Volume 18 Biographies 10: Wang Pi; Wang Sizheng

王羆子慶遠孫述王思政

Wang Pi — Qingyuan — Shu — Wang Sizheng

王羆字熊羆，京兆霸城人，漢河南尹王遵之後，世為州郡著姓。羆剛直木強，處物平當，州郡敬憚之。魏太和中，除殿中將軍。先是南岐、東益氐羌反叛，王師戰不利，乃令羆領羽林五千鎮梁州，討平諸賊。還，授右將軍、西河內史。辭不拜。時人謂之曰：「西河大邦，俸祿殷厚，何為致辭？」羆曰：「京洛材木，盡出西河，朝貴營第宅者，皆有求假。如其私辦，卽力所不堪，若科發民間，又違法憲。以此辭耳。」

Wang Pi, styled Xiongpi, came from Bachecheng in Jingzhao commandery. He descended from Wang Zun, governor of Henan under the Han, and his family had long been a leading name in the provinces. Wang Pi was blunt, stubborn, and scrupulously fair, and officials across the provinces both admired and feared him. During the Taihe era of Emperor Xiaowen of Wei he was made palace-guard general. When Di and Qiang rebels rose in Southern Qi and East Yizhou and the imperial army faltered, Wang Pi was sent with five thousand Yulin guards to garrison Liang Province and put down the uprisings. On his return he was given the posts of right general and interior minister of West He commandery. He refused the appointment. People asked him: "West He is a rich commandery with a generous salary. Why turn it down?" Wang Pi answered: "All the timber for Luoyang comes from West He, and every court noble building a mansion comes asking to borrow it. If I pay for it myself, I cannot afford it; if I levy it from the people, I break the law. That is why I declined."

梁將曹義宗圍荊州，勑羆與別將裴衍率兵赴救。遂與梁人戰，大破之。于時諸方鼎沸，所在凋殘。荊州新經寇難，尤藉慰撫。以羆為荊州刺史，進號撫軍將軍。梁復遣曹義宗衆數萬圍荊州，堰水灌城，不沒者數板。時旣內外多虞，未遑救援，乃遺羆鐵券，云城全當授本州刺史。城中糧盡，羆煮粥，與將士均分而食之。每出戰，嘗不擐甲冑，大呼曰：「荊州城，孝文皇帝所置。天若不佑國家，使賊箭中王羆；不爾，王羆須破賊。」屢經戰陣，亦不被傷。彌曆三年，義宗方退。進封霸城縣公。尋遷車騎大將軍、涇州刺史。未及之部，屬太祖徵兵為勤王之舉，請前驅效命，遂為大都督，鎮華州。

When Liang general Cao Yizong besieged Jing Province, an edict sent Wang Pi with separate commander Pei Yan to relieve the city. They met the Liang army and routed it. The realm was in turmoil and every region lay in ruins. Jing Province had just endured invasion and desperately needed reassurance and repair. Wang Pi was appointed governor of Jing Province and promoted to general who pacifies the army. Liang sent Cao Yizong back with tens of thousands of men, dammed the river, and flooded the city until only a few courses of wall stood above the water. With crises on every front the court could spare no relief force, but it sent Wang Pi an iron certificate promising him the governorship if he kept the city intact. When food ran out inside the walls, Wang Pi cooked gruel and shared it equally with his officers and soldiers. Whenever he fought he often went without armor and cried out: "This city of Jing Province was founded by Emperor Xiaowen. If Heaven will not save the realm, let the enemy's arrows find Wang Pi; If not, Wang Pi will break the enemy." He fought again and again and was never hurt. Three years passed before Cao Yizong finally withdrew. He was promoted to Duke of Bachecheng. He was soon made grand general of chariots and cavalry and governor of Jing Province. Before he took office, Grand Progenitor Yuwen Tai mobilized for the rescue of the emperor; Wang Pi volunteered for the vanguard, was made grand commander, and garrisoned Huazhou.

魏孝武西遷，拜驃騎大將軍，加侍中、開府。嘗修州城未畢，梯在外。齊神武遣韓軌、司馬子如從河東宵濟襲羆，羆不之覺。比曉，軌衆已乘梯入城。羆尚臥未起，聞合外洶洶有聲，便袒身露髻徒跣，持一白挺，大呼而出。敵見之驚，逐至東門，左右稍集，合戰破之。軌衆遂投城遁走。時關中大饑，徵稅民間穀食，以供軍費。或隱匿者，令遞相告，多被篣棰，以是人有逃散。唯羆信著于人，莫有隱者，得粟不少諸州，而無怨讟。

When Emperor Xiaowu fled west, Wang Pi received the rank of grand general of fast cavalry, with palace attendant and opening-the-feudatory as well. Once, while the provincial walls were still under repair, the siege ladders stood outside the unfinished works. Gao Huan sent Han Gui and Sima Ziru to cross the Yellow River from Hedong by night and strike Wang Pi, who did not detect them. By dawn Han Gui's men were already climbing the ladders into the city. Wang Pi was still in bed when he heard uproar at the gate. He threw off his clothes, let down his hair, went barefoot, seized a white club, and charged out shouting. The enemy fell back in shock. He drove them to the east gate, his men rallied around him, and together they broke the attack. Han Gui's force then jumped from the walls and fled. Guanzhong was in famine, and grain was requisitioned from the people to feed the army. Anyone hiding grain was to be reported by his neighbors; many were flogged with bamboo, and people fled in fear. Only in Wang Pi's jurisdiction did people trust him enough to surrender their grain willingly. He collected no less than other provinces, and no one complained.

沙苑之役，齊神武士馬甚盛。太祖以華州沖要，遣使勞羆，令加守備。羆語使人曰：「老羆當道臥，貆子安得過！」太祖聞而壯之。及齊神武至城下，謂羆曰：「何不早降？」羆乃大呼曰：「此城是王羆冢，生死在此，欲死者來。」齊神武遂不敢攻。

At the Battle of Shaye, Gao Huan's army was overwhelming. Because Huazhou was a vital point, Grand Progenitor Yuwen Tai sent an envoy to encourage Wang Pi and told him to strengthen the defenses. Wang Pi told the messenger: "Old Pi lies across the road. What badger cub thinks he can slip by?" Grand Progenitor Yuwen Tai admired his boldness when he heard this. When Gao Huan came beneath the walls he called to Wang Pi: "Why not surrender now?" Wang Pi shouted back: "This city is Wang Pi's tomb. Life and death are here. Whoever wants to die, come!" Gao Huan did not dare press the assault.

時茹茹渡河南寇，候騎已至豳州。朝廷慮其深入，乃徵發士馬，屯守京城，塹諸街巷，以備侵軼。左僕射周惠達召羆議之。羆不應命，謂其使曰：「若茹茹至渭北者，王羆率鄉里自破之，不煩國家兵馬。何為天子城中，遂作如此驚動。由周家小兒恇怯致此。」羆輕侮權勢，守正不回，皆此類也。未幾，還鎮河東。

About then the Rouran crossed the Yellow River to raid, and their scouts had already reached Bin Prefecture. Fearing a deep penetration, the court mobilized troops to hold the capital, dug trenches in every street, and braced for attack. Left vice director Zhou Huida summoned Wang Pi to consult him. Wang Pi ignored the summons and told the messenger: "If the Rouran reach the north bank of the Wei, Wang Pi will rally the local people and break them himself. There is no need to trouble the imperial army. Why turn the Son of Heaven's own city into such a panic? This uproar comes from that coward Zhou boy." Wang Pi scorned power, held to principle, and never bent—this was typical of him. Before long he returned to garrison Hedong.

羆性儉率，不事邊幅。嘗有臺使，羆為其設食。使乃裂其薄餅緣。羆曰：「耕種收穫，其功已深；舂爨造成，用力不少。乃爾選擇，當是未饑。」命左右撤去之。使者愕然大慙。又有客與羆食瓜，〔客削瓜〕侵膚稍厚，羆意嫌之。及瓜皮落地，乃引手就地，取而食之。客甚有愧色。性又嚴急，嘗有吏挾私陳事者，羆不暇命捶扑，乃手自取鞾履，持以擊之。每至享會，親自秤量酒肉，分給將士。時人尚其均平，嗤其鄙碎。大統七年，卒於鎮，贈太尉。

Wang Pi was plain and frugal by nature and cared nothing for appearances. Once when an imperial envoy came, Wang Pi served him a meal. The envoy tore away the crust of his flatbread. Wang Pi said: "From plowing and sowing through the harvest, the labor is long; and from threshing and cooking to the finished cake, the work is great. If you can pick and choose like that, you cannot be hungry yet." He had his attendants take the food away. The envoy was stunned and deeply ashamed. Another time a guest shared melon with Wang Pi and cut away rather too much flesh, which Wang Pi quietly resented. When the rind fell to the floor, he reached down, picked it up, and ate it. The guest flushed with shame. He was harsh as well. Once when a clerk came with a private petition, Wang Pi did not bother to order a beating; he pulled off his boot and struck the man with it. At every feast he personally weighed out wine and meat and divided it among the officers and soldiers. Contemporaries respected his fairness but laughed at his fussiness. In Datong 7 (541) he died at his post and was posthumously made grand commandant.

子慶遠，弱冠以功臣子拜直閤將軍。先羆卒，孫述嗣。

His son Qingyuan, still in his teens and as the son of a meritorious minister, was made direct-pavilion general. Qingyuan died before Wang Pi, and the grandson Shu inherited the line.

述字長述，少聰敏，有識度。年八歲，太祖見而奇之，曰：「王公有此孫，足為不朽。」卽以為鎮遠將軍，拜太子舍人。以祖憂去職。述幼喪父，為羆所鞠養。及居喪，深合禮度。于時東西交爭，金革方始，羣官遭喪者，卒哭之後，皆起令視事。述請終禮制，辭理懇切。太祖令中使就視，知其哀毀，乃特許之。喪畢，襲爵扶風郡公，累遷上大將軍。

Shu, styled Changshu, was clever from boyhood and showed unusual judgment. When he was eight, Grand Progenitor Yuwen Tai met him, was impressed, and said: "Duke Wang has a grandson like this; his name will endure." Shu was at once made general who pacifies the distant and attendant to the crown prince. He left office to mourn his grandfather. Shu had lost his father young and was raised by Wang Pi. In mourning he observed every requirement of ritual with deep sincerity. War had just broken out between east and west, and officials in mourning were normally ordered back to duty after the final wailing rites. Shu asked to finish the full mourning period instead, pleading his case with earnest force. Grand Progenitor Yuwen Tai sent a palace envoy to see him, and when he saw how deeply Shu was grieving and wasting away, he granted an exception. When mourning ended he inherited the dukedom of Fufeng and rose by stages to supreme general.

王思政字思政，太原祁人。容貌魁偉，有籌策。魏正光中，解褐員外散騎侍郎。屬万俟醜奴、宿勤明達等擾亂關右，北海王顥率兵討之，啟思政隨軍。軍事所有謀議，竝與之參詳。

Wang Sizheng, styled Sizheng, came from Qi in Taiyuan commandery. He was tall and imposing, with a strategist's mind. During the Zhenguang era of Emperor Xiaoming of Wei he entered office as attendant gentleman of scattered cavalry. When Wanqij Chounu, Suqin Mingda, and others ravaged Guan-you, Prince Yuan Hao of Beihai marched against them and asked that Wang Sizheng accompany the campaign. On every military question Hao consulted him in detail.

時魏孝武在藩，素聞其名，顥軍還，乃引為賓客，遇之甚厚。及登大位，委以心膂，遷安東將軍。預定策功，封祁縣侯。俄而齊神武潛有異圖，帝以思政可任大事，拜中軍大將軍、大都督，總宿衛兵。思政乃言於帝曰：「高歡之心，行路所共知矣。洛陽四面受敵，非用武之地。關中有崤、函之固，一人可禦萬夫。且士馬精強，糧儲委積，進可以討除逆命，退可以保據關、河。宇文夏州糾合同盟，願立功效。若聞車駕西幸，必當奔走奉迎。藉天府之資，因已成之業，一二年間，習戰陣，勸耕桑，修舊京，何慮不克。」帝深然之。及齊神武兵至河北，帝乃西遷。進爵太原郡公。

Emperor Xiaowu, then still at his princely fief, had long known Wang Sizheng's reputation. When Hao returned, the prince took him on as a client and treated him with great favor. When Xiaowu took the throne he made Wang Sizheng one of his closest confidants and promoted him to general who pacifies the east. For his part in securing the succession he was enfeoffed as Marquis of Qi county. When Gao Huan began plotting in secret, the emperor judged Wang Sizheng fit for the gravest duties and made him grand general of the central army, grand commander, and overall commander of the palace guard. Wang Sizheng then told the emperor: "Everyone on the road knows what Gao Huan intends. Luoyang is beset on every side. It is no place to make a stand. Guanzhong has the passes of Xiao and Han, where one man can hold off ten thousand. Its soldiers and horses are strong, its granaries full. From there one can advance to crush rebellion or fall back and hold the passes and the Yellow River. Yuwen Tai of Xia Province has gathered the allied lords and is ready to serve. If he hears that Your Majesty is moving west, he will hurry to meet you. With the wealth of the western stronghold and a foundation already laid, in a year or two you can drill the army, restore agriculture, rebuild the old capital—what could stop you?" The emperor was deeply convinced. When Gao Huan's army reached Hebei, the emperor fled west. Wang Sizheng was promoted to Duke of Taiyuan.

大統之後，思政雖被任委，自以非相府之舊，每不自安。太祖曾在同州，與羣公宴集，出錦罽及雜綾絹數段，命諸將樗蒱取之。物旣盡，太祖又解所服金帶，令諸人遍擲，曰：「先得盧者，卽與之。」羣公將遍，莫有得者。次至思政，乃斂容跪坐而自誓曰：「王思政羇旅歸朝，蒙宰相國士之遇，方願盡心效命，上報知己。若此誠有實，令宰相賜知者，願擲卽為盧；若內懷不盡，神靈亦當明之，使不作也，便當殺身以謝所奉。」辭氣慷慨，一坐盡驚。卽拔所佩刀，橫於膝上，攬樗蒱，拊髀擲之。比太祖止之，已擲為盧矣。徐乃拜而受。自此之後，太祖期寄更深。

After Datong, though Wang Sizheng held important posts, he never felt secure, knowing he was not one of Grand Progenitor Yuwen Tai's old followers from the chancellor's household. Once at Tong Province, Grand Progenitor Yuwen Tai feasted with the great lords, laid out lengths of brocade felt and assorted silks, and told the generals to win them by casting lots at chubo. When the prizes were gone, Grand Progenitor Yuwen Tai took off his own gold belt, had everyone take turns casting, and said: "Whoever throws lu first gets it." The lords went through nearly everyone; no one won. When Wang Sizheng's turn came, he composed himself, knelt, and swore aloud: "Wang Sizheng came back to court as a stranger and was treated by the chancellor as a man of the realm; I mean to give my all and repay that trust. If this is true, let the chancellor who knows me grant it—may I throw lu at once; if my heart is not wholly true, let the spirits show it and keep the throw from winning; then I will kill myself to answer for my faith." His words rang with passion; everyone present was stunned. He drew the knife at his belt, laid it across his knees, took up the chupu, and cast with a slap on his thigh. Before Grand Progenitor Yuwen Tai could stop him, he had already thrown lu. Then he bowed and accepted the belt. From then on Grand Progenitor Yuwen Tai trusted him still more.

轉驃騎將軍。令募精兵，從獨孤信取洛陽，仍共信鎮之。及河橋之戰，思政下馬，用長矟左右橫擊，一擊踣數人。時陷（害）〔陣〕旣深，從者死盡，思政被重創悶絕。會日暮，敵將收軍。思政久經軍旅，每戰唯著破弊甲，敵人疑非將帥，故免。有帳下督雷五安于戰處哭求思政，會其已蘇，遂相得。乃割衣裹創，扶思政上馬，夜久方得還。仍鎮弘農。思政以玉壁地在險要，請築城。卽自營度，移鎮之。遷幷州刺史，仍鎮玉壁。八年，東魏來寇，思政守禦有備，敵人晝夜攻圍，卒不能克，乃收軍還。以全城功，受驃騎大將軍。復命思政鎮弘農。於是修城郭，起樓櫓，營田農，積芻秣，凡可以守禦者，皆具焉。弘農之有備，自思政始也。十二年，加特進、荊州刺史。州境卑濕，城塹多壞。思政方命都督藺小歡督工匠繕治之。掘得黃金三十斤，夜中密送之。至旦，思政召佐吏以金示之，曰「人臣不宜有私」，悉封金送上。太祖嘉之，賜錢二十萬。思政之去玉壁也，太祖命舉代己者，思政乃進所部都督韋孝寬。其後東魏來寇，孝寬卒能全城。時論稱其知人。

He was made general of swift cavalry. He was ordered to raise picked troops, follow Dugu Xin to take Luoyang, and remain to garrison it with him. At Heqiao Wang Sizheng dismounted and swept left and right with a long spear, felling several men with each blow. At the time he had fallen into [variant: harm] the enemy formation was already deeply breached; his escort was wiped out and Wang Sizheng was badly wounded and fell unconscious. At dusk the enemy commander broke off and withdrew. Wang Sizheng had long been in the field and always fought in ragged armor, so the enemy took him for no commander and let him be. His tent guard Lei Wu'an searched the field in tears for Wang Sizheng and found him already awake. He tore cloth to bind the wounds, helped Wang Sizheng onto a horse, and only late at night did they get back. He continued to garrison Hongnong. Wang Sizheng saw that Yubi occupied a strategic position and asked to build a fortress there. He laid out the works himself and moved his garrison there. He was made governor of Bing Province and continued to hold Yubi. In the eighth year Eastern Wei attacked; Wang Sizheng was ready, and though the enemy besieged the city day and night they could not take it and withdrew. For holding the city intact he was made grand general of swift cavalry. Wang Sizheng was again ordered to garrison Hongnong. He repaired walls and moats, raised towers and watchlofts, opened fields, and stored fodder and grain—everything needed for defense. Hongnong's defenses began with Wang Sizheng. In the twelfth year he was given specially advanced rank and made governor of Jing Province. The province was low and damp, and its walls and moats were often in ruins. Wang Sizheng had area commander Lin Xiaohuan supervise craftsmen in repairing them. The workmen dug up thirty jin of gold and sent it to him secretly at night. At dawn Wang Sizheng summoned his staff, showed them the gold, and said, "A minister should keep no private hoard," then sealed it all and sent it to the court. Grand Progenitor Yuwen Tai praised him and gave him two hundred thousand cash. When Wang Sizheng left Yubi, Grand Progenitor Yuwen Tai asked who should replace him; Wang Sizheng recommended his subordinate Wei Xiaokuan. Later Eastern Wei attacked, and Wei Xiaokuan held the whole city. Contemporaries praised him for knowing men.

十三年，侯景叛東魏，擁兵梁、鄭，為東魏所攻。景乃請援乞師。當時未卽應接。思政以為若不因機進取，後悔無及。卽率荊州步騎萬餘，從魯關向陽翟。思政入守潁川。景引兵向豫州，外稱略地，乃密遣送款於梁。思政分佈諸軍，據景七州十二鎮。太祖乃以所授景使持節、太傅、大將軍、兼中書令、河南大行臺、河南諸軍事，回授思政。思政竝讓不受。頻使敦喻，唯受河南諸軍事。

In the thirteenth year Hou Jing rebelled against Eastern Wei, held Liang and Zheng with his army, and came under attack from Eastern Wei. Hou Jing then asked for help and begged for troops. The court did not respond at once. Wang Sizheng argued that if they missed the moment there would be no recovering it. He at once led more than ten thousand foot and horse from Jing Province through Lu Pass toward Yangzhai. Wang Sizheng entered and held Yingchuan. Hou Jing marched toward Yu Province, claiming to seize ground, but secretly offered submission to Liang. Wang Sizheng deployed his forces and seized seven provinces and twelve garrisons from Hou Jing. Grand Progenitor Yuwen Tai then took the titles granted Hou Jing—commissioner bearing the staff, grand tutor, grand general, concurrent director of the Masters of Writing, Henan mobile headquarters, and commander of all Henan military affairs—and offered them to Wang Sizheng instead. Wang Sizheng declined them all. Repeated envoys pressed him; he accepted only commander of all Henan military affairs.

東魏太尉高嶽、行臺慕容紹宗、儀同劉豐生等，率步騎十萬來攻潁川。城內臥鼓偃旗，若無人者。嶽恃其衆，謂一戰可屠，乃四面鼓噪而上。思政選城中驍勇，開門出突。嶽衆不敢當，引軍亂退。嶽知不可卒攻，乃多修營壘。又隨地勢高處，築土山以臨城中。飛梯火車，晝夜攻之。思政亦作火攢，因迅風便投之土山。又以火箭射之，燒其攻具。仍募勇士，縋而出戰。嶽衆披靡，其守土山人亦棄山而走。齊文襄更益嶽兵，堰洧水以灌城。城中水泉湧溢，不可防止。懸釜而炊，糧力俱竭。慕容紹宗、劉豐生及其將慕容永珍共乘樓船以望城內，令善射者俯射城中。俄而大風暴起，船乃飄至城下。城上人以長鉤牽船，弓弩亂髮。紹宗窮急，投水而死。豐生浮向土山，復中矢而斃。生擒永珍。思政謂之曰：「僕之破亡，在於晷漏。誠知殺卿無益，然人臣之節，守之以死。」乃流涕斬之。幷收紹宗等尸，以禮埋瘞。

Eastern Wei's grand commandant Gao Yue, field secretariat Murong Shaozong, acting three-division Liu Fengsheng, and others led a hundred thousand foot and horse against Yingchuan. Inside the city drums were stilled and banners lowered, as if it were empty. Gao Yue trusted his numbers, thought one assault would overrun the place, and charged in from all sides with a great uproar. Wang Sizheng picked the city's best fighters, opened the gates, and struck out. Gao Yue's men could not stand against them and broke in disorder. Gao Yue saw he could not take the city at a rush and built many camps and ramparts. He also piled earthen hills on high ground to overlook the city. Flying ladders and fire carts assaulted it day and night. Wang Sizheng made fire bundles too and, when the wind rose, hurled them onto the earthen hills. He also shot fire arrows and burned their siege engines. He still recruited brave men to let themselves down by rope and sally out. Gao Yue's army was routed, and the men on the earthen hills abandoned them and fled. Gao Cheng, Wenxiang of Qi, sent more troops to Gao Yue and dammed the Wei River to flood the city. Springs and wells inside the city overflowed and could not be stopped. They cooked from pots hung overhead; food and strength were both spent. Murong Shaozong, Liu Fengsheng, and their officer Murong Yongzhen rode tower ships to look into the city and had skilled archers shoot down from above. Soon a great wind rose and the ships drifted below the walls. Men on the walls hooked the ships with long poles and rained bowshot and bolts on them. Murong Shaozong, in desperation, threw himself into the water and drowned. Liu Fengsheng floated toward the earthen hill and was struck again by an arrow and killed. Murong Yongzhen was taken alive. Wang Sizheng told him: "My fall is only hours away. I know killing you does no good, yet a minister's duty is kept even unto death." Then, weeping, he beheaded him. He also gathered the bodies of Murong Shaozong and the others and buried them with ceremony.

齊文襄聞之，乃率步騎十一萬來攻。自至堰下，督勵士卒。水壯，城北面遂崩。水便滿溢，無措足之地。思政知事不濟，率左右據土山，謂之曰：「吾受國重任，本望平難立功。精誠無感，遂辱王命。今力屈道窮，計無所出。唯當效死，以謝朝恩。」因仰天大哭。左右皆號慟。思政西向再拜，便欲自刎。先是，齊文襄告城中人曰：「有能生致王大將軍者，封侯，重賞。若大將軍身有損傷，親近左右，皆從大戮。」都督駱訓謂思政曰：「公常語訓等，但將我頭降，非但得富貴，亦是活一城人。今高相旣有此言，公豈不哀城中士卒也！」固共止之，不得引決。齊文襄遣其常侍趙彥深就土山執手申意。引見文襄，辭氣慷慨，無撓屈之容。文襄以其忠於所事，禮遇甚厚。

Gao Cheng heard of this and marched with a hundred and ten thousand foot and horse to attack. He came in person to the dam and urged the troops on. The water rose, and the north wall of the city collapsed. Water flooded everywhere until there was nowhere to stand. Wang Sizheng saw all was lost, took his close attendants to the earthen hill, and told them: "I bore the state's heavy trust and meant to end this crisis and win merit. Heaven did not answer my sincerity, and I have shamed the throne's charge. Now my strength is spent and every road is closed; I have no plan left. I can only die to answer the court's grace." Then he looked up to heaven and wept aloud. Those beside him all wailed. Wang Sizheng bowed twice toward the west and was about to kill himself. Earlier Gao Cheng had told the city: "Whoever brings in Grand General Wang alive will be made marquis and richly rewarded. If Grand General Wang is harmed, his close attendants will all be put to death." Area commander Luo Xun said to Wang Sizheng: "You often told us, 'Take my head and surrender—you will win wealth and honor and save a whole city. Gao Cheng has already said as much—will you not pity the men in the city!" They held him back by force, and he could not kill himself. Gao Cheng sent his regular attendant Zhao Yanshen to the earthen hill, took Wang Sizheng's hand, and spoke his mind. He was brought before Gao Cheng; his bearing was impassioned and unbroken. Gao Cheng honored him greatly for his loyalty to his charge.

思政初入潁川，士卒八千人，城旣無外援，亦無叛者。思政常以勤王為務，不營資產。嘗被賜園地，思政出征後，家人種桑果。及還，見而怒曰：「匈奴未滅，去病辭家，況大賊未平，何事產業！」命左右拔而棄之。故身陷之後，家無畜積。及齊受禪，以為都官尚書。子秉。

When Wang Sizheng first entered Yingchuan he had eight thousand men; though no relief came from outside, not one deserted. Wang Sizheng always made saving the throne his business and did not build up property. Once he had been granted an estate; after he marched out, his family planted mulberries and fruit trees. When he returned and saw it, he said in anger: "The Xiongnu were not yet destroyed when Huo Qubing left home—how much more now, with the great enemy still unbeaten, what business is there with estates!" He ordered his attendants to pull them up and throw them away. So after he was taken, his household had nothing laid by. When Northern Qi took the throne, he was made director of the masters of punishments. He had a son, Bing.

史臣曰：王羆剛峭有餘，弘雅未足。情安儉率，志在公平。旣而奮節危城，抗辭勍敵，梁人為之退舍，高氏不敢加兵。以此見稱，信非虛。述不隕門風，亦足稱也。王思政驅馳有事之秋，慷慨功名之際。及乎策名霸府，作鎮潁川，設縈帶之險，修守禦之術，以一城之衆，抗傾國之師，率疲乏之兵，當勁勇之卒，猶能亟摧大敵，屢建奇功。忠節冠於本朝，義聲動於鄰聽。雖運窮事蹙，城陷身囚，壯志高風，亦足奮於百世矣。

The historiographer writes: Wang Pi was more than stern enough, but lacked refined magnanimity. He was content with plain living and set his heart on fairness. Yet he upheld his integrity in a doomed city and defied fierce foes with bold words, so the Liang forces withdrew before him and the Gao clan did not dare attack. His reputation was well deserved. Shu upheld the family reputation—also worthy of praise. Wang Sizheng rode hard in times of urgent crisis, when men are most stirred to win fame. Once he entered service with Grand Progenitor Yuwen Tai's bureau and held Yingchuan, he turned its belt of rivers into a fortress and perfected every method of defense. With one city's garrison he faced an army that had mobilized the whole state, leading worn-out troops against fresh and fierce soldiers—yet he repeatedly crushed great enemy forces and won extraordinary victories. His loyalty and integrity were unmatched in the dynasty, and his righteous renown stirred neighboring states. Though fortune failed him, the city fell, and he ended a prisoner, his lofty will and noble spirit are enough to inspire generations for ages to come.

全文以中華書局、一九七一年十一月版《周書》為本校。

This text was collated against the Zhonghua Shuju edition of the 《Book of Zhou》 (November 1971).

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