1
崔斌,字仲文,馬邑人。 性警敏,多智慮,魁岸雄偉,善騎射,尤攻文學,而達政術。 世祖在潛邸召見,應對稱旨,命佐卜憐吉帶,將游騎戍淮南。 斌負才略,卜憐吉帶甚敬禮之。 兵駐揚州西城,俾斌領騎兵覘敵形勢,斌視敵兵亂,潛出襲之,多所殺獲。 俄丁父憂,襲授金符,為總管。 中統元年,改西京參議宣慰司事。 世祖嘗命安童舉漢人識治體者一人,安童舉斌。 入見,敷陳時政得失,曲中宸慮。 時世祖銳意圖治,斌危言讜論,直指面斥,是非立判,無有所諱。 帝幸上都,嘗召斌,斌下馬步從。 帝命之騎,因問為治大體,今當何先。 斌以任相對。 帝曰:「汝其為我舉可為相者。」 斌以安童、史天澤對,帝默然良久。 斌曰:「陛下豈以臣猥鄙,所舉未允公議,有所惑歟? 今近臣咸在,乞採輿言,陛下裁之。」 帝俞其請,斌立馬揚言曰:「有旨問安童為相,可否?」 眾歡然呼萬歲。 帝悅,遂以二人並為相。 除斌左右司郎中。 每論事帝前,群言終日不決者,斌以數言決之。 進見,必與近臣偕,其所獻替,雖密近之臣,有不得與聞者,以此人多忌之。 會阿合馬立制國用使司,專總財賦,一以掊克為事,斌曰:「與其有聚斂之臣,寧有盜臣!」 於帝前屢斥其奸惡。
Cui Bin, whose courtesy name was Zhongwen, came from Mayi. He was quick-witted and resourceful, with a towering, imposing frame, skilled in horsemanship and archery, deeply versed in literature, and thoroughly capable in statecraft. Kublai Khan summoned him while still heir apparent; Bin answered to his satisfaction and was assigned to assist Bolinjigit in commanding scouting cavalry on garrison duty in Huainan. Bin was gifted with talent and strategic insight, and Bolinjigit held him in high esteem. The army was posted at Yangzhou's western ramparts, and Bin was sent with cavalry to scout the enemy. Seeing their ranks in disarray, he made a stealthy sortie, killing and capturing a great many. Soon afterward his father died; he inherited his father's gold tally and was appointed regional commander. In 1260 he was reassigned as deliberative officer on the Western Capital Pacification Commission. The emperor once told Antong to nominate a Han official who grasped the fundamentals of governance; Antong put forward Bin. When he was received in audience, he set forth the strengths and failings of current policy in terms that matched the emperor's own concerns. The emperor was then intent on reforming government, and Bin spoke blunt, honest counsel—calling out wrongdoing face to face, settling right and wrong on the spot, and holding nothing back. On one visit to Shangdu the emperor summoned Bin, who dismounted and walked beside the imperial procession. The emperor told him to remount and asked what the overarching principles of rule were and what ought to come first. Bin replied that the first priority was to appoint the right chief minister. The emperor said, "Then name someone you consider fit to serve as chief minister." Bin named Antong and Shi Tianze; the emperor fell silent for a long interval. Bin said, "Does Your Majesty perhaps doubt my nominees because I am unworthy, and because the court has not yet endorsed them? All those close at hand are present; I ask that Your Majesty take counsel from them and decide." The emperor agreed; still mounted, Bin called out, "By imperial command: is Antong fit to serve as chief minister—yes or no?" The crowd answered with a joyous cry of "Long live the emperor!" Delighted, the emperor appointed both men chief ministers at once. Bin was appointed director in the Left and Right Secretariat offices. Whenever councilors debated before the throne all day without reaching a decision, a few words from Bin would settle the matter. He always attended audience alongside the emperor's inner circle, yet counsel he offered was sometimes withheld even from those closest to the throne, and many grew jealous of him for it. When Ahmad set up the Bureau for Regulating State Revenue to control all finances and devoted himself wholly to squeezing the people, Bin said, "Better a thief in office than a minister who lives by plundering the realm!" He denounced Ahmad's corruption again and again before the emperor.
2
至元四年,出守東平。 五年,大兵南征,道壽張。 卒有撤民席,投其赤子於地以死,訴于斌。 斌馳謂主將曰:「未至敵境,而先殺吾民,國有常刑,汝亦當坐。」 於是下其卒於獄,自是莫敢犯。 歲大昆,徵賦如常年,斌馳奏以免,復請於朝,得楮幣十萬緡,以賑民飢。 六年,除同僉樞密院事。 襄樊之役,命斌僉河南行省事。 方議攻鹿門山,斌曰:「自峴山西抵萬山,北抵漢江,築城浚塹,以絕餉援,則襄陽可坐制矣。」 時調曹、濮民丁,屯田南陽。 斌議罷曹、濮屯民,以近地兵多者補之,民以為便。 又議戶部給濱、棣、清、滄鹽券,付行省,募民以米貿之,仍增價和糴。 遠近輸販者輻輳,饋餉不勞而集。 有旨:河南四路,籍兵二萬,以益襄樊。 斌即馳奏曰:「河南戶少,而調度繁多,實不堪命,減其半為宜。」 從之。 襄陽既下,轉嘉議大夫,仍僉行中書省。
In 1267 he was sent out to serve as prefect of Dongping. The next year, as the main army marched south, it passed through Shouzhang. Some soldiers ripped up a villager's sleeping mat and dashed his infant to the ground, killing it; the man brought the case to Bin. Bin rode at once to the commander and said, "We have not yet reached the enemy, yet you are already killing our own people. The law has fixed penalties for this—you are answerable as well." The men were thrown into prison, and from that day no one dared molest the populace. Locusts ravaged the land that year, yet taxes were still levied as usual; Bin sent an urgent memorial to secure exemption, then won from court one hundred thousand strings of paper money to relieve famine among the people. In 1269 he was made associate administrator of the Bureau of Military Affairs. During the siege of Xiangyang and Fancheng he was assigned concurrent duty on the Henan Branch Secretariat. While commanders debated storming Mount Lumen, Bin said, "From Mount Xian west to Mount Wan and north to the Han, if we build walls and trenches to sever supply lines, Xiangyang can be brought to heel without a pitched battle." At the time corvée laborers from Cao and Pu were being conscripted for garrison farming around Nanyang. Bin proposed ending the Cao and Pu colonist levies and filling the garrisons from nearby districts with surplus troops; the people welcomed the change. He further proposed that the Ministry of Revenue issue salt certificates from the coastal salterns to the branch secretariat, recruit civilians to exchange grain for salt, and buy grain at premium prices to fill the granaries. Merchants and carriers converged from far and near, and supplies accumulated without strain. An imperial order called for twenty thousand troops to be levied from Henan's four circuits to reinforce the Xiangyang front. Bin sent an urgent memorial at once: "Henan has too few households for so many demands—the people truly cannot bear it; half the levy would be right." The court agreed. Once Xiangyang fell he was promoted to Grand Master for Splendid Happiness while retaining his concurrent post on the Branch Secretariat.
3
十年,詔丞相伯顏總兵南征,改行省為河南宣慰司,加中奉大夫,賜金虎符,充宣慰使。 是時,襄陽、正陽諸軍,悉道河南,供億雖繁,而事無缺失。 伯顏既渡江,分阿里海牙定湖南,詔斌貳之,拜行中書省參知政事。 十月,圍潭州,斌攻西北鐵壩。 阿里海牙中流矢,不能軍,斌以軍夜集柵下,黎明畢登,不利。 斌曰:「彼軍小捷而驕弛,吾今焚其角樓,斷其援道,塹城為三周,如此則城可得。」 諸將然之。 乃誓師,銜枚潛登鐵壩,人齎芻秸,梯其樓火之,且豎木柵城上。 詰旦,布雲梯鼓譟而上,斌挾盾先登。 阿里海牙持酒勞曰:「取此城,公之力也。」 斌自語阿里海牙曰:「潭人膽破矣。 若斂兵不進,許其來降,則土地人民皆我有,自重湖以南,連城數十,可傳檄而定。 若縱兵急攻,彼無噍類,得一空城何益!」 從之。 明日,即遣開示禍福,城中爭出降。 諸將怒其抗敵持久,咸欲屠之。 斌喻以興師本意,諸將曰:「編民當如公說,敵兵必誅之。」 斌曰:「彼各為其主耳,宜旌之,以勸未附者,且殺降不祥。」 諸將乃止。 捷聞,帝嘉之,進資善大夫、行中書省左丞,潭人德之,為立生祠。 十一年,奉旨撫諭廣西,尋命還治湖南。 潭屬邑安化、湘鄉、衡山以南,賊周龍、張唐、張虎等,所在蜂起,斌駐兵南嶽。 凡來降者,同僚議欲盡戮,以懲反側,斌但按誅其首惡,脅從者盡釋之。
In 1273 Bayan was ordered to command the southern campaign; the Henan Branch Secretariat became a Pacification Commission, and Bin was promoted to Grand Master of the Palace with Golden Tally, given a gold tiger tally, and appointed Pacification Commissioner. All armies bound for Xiangyang and Zhengyang now passed through Henan; though the logistical burden was immense, nothing fell short. After Bayan crossed the Yangzi, Ariq Qaya was sent to secure Hunan with Bin as his second; Bin was appointed Vice Director of the Branch Secretariat. In the tenth month the army besieged Tanzhou, and Bin assaulted the iron palisade on the northwest. Ariq Qaya took an arrow wound and could not lead; Bin massed the troops beneath the palisade by night, and at dawn they had all scaled it, yet the attack failed. Bin said, "They are flushed with a minor victory and grown careless. Burn their corner towers, sever their relief routes, and ring the walls with three lines of trenches—the city will fall." The commanders assented. The army was sworn in, then advanced in silence up the iron palisade, each man carrying kindling; they scaled the tower and set it ablaze and threw up wooden palisades along the ramparts. At dawn scaling ladders went up amid drumbeats and war cries; Bin, shield braced before him, was the first over the wall. Ariq Qaya raised a cup in tribute and said, "This city is yours—the credit is yours alone." Bin told Ariq Qaya privately, "The defenders of Tanzhou have lost their nerve. If we hold our troops in check and offer terms, land and people alike will be ours; south of the great lakes, dozens of walled towns will submit at the stroke of a dispatch. If we press a slaughtering assault, not one soul will be left—what profit is there in taking an empty shell of a city?" The court agreed. The next day he sent envoys to explain the consequences of resistance and surrender, and the city rushed to submit. The commanders, furious at the prolonged resistance, all wanted to slaughter the population. Bin reminded them of the campaign's purpose; the generals replied, "Civilians should be spared as you advise, but enemy troops must die." Bin said, "Each man served his own lord—that merits honor, to encourage those still holding out, and slaughtering men who surrender brings ill fortune." The commanders relented. Word of the victory reached the court; the emperor commended him, promoted him to Grand Master for the Good of the State and Left Vice Director of the Branch Secretariat, and the people of Tan, grateful for his mercy, built him a living shrine. In 1274 he was ordered to pacify Guangxi, then recalled to govern Hunan. South of Tanzhou, in Anhua, Xiangxiang, and the country beyond Hengshan, bandits led by Zhou Long, Zhang Tang, and Zhang Hu rose everywhere; Bin encamped his forces on Mount Heng. When rebels surrendered, his colleagues urged mass executions to deter further revolt; Bin executed only the ringleaders by law and freed all who had followed under compulsion.
4
十五年,被召入覲。 時阿合馬擅權日甚,廷臣莫敢誰何。 斌從帝至察罕腦兒。 帝問江南各省撫治如何。 斌對以治安之道在得人,今所用多非其人,因極言阿合馬姦蠹。 帝乃令御史大夫相威、樞密副使孛羅按問之,汰其冗員,黜其親黨,檢核其不法,罷天下轉運司,海內無不稱快。 適尚書留夢炎、謝昌元言:「江淮行省事至重,而省臣無一人通文墨者。」 乃命斌遷江淮行省左丞。 既至,凡前日蠹國漁民不法之政,悉厘政之,仍條具以聞。 阿合馬慮其害己,捃摭其細事,遮留使不獲上見,因誣構以罪,竟為所害。 裕宗在東宮,聞之,方食,投箸惻然,遣使止之,已不及矣。 天下冤之。 年五十六。 至大初,贈推忠保節功臣、太傅、開府儀同三司,追封鄭國公,諡忠毅。
In 1278 he was recalled to court. Ahmad's grip on power was tightening daily, and no one at court dared confront him. Bin accompanied the emperor to the summer camp at Chaghan Nur. The emperor asked how the southern provinces were being governed. Bin replied that good government depended on appointing the right men, that most current appointees were unfit, and he then laid bare Ahmad's corruption in full. The emperor ordered Censor-in-Chief Xiang Wei and Vice Director Boluo to investigate, purge Ahmad's redundant staff, dismiss his kin and cronies, audit his crimes, and abolish transport commissioners empire-wide; the realm rejoiced. Just then Ministers Liu Mengyan and Xie Changyuan observed, "The Jianghuai Branch Secretariat is the weightiest post in the realm, yet not one of its ministers can read or write." Bin was accordingly appointed Left Vice Director of the Jianghuai Branch Secretariat. On arrival he swept away every policy that had plundered the state and preyed on the people, itemized the reforms, and memorialized the throne. Fearing Bin would bring him down, Ahmad scraped together petty charges, blocked his memorials from reaching the throne, framed him on false accusations, and had him killed. Crown Prince Zhenjin, at table in the Eastern Palace when he heard the news, dropped his chopsticks in grief and sent a messenger to halt the execution—but it was already too late. The empire mourned him as a man wrongfully slain. He was fifty-six. At the opening of the Zhida reign he was posthumously honored as Meritous Subject Who Promotes Loyalty and Preserves Integrity, Grand Preceptor, and Commissioner with credentials equal to the Three Excellencies, enfeoffed as Duke of Zheng, with the posthumous epithet Loyal and Resolute.
5
子三人,良知、威、恩。 孫一人,敬。 皆為大官。
He left three sons: Liangzhi, Wei, and En. He had one grandson, Jing. All rose to high office.
6
○崔彧
○ Cui Yu
7
崔彧,字文卿,小字拜帖木兒,弘州人。 負才氣,剛直敢言,世祖甚器重之。 至元十六年,奉詔偕牙納木至江南,訪求藝術之人。 明年,自江南迴,首言忽都帶兒根索亡宋財貨,煩擾百姓,身為使臣,乃挈妻子以往,所在取索鞍馬芻粟。 世祖雖聽其言,然虛實竟不辨決也。
Cui Yu, courtesy name Wenqing, also known by his childhood name Baitiemuer, came from Hongzhou. Gifted and forceful in character, upright and outspoken, he won the emperor's deep regard. In 1279 he was ordered to accompany Yaqumu to the south to recruit men skilled in the arts and sciences. On his return the following year he reported first that Hududai'er Gensuo was seizing former Song property and harassing the populace—though an envoy, he had brought wife and children along and extorted saddles, horses, fodder, and grain wherever he passed. The emperor heard him out but never investigated the charges or reached a verdict.
8
十九年,除集賢侍讀學士。 彧言於世祖,謂:「阿合馬當國時,同列皆知其惡,無一人孰何之者; 及既誅,乃各自以為潔,誠欺罔之大者。 先有旨,凡阿合馬所用之人皆革去,臣以為守門卒隸亦不可留。 如參知政事阿里,請以阿散襲父職,倘使得請,其害又有不可勝言者。 賴陛下神聖,灼知其奸,拒而不可。 臣已疏其奸惡十餘事,乞召阿里廷辯。」 帝曰:「已敕中書,凡阿合馬所用,皆罷之,窮治黨與,纖悉無遺。 事竟之時,朕與汝別有言也。」 又請以郝禎剖棺戮屍,從之。 尋奉旨鉤考樞密文牘,遂由刑部尚書拜御史中丞。 彧言:「台臣於國家政事得失,生民休戚,百官邪正,雖王公將相,亦宜糾察。 近唯御史得有所言,臣以為台官皆當建言,庶於國家有補。 選用台察官,若由中書,必有偏徇之弊,御史宜從本台選擇,初用漢人十六員,今用蒙古十六員,相參巡歷為宜。」 皆從其言。 二十年,復以刑部尚書上疏,言時政十八事:一曰開廣言路,多選正人,番直上前,以司喉舌,庶免黨附壅塞之患。 二曰當阿合馬擅權,台臣莫敢糾其非,迨其事敗,然後接踵隨聲,徒取譏笑。 宜別加選用,其舊人除蒙古人取聖斷外,餘皆當問罪。 三曰樞密院定奪軍官,賞罰不當,多聽阿合馬風旨。 宜擇有聲望者為長貳,庶幾號令明而賞罰當。 四曰翰苑亦頌阿合馬功德,宜博訪南北耆儒碩望,以重此選。 五曰郝禎、耿仁等雖在典刑,若是者尚多,罪同罰異,公論未伸,合次第屏除。 六曰貴遊子弟,用即顯官,幼不講學,何以從政。 得如左丞許衡教國子學,則人才輩出矣。 七曰今起居注所書,不過奏事檢目而已。 宜擇蒙古人之有聲望、漢人之重厚者,居其任,分番上直,帝王言動必書,以垂法於無窮。 八曰憲曹無法可守,是以奸人無所顧忌。 宜定律令,以為一代之法。 九曰官冗,若徒省一官員,並一衙門,亦非經久之策。 宜參眾議,而立定成規。 十曰官僚無以養廉,責其貪則苛。 乞將諸路大小官,有俸者量增,無俸者特給。 然不取之於官,惟賦之於民,蓋官吏既有所養,不致病民,少增歲賦,亦將樂從。 十一曰內地百姓流移江南避賦役者,已十五萬戶。 去家就旅,豈人之情,賦重政繁,驅之致此。 乞特降詔旨,招集復業,免其後來五年科役,其餘積欠並蠲,事產即日給還。 民官滿替,以戶口增耗為黜陟,其徙江南不歸者,與土著一例當役。 十二曰凡丞相安童遷轉民臣,悉為阿合馬所擯黜,或居散地,或在遠方,並令拔擢。 十三曰簿錄奸黨財物,本國家之物,不可視為橫得,遂致濫用。 宜以之實帑藏、供歲計。 十四曰大都非如上都,止備巡幸,不應立留守司,此皆阿合馬以此位置私黨。 今宜易置總管府。 十五曰中書省右丞二,而左丞缺。 宜改所增右丞置諸左。 十六曰在外行省,不必置丞相、平章,止設左右丞以下,庶幾內重,不致勢均。 彼謂非隆其名不足鎮壓者,奸臣欺罔之論也。 十七曰阿剌海牙掌兵民之權,子侄姻黨,分列權要,官吏出其門者,十之七八,其威權不在阿合馬下。 宜罷職理算,其黨雖無污染者,亦當遷轉他所,勿使久據湖廣。 十八曰銓選類奏,賢否莫知。 自今三品已上,必引見而後授官。 疏奏,即日命中書行其數事,餘命與御史大夫玉昔帖木兒議行之。
In 1282 he was appointed Attendant Reader in the Hall of Worthies. Yu told the emperor, "While Ahmad held power, every colleague knew his crimes, yet not one dared challenge him; yet once he was executed they each claimed to have been blameless all along—a gross deception indeed. An order already went out to dismiss everyone Ahmad had appointed; I believe even his gate guards and runners should not remain. Vice Director Ali, for instance, has asked that his son Ashan inherit his father's post; if that were granted, the harm would be incalculable. Thanks to Your Majesty's discernment, you saw through his scheme and refused. I have already listed more than ten of his crimes; I ask that Ali be summoned to answer them at court." The emperor said, "I have already ordered the Secretariat to dismiss everyone Ahmad appointed, root out his entire faction, and spare nothing. When it is done, I shall have more to say to you." He also petitioned to have Hao Zhen's coffin opened and his corpse dismembered; the request was granted. Soon afterward he was ordered to audit the Bureau of Military Affairs archives, and was promoted from Minister of Justice to Censor-in-Chief. Yu said, "Censors exist to scrutinize the state's successes and failures in policy, the people's welfare, and officials' integrity—even princes, dukes, generals, and chancellors must answer to our scrutiny. Lately only investigating censors have been free to speak; I believe every censorial officer should offer counsel, to the state's benefit. If the Secretariat chooses surveillance officers, favoritism is inevitable; censors should be picked within the Censorate itself—sixteen Han officers at first, sixteen Mongols now—and they should tour the circuits in mixed pairs." The emperor adopted all of his recommendations. In 1283, again serving as Minister of Justice, he memorialized on eighteen points of policy: First, widen the channels of candid counsel, appoint upright men in rotation before the throne to speak for the court, and thus avoid the clog of faction and patronage. Second, while Ahmad held unchecked power the censors dared not call out his crimes; only after his fall did they queue up to denounce him—a spectacle of ridicule. Fresh appointments are needed; of the old censors, all but Mongols—whose cases await imperial judgment—should face prosecution. Third, the Bureau of Military Affairs decides officers' promotions and punishments unfairly, often at Ahmad's whispered direction. Choose men of standing as the bureau's chiefs, so that orders are clear and rewards and punishments just. Fourth, the Hanlin Academy too sang Ahmad's praises; search broadly among the most eminent scholars of north and south to restore dignity to those appointments. Fifth, though Hao Zhen and Geng Ren have been punished, many like them remain; equal crimes receive unequal penalties and public justice is denied—they should be removed one by one. Sixth, scions of great families are installed at once in high office without ever having studied—how can they govern? With teachers like Left Vice Director Xu Heng at the Imperial Academy, men of talent would emerge in abundance. Seventh, the Diarists of Attendance today record nothing but lists of memorials filed. Appoint reputable Mongols and sober, weighty Han scholars, rotate them on palace duty, and record every word and act of the emperor as a model for posterity. Eighth, with no codified law for the legal offices to enforce, wrongdoers have nothing to fear. Fix statutes and ordinances to serve as this dynasty's enduring law. Ninth, the bureaucracy is bloated; eliminating one post or merging one office is no lasting remedy. Consult broadly and set a permanent organizational framework. Tenth, officials lack salaries adequate to live honestly; punishing their corruption without raising their pay is unjust. Raise salaries where they exist and grant stipends where none exist, for officials at every level in every circuit. Fund this not from the treasury but through a modest levy on the people—once officials are properly paid they will not prey on the populace, and the people will accept a small increase in annual tax willingly. Eleventh, a hundred and fifty thousand inland households have fled south to escape taxes and corvée. Leaving home to wander is not human nature—heavy taxes and oppressive government have driven them to it. Issue a special edict recalling them to their homes, exempt their taxes and corvée for five years, cancel all arrears, and restore their property immediately. Judge civil officials at term's end by whether population in their districts rose or fell; refugees who remain in the south should bear corvée like local residents. Twelfth, every Han official Antong had advanced was driven out by Ahmad to idle posts or distant provinces—all should be restored to office. Thirteenth, property seized from Ahmad's faction belongs to the state, not to officials as spoils—it must not be squandered. It should fill the treasury and fund the annual budget. Fourteenth, Dadu is not Shangdu, a mere touring capital—it should not have a metropolitan garrison commission; Ahmad used that post to seat his private clique. Replace it with a metropolitan chief commandery. Fifteenth, the Secretariat has two right vice directors but no left vice director. Move one of the right vice directors to the vacant left post. Sixteenth, provincial branch secretariats need no chancellors or grand councillors—only vice directors and subordinates—so the center keeps its weight and the provinces cannot rival it. The argument that only exalted titles can keep the provinces in check is treacherous ministers' deceit. Seventeenth, Alahaiya commands both military and civil power; his sons, nephews, and in-laws hold key posts, and seven or eight of every ten local officials are his clients—his power rivals Ahmad's. Remove him from office and audit his accounts; even unproven associates should be transferred out of Huguang. Eighteenth, appointments are submitted in bulk lists with no way to judge merit. From now on every appointment of rank three or above must follow an imperial audience. The memorial was received; that day the emperor ordered the Secretariat to implement several items at once, and referred the rest to Censor-in-Chief Yeshi Temur for deliberation.
9
又言:「江南盜賊,相挻而起,凡二百餘所,皆由拘刷水手與造海船,民不聊生,激而成變。 日本之役,宜姑止之。 又江西四省軍需,宜量民力,勿強以土產所無。 凡給物價與民者,必以實,召募水手,當從其所欲,伺民氣稍蘇,我力粗備,三二年後,東征未晚也。」 世祖以為不切,曰:「爾之所言如射然,挽弓雖可觀,發矢則非是矣。」 彧又言:「昨中書奉旨,差官度量大都州縣地畝,本以革權勢兼併之弊,欲其明白,不得不於軍民諸色人戶,通行核實。 又因取勘畜牧數目,初意本非擾民,而近者浮言胥動,恐失農時。 乞降旨省諭詔中書即行之。」 又言:「建言者多,孰是孰否,中書宜集議,可行者行之,不可則明諭言者為便。」 又言:「各路每歲選取室女,宜罷。」 又言:「宋文思院小口斛,出入官糧,無所容隱,所宜頒行。」 皆從之。
He also reported, "More than two hundred bandit bands have risen across the south, all because of the press-ganging of sailors and construction of warships—the people, driven to desperation, have rebelled. The invasion of Japan should be suspended for now. Military levies on Jiangxi's four provinces should match local capacity—do not demand goods the region cannot produce. Pay fair prices for requisitions, recruit sailors voluntarily, wait until the people recover and our forces are ready—in two or three years an eastern campaign will still be timely." The emperor dismissed this as impractical: "Your advice is like archery—the draw looks fine, but the shot goes wide." Yu added, "The Secretariat recently sent officials to survey Dadu's fields to curb powerful families' land-grabs; clarity requires verifying every military, civilian, and special household. Livestock counts were also surveyed—the intent was not to harass the people, but rumors are spreading and the planting season may be lost. Issue an edict of reassurance to the provinces and have the Secretariat execute it immediately." He also urged, "Counsel pours in—the Secretariat should deliberate collectively, implement what is sound, and plainly tell petitioners when their proposals are rejected." He also proposed ending the annual selection of maidens from the circuits. He also urged adopting the Song Wensiyuan's standard grain measure, which prevents concealment in official granaries. The emperor approved all of these as well.
10
二十一年,彧劾奏盧世榮不可居相職,忤旨,罷。 二十三年,加集賢大學士、中奉大夫、同僉樞密院事。 尋出為甘肅行省右丞。 召拜中書右丞。 與中書平章政事麥術丁奏曰:「近者桑哥當國四年,中外諸官,鮮有不以賄而得者。 其昆弟故舊妻族,皆授要官美地,唯以欺蔽九重、朘削百姓為事。 宜令兩省嚴加考核,凡入其黨者,皆汰逐之。 其出使之臣及按察司官受賕者,論如律,仍追宣敕,除名為民。」 又奏:「桑哥所設衙門,其閒冗不急之官,徒費祿食,宜令百司集議汰罷,及自今調官,宜如舊制,避其籍貫,庶不害公。 又大都高貲戶,多為桑哥所容庇,凡百徭役,止令貧民當之。 今後徭役,不問何人,宜皆均輸,有敢如前以賄求人容庇者,罪之。 又,軍、站諸戶,每歲官吏非名取索,賦稅倍蓰,民多流移。 請自今非奉旨及省部文學,敢私斂民及役軍匠者,論如法。 又,忽都忽那顏籍戶之後,各投下毋擅招集,太宗既行之,江南民為籍已定,乞依太宗所行為是。」 皆從之。 二十八年,由中書右丞遷御史中丞,彧奏:「太醫院使劉岳臣,嘗仕宋,練達政事,比者命其參議機務,眾皆稱善。 乞以為翰林學士,俾議朝政。」 又言:「行御史臺言:'建寧路總管馬謀,因捕盜延及平民,搒掠至死者多; 又俘掠人財,迫通處女,受民財積百五十錠。 獄未具,會赦。 如臣等議,馬謀以非罪殺人,不在原例。 '宜令行台詰問,明白定罪。」 又言:「昔行御史臺監察御史周祚,劾尚書省官忙兀帶、教化的、納速剌丁滅裡姦贓; 納速剌丁滅裡反誣祚以罪,遣人詣尚書省告桑哥。 桑哥曖昧以聞,流祚於憨答孫,妻子家財並沒入官。 祚至和林遇亂,走還京師。 桑哥又遣詣雲南理算錢穀,以贖其罪。 今自雲南迴,臣與省臣閱其伏詞,為罪甚微,宜復其妻子。」 皆從之。 二十九年,彧偕御史大夫玉昔帖木兒等奏:「四方之人,來聚闕下,率言事以乾進。 國家名器,資品高下,具有定格。 臣等以為,中書、樞密,宜早為銓定,應格者與之,不當與者,明語其故使去。 又言事有是非當否,宜早與詳審言之。 當者即議施行,或所陳有須詰難條具者,即令其人講究,否則罷遣。」 帝嘉納之。 又奏:「納速剌丁滅裡、忻都、王巨濟,黨比桑哥,恣為不法,楮幣、銓選、鹽課、酒稅,無不更張變亂之; 銜命江南,理算積久逋賦,期限嚴急,胥卒追逮,半於道路,民至嫁妻賣女,殃及親鄰,維揚、錢塘受害最慘,無故而殞其生五百餘人。 近者阇裡按問,悉皆首實請死,士民乃知聖天子仁愛元元,而使之至此極者,實桑哥及其凶黨之為也,莫不願食其肉。 臣等其議:此三人者既已伏辜,宜令中書省、御史臺從公論罪,以謝天下。」 從之。 又言:「河西人薛阇幹,領兵為宣慰,其吏詣廉訪司,告其三十六事,檄僉事簿問。 而薛阇幹率軍人禽問者辱之,且奪告者以去。 臣議:從行台選御史往按問薛阇幹,仍先奪其職。」 又言:「行台官言:去歲桑哥既敗,使臣至自上所者,或不持璽書,口傳聖旨,縱釋有罪,擅籍人家,真偽莫辨。 臣等請:自今凡使臣,必降璽書,省、台、院諸司,必給印信文書,以杜姦欺。」 帝曰:「何人乃敢爾耶?」 對曰:「咬剌也奴、伯顏察兒,比嘗傳旨縱罪人。」 帝悉可其奏。 又奏:「松州達魯花赤長孫,自言不願為錢穀官,願備員廉訪司,令木八剌沙上聞。 傳旨至台,特令委用,台臣所宜奉行。 但徑自陳獻,又且嘗有罪,理應區別。」 帝曰:「此自卿事,宜審行之。」 又奏:「江南李淦言葉李過愆,被旨赴京以辯,今葉李物故,事有不待辨者。 李淦本儒人,請授以教官,旌其直言。」 又奏:「鄂州一道,舊有按察司,要束木惡其害己,令桑哥奏罷之。 臣觀鄂州等九郡,境土亦廣,宜復置廉訪司。 行御史臺舊治揚州,今揚州隸南京,而行台移治建康; 其淮東廉訪司舊治淮安,今宜移治揚州。」 又奏:「諸官吏受賕,在朝則詣御史臺首告,在外則詣按察司首告,已有成憲。 自桑哥持國,受賕者不赴憲台憲司,而詣諸司首,故爾反覆牽延,事久不竟。 臣謂宜如前旨,惟於本台、行台及諸道廉訪司首告,諸司無得輒受。 又監察御史塔的失言:女直人教化的,去歲東征,妄言以米千石餉阇裡鐵木兒軍萬人,奏支鈔四百錠,宜令本處廉訪司究問,與本處行省追償議罪。」 皆從之。
In 1284 Yu impeached Lu Shirong as unfit for chancellor; the emperor took offense and dismissed him. In 1286 he was made Grand Academician of the Hall of Worthies, Grand Master of the Palace with Golden Tally, and Associate Administrator of the Bureau of Military Affairs. He was soon sent out as Right Vice Director of the Gansu Branch Secretariat. He was recalled and appointed Right Vice Director of the Central Secretariat. With Grand Councillor Maisuding he memorialized, "In Sangge's four years in power, scarcely an official at court or in the provinces won appointment without a bribe. His brothers, old friends, and in-laws received key posts and rich territories, devoting themselves solely to deceiving the throne and plundering the people. Both secretariats should conduct rigorous reviews and purge everyone in his faction. Envoys and surveillance commissioners who took bribes should be prosecuted, their appointment patents revoked, and their names struck from the rolls." They further proposed abolishing the redundant offices Sangge had created, restoring the old rule that officials not serve in their home districts, and convening all bureaus to decide which posts to cut. Moreover, wealthy Dadu households sheltered by Sangge escaped corvée while only the poor bore it. Henceforth corvée should be shared equally by all; anyone who buys exemption through bribery as before should be prosecuted. Moreover, military and courier households faced unauthorized exactions each year and taxes multiplied until many fled their homes. Prosecute anyone who levies on the people or impresses military craftsmen without imperial order or proper documentation. Moreover, after Huduhu Nayan's household registration, no appanage should recruit subjects on its own; Taizong already forbade this, and Jiangnan's registers are fixed—follow Taizong's precedent." The emperor approved all of these proposals. In 1291, promoted from Right Vice Director of the Secretariat to Censor-in-Chief, Yu memorialized, "Grand Medical Superintendent Liu Yuechen, a former Song official skilled in governance, was recently assigned to deliberate on state affairs to universal approval. Appoint him a Hanlin Academician so he may counsel on court policy." He also reported, "The Branch Censorate states that Jianning Prefect Ma Mou, while hunting bandits, tortured innocent civilians to death in large numbers; he seized property, forced women, and accepted bribes totaling a hundred and fifty ingots of silver. Before trial concluded, a general amnesty intervened. We hold that Ma Mou killed without criminal cause and therefore falls outside the amnesty. Order the Branch Censorate to interrogate him and fix his sentence." He also recalled that Investigating Censor Zhou Zuo of the Branch Censorate had impeached Secretariat officials Mamudai, Jiaohuade, and Nasuding Mili for corruption; Nasuding Mili retaliated by framing Zhou Zuo and sending agents to the Secretariat to complain to Sangge. Sangge reported evasively to the throne, exiled Zhou Zuo to Qaidu's domain, and confiscated his family and property. Zhou Zuo reached Qara-qorum, found chaos there, and fled back to the capital. Sangge then sent him to Yunnan to audit finances, supposedly to redeem his offense. He has now returned from Yunnan; the provincial ministers and I reviewed his confession and found the offense trivial—his wife and children should be restored." The emperor approved all of these. In 1292 Yu joined Censor-in-Chief Yeshi Temur in memorializing, "People from every quarter crowd the capital gate, mostly petitioning for office. Titles, ranks, and salaries all have fixed standards. The Secretariat and Bureau of Military Affairs should set standards at once—appoint those who qualify, and plainly tell the rest why they must leave. Moreover, each proposal's merits should be examined promptly and answered clearly. Sound proposals should be implemented at once; those needing clarification should be referred back to the petitioner for detail; the rest should be dismissed." The emperor commended and adopted the proposal. He also memorialized that Nasuding Mili, Xindu, and Wang Juji, Sangge's allies, had overturned paper currency, appointments, salt monopoly, and wine tax without restraint; sent to Jiangnan to collect long-overdue taxes on impossible deadlines, their runners harrying the people until wives and daughters were sold, kin and neighbors ruined—Weiyang and Qiantang suffered worst, and more than five hundred innocent lives were lost. Recent interrogation by Chali brought full confessions and pleas for death; the people then understood that only Sangge and his faction had driven them to such misery, and all wished to tear them apart. We propose that since these three have confessed, the Secretariat and Censorate should sentence them according to public justice to satisfy the realm." The emperor agreed. He also reported that Xue Shegan of Hexi, serving as Pacification Commissioner with military command, was accused in thirty-six counts by his clerk before the Surveillance Commission, which ordered investigation. Xue Shegan then sent soldiers to seize and humiliate the investigator and abduct the accuser. We propose that the Branch Censorate send a censor to investigate Xue Shegan and suspend him from office immediately. He also reported that after Sangge's fall, envoys from court sometimes arrived without sealed edicts, claiming oral imperial commands to free criminals and seize property—none could tell genuine from false. Henceforth every envoy must carry a sealed edict, and every ministry, censorate, and bureau must issue stamped documents—to end such fraud." The emperor exclaimed, "Who would dare do such a thing?" They replied, "Yaraliyanu and Bayanchar have recently claimed oral orders to free criminals." The emperor approved every proposal. He also reported that Changsun, darughachi of Songzhou, had declined a finance post and asked to serve on the Surveillance Commission—order Mubalisha to report this to the throne. Once the order reached the Censorate appointing him, the censors were expected to implement it. Yet he had petitioned on his own initiative and had a prior offense on his record, so the case deserved separate handling. The emperor replied, "That is for you to decide—handle it with care." He also reported that Li Gan of Jiangnan had accused Ye Li of wrongdoing and that Ye Li had been summoned to the capital to answer the charge—but Ye Li was now dead, so the case need no longer be pursued. Li Gan was a scholar by background; I ask that he be given a teaching post to reward his candid remonstrance. He also proposed restoring the Surveillance Commission in the Ezhou circuit, which Yao Shumu had persuaded Sangge to abolish because it threatened his interests. Ezhou and the eight neighboring prefectures span a wide area and should again have a Surveillance Commission. The Branch Censorate had been stationed at Yangzhou, but since Yangzhou now falls under Nanjing, the branch should relocate to Jiankang; and the Huaidong Surveillance Commission, formerly at Huai'an, should move to Yangzhou. He also reminded the throne that bribery cases were long governed by fixed rules: reports in the capital went to the Censorate, and in the provinces to the Surveillance Commission. Under Sangge, bribery complaints were routed to ordinary ministries instead of the censorate, so cases bounced endlessly and rarely reached a conclusion. I propose restoring the old rule: complaints may be filed only with the central or branch censorate or a circuit Surveillance Commission, and no other office may take them. Supervising Censor Tadishi also accused the Jurchen Jiaohua of fabricating a claim that he had fed ten thousand of Jelme's troops with a thousand shi of grain during last year's eastern campaign, for which he had drawn four hundred ingots of paper money—the local Surveillance Commission should investigate, and the Branch Secretariat should recover the money and fix his penalty. The emperor approved every proposal.
11
三月,中書省臣奏,請以彧為右丞,世祖曰:「崔彧不愛於言,惟可使任言責。」 閏六月,又同御史大夫玉昔帖木兒奏:「近耿熙告:河間鹽運司官吏盜官庫錢,省台遣人同告者雜問,凡負二萬二千餘錠,已徵八千九百餘錠,猶欠一萬三千一百餘錠。 運使張庸,嘗獻其妹於阿合馬,有寵; 阿合馬既沒,以官婢事桑哥,復有寵。 故庸夤緣戚屬,得久居漕司,獨盜三千一百錠。 臣等議:宜命台省遣官,同廉訪司倍征之。」 又言:「月林伯察江西廉訪司官術兒赤帶、河東廉訪司官忽兒赤,擅縱盜賊,抑奪民田,貪污不法,今月林伯以事至京,宜就令詰問。」 又言:「揚州鹽運司受財,多付商賈鹽,計直該鈔二萬二千八百錠,臣等以謂追徵足日,課以歸省,贓以歸台,斟酌定罪,以清蠹源。」 並從之。 又奏:「江西詹玉,始以妖術致位集賢。 當桑哥持國,遣其掊核江西學糧,貪酷暴橫,學校大廢。 近與臣言:撒里蠻、答失蠻傳旨,以江南有謀叛者,俾乘傳往鞫; 明日,訪知為禿速忽、香山欺罔奏遣。 玉在京師,猶敢誑誕如此,宜亟追還訊問。」 帝曰:「此惡人也,遣之往者,朕未嘗知之。 其亟禽以來。」 三十年,彧言:「大都民食唯仰客糴,頃緣官括商船載遞諸物,致販鬻者少,米價翔踴。 臣等議:勿令有司括船為便。」 從之。
In the third month the Secretariat proposed making Cui Yu Right Vice Chancellor, but Kublai replied, "Cui Yu is no court rhetorician; he is fit only for the censor's role of speaking truth to power." In the intercalary sixth month he and Censor-in-Chief Yeshi Temür reported Geng Xi's accusation that Hejian Salt Transport officials had embezzled treasury funds. After joint inquiry by the secretariat and censorate, the debt stood at over twenty-two thousand ingots, of which fewer than nine thousand had been recovered and more than thirteen thousand were still outstanding. Transport Commissioner Zhang Yong had once offered his sister to Ahmad and won his patronage; and after Ahmad's death he placed an official maidservant in Sangge's household and regained favor. Through these connections Yong had kept his post at the transport office for years and personally embezzled three thousand one hundred ingots. We recommend that the censorate and secretariat send officials with the Surveillance Commission to recover twice the amount owed. He also charged that Yuelin Bo had found Jiangxi Surveillance official Shier Chidai and Hedong Surveillance official Hu'erchi guilty of sheltering bandits, seizing farmland, and gross corruption—and since Yuelin Bo was now in the capital, he should be interrogated immediately. He also reported that the Yangzhou Salt Transport Office had taken bribes and issued excess salt to merchants worth twenty-two thousand eight hundred ingots; once the money was recovered, the revenue should go to the secretariat and the bribes to the censorate, with penalties fixed accordingly to uproot the corruption. The emperor approved all of these proposals as well. He also accused Zhan Yu of Jiangxi of rising to a post in the Academy of Scholarly Worthies through occult arts. While Sangge was in power he had sent Zhan Yu to squeeze Jiangxi school funds; his greed and brutality devastated the schools. He recently told me that Sariman and Dashiman had claimed an imperial order that rebels were plotting in Jiangnan and had dispatched him post-haste to investigate; but the next day it emerged that Tusuhu and Xiangshan had fabricated the charge and sent him off under false pretenses. Zhan Yu is still in the capital and brazenly spinning such lies; he should be recalled at once and questioned. The emperor said, "He is a wicked man—and I never authorized sending him. Seize him and bring him here at once." In the thirtieth year Cui Yu warned that Dadu depended entirely on grain merchants, but recent official requisitioning of merchant ships for transport had driven sellers away and sent rice prices soaring. We recommended ending official ship requisitions. The emperor agreed.
12
於是彧居御史臺久,又守正不阿,以故人疾之,監察御史斡羅失剌,劾奏「中丞崔彧,兄在先朝嘗有罪,還其所籍家產非宜」等事,成宗怒其妄言,笞而遣之。 十一月,御史臺奏:「大都路總管沙的,盜支官錢,及受贓計五千三百緡,準律當杖百七,不敘,以故臣子從輕論。」 而成宗欲止權停其職,彧與御史大夫只而合郎執不可。 已而御史又奏:「彧任中丞且十年,非所宜。」 彧遂以病辭,成宗諭之曰:「卿之辭退,誠是已,然勉為朕少留之。」 閏十二月,兼領侍儀司事,與太常卿劉無隱奏:「新正朝賀,歲常習儀大萬安寺。」 成宗曰:「去歲兀都帶以雪故來後,今而復然。 諸不至及失儀者,殿中司、監察御史同糾之。」 二年,加榮祿大夫、平章政事,尋與御史大夫禿赤奏:「世祖聖訓,凡在籍儒人,皆復其家。 今歲月滋久,老者已矣,少者不學,宜遵先制,俾廉訪司常加勉勵。」 成宗深然之,命彧與不忽木、阿里渾撒里同翰林、集賢議,特降詔條,使作成人材,以備選舉。 彧以是歲九月卒。 至大元年七月,贈推誠履正功臣、太傅、開府儀同三司,追封鄭國公,諡忠肅。
Cui Yu had served the Censorate for many years with uncompromising integrity, which made him enemies. Supervising Censor Woluo Shila then impeached him, claiming among other things that restoring his brother's confiscated property from the previous reign was improper. Temür, furious at the spurious attack, had Woluo Shila flogged and expelled. In the eleventh month the Censorate reported that Dadu Circuit intendant Sha Di had embezzled public funds and taken bribes worth five thousand three hundred strings—a crime normally punished with one hundred seven strokes and permanent ban from office, though as a former minister's son he merited a lighter sentence. Temür wanted merely to suspend Sha Di from office, but Cui Yu and Censor-in-Chief Zhihe Helang refused to accept so lenient a penalty. Soon afterward the censors memorialized that Cui Yu had held the vice censor-in-chief post for nearly ten years and ought to be replaced. Cui Yu then resigned on grounds of illness. Temür told him, "Your request is reasonable, but try to stay a while longer for my sake." In the intercalary twelfth month, while also directing the Ceremonial Office, he and Director of Court Ceremonies Liu Wuyin reported that the annual New Year's rehearsal was held at Dawan'an Temple. Temür remarked, "Last year Orduqai arrived late because of snow, and the same thing is happening again. Anyone who failed to attend or breached protocol would be impeached jointly by the Palace Administration and the supervising censors." In the second year he was made Grand Master of Splendid Happiness and Grand Councillor, and soon he and Censor-in-Chief Tuochi reminded the throne of Kublai's decree that all registered scholars were to have their households restored. Years had passed, the elders were gone, and the young no longer studied; they urged a return to the old policy with Surveillance Commissions charged to encourage learning. Temür wholeheartedly agreed and ordered Cui Yu, Buqa, and Arghun Sali to consult with the Hanlin Academy and the Academy of Scholarly Worthies on special edict provisions to cultivate talent for future appointment. Cui Yu died that September. In the seventh month of the first year of Zhida he was posthumously honored as Honored Minister Who Sincerely Upholds Integrity, Grand Tutor, and Palace Minister of the First Rank, enfeoffed posthumously as Duke of Zheng, and given the temple name Zhongsu.
13
○葉李
Biography: Ye Li
14
葉李,字太白,一字舜玉,杭州人。 少有奇質,從學於太學博士義烏施南學,補京學生。 宋景定五年,彗出於柳,理宗下詔罪己,求直言。 是時,世祖南伐,駐師江上,宋命賈似道領兵御之。 會憲宗崩,世祖班師,鄂州圍解。 似道自詭以為己功,因復入相,益驕肆自顓,創置公田關子,其法病民甚,中外毋敢指議。 李乃與同舍生康棣而下八十三人,伏闕上書,攻似道,其略曰:「三光舛錯,宰執之愆。 似道繆司台鼎,變亂紀綱,毒害生靈,神人共怒,以乾天譴。」 似道大怒,知書稿出於李,嗾其黨臨安尹劉良貴,誣李僭用金飾齋扁,鍛煉成獄,竄漳州。 似道既敗,乃得自便。 會宋亡,歸隱富春山。 江淮行省及宣、憲兩司爭辟之,署蘇、杭、常等郡教授,俱不應。
Ye Li, courtesy name Taibai and also known as Shunyu, was from Hangzhou. Even as a youth he showed unusual promise. He studied under Shi Nanxue, a doctor of the Imperial Academy from Yiwu, and was admitted as a student at the capital academy. In the fifth year of the Song Jingding era, a comet appeared in the Willow constellation, and Emperor Lizong issued an edict blaming himself and calling for candid criticism. Kublai was then campaigning south with his army on the Yangtze, and the Song court sent Jia Sidao to command the defense. When Möngke died, Kublai withdrew, and the siege of Ezhou was broken off. Jia Sidao falsely claimed the victory as his own, returned to power, and grew ever more arrogant and domineering. He introduced the public-field note system, which deeply harmed the people, and no one at court or in the provinces dared speak against it. Ye Li joined eighty-three fellow students, including Kang Di, in submitting a memorial at the palace gate denouncing Jia Sidao. It opened: "Heaven's signs are out of order—the fault lies with those who hold power. Jia Sidao has usurped the seat of power, overturned law and order, and poisoned the people. Gods and men alike are enraged, and heaven itself has sent this warning." Jia Sidao was enraged when he learned Ye Li had written the memorial. He set his ally Liu Lianggui, prefect of Lin'an, to accuse Ye Li of improperly gilding his study plaque, fabricated a case, and had him exiled to Zhangzhou. Only after Jia Sidao's downfall was Ye Li finally released. When the Song dynasty fell, he withdrew to live in seclusion on Fuchun Mountain. The Jianghuai Branch Secretariat and the Pacification and Surveillance offices vied to recruit him and offered him professorships in Suzhou, Hangzhou, Changzhou, and other prefectures, but he refused them all.
15
至元十四年,世祖命御史大夫相威行台江南,且求遺逸,以李姓名上。 初,李攻似道書,其末有「前年之師,適有天幸,克成厥勳」之語,世祖習聞之,每拊掌稱嘆。 及是,其姓名聞,世祖大悅,即授奉訓大夫、浙西道儒學提舉。 李聞命,欲遁去,而使者致丞相安童書,有云:「先生在宋,以忠言讜論著稱,簡在帝心。 今授以五品秩,士君子當隱見隨時,其尚悉心,以報殊遇。」 李乃幡然北向再拜曰:「仕而得行其言,此臣夙心也,敢不奉詔!」 二十三年,侍御史程文海,奉命搜賢江南。 世祖諭之曰:「此行必致葉李來。」 李既至京師,敕集賢大學士阿魯渾撒里館於院中。 它日,召見披香殿,勞問「卿遠來良苦」,且曰:「卿向時訟似道書,朕賞識之。」 更詢以治道安出。 李歷陳古帝王得失成敗之由,世祖首肯,賜坐錫宴,更命五日一入議事。 時各道儒司悉以曠官罷,李因奏曰:「臣欽睹先帝詔書,當創業時,軍務繁夥,尚招致士類。 今陛下混一區宇,偃武修文,可不作養人才,以弘治道? 各道儒學提舉及郡教授,實風化所繫,不宜罷。 請復立提舉司,專提調學官,課諸生,講明治道,而上其成才者於太學,以備錄用。 凡儒戶徭役,乞一切蠲免。」 可其奏。
In the fourteenth year of Zhiyuan, Kublai sent Censor-in-Chief Xiangwei to tour Jiangnan with the Branch Censorate in search of hidden talent, and Ye Li's name was brought forward. Kublai had long known Ye Li's memorial against Jia Sidao, especially its closing line that the campaign two years before had succeeded only by heaven's luck—and each time he heard it he clapped his hands in admiration. When Ye Li's name reached him, Kublai was delighted and immediately appointed him Gentleman for Advancing Culture and Confucian Intendant of the Zhexi Circuit. On hearing the appointment, Ye Li tried to slip away, but the envoy delivered a letter from Chancellor Antong: "In the Song you were known for loyal and forthright counsel, and you have long been in the emperor's mind. You are now offered fifth-rank office. A true gentleman serves or withdraws as the times demand. Give yourself wholeheartedly to repaying this extraordinary honor." Ye Li then turned north, bowed twice, and said, "To serve and finally speak my mind—this has been my lifelong wish. How could I refuse the edict!" In the twenty-third year Attending Censor Cheng Wenhai was dispatched to search Jiangnan for talent. Kublai told him, "This mission must not return without Ye Li." When Ye Li arrived in the capital, Kublai ordered Academician Aruqan Sali of the Academy of Scholarly Worthies to host him at the academy. On another day Kublai received him in Pichiang Hall, commiserated over the long journey, and said, "I have long admired your memorial against Jia Sidao." He then asked where sound governance should begin. Ye Li traced the rise and fall of ancient rulers in detail. Kublai nodded in agreement, seated him at a banquet, and ordered him to attend court deliberations every five days. At the time all circuit Confucian offices had been abolished for standing vacant. Ye Li memorialized, "I have read the late emperor's edict: even in the founding years, when military affairs were overwhelming, he still sought out scholars. Now Your Majesty has unified the realm and turned from war to culture. How can we fail to cultivate talent and broaden the way of governance? Circuit Confucian intendants and prefectural professors are vital to civilizing the people and should not have been abolished. I ask that the Intendant Office be restored to supervise school officials, examine students, teach the principles of governance, and send the most promising to the Imperial Academy for future appointment. I also ask that corvée duties on scholarly households be abolished entirely." The emperor approved his proposal.
16
是時,乃顏叛北邊,詔李庭出師討之,而將校多用國人,或其親暱,立馬相向語,輒釋仗不戰,逡巡退卻。 帝患之。 李密啟曰:「兵貴奇,不貴眾,臨敵當以計取。 彼既親暱,誰肯盡力? 徒費陛下糧餉,四方轉輸甚勞。 臣前用漢軍列前步戰,而聯大車斷其後,以示死鬥。 彼嘗玩我,必不設備,我以大眾踣之,無不勝矣。」 帝以其謀諭將帥,師果奏捷。 自是帝益奇李,每罷朝,必召見論事。 二十四年,特拜御史中丞,兼商議中書省事。 李固辭曰:「臣本羈旅,荷蒙眷知,使備顧問,固當竭盡愚衷。 御史臺總察中外機務,臣愚不足當此任。 且臣昔竄瘴鄉,素染足疾,比歲尤劇。」 帝笑曰:「卿足艱於行,心豈不可行耶?」 李固辭,得許。 因叩首謝曰:「臣今雖不居是職,然御史臺天子耳目,常行事務,可以呈省。 至若監察御史奏疏、西南兩台諮禀,事關軍國,利及生民,宜令便宜聞奏,以廣視聽,不應一一拘律,遂成文具。 臣請詔台臣言事,各許實封,幸甚。」 又曰:「憲臣以繩愆糾繆為職,苟不自檢,於擊搏何有! 其有貪婪敗度之人,宜付法司增條科罪,以懲欺罔。」 制曰:「可」。 由是台憲得實封言事。
At that time Nayan rebelled in the north, and Li Ting was sent to suppress him. But the commanders were mostly Mongols or their relatives; they would ride up, talk face to face, lay down their arms without fighting, and then drift away. The emperor was deeply troubled. Ye Li privately advised, "In war, surprise matters more than numbers. One defeats the enemy by strategy. When commanders are relatives, who will fight with all his strength? It wastes Your Majesty's supplies and burdens transport from every quarter. I would place Han infantry in the front ranks and line wagons behind them to block retreat, forcing a fight to the death. They have grown contemptuous of us and will be unprepared. A full assault will overwhelm them." The emperor passed Ye Li's plan to the commanders, and the army soon reported victory. From then on Kublai valued Ye Li all the more and summoned him after every court session to discuss state affairs. In the twenty-fourth year he was specially appointed Vice Censor-in-Chief with concurrent duty to deliberate Secretariat business. Ye Li firmly declined, saying, "I am only a guest in your service, yet you have honored me as an adviser. I would give you my best counsel. But the Censorate oversees affairs throughout the realm, and I am not equal to such a post. Moreover, I was once exiled to the malarial south and have long suffered from foot ailment, which has grown worse in recent years." The emperor smiled and said, "Your feet may find walking difficult, but surely your heart is still fit for service?" Ye Li declined again, and the emperor allowed it. He bowed and thanked the emperor, then said, "Though I no longer hold that office, the Censorate is the emperor's eyes and ears. Ordinary business may still be reported to the secretariat. But memorials from supervising censors and reports from the Southwest Branch Censorate that touch on military affairs or the people's welfare should be allowed to reach the throne directly, so the emperor's vision and hearing are broadened. They should not be throttled by legal formalities until they become empty paperwork. I ask that censorate officials be permitted to submit sealed memorials directly to the throne. That would be a great blessing." He added, "Censors exist to correct wrongdoing. If they do not hold themselves to account, what right have they to punish others? Those who are greedy and exceed all bounds should be handed to the judiciary under strengthened statutes, to punish fraud and deter abuse." An edict replied: "Granted." From then on censorate officials were permitted to submit sealed memorials directly to the throne.
17
會尚書省立,授李資善大夫、尚書左丞,李復固辭,以謂「論臣資格,未宜遽至此」。 帝曰:「商起伊尹,周舉太公,豈循格耶! 尚書系天下輕重,朕以煩卿,卿其勿辭。」 賜大小車各一,許乘小車入禁中,仍給扶升殿。 始定至元鈔法。 又請立太學。 一日,從至柳林,奏曰:「善政不可以徒行,人才不可以驟進,必訓以德義,摩以《詩》《書》,使知古聖賢行事方略,然後賢良輩出,膏澤下流。 唐、虞、三代,咸有冑學,漢、唐明主,數幸辟雍,匪為觀美也。」 乃薦周砥等十人為祭酒等官,凡廟學規制,條具以聞,帝皆從之。 時帝欲徙江南宋宗室及大姓於北方,李乘間言:「宋已歸命,其民安於田裡。 今無故聞徙,必將疑懼,萬一有奸人乘釁而起,非國之利也。」 帝大悟,事遂寢。 升尚書右丞,轉資德大夫。 時淮、浙饑饉,穀價騰踴,李奏免江淮租稅之半,運湖廣、江西糧十七萬石至鎮江,以賑饑民。 帝欲伐交趾,召李入議,李曰:「遐方遠夷,得之無益,軍旅一興,費縻巨萬,今山路險戲,深入敵境,萬一蹉跌,非所以威示遠人也。」 乃止。
When the Ministry of Revenue was established, Ye Li was appointed Grand Master for Guidance and Left Vice Minister of Revenue, but he declined again, saying his qualifications did not yet warrant such rapid promotion. The emperor said, "The Shang rose through Yi Yin, and the Zhou through Taigong—did they wait on formal qualifications? The Ministry of Revenue holds the fate of the empire in its hands. I am asking this of you—please do not refuse." Ye Li was granted one large carriage and one small carriage, permitted to ride the smaller one into the inner palace, and given walking aids to help him up the steps of the audience hall. He helped establish the Zhiyuan paper currency system. He also petitioned to establish the Imperial Academy. One day, while accompanying the emperor to Liulin, he memorialized: "Good government cannot be imposed by decree alone, and worthy men cannot be promoted overnight. They must be trained in virtue and righteousness and steeped in the classics, so that they learn how the ancient sages governed. Only then will talent emerge in abundance and the blessings of rule reach the people below. The Tang, Yu, and Three Dynasties all maintained schools for the crown prince's education, and wise Han and Tang emperors often visited the Imperial College—not for display, but because education was essential to good rule." He then recommended Zhou Di and nine others for posts including Chancellor of the Academy, and submitted a detailed plan for the school's organization. The emperor approved every proposal. When the emperor proposed resettling Song imperial clansmen and prominent Jiangnan families in the north, Ye Li took a suitable moment to speak: "The Song have already submitted, and their people are content in their villages. If they suddenly hear of a mass relocation for no reason, fear and suspicion will spread. Should any troublemaker seize the opportunity to rebel, the state will suffer for it." The emperor saw the force of the argument, and the plan was abandoned. He was promoted to Right Vice Minister of Revenue and given the rank of Grand Master for Virtue. When famine struck Huai and Zhe and grain prices soared, Ye Li petitioned to halve Jianghuai land taxes and ship one hundred seventy thousand shi of grain from Huguang and Jiangxi to Zhenjiang to feed the hungry. When the emperor proposed invading Jiaozhi, Ye Li was summoned to counsel him. Ye Li said: "It is a distant frontier land of barbarians—conquest would bring no real gain. Once war begins, costs run into the tens of thousands. The mountain roads are steep and treacherous, and a deep thrust into enemy territory risks a single misstep that would destroy our authority among distant peoples rather than enhance it." The emperor dropped the plan.
18
二十五年,昇平章政事,李固辭,許之。 賜以玉帶,視秩一品,及平江田四千畝。 於是桑哥為尚書丞相,顓擅國政,急於財利,毒及生民,事具《桑哥傳》。 李雖與之同事,然莫能有所匡正。 會桑哥敗,事頗連及同列。 久之,李獨以疾得請南還。 揚州儒學正李淦上書言:「葉李本一黥徒,受皇帝簡知,可為千載一遇。 而才近天光,即以舉桑哥為第一事; 禁近侍言事,以非罪殺參政郭佑、楊居寬; 迫御史中丞劉宣自裁,錮治書侍御史陳天祥,罷御史大夫門答佔、侍御史程文海,杖監察御史; 變鈔法,拘學糧,征軍官俸,減兵士糧; 立行司農司、木綿提舉司,增鹽酒醋稅課,官民皆受其禍。 尤可痛者,要束木禍湖廣,沙不丁禍江淮,滅貴裡禍福建。 又大鉤考錢糧,民怨而盜發,天怒而地震,水災洊至。 尚賴皇帝聖明,更張政化。 人皆知桑哥用群小之罪,而不知葉李舉桑哥之罪。 葉李雖罷相權,刑戮未加,天下往往竊議,宜斬葉李以謝天下。」 書聞,帝矍然曰:「葉李廉介剛直,朕所素知者,寧有是耶!」 有旨驛召淦詣京師。
In the twenty-fifth year he was promoted to Grand Councillor, but Ye Li firmly declined and the emperor allowed it. He was granted a jade belt, accorded first-rank status, and given four thousand mu of land in Pingjiang. Meanwhile Sangge served as Chancellor of the Ministry of Revenue, monopolizing government and obsessed with profit to the people's ruin. The full account appears in his biography. Although Ye Li served alongside him, he was unable to check Sangge's abuses. When Sangge fell, his colleagues were implicated as well. In time Ye Li alone was granted leave to return south on grounds of illness. Li Gan, Director of Confucian Studies in Yangzhou, submitted a memorial: "Ye Li was once a branded convict whom the emperor singled out for high office—a once-in-a-millennium opportunity. Yet scarcely had he reached court when his first act was to recommend Sangge; he forbade close attendants from speaking on state affairs, and had Vice Directors Guo You and Yang Jukuan executed on trumped-up charges; he drove Vice Censor-in-Chief Liu Xuan to suicide, imprisoned Investigating Censor Chen Tianxiang, dismissed Censor-in-Chief Mendazhan and Attending Censor Cheng Wenhui, and had supervising censors beaten; he altered the paper currency system, cut student grain allowances, requisitioned military officers' salaries, and reduced soldiers' rations; he created branch agricultural offices and cotton monopoly commissions, raised taxes on salt, wine, and vinegar, and officials and commoners alike suffered for it. Worst of all, Yao Shumu ravaged Huguang, Shabuding ravaged Jianghuai, and Mie Guili ravaged Fujian. There were sweeping audits of finances and grain. The people seethed and bandits rose; Heaven showed its anger in earthquakes, and floods followed one after another. Only the emperor's wisdom has allowed the government to be reformed. Everyone knows the crime of Sangge's employment of petty men, but not the crime of Ye Li's recommendation of Sangge. Ye Li has lost his ministerial power but has not been punished, and people throughout the realm murmur against him. He should be executed to satisfy public outrage." When the memorial reached the throne, the emperor started and said, "Ye Li is honest, upright, and uncompromising—that is what I have always known of him. How could this be true?" An imperial order summoned Li Gan to the capital by post relay.
19
二十九年二月,李南還,至臨清,帝遣使召之,俾為平章政事,佐丞相完澤治省事,李上表力辭。 未幾,卒,年五十一。 李既卒而淦至,詔以淦為江陰路教授,以旌直言。 帝嘗問兵部郎中趙孟頫,李與留夢炎孰優,孟頫對:「夢炎優。」 帝笑曰:「不然,夢炎以掄魁位宰相,而附賈似道,病民誤國,伴食中書,無所可否; 李舊由諸生,力詆似道,其過夢炎甚遠。 然其性剛直,人不能容,而朕獨愛之也。」 李前後被賜之物甚多,而自奉甚儉。 嘗戒其子曰:「吾世業儒,甘貧約,唯以忠義結主知。 汝曹其清慎自持,勿增吾過。」 指所賜物曰:「此終當還官也。」 比卒,悉表送官,一毫不以自私。 至正八年,贈資德大夫、江浙等處行中書省右丞、上護軍,追封南陽郡公,諡文簡。
In the second month of the twenty-ninth year, as Ye Li was returning south and reached Linqing, the emperor sent an envoy to summon him and appoint him Grand Councillor to assist Chancellor Wanze in running the Secretariat. Ye Li submitted a memorial firmly declining. Before long he died, at the age of fifty-one. Ye Li had already died when Li Gan arrived. The emperor appointed Gan Instructor of the Jiangyin Circuit to honor his candor. The emperor once asked Zhao Mengfu of the Ministry of War whether Ye Li or Liu Mengyan was the better man. Mengfu replied, "Mengyan is superior." The emperor smiled and said, "Not so. Mengyan topped the examinations and became chief minister, yet he attached himself to Jia Sidao, harmed the people, and misled the state—a useless ornament in the Secretariat who never took a stand on anything. Ye Li came from the common scholar class and fiercely denounced Jia Sidao. In that respect he far surpassed Mengyan. His nature was uncompromising, and others found him hard to bear—but I alone valued him for it. The emperor had showered Ye Li with gifts over the years, yet Ye Li lived very modestly. He once warned his sons: "Our family has been scholars for generations, content with poverty and simplicity. We have won the emperor's trust only through loyalty and integrity. You must hold yourselves to integrity and caution. Do not add to my faults." Pointing to the gifts he had received, he said, "These must all be returned to the state in the end." When he died, his family memorialized and sent every gift back to the state. He had kept nothing for himself. In the eighth year of Zhizheng he was posthumously granted the ranks of Grand Master for Virtue, Right Vice Director of the Jiang-Zhe Branch Secretariat, and Senior Guardian of the State, enfeoffed posthumously as Duke of Nanyang Commandery, with the posthumous title Wen Jian.
20
○燕公楠
Biography: Yan Gongnan
21
燕公楠,字國材,南康之建昌人,宋禮部侍郎肅之七世孫。 母雷氏,夢五色巨翼入幃,遂生公楠。 十歲能屬文,居父喪,廬墓三年。 再貢於鄉,不第,後以連帥辟,五遷至通判贛州事。 至元十三年,世祖既平江南,帥臣板授同知贛州事。 十四年,以平廣南功,遷同知吉州路總管府事。 二十二年夏,召至上都,奏對稱旨,世祖賜名賽因囊加帶,命參大政,辭,乞補外。 除僉江浙行中書省事,俄移江淮。 尚書省立,就僉江淮行尚書省事。 江淮在宋為邊陲,故多閒田,公楠請置兩淮屯田,勸導有方,田日以墾。 二十五年,除大司農,領八道勸農營田司事。 按行郡縣,興利舉弊,績用大著。 劾江西營田使沙不丁貪橫,罷之。
Yan Gongnan, whose courtesy name was Guocai, came from Jianchang in Nankang Prefecture. He was the seventh-generation descendant of Su, Vice Minister of Rites under the Song. His mother, Lady Lei, dreamed that giant wings of five colors entered her bed curtains, and soon after Yan Gongnan was born. At ten he could already compose essays. When his father died, he mourned at the grave for three years. He failed the provincial examinations twice, but was later recruited by the regional commander and rose through five promotions to Vice Prefect of Ganzhou. In 1276, after Kublai had pacified Jiangnan, the regional commander provisionally appointed him Associate Prefect of Ganzhou. In 1277, for his service in pacifying Guangnan, he was transferred to Associate Administrator of the Jizhou Circuit. In the summer of 1285 he was summoned to Shangdu. His audience pleased Kublai, who granted him the Mongol name Saiyin Nangjiadai and ordered him to join the central government. He declined and asked for a provincial post instead. He was appointed Associate Director of the Jiang-Zhe Branch Secretariat, and soon transferred to the Jianghuai Branch. When the Ministry of Revenue was established, he became Associate Director of the Jianghuai Branch Ministry. Jianghuai had been a Song frontier, leaving much land uncultivated. Yan Gongnan proposed establishing garrison farms in the two Huai regions. His guidance was effective, and fields were brought under cultivation day by day. In 1288 he was appointed Grand Minister of Agriculture and placed in charge of the Encourage Agriculture and Colonization Commissions across eight circuits. Touring prefectures and counties, he promoted what benefited the people and exposed abuses. His achievements were widely recognized. He impeached Shabuding, the Jiangxi Colonization Commissioner, for greed and abuse of power, and had him removed from office.
22
二十七年,拜江淮行中書省參知政事。 桑哥既敗,而蠹政未盡去,民不堪命。 公楠赴闕,極陳其故,請更張以固國本。 世祖悅。 會欲易政府大臣,以問公楠,公楠薦伯顏、不灰木、阇裡、闊里吉思、史弼、徐琰、趙琪、陳天祥等十人。 又問孰可以為首相,對曰:「天下人望所屬,莫若安童。」 問其次,曰:「完澤可。」 明日,拜完澤為丞相,以公楠及不灰木為平章政事,固辭。 改江浙行中書省參知政事,賜弓矢及衛士十人以行。 三十年,復為大司農,得藏匿公私田六萬九千八百六十二頃,歲出粟十五萬一千一百斛、鈔二千六百貫、帛千五百匹、麻絲二千七百斤。 元貞元年,進河南行省右丞,厘正鹽法,民便之。 召入覲。 成宗以公楠先帝舊臣,慰勞良至,改拜江浙行省右丞。 明年,遷湖廣行省右丞。 轉運司判官唐申,家沅州,豪橫奪民田; 武昌縣尹劉權殺主簿,誣係其妻子。 悉正其罪。 五年,召還朝,以卒。 帝聞,甚傷悼之。 賻贈有加,特命朝臣護喪南歸。
In 1290 he was appointed Vice Director of the Jianghuai Branch Secretariat. Although Sangge had fallen, corrupt policies remained and the people could not endure the burdens imposed on them. Yan Gongnan went to court, laid out the causes at length, and petitioned for reform to strengthen the foundations of the state. Kublai was pleased. When the emperor wished to replace senior ministers, he consulted Yan Gongnan, who recommended ten men: Bayan, Buqaimu, Chali, Qochoqai, Shi Bi, Xu Yan, Zhao Qi, Chen Tianxiang, and others. Asked who should serve as chief minister, he replied, "The man in whom the hopes of the realm rest is Antong." Asked who would be next, he said, "Wanze would serve." The next day Wanze was appointed chief minister, and Yan Gongnan and Buqaimu were appointed Grand Councillors, but both firmly declined. He was instead appointed Vice Director of the Jiang-Zhe Branch Secretariat and granted a bow, arrows, and ten guards for his journey. In 1293 he again became Grand Minister of Agriculture. He recovered nearly seventy thousand qing of concealed public and private land, which yielded annually more than one hundred fifty thousand shi of grain, two thousand six hundred strings of paper money, one thousand five hundred bolts of silk, and two thousand seven hundred jin of hemp and thread. In 1295 he was promoted to Right Vice Director of the Henan Branch Secretariat, where he reformed the salt monopoly to the people's benefit. He was summoned to court for an audience. Chengzong received him with great warmth as a veteran of his predecessor's reign and appointed him Right Vice Director of the Jiang-Zhe Branch Secretariat. The following year he was transferred to Right Vice Director of the Huguang Branch Secretariat. Tang Shen, an assistant commissioner of the Transport Bureau from Yuanzhou, had seized people's land by force; Liu Quan, Magistrate of Wuchang County, had murdered the chief clerk and falsely implicated the clerk's wife and children. Yan Gongnan saw that justice was done in both cases. In the fifth year of his reign Chengzong summoned him back to court, where he died. The emperor was deeply grieved when he heard the news. Funeral gifts and posthumous honors were increased, and court officials were specially ordered to escort his body home to the south.
23
○馬紹
Biography: Ma Shao
24
馬紹,字子卿,濟州金鄉人,從上黨張播學。 丞相安童入侍世祖,奏言宜得儒士講論經史,以資見聞。 平章政事張啟元以紹應詔,授左右司都事。 出知單州,民刻石頌德。 至元十年,僉山東東西道提刑按察司事。 益都寧海飢,紹發粟賑之。 十三年,移僉河北河南道提刑按察司事。 未行,屬江淮甫定,選官撫治,遷同知和州路總管府事,民賴以安。
Ma Shao, whose courtesy name was Ziqing, came from Jinxiang in Jizhou. He studied under Zhang Bo of Shangdang. When Chancellor Antong attended Kublai, he proposed recruiting Confucian scholars to discuss the classics and history and broaden the emperor's learning. Grand Councillor Zhang Qiyuan nominated Ma Shao in response to the imperial summons, and he was appointed Chief Secretary of the Left and Right Offices. When he was sent out as Prefect of Shanzhou, the people erected a stone monument in his praise. In 1273 he was appointed Associate Commissioner of the Shandong East and West Circuit Surveillance Commission. When famine struck Yidu and Ninghai, Ma Shao distributed grain to relieve the suffering. In 1276 he was transferred to Associate Commissioner of the Hebei and Henan Circuit Surveillance Commission. Before he could take up the new post, Jianghuai had just been pacified and needed officials to govern it. He was transferred to Associate Administrator of the Hezhou Circuit, where the people found security under his rule.
25
十九年,詔割隆興為東宮分地,皇太子選署總管,召至京師,為刑部尚書。 萬億庫吏盜絨四兩,時相欲置之重典,紹言:「物情俱輕,宜從貸減。」 乃決杖釋之。 河間李移住妄言惑眾,謀為不軌,紹被檄按問,所全活幾百人。 二十年,參議中書省事。 二十二年,改兵部尚書。 逾年,復為刑部尚書。 二十四年,分立尚書省,擢拜參知政事,賜中統鈔五千緡。 時更印至元鈔,前信州三務提舉杜
In 1282 an edict partitioned Longxing as crown prince's fief. The crown prince selected Ma Shao as chief administrator, summoned him to the capital, and appointed him Minister of Justice. A clerk of the Ten Thousand Heaps Treasury stole four liang of velvet. The chief minister wanted the harshest penalty, but Ma Shao argued: "The goods were of little value. The punishment should be reduced." Ma Shao ordered him beaten with rods and released. When Li Yizhu of Hejian spread seditious rumors and was accused of plotting rebellion, Ma Shao was ordered to investigate. He spared nearly a hundred people who would otherwise have been condemned. In 1283 he was appointed Deliberator of Secretariat Affairs. In 1285 he was transferred to Minister of War. A year later he returned to the post of Minister of Justice. In 1287, when a separate Ministry of Revenue was established, he was promoted to Vice Director and granted five thousand strings of Zhongtong paper money. When new Zhiyuan paper notes were being issued, the former Commissioner of the Three Offices in Xinzhou, Du
26
璠言至元鈔公私非便。 平章政事桑哥怒曰:「杜璠何人,敢沮吾鈔法耶!」 欲當以重罪。 紹從容言曰:「國家導人使言,言可採,用之; 不可採,亦不之罪。 今重罪之,豈不與詔書違戾乎?」 璠得免。 拜尚書左丞。 親王戍邊,其士卒有過支廩米者,有司以聞,帝欲究問加罪。 紹言:「方邊庭用兵,罪之,懼失將士心。 所支逾數者,當嗣年之數可也。」 制可。 宗親海都作亂,其民來歸者七十餘萬,散居雲、朔間。 桑哥議徙之內地就食,紹持不可。 桑哥怒曰:「馬左丞愛惜漢人,欲令餒死此輩耶?」 紹徐曰:「南土地燠,北人居之,慮生疾疫。 若恐餒死,葛若計口給羊馬之資,俾還本土,則未歸者孰不欣慕。 言有異同,丞相何以怒為? 宜取聖裁。」 乃如紹言以聞,帝曰:「馬秀才所言是也。」 桑哥集諸路總管三十人,導之入見,欲以趣辦財賦之多寡為殿最。 帝曰:「財賦辦集,非民力困竭必不能。 然朕之府軍,豈少此哉!」 紹退至省,追錄聖訓,付太史書之。 議增鹽課,紹獨力爭山東課不可增。 議增賦,紹曰:「苟不節浮費,雖重斂數倍,亦不足也。」 事遂寢。 都城種苜蓿地,分給居民,權勢因取為己有,以一區授紹,紹獨不取。 桑哥欲奏請賜紹,紹辭曰:「紹以非才居政府,恆憂不能塞責,詎敢徼非分之福,以速罪戾!」 桑哥敗,跡其所嘗行賂者,索其籍閱之,獨無紹名。 桑哥既敗,乃曰:「使吾早信馬左丞之言,必不至今日之禍。」 帝曰:「馬左丞忠潔可尚,其復舊職。」 尚書省罷,改中書左丞,居再歲,移疾還家。 元貞元年,遷中書右丞,行江浙省事。 大德三年,移河南省。 明年卒。 有詩文數百篇。
Fan argued that the Zhiyuan notes were inconvenient for both government and private use. Grand Councillor Sangge flew into a rage. "Who is Du Fan," he demanded, "to dare block my currency reform?" He wanted Fan punished with the harshest penalty. Ma Shao replied calmly, "The throne encourages people to speak out. When counsel is sound, it should be taken up; when it is not, the speaker should go unpunished. To punish him severely now would fly in the face of the emperor's own edict, would it not?" Fan was spared. Ma Shao was appointed Left Vice Director of the Ministry of Revenue. While imperial princes held frontier garrisons, some of their troops drew more than their allotted grain rations. When officials reported this, the emperor wanted a full inquiry and punishment. Ma Shao argued, "The frontier is at war. Punishing them now would only alienate officers and men. Let those who took too much repay it from future allotments—that should be enough." The emperor approved the proposal. When the imperial clansman Haidu rebelled, more than seven hundred thousand of his followers defected and were scattered across the Yun and Shuo region. Sangge proposed resettling them inland where they could be fed, but Ma Shao objected. Sangge raged, "Vice Director Ma coddles the Han—does he mean to let these people starve?" Ma Shao answered evenly, "The south is hot and humid. If northerners settle there, plague is likely to break out. If the fear is starvation, why not give each person sheep and horses enough to live on and send them home? Who among those still on Haidu's side would not gladly follow? When views differ, why should the chief minister take offense? Let the emperor decide." The proposal was reported to the throne as Ma Shao had urged. The emperor said, "Ma the scholar is right." Sangge assembled thirty circuit administrators, brought them before the emperor, and proposed ranking them by how quickly each had squeezed out revenue. The emperor replied, "Full revenue collection is impossible unless the people are driven to exhaustion. Yet my treasury and armies are hardly so desperate for it!" Ma Shao withdrew to the ministry, transcribed the emperor's words from memory, and had them entered in the official annals by the Grand Historian. When a salt-tax increase was proposed, Ma Shao alone fought to keep the Shandong rate from going up. When general tax hikes came up, Ma Shao said, "Unless extravagant spending is cut, doubling the levies would still not be enough." Both proposals were shelved. Alfalfa fields in the capital had been parceled out to residents, but the powerful seized the plots for themselves. One parcel was offered to Ma Shao; he alone refused it. Sangge wanted to petition the throne to grant him the land anyway. Ma Shao refused: "I hold office beyond my merits and already fear I cannot meet my obligations. How dare I grasp at unearned favor and invite disaster?" After Sangge's downfall, investigators traced everyone he had bribed and examined his ledgers. Ma Shao's name was nowhere among them. When Sangge was ruined, he said, "Had I listened to Vice Director Ma sooner, I would never have come to this ruin." The emperor said, "Vice Director Ma's loyalty and integrity deserve praise. Restore him to his former post." When the Ministry of Revenue was abolished, he became Left Vice Director of the Central Secretariat. After two years he pleaded illness and went home. In 1295 he was made Right Vice Director of the Central Secretariat and acting chief of the Jiang-Zhe branch secretariat. In 1299 he was transferred to Henan Province. He died the following year. He left several hundred poems and prose pieces.