission wrongly issued by court or princes was recalled; princes using the post roads were limited to three horses, and to four even on long journeys; princes were forbidden to recruit households on their own authority; officials might not extort the people under the pretense of attending court; where grain had to be transported a great distance, payment into a nearer granary was allowed. Work on Karakorum was stopped, freeing fifteen hundred laborers. That winter Yeshügü was executed by Qadan for disobedience, and his property was confiscated.
4
西 禿西 使
In the second year (renzi), in the first month of spring, he visited Shihui and sent Qutuq Buqa to attack the fortress of Mergen. The Empress Dowager died. In summer he halted at Karakorum. The princes were sent to their assigned territories: Kadan to Beshbaligh, Möri to the Irtysh River, Kaidu to Aybagh, Berke to Quriltai, Tögtö to Yemek, and Möngke Quduq with Ögedei's empress Qurijin Khatun to the west of Kuoto. Ögedei's consorts and concubines had their goods divided anew and distributed among the princes. Güyük's empress and Shiremün's mother were found guilty of sorcery and put to death; Shiremün, Yesü, and Buri were exiled to Motuo under guard, while Qoju, Naqu, and Yesünto were held in the camps. In the seventh month of autumn Kublai was ordered against Dali; Princes Törel and Sali against Sind; Qutuq Buqa against the Merkit; and Hulagu against the sultanates of the west. Edicts were sent to the Song garrison commanders at Jingnan, Xiangyang, Fancheng, and Junzhou inviting them to submit. In the eighth month Kublai halted at Lintao and ordered the commander Wang Tiange to hold Lizhou as the first step toward taking Shu. In the tenth month of winter Prince Yeke was ordered to campaign against Goryeo. The Emperor halted at Yedige Qulan. While hunting he fell from his horse and injured his arm, and for more than a hundred days he did not hold audience.
5
西
In the third year (guichou), in the first month of spring, Wang Tiange repaired Lizhou and opened garrison farms; the people of Shu did not dare raid across the border. The Emperor hunted at Qeqen Yeqan. Prince Yeke, nursing a grievance, raided Prince Tachar's camp. The Emperor then assembled the princes north of the Onon and rewarded them generously. Yeke's Goryeo expedition was recalled, and Jachar was made commander of the eastern campaign. Bijä Beg was sent to register Rus' households. In the third month the main army attacked Haizhou. The garrison commander Wang Guochang gave battle beneath the walls and was defeated; one Song commander was taken. In the sixth month of summer Prince Hulagu, Uriyangqadai, and others were ordered west against the caliphates of Baghdad and the surrounding lands. Tatar was likewise ordered, with Sali, Tuluhua, and others, against Hindustan, Kashmir, and neighboring realms. The Emperor visited Qorqonaq Buir. Prince Batu sent Töbchä to the imperial camp to request ten thousand ingots of pearls and silver. One thousand were granted, with an admonition: "If Taizu and Ögedei's treasure is squandered thus, how are the princes' yearly grants to be paid? You should weigh the matter carefully. Consider this silver as part of your yearly allotment from now on." In autumn he visited Jünna'ur. Mangqasar was made commander of ten thousand, and Qadan jarquchi. In the ninth month Kublai halted at Tere and divided his force into three columns for the advance. Dali was pacified in the twelfth month of winter. The Emperor halted at Wangi. Prince Yehu and Hong Wonyuan were ordered to lead a joint expedition against Goryeo and captured Hesam, Dongju, Chunju, Samgaksan, Yanggeun, Cheonnyong, and other cities. That year the chief judge Mangqasar died.
6
西
In the fourth year (jiayin), in spring, the Emperor hunted at Qeqen Yeqan. In summer he visited Yürümiq Tütu. Qorichi of the Jadran was sent against Goryeo. In the seventh month of autumn an edict allowed officials arriving for court audits to confess past irregularities and still be pardoned, while forbidding further waste. In winter a great hunt was held at the Yemüqan Qorqai Sea. Kublai returned from Dali, left Uriyangqadai to subdue the tribes still holding out, and came to the hunt to pay homage. That year the princes were assembled west of Gegen Na'ur, and sacrifice was offered to Heaven at Sun-and-Moon Mountain. New troops were registered for the first time. The Emperor asked his ministers to find men capable of securing the borders and skilled in command. Shi Shu was promoted to campaigning commander of ten thousand, given the forces of Zhending, Xiang, Wei, Huai, and Meng, and posted at Tang and Deng. Zhang Rou was transferred to garrison Bozhou. Acting commander Shi Quan was posted at Dengzhou. Zhang Rou sent Zhang Xin with the Eight Han Armies to garrison Yingzhou. Wang Anguo led four thousand households south across the Han, raided deep into Song territory, and returned. Zhang Rou, having campaigned year after year while grain transport in the Two Huai grew ever harder, memorialized to hold Bozhou for its logistical advantages. An edict ordered Rou to lead the Eight Armies south of the mountains, build a fortified city, and garrison it. Rou found the Guo River north of the city too shallow for boats; the army suffered on the crossings, and grain from Cao, Pu, Wei, and Bo never arrived. He built a raised causeway from Bozhou to Bian, a hundred and twenty li of embankment; where the water ran too deep to embank, he threw fifteen bridges across it, some eighty feet wide, each flanked by a fort. Sun Si, prefect of Junzhou, sent envoys with a sealed letter of surrender and a plea for aid; Shi Quan, with elite troops, guarded against Song interception and went to bring him in. Afterward the fierce commanders Zhong Xian, Wang Mei, Du Rou, and Yuan Shixin each brought their forces in to surrender.
7
鹿
In the spring of the fifth year (yimao), an edict went out to levy all overdue taxes and grain. That summer the Emperor traveled to Yier-mieqietu. In the ninth month of autumn Zhang Rou rendezvoused with the supreme commander at Fuli. Baizhangkou lay on the Song traffic route and could shelter ten thousand boats, so they raised a causeway south from Bo for more than sixty li, placing a river-crossing fort midway. Sixty li east of the road was open water where Song vessels could be brought up, so they drove stakes into the shallows and posted scouts only along the hidden approaches. Luyi, Ningling, Kao, Zhe, Qiuqiu, and Nandun were soon clear of Song raids, and Chen, Cai, Ying, and Xi lay open once more. That year Qarachar was ordered to join Hong Wonyu in the campaign against Goryeo. For the next three years they pressed the attack, seizing Guangzhou, Ancheng, Chungju, Hyeonpung, Jinwon, Gaphyang, Okgwa, and other strongholds.
8
使 使
In the spring of the sixth year (bingchen) a gale blew out of the north, sand and gravel whirling until broad daylight went dim. The Emperor gathered princes and officials at Yier-mogedu, feasted for more than sixty days, distributed gold and silk in graded gifts, and set the princes' yearly grants of money and grain. Kublai dispatched Mör-gechi to the mobile court to ask for further conscription of Han troops from the interior circuits, and the petition was approved. In the fourth summer month he encamped at Tamir. In the fifth month he went to Sire Ordo. In the sixth month Venus was seen in daylight. He traveled to Yier-ada. Prince Yisun, the imperial son-in-law Yesür, and others asked leave to march against the Song. The Emperor, angered that the Song had defied his commands and held his envoys captive, called a council to plan war against them. In the seventh month of autumn he sent each prince back to his own domain to take up residence. Prince Tachar and the imperial son-in-law Teligai led their troops through Dongping and the surrounding districts, seizing the people's sheep and swine. When word reached the Emperor he sent envoys to demand an accounting, and from then on no army dared molest the populace. That year King Xicuofu of Poli, the Yunnan chieftain Moheluo-cuo, and envoys from the Sultan lands all came to court. Uryankhadai marched against the White Man and other tribes and broke them; then, coming back from Sibar, he reached Chongqing Prefecture and routed the Song commander Zhang Dutong. He received one gold-thread embroidered robe, fifty taels of silver, and ten thousand two hundred bolts of colored silk with which to reward his soldiers. That winter the Emperor encamped at Ataha-teqirmen. The Muslim subjects who had surrendered along the Amu River were divided up and granted to princes and officials.
9
西
In the spring of the seventh year (dingsi) he went to Hulan-yierji. An edict commanded the princes to take the field against the Song. Qutuq-buqa and his commanders reduced the Melaiji'r-duqie stockade and pacified the region. In the sixth summer month he visited Taizu's traveling palace, offered sacrifice to the banners and drums, met again at Kerulen, and returned to Yier-mieqietu. That autumn he encamped at Junnao'er and poured fermented mare's milk in sacrifice to Heaven. In the ninth month the army set out on the southern campaign. Qachi, son of the imperial son-in-law Racheen, was made darughachi to hold Rus', and was given three hundred horses and five thousand sheep besides. The Uighurs offered a crystal basin, a pearl umbrella, and other treasures worth more than thirty thousand taels of silver. The Emperor said, "The people are worn out; what they need is money. What good does it do for me alone to keep such things?" He sent them back. Sayyid Ajall pleaded their case; the Emperor paid part of the value and forbade further tribute of that kind. Prince Tachar led the southern armies against Fancheng, but month after month of rain forced him to withdraw. Marshal Qorichin's force raided out of Dengzhou and crossed the Han River. In the eleventh winter month Uryankhadai invaded Annam, broke its armies, and entered the realm. King Trần Thái Tông of Annam fled to an offshore island, and the army withdrew. Arghun Aqa, To'in, Nangatai, and others were sent to Shaanxi and neighboring circuits to settle accounts of taxes and grain. That winter the Emperor crossed south of the desert and reached Yulongzhan. Kublai and the princes Ariq Böke, Bari-tu, Chumqar, Yulutas, and Siregi, together with Princess Tuomiegan, came out to meet him. A great feast was held, and afterward each was sent home to his domain.
10
婿 使 西 使 使 使 使
On New Year's Day in the spring of the eighth year (wuwu) he went to Yilibenduoha and received the court's congratulations. In the second month Trần Thái Tông abdicated in favor of his eldest son Quang Hựu. Quang Hựu sent his son-in-law with Annamese envoys bearing tribute; Uryankhadai escorted them to the mobile court. Prince Hulagu crushed the Muslim caliphate, brought the land to order, took its king prisoner, and sent envoys bearing news of victory. The Emperor hunted at Yilihaiya. The southern army advanced and encamped on the river. The river had just frozen over; they spread earth atop the ice and crossed. The Emperor took personal command of the war against the Song, entering by way of western Shu. Zhang Rou was ordered to march with Kublai against Ezhou and drive toward Hangzhou. Tachar was ordered to strike Jingshan and split the Song armies. Pu Zezhi, the Song commissioner of Sichuan, attacked Chengdu; Nüyan met him in battle and routed him; then pressed on to Yunding Mountain, where the garrison commanders Yao and others surrendered one after another with their troops. An edict made Nüyan supreme commander. The Emperor forded the river from Dongsheng. Vice Grand Councillor Liu Taiping was sent to register the households of Xingyuan. In the third month Hong Chagiu was ordered to take troops and join Qarachar in the campaign against Goryeo. In the fourth summer month he encamped at Liupan Mountain, and the prefectural and county magistrates came to audience. Guo Sui, thousand-household commander of Fengzhou, asked to conscript another thousand men to repair Jinzhou, and the petition was granted. The army then stood at forty thousand but marched under the banner of one hundred thousand, split into three columns: the Emperor entered by San Pass from Longzhou; Prince Möge by Micang Pass from Yangzhou; and the thousand-household commander Boriy by Yu Pass into Mianzhou. Minggansar was made Grand Preceptor and left to hold Jingzhao. An edict called up the troops of Li Tan, chief of the Yidu Branch Secretariat. Tan came in person and said, "Yidu is the hinge between north and south; the army cannot be pulled away." His plea was granted. Tan returned and struck Haizhou, Lianshui, and neighboring districts. In the fifth month Prince Asudai, hunting alone, rode through the peasants' fields and ruined the crop. When the Emperor saw it he rebuked him and had several attendants whipped. A soldier who so much as pulled an onion from a farmer's plot was beheaded on the spot. After that not a blade of grass was touched. The magistrates of the districts the army passed through were rewarded in turn, each according to his merit. In the seventh month of autumn he left the baggage at Liupan Mountain and led the army through Baoji against Chongguishan, reducing every place they reached. On xinchou day in the eighth month Tan met the Song in battle and cut their force nearly to the last man. In the ninth month he encamped at Hanzhong. Supreme commander Nüyan left Milihuozhe, Liu Heima, and others to hold Chengdu, then crossed Mahu Lake with the rest of his force, captured the Song commissioner Zhang Shi, and sent him to call on Kuzhu Pass to surrender; Shi fled. On rewu day in the tenth winter month the Emperor encamped at Baofeng. On guiwei day he entered Lizhou. The walls were neither deep nor strong, but Wang Tiange had held them so well that Shu had never dared strike; the Emperor raised a cup of wine in praise. The Emperor crossed the Jialing to the Baishui and ordered Tiange to build a pontoon bridge. When it was ready he rewarded Tiange and his men with gold and silk in graded gifts. The Emperor encamped at Jianmen. On wuzi day they assaulted Kuzhu Pass. Vice-commander Zhao Zhong opened the southeast gate from within; the army poured in, fought the garrison commander Yang Li, broke him, and killed him, and the defenders fled in rout. An edict protected Zhao Zhong's household from reprisal, granted him hat and robes, and moved him to Longqing. On jihai day Zhang Shi was taken and torn limb from limb. Tiange received a jade belt and the troops were given bounty; five hundred picked men were left to hold the pass. Envoys were dispatched to call on Longzhou to submit. The Emperor advanced to Gaofeng. On gengzi day they invested Changning Mountain; garrison commander Wang Zuo and vice-commander Xu Xin sallied out and were beaten back. On yiyou day in the eleventh month the Emperor took command in person and opened the assault on Eding Fort. On renzi day they fought hard at Wangxi Gate. At dusk the Song magistrate Wang Zhong came down from Eding Fort to surrender. That night the city fell; Wang Zuo died in the fighting. On guichou day Zuo's sons, Xu Xin, and more than forty others were put to death. Peng Tianxiang was made darughachi to govern the district, with Wang Zhong as his deputy. On bingchen day they pressed the attack on Daguo Mountain; garrison commander Yang Dayuan came over, was named Vice Minister of Sichuan, and marched on with his men. On gengwu day they halted at Hexikou and sent swift cavalry to sweep Qingju Mountain. That month the Wang family prefect of Longzhou submitted. Prince Mögedü assaulted Liyi Mountain without success; Prince Tachar raided to the river and turned back; both rejoined the Emperor at the mobile court. Kublai was ordered to take command of the Mongol and Han armies of every circuit for the war against the Song. On rewu day in the twelfth month Yang Dayuan and Wang Tiange split their forces to strike Xiangru and neighboring counties. Supreme commander Nüyan invested Jianzhou, with the Song turncoat Zhang Wei at the head of the van. On yiyou day the Emperor encamped at Yunshan. Dayuan sent envoys to win over the garrison commander Zhang Dayue and made Dayue commander-in-chief once he submitted. The army reached Qingju Mountain, where the assistant commander Liu Yuan and his officers killed the garrison commander Duan Yuanjian and submitted. On gengyin day, envoys were dispatched to call in those who had not yet submitted. On dingyou day, the magistrate holding Long Prefecture surrendered. On jihai day, Pu Yuangui, who held Daliang Mountain, came over. An edict forbade the armies to loot or take prisoners. On guimao day they stormed Ya Prefecture and captured it. Zhao Shun, the garrison commander at Shiquan, submitted. On jiachen day the Emperor sent the Song defector Jin Guobao to treat with Wang Jian, He Prefecture's commander; Wang Jian refused, and Guobao turned back. That year Prince Bian Du died on the south bank of the Ji River.
11
便 禿
In the ninth year (jiwei), on the new moon of the first spring month, the Emperor encamped north of Zhongguishan and held a great feast. He asked his princes, sons-in-law, and ministers, "We are deep in Song territory, and the summer heat is coming — can we endure it here?" Toqur of the Jadaran tribe replied, "These southern lands breed pestilence. Your Majesty should withdraw north and leave the people we have taken to be governed by appointed officials." Baraq of the Arlat tribe answered, "Toqur lacks nerve. Your servant will gladly stay and hold these lands." The Emperor was pleased by this. On wushen day Guobao was making his way back when he halted at the gorge mouth; Wang Jian overtook him, hauled him back, and executed him. Prince Mogedu renewed the assault on Liyi Mountain in Qu Prefecture, while Yelü Chulu Xiong attacked Pingliang Mountain in Ba Prefecture. On dingmao day Yang Dayuan asked leave to assault He Prefecture and brought in more than eighty thousand captives, men and women together.
12
西 西
In the second month, on bingzi day, the Emperor led the full host across Chicken-claw Beach to Stone Mountain. On dingchou day he drove his armies to battle beneath the walls. On xinsi day they assaulted the One-character Fort. On guiwei day they struck the Western Gate bastion. In the third month they pressed the Eastern New Gate, the Gate of Strange Victories, and the outer works of the Western Gate. In the fourth summer month, on bingzi day, torrential storms rolled on for twenty days. On yiwei day they stormed the Gate of Guarding the State. On dingyou day, under cover of night, they climbed the outer wall and cut down large numbers of Song defenders. Through the fifth month they battered the fortress again and again without success. In the sixth month, on dingsi day, Wang Tiange handpicked a force that climbed the cavalry redoubt on the outer wall by night and killed its commander and the men holding it. Wang Jian came out to fight. Near daybreak rain swept in; the ladders snapped, the rear columns could not follow, and the assault was called off. That month the Emperor took ill. In the seventh autumn month, on xinhai day, he left three thousand elite troops to hold the siege and marched the rest against Chongqing. On guihai day the Emperor died at Diaoyu Mountain. He was fifty-two and had ruled nine years. Posthumously he was styled Emperor Huansu; his temple name was Xianzong.
13
He was hard-minded and quick to decide, fierce in bearing and sparing of speech. He took no pleasure in revelry or display, and would not even let his consorts exceed the bounds of custom. In Taizong's day ministers had seized power for themselves, and policy issued from many hands. Henceforth he drafted every edict himself, revising each four times over before it went out. He governed his court with stern discipline and once warned them, "Let me once praise you, and your spirits swell with pride; when pride swells, can ruin be far behind? Guard yourselves against it." Hunting was his passion; he held that in this he followed ancestral custom, not the habits of other realms. Yet he trusted shamans and oracles utterly; before any undertaking he consulted them, almost without a day's exception, and never seemed to grow weary of the practice.
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