1
資治通鑑第178卷卷第一百七十八
Zizhi Tongjian, Volume 178.
2
【隋紀二】起玄黓困敦，盡屠維協洽，凡八年。
[Sui Annals 2] From the year Xuanyi Kundun through Tuwei Xiehe—eight years in all.
3
春，二月，己巳，以蜀王秀為內史令兼右領軍大將軍。
In spring, the second month, on jisi, Prince Xiu of Shu was appointed Director of the Palace Secretariat and concurrently Right Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Guards.
4
國子博士何妥與尚書右僕射邳公蘇威爭議事，積不相能。 威子夔為太子通事舍人，少敏辯，有盛名，士大夫多附之。 及議樂，夔與妥各有所持； 詔百僚署其所同，百僚以威故，同夔者什八九。 妥恚曰：「吾席間函丈四十餘年，反為昨暮兒之所屈邪！」 遂奏：「威與禮部尚書盧愷、吏部侍郎薛道衡、尚書右丞王弘、考功侍郎李同和等共為朋黨。 省中呼弘為世子，同和為叔，言二人如威之子弟也。」 復言威以曲道任其從父弟徹、肅罔冒為官等數事。 上命蜀王秀、上柱國虞慶則等雜案之，事頗有狀。 上大怒。 秋，七月，乙巳，威坐免官爵，以開府儀同三司就第； 盧愷除名，知名之士坐威得罪者百餘人。
National University academician He Tuo and the Minister of the Right, Duke of Pi Su Wei, clashed over policy and grew increasingly hostile to each other. Wei's son Kui served as an attendant censor to the crown prince. Still young, he was quick-witted and eloquent and enjoyed wide fame, and many gentlemen of the court rallied to him. When court debated ritual music, Kui and Tuo each stood by his own position; the emperor ordered the hundred officials to sign which view they endorsed. Out of deference to Wei, eight or nine tenths sided with Kui. Tuo fumed: "I have taught from my lectern for more than forty years—am I really to be bested by some stripling who only rose yesterday?" He then submitted a memorial: "Wei has formed a clique with Minister of Rites Lu Kai, Vice Minister of Personnel Xue Daoheng, Vice Director of the Secretariat Wang Hong, Vice Director of Examinations Li Tonghe, and others. Inside the ministry they nicknamed Hong 'the heir' and Tonghe 'the uncle,' as though the two were Wei's own sons." He further charged that Wei had used back channels to secure official posts for his cousins Che and Su through fraudulent claims on several counts. The emperor ordered Prince Xiu of Shu, Grand General Yu Qingze, and others to investigate jointly. On most points the accusations held up. The emperor flew into a rage. In autumn, the seventh month, on yisi, Wei was removed from office and stripped of his titles, granted the nominal rank of Grandee of Splendid Happiness with Equipage, and sent home; Lu Kai was struck from the rolls, and more than a hundred prominent men who fell with Wei were punished.
5
初，周室以來，選無清濁； 及愷攝吏部，與薛道衡等甄別士流，故涉朋黨之謗，以至得罪。 未幾，上曰：「蘇威德行者，但為人所誤耳！」 命之通籍。 威好立條章，每歲責民間五品不遜，或答云：「管內無五品之家。」 其不相應領，類多如此。 又為餘糧簿，欲使有無相贍； 民部侍郎郎茂以為煩迂不急，皆奏罷之。 茂，基之子也，嘗為衛國令。 有民張元預兄弟不睦，丞、尉請加嚴刑，茂曰：「元預兄弟本相憎疾，又坐得罪，彌益其仇，非化民之意也。」 乃徐諭之以義。 元預等各感悔，頓首請罪，遂相親睦，稱為友悌。
From the Zhou dynasty onward, official selection had drawn no clear line between worthy and unworthy candidates; when Kai took charge of the Ministry of Personnel and, with Xue Daoheng and others, sorted the gentry into ranks, he drew factional accusations and was punished in the end. Before long the emperor said, "Su Wei is a man of real moral weight—he was simply misled by others!" He ordered him restored to attendance at court. Wei loved to lay down rules. Each year he demanded reports of the five grades of unfilial conduct in the populace, and some districts replied, "There are no fifth-grade households within our jurisdiction." Mismatches between his regulations and local reality were common. He also devised a surplus-grain register, hoping to let households with grain and those without share among themselves; but Vice Minister of Revenue Lang Mao judged them cumbersome, impractical, and not urgent, and memorialized to abolish them all. Mao was the son of Ji and had once served as magistrate of Wei. When a commoner named Zhang Yuanyu and his brothers fell out, the assistant magistrate and sheriff asked for harsh punishment. Mao said, "The Yuanyu brothers already despise each other. To punish them now would only deepen their hatred. That is not how one transforms the people." He then gently taught them what was right. Yuanyu and his brothers were moved to repentance, kowtowed to beg forgiveness, and thereafter lived in harmony, praised as a model of brotherly affection.
6
己巳，上享太廟。
On jisi the emperor offered sacrifice at the Imperial Ancestral Temple.
7
壬申晦，日有食之。
On renshen, the last day of the month, there was a solar eclipse.
8
帝以天下用律者多春駁，罪同論異，八月，甲戌，制：諸州死罪，不得輒決，悉移大理按覆，事盡，然後上省奏裁。
Because legal judgments across the empire were often inconsistent—identical crimes receiving different sentences—the emperor in the eighth month, on jiaxu, decreed that no prefecture might execute a death sentence on its own. Every capital case was to be sent to the Court of Judicial Review for reinvestigation, and only after that process was finished might the province report upward for final approval.
9
冬，十月，壬午，上享太廟。 十一月，辛亥，祀南郊。
In winter, the tenth month, on renwu, the emperor offered sacrifice at the Imperial Ancestral Temple. In the eleventh month, on xinhai, he sacrificed at the southern suburbs.
10
己未，新義公韓擒虎卒。
On jiwei the Duke of Xinyi, Han Qianhu, died.
11
十二月，乙酉，以內史令楊素為尚書右僕射，與高熲專掌朝政。 素性疏辯，高下在心，朝臣之內，頗推高熲，敬牛弘，厚接薛道衡，視蘇威蔑如也，自餘朝貴，多被陵轢。 其才藝風調優於熲； 至於推誠體國，處物平當，有宰相識度，不如熲遠矣。 右領軍大將軍賀若弼，自謂功名出朝臣之右，每以宰相自許。 既而楊素為僕射，弼仍為將軍，甚不平，形於言色，由是坐免官，怨望愈甚。 久之，上下弼獄，謂之曰：「我以高熲、楊素為宰相，汝每昌言曰：『此二人惟堪啖飯耳！』 是何意也？」 弼曰：「熲，臣之敵人； 素，臣舅子。 臣並知其為人，誠有此語。」 公卿奏弼怨望，罪當死。 上曰：「臣下守法不移，公可自求活理。」 弼曰：「臣恃至尊威靈，將八千兵渡江，擒陳叔寶，竊以此望活。」 上曰：「此已格外重賞，何用追論！」 弼曰：「臣已蒙格外重賞，今還格外望活。」 既而上低回者數日，惜其功，特令除名。 歲餘，復其爵位，上亦忌之，不復任使，然每宴賜，遇之甚厚。
In the twelfth month, on yiyou, Yang Su was moved from Director of the Palace Secretariat to Minister of the Right and, with Gao Jiong, took sole charge of state affairs. Su was loose-tongued and self-willed. Among his colleagues he fairly esteemed Gao Jiong, respected Niu Hong, and treated Xue Daoheng warmly, but looked on Su Wei with contempt and bullied most other court grandees. In talent, polish, and personal style he outshone Jiong; yet in sincerity toward the state, evenhanded judgment, and true chancellorial breadth he fell far short of Jiong. The Right Commander-in-Chief He Ruo Bi believed his achievements outranked every minister at court and constantly treated himself as a chancellor in waiting. When Yang Su became Vice Director while Bi remained only a general, Bi grew bitter, and his resentment showed plainly in word and face. He was stripped of office, and his discontent only deepened. Long afterward the emperor had Bi brought before him in custody and said, "I have made Gao Jiong and Yang Su my chancellors, yet you keep proclaiming aloud, 'Those two are fit for nothing but eating rice! What do you mean by that?" Bi replied, "Jiong is my enemy; Su is my wife's nephew. I know both men well, and I did say exactly that." The high officials memorialized that Bi was seditious in spirit and deserved death. The emperor said, "A subject who holds to the law without wavering may yet plead for his own life. Duke, find your own grounds to live." Bi said, "Your servant, relying on Your Majesty's awesome majesty, led eight thousand men across the Yangzi and captured Chen Shubao. I venture to hope that merit may spare my life." The emperor said, "You were already rewarded far beyond the norm for that. Why bring it up again?" Bi said, "I have already received an exceptional reward; now I ask for an exceptional reprieve." The emperor brooded for several days, reluctant to lose so great a warrior, and specially ordered only that Bi be struck from the rolls. After more than a year his titles were restored, but the emperor still distrusted him and gave him no office. Even so, whenever Bi appeared at court banquets the emperor treated him with exceptional generosity.
12
有司上言：「府藏皆滿，無所容，積於廊廡。」 帝曰：「朕既薄賦於民，又大經賜用，何得爾也？」 對曰：「入者常多於出，略計每年賜用，至數百萬段，曾無減省。」 於是更辟左藏院以受之。 詔曰：「寧積於人，無藏府庫。 河北、河東今年田租三分減一，兵減半功，調全免。」 時天下戶口歲增，京輔及三河地少而人眾，衣食不給，帝乃發使四出，均天下之田，其狹鄉每丁才至二十畝，老少又少焉。
The responsible offices reported, "The treasuries are full to bursting with nowhere left to store goods, which are now piled in the corridors." The emperor said, "I have kept taxes light and lavished gifts on a grand scale—how can the treasuries still overflow?" They replied, "Receipts still regularly exceed disbursements. Even your annual gifts and grants run to millions of bolts of cloth, and that figure has never fallen." The court therefore opened a new left treasury courtyard to hold the surplus. An edict declared, "Better that wealth rest with the people than pile up in the treasury. In Hebei and Hedong this year's land tax shall be cut by one-third, corvée labor halved, and all levies waived entirely." Household registers were growing year by year, yet around the capital and along the three rivers there was too little land for too many people, and food and clothing ran short. The emperor therefore sent envoys in all directions to equalize landholding across the empire. In cramped districts each adult male received as little as twenty mu, and the old and young even less.
13
春，正月，壬子，上祀感生帝。
In spring, the first month, on renzi, the emperor sacrificed to the Lord of Life-procreating.
14
壬戌，行幸岐州。 二月，丙午，詔營仁壽宮於岐州之北，使楊素監之。 素奏前萊州刺史宇文愷檢校將作大匠，記室封德彝為土木監。 於是夷山堙谷以立宮殿，崇台累榭，宛轉相屬。 役使嚴急，丁夫多死，疲屯顛仆，推填坑坎，覆以土石，因而築為平地。 死者以萬數。
On renxu the emperor traveled to Qi Prefecture. In the second month, on bingwu, he decreed the construction of Renshou Palace north of Qi Prefecture and put Yang Su in charge. Su recommended the former governor of Laizhou, Yu Wenkai, as chief inspector of palace construction and his recorder Feng Deyi as supervisor of earthworks. Workers leveled mountains and filled valleys to raise palaces, lofty terraces, and tiered pavilions that wound together in endless succession. Labor was driven with brutal urgency. Countless corvée workers died; when the exhausted collapsed, they were shoved into pits, covered with earth and stone, and the ground was built up over them. The dead ran into the tens of thousands.
15
丁亥，上至自岐州。
On dinghai the emperor returned from Qi Prefecture.
16
己卯，立皇孫暕為豫章王。 暕，廣之子也。
On jimao he enfeoffed his grandson Zhan as Prince of Yuzhang. Zhan was the son of Yang Guang.
17
丁酉，制：「私家不得藏緯候、圖讖。」
On dingyou the emperor decreed, "Private households may not keep astrological weft texts or prophecy charts."
18
秋，七月，戊辰晦，日有食之。
In autumn, the seventh month, on wuchen, the last day of the month, there was a solar eclipse.
19
是歲，上命禮部尚書牛弘等議明堂制度。 宇文愷獻明堂木樣，上命有司規度安業裡地，將立之； 而諸儒異議，久之不決，乃罷之。
That year the emperor ordered Minister of Rites Niu Hong and others to debate the regulations for the Bright Hall. Yu Wenkai presented a wooden model of the Bright Hall, and the emperor ordered officials to survey a site in Anye Ward for its construction; but the Confucian scholars quarreled for so long that no decision could be reached, and the project was abandoned.
20
上之滅陳也，以陳叔寶屏風賜突厥大義公主。 公主以其宗國之覆，心常不平，書屏風，為詩敘陳亡以自寄。 上聞而惡之，禮賜漸薄。 彭公劉昶先尚周公主，流人楊欽亡入突厥，詐言昶欲與其妻作亂攻隋，遣欽來密告大義公主，發兵擾邊。 都藍可汗信之，乃不修職貢，頗為邊患。 上遣車騎將軍長孫晟使於突厥，微觀察之。 公主見晟，言辭不遜，又遣所私胡人安遂迦與楊欽計議，扇惑都藍。 晟至京師，具以狀聞。 上遣晟往索欽； 都藍不與，曰：「檢校客內無此色人。」 晟乃賂其達官，知欽所在。 夜，掩獲之，以示都藍，因發公主私事，國人大以為恥。 都藍執安遂迦等，並以付晟。 上大喜，加授開府儀同三司，仍遣入突厥廢公主。 內史侍郎裴矩請說都藍使殺公主。 時處羅侯之子染干，號突利可汗，居北方，遣使求婚，上使裴矩謂之曰：「當殺大義公主，乃許婚。」 突利復譖之於都藍，都藍因發怒，殺公主，更表請婚，朝議將許之。 長孫晟曰：「臣觀雍虞閭反覆無信，直以與玷厥有隙，所以欲依倚國家，雖與為婚，終當叛去。 今若得尚公主，承藉威靈，玷厥、染干必受其征發。 強而更反，後恐難圖。 且染干者，處羅侯之子，素有誠款，於今兩代，前乞通婚，不如許之，招令南徙，兵少力弱，易可撫馴，使敵雍虞閭以為邊捍。」 上曰：「善。」 復遣晟慰諭染干，許尚公主。
After the conquest of Chen, the emperor gave Chen Shubao's painted screen to the Türk Princess of Great Righteousness. Because her native state had been destroyed, the princess brooded constantly. She wrote on the screen poems recounting Chen's fall to give voice to her grief. When the emperor learned of this he took offense, and the gifts sent to her grew steadily meager. The Duke of Peng, Liu Chang, had earlier married a princess of Zhou. The exile Yang Qin fled to the Türks and falsely claimed that Chang and his wife were plotting rebellion against Sui. He sent Qin to inform the Princess of Great Righteousness in secret and urge her to raise troops and harass the frontier. Khan Dulou believed him, stopped sending tribute, and became a serious border threat. The emperor sent General of the Palace Cavalry Zhangsun Sheng to the Türks to observe matters discreetly. When the princess met Sheng her words were insolent. She also sent her private Hu retainer An Suijia to plot with Yang Qin and stir up Dulou against Sui. Sheng returned to the capital and reported everything in full. The emperor sent Sheng back to demand Yang Qin's extradition; Dulou refused, saying, "Among the guests in my camp there is no man of that description." Sheng then bribed Dulou's senior officials and learned where Qin was hiding. By night he seized Qin by surprise and presented him to Dulou, exposing the princess's secret affairs in the process. The Türk nobles were deeply shamed. Dulou arrested An Suijia and the others and handed them all over to Sheng. The emperor was delighted, promoted Sheng to Grandee of Splendid Happiness with Equipage, and sent him back into the Türk lands to depose the princess. Secretariat Vice Director Pei Ju proposed persuading Dulou to kill the princess. At that time Chuluohou's son Ran'gan, known as Khan Tuli, lived in the north and sent envoys to request a marriage alliance. The emperor had Pei Ju tell him, "Kill the Princess of Great Righteousness, and the marriage will be granted." Tuli slandered Dulou again in the matter. Dulou flew into a rage, killed the princess, and memorialized anew to request marriage. Court opinion was leaning toward consent. Zhangsun Sheng said, "Your servant finds Yongyu Lubu treacherous and faithless. He seeks our support only because he is at odds with Bianjue. Even if we marry him a princess, he will rebel in the end. If he gains an imperial princess now, he will borrow our prestige to conscript Bianjue and Ran'gan. Once he grows strong he will turn against us again, and then he will be far harder to control. Moreover Ran'gan is Chuluohou's son and has shown good faith across two reigns. He has long sought marriage with us. Better to grant it, summon him south to settle, and use his small, weak force as a tame buffer against Yongyu Lubu." The emperor said, "Well said." He again sent Sheng to reassure Ran'gan and promised him an imperial princess in marriage.
21
牛弘使協律郎范陽祖孝孫等參定雅樂，從陳陽山太守毛爽受京房律法，布管飛灰，順月皆驗。 又每律生五音，十二律為六十音，因而六之，為三百六十音，分直一歲之日以配七音，而旋相為宮之法，由是著名。 弘等乃奏下請復用旋宮法，上猶記何妥之言，注弘奏下，不聽作旋宮，但用黃鐘一宮。 於是弘等復為奏，附順上意，其前代金石並銷毀之，以息異議。 弘等又作武舞，以象隋之功德； 郊廟饗用一調，迎氣用五調。 舊工稍盡，其餘聲律，皆不復通。
Niu Hong had the Collaborative Rhythm Officer Zu Xiaosun of Fanyang and others set the court's orthodox music. From Chen's former Yangshan prefect Mao Shuang they received Jing Fang's pitch pipes and flying-ash method; month by month the tuning proved correct. Each pitch generated five tones; twelve pitches yielded sixty tones, and multiplying by six produced three hundred sixty tones, apportioned across the days of the year and matched to the seven scale degrees. The method of cyclically shifting the tonal center thereby won renown. Hong and his colleagues then memorialized to revive the rotating-palace method, but the emperor still recalled He Tuo's objections. He annotated the memorial and refused the rotating palace, allowing only the single Yellow Bell mode. Hong and his colleagues memorialized again in line with the emperor's wishes. The metal and stone instruments of earlier dynasties were destroyed to silence further debate. They also composed a martial dance to embody Sui's achievements; suburban and temple sacrifices used one mode, while the rites for welcoming the seasonal qi used five. The old masters gradually passed away, and the finer points of pitch and rhythm were lost.
22
春，三月，樂成。 夏，四月，乙丑，詔行新樂，且曰：「民間音樂，流僻日久，棄其舊體，競造繁聲，宜加禁約，務存其本。」 萬寶常聽太常所奏樂，泫然泣曰：「樂聲淫厲而哀，天下不久將盡！」 時四海全盛，聞者皆謂不然； 大業之末，其言卒驗。 寶常貧而無子，久之，竟餓死。 且死，悉取其書燒之，曰：「用此何為！」
In spring, the third month, the new music was finished. In summer, the fourth month, on yichou, an edict ordered the new music performed and declared, "Popular music has grown decadent for years, abandoning its proper forms in favor of ornate sounds. It should be restricted so that the tradition may be preserved." When Wan Baochang heard the Court of Imperial Sacrifices perform the new music, he wept and said, "This music is licentious, harsh, and mournful. The realm will not last much longer!" At the time the empire was at its height, and everyone who heard him dismissed the prophecy; yet by the end of the Daye reign his words had come true. Baochang lived in poverty and had no children. In time he starved to death. On his deathbed he burned all his books, saying, "What good are these now?"
23
先是，台、省、府、寺及諸州皆置公廨錢，收息取給。 工部尚書蘇孝慈以為「官司出舉興生，煩擾百姓，敗損風俗，請皆禁止，給地以營農。」 上從之。 六月，丁卯，始詔「公卿以下皆給職田，毋得治生，與民爭利。」
Previously every ministry, office, directorate, and prefecture had maintained public-office funds that lived off interest income. Minister of Works Su Xiaoci argued that "when government offices lend money for profit they harass the people and corrupt public morals. All such lending should be banned, and land granted for farming instead." The emperor agreed. In the sixth month, on dingmao, he decreed for the first time, "From the highest ministers down, all shall receive official fields. They may not engage in trade or compete with the people for profit."
24
秋，七月，乙未，以邳公蘇威為納言。
In autumn, the seventh month, on yiwei, Duke of Pi Su Wei was appointed Director of the Secretariat.
25
初，張賓歷既行，廣平劉孝孫及冀州秀才劉焯並言其失。 賓方有寵於上，劉暉附會之，共短孝孫等，斥罷之。 後賓卒，孝孫為掖縣丞，委官入京，上其事，詔留直太史，累年不調，乃抱其書，使弟子輿櫬來詣闕下，伏而慟哭； 執法拘而奏之。 帝異焉，以問國子祭酒何妥，妥言其善。 乃遣與賓歷比較短長。 直太史勃海張冑玄與孝孫共短賓歷，異論鋒起，久之不定。 上令參問日食事，楊素等奏：「太史凡奏日食二十有五，率皆無驗，冑玄所刻，前後妙中，孝孫所刻，驗亦過半。」 於是上引孝孫、冑玄等親自勞徠。 孝孫請先斬劉暉，乃可定歷，帝不懌，又罷之。 孝孫尋卒。
After Zhang Bin's calendar had been adopted, Liu Xiaosun of Guangping and the Xiucai Liu Zhuo of Jizhou both pointed out its flaws. Bin was then in imperial favor, and Liu Hui sided with him. Together they slandered Xiaosun and the others until they were driven from office. After Bin died, Xiaosun served as assistant magistrate of Ye. He resigned, went to the capital, and submitted his calendar. The court kept him at the Imperial Astronomer's office, but for years he received no promotion. At last he had his disciples carry his books in a coffin to the palace gate, where he prostrated himself and wept; the law officers seized him and reported the matter. The emperor was intrigued and asked National University Chancellor He Tuo, who praised Xiaosun's work. The emperor ordered it compared with Bin's calendar. Imperial Astronomer Zhang Zhouxuan of Bohai joined Xiaosun in attacking Bin's calendar. Debate raged for a long time without resolution. The emperor ordered a test based on solar eclipses. Yang Su and others reported, "The Imperial Astronomer's office has predicted twenty-five eclipses, almost none of which came true. Zhouxuan's calculations have been consistently accurate, and more than half of Xiaosun's have been verified as well." The emperor then summoned Xiaosun, Zhouxuan, and the others and personally received them with honors. Xiaosun demanded that Liu Hui be executed before a new calendar could be adopted. The emperor took offense and dismissed him once more. Xiaosun died soon afterward.
26
關中大旱，民饑，上遣左右視民食，得豆屑雜糠以獻。 上流涕以示群臣，深自咎責，為之不御酒肉者，殆將一期。 八月，辛未，上帥民就食於洛陽，敕斥候不得輒有驅逼。 男女參廁於仗衛之間，遇扶老攜幼者，輒引馬避之，慰勉而去。 至艱險之處，見負擔者，令左右扶助之。
A severe drought struck Guanzhong and the people went hungry. The emperor sent attendants to inspect what the people were eating, and they brought back bean husks mixed with chaff. The emperor wept as he showed it to his ministers, blamed himself deeply, and for nearly a year abstained from wine and meat. In the eighth month, on xinwei, the emperor led the people to Luoyang in search of food and decreed that scouts along the route might not harass or drive them on. Men and women mingled among his armed escort. Whenever he met people supporting the elderly or carrying children, he reined in his horse to give way, offered words of comfort, and moved on. At difficult stretches of road he ordered his attendants to help those carrying heavy loads.
27
冬，閏十月，甲寅，詔以齊、梁、陳宗祀廢絕，命高仁英、蕭琮、陳叔寶以時修祭，所須器物，有司給之。 陳叔寶從帝登邙山，侍飲，賦詩曰：「日月光天德，山河壯帝居； 太平無以報，願上東封書。」 並表請封禪。 帝優詔答之。 它日，復侍宴，及出，帝目之曰：「此敗豈不由酒！ 以作詩之功，何如思安時事！ 當賀若弼渡京口，彼人密啟告急，叔寶飲酒，遂不之省。 高熲至日，猶見啟在床下，未開封。 此誠可笑，蓋天亡之也。 昔苻氏征伐所得國，皆榮貴其主，苟欲求名，不知違天命； 與之官，乃違天也。」
In winter, the intercalary tenth month, on jiayin, an edict noted that the ancestral rites of Qi, Liang, and Chen had lapsed. Gao Renying, Xiao Cong, and Chen Shubao were ordered to perform the seasonal sacrifices, and the necessary ritual objects would be supplied by the responsible offices. Chen Shubao accompanied the emperor up Mount Mang, attended a banquet, and composed a poem: "Sun and moon embody Heaven's virtue; mountains and rivers magnify the emperor's dwelling; in this age of peace I have no gift to offer—may I present a petition for the feng and shan rites at Mount Tai." He also submitted a formal memorial requesting the feng and shan. The emperor replied with a gracious edict. On another day Shubao again attended a banquet. As he left, the emperor watched him and said, "Wasn't your downfall caused by wine! If you spent as much effort governing as you do composing poems, how much better off would you have been! When He Ruo Bi crossed Jingkou, urgent dispatches arrived in secret, but Shubao was drinking and never even looked at them. By the day Gao Jiong reached the capital, those dispatches were still under his bed, unopened. It is laughable, and yet Heaven had already doomed Chen. When the Fu clan conquered states in the past, they honored the defeated rulers and enriched them, seeking a reputation for magnanimity without realizing they were defying Heaven's mandate. To give such men office is to defy Heaven itself."
28
齊州刺史盧賁坐民饑閉民糶，除名。 帝后復欲授以一州，賁對詔失旨，又有怨言，帝大怒，遂不用。 皇太子為言：「此輩並有佐命功，雖性行輕險，誠不可棄。」 帝曰：「我抑屈之，全其命也。 微劉昉、鄭譯、盧賁、柳裘、皇甫績等，則我不至此。 然此等皆反覆子也，當周宣帝時，以無賴得幸。 及帝大漸，顏之儀等請以趙王輔政，此輩行詐，顧命於我。 我將為政，又欲亂之，故昉謀大逆，譯為巫蠱。 如賁之例，皆不滿志，任之則不遜，置之則怨望，自為難信，非我棄之。 眾人見此，謂我薄於功臣，斯不然矣。」 賁遂廢，卒於家。
Lu Bin, prefect of Qizhou, was struck from the rolls for hoarding grain during the famine and refusing to sell to the people. Later the emperor wished to appoint him to another prefecture, but Bin answered the edict poorly and voiced complaints. The emperor was furious and refused to use him. The crown prince pleaded on their behalf: "These men all helped you seize the throne. Though their characters are reckless, you truly should not cast them aside." The emperor said, "I have humbled them only to spare their lives. Without Liu Fang, Zheng Yi, Lu Bin, Liu Qiu, Huangfu Ji, and the rest, I would never have reached the throne. Yet they are all faithless men who won favor in Emperor Xuan of Zhou's day through sheer audacity. When Emperor Xuan lay dying, Yan Zhiyi and others wanted the Prince of Zhao to serve as regent, but these men schemed and placed the regency in my hands instead. Once I took power they tried to stir chaos again. Fang plotted treason, and Yi practiced witchcraft. Men like Bin were never satisfied. Put them in office and they grew insolent; leave them aside and they nursed grievances. They made themselves impossible to trust. I did not cast them away—they cast themselves away. People see this and say I am ungrateful to my founding supporters. That is not true." Bin was never employed again and died at home.
29
晉王廣帥百官抗表，固請封禪。 帝令牛弘等創定儀注，既成，帝視之，曰：「茲事體大，朕何德以堪之！ 但當東巡，因致祭泰山耳。」 十二月，乙未，車駕東巡。
Prince Guang of Jin led the hundred officials in memorializing repeatedly for the feng and shan rites. The emperor ordered Niu Hong and others to draft the ritual protocols. When they were finished, he reviewed them and said, "This rite is too grand for my modest virtue! I shall tour east and offer sacrifice at Mount Tai—that is enough." In the twelfth month, on yiwei, the emperor set out on an eastern tour.
30
上好禨祥小數，上儀同三司蕭吉上書曰：「甲寅，乙卯，天地之合也。 今茲甲寅之年，以辛酉朔旦冬至，來年乙卯，以甲子夏至。 冬至陽始，郊天之日，即至尊本命； 夏至陰始，祀地之辰，即皇后本命。 至尊德並乾之覆育，皇后仁同地之載養，所以二儀元氣並會本辰。」 上大悅，賜物五百段。 吉，懿之孫也。 員外散騎侍郎王劭言上有龍顏戴干之表，指示群臣。 上悅，拜著作郎。 劭前後上表言上受命符瑞甚眾，又采民間歌謠，引圖書讖緯，捃摭佛經，回易文字，曲加誣飾，撰《皇隋靈感志》三十卷奏之，上令宣示天下。 劭集諸州朝集，使盥手焚香，而讀之，曲折其聲，有如歌詠，經涉旬朔，遍而後罷。 上益喜，前後賞賜優洽。
The emperor delighted in omens and minor numerology. Grandee of Splendid Happiness with Equipage Xiao Ji memorialized, "Jiayin and yimao mark the union of Heaven and Earth. This jiayin year brings winter solstice on the xinyou new moon, and next year's yimao year brings summer solstice on jiazi. Winter solstice is when yang begins, and the day of suburban sacrifice to Heaven falls in Your Majesty's birth year; summer solstice is when yin begins, and the day of sacrifice to Earth falls in the empress's birth year. Your Majesty's virtue matches Heaven's nurturing power, and the empress's benevolence matches Earth's sustaining power. Thus the primal energies of the two regulators converge in your birth years." The emperor was delighted and rewarded him with five hundred bolts of silk. Ji was the grandson of Xiao Yi. Attendant Censor Wang Shao declared that the emperor bore the dragon countenance and canopy-of-dryness physiognomy, and pointed this out to the court. The emperor was pleased and appointed him Compiler in the Imperial Library. Shao repeatedly memorialized about the many portents of the emperor's mandate. He collected folk songs, cited prophecy texts and weft charts, excerpted Buddhist scriptures, twisted characters, and embroidered the evidence into a thirty-juan work titled Records of Imperial Sui Spiritual Responses, which the emperor ordered proclaimed throughout the realm. He gathered the provincial representatives at court, had them wash their hands and burn incense, and read the text aloud in a chanting voice. The recitation took more than a month to complete. The emperor grew still more pleased and heaped rewards upon him.
31
春，正月，壬戌，車駕頓齊州。 庚午，為壇於泰山，柴燎祀天，以歲旱謝愆咎，禮如南郊； 又親祀青帝壇。 赦天下。
In spring, the first month, on renxu, the imperial procession halted at Qizhou. On gengwu he built an altar on Mount Tai, burned firewood, and sacrificed to Heaven to apologize for the drought, using the same rites as at the southern suburbs; he also personally sacrificed at the altar of the Green Emperor. He proclaimed a general amnesty.
32
二月，丙辰，收天下兵器，敢私造者坐之； 關中、緣邊不在其例。
In the second month, on bingchen, he ordered all weapons in the realm confiscated. Private manufacture was punishable by law; Guanzhong and the frontier regions were exempt.
33
三月，己未，至自東巡。
In the third month, on jiwei, he returned from the eastern tour.
34
仁壽宮成。 丁亥，上幸仁壽宮。 時天暑，役夫死者相次於道，楊素悉焚除之。 上聞之，不悅。 及至，見制度壯麗，大怒曰：「楊素殫民力為離宮，為吾結怨天下。」 素聞之，惶恐，慮獲譴，以告封德彝。 曰：「公勿憂，俟皇后至，必有恩詔。」 明日，上果召素入對，獨孤後勞之曰：「公知吾夫婦老，無以自娛，盛飾此宮，豈非忠孝！」 賜錢百萬，錦絹三千段。 素負貴恃才，多所凌侮； 唯賞重德彝，每引之與論宰相職務，終日忘倦，因撫其床曰：「封郎必當據吾此座。」 屢薦於帝，帝擢為內史舍人。
Renshou Palace was completed. On dinghai the emperor visited Renshou Palace. The weather was sweltering, and corvée workers were dying along the roads in succession. Yang Su had the bodies burned and cleared away. When the emperor learned of this he was displeased. When he arrived and saw how grand the palace was, he raged, "Yang Su has exhausted the people's strength to build this pleasure palace and has made the whole realm resent me." When Su heard this he was terrified of punishment and confided in Feng Deyi. Feng said, "Do not worry. When the empress arrives there will surely be a gracious edict." The next day the emperor summoned Su for an audience. Empress Dugu comforted him: "You know that we are old and have few pleasures. To adorn this palace so splendidly—is that not loyalty and filial piety?" She rewarded him with a million cash and three thousand bolts of brocade and silk. Su relied on his rank and talent and often bullied others; yet he prized Feng Deyi alone. He would draw him into discussions of chancellorial duties and talk all day without tiring, patting his couch and saying, "Master Feng will surely sit in this seat of mine one day." He recommended Feng repeatedly, and the emperor promoted him to Secretariat Attendant.
35
夏，四月，己丑朔，赦天下。
In summer, the fourth month, on the jichou new moon, he proclaimed a general amnesty.
36
六月，戊子，詔鑿底柱。
In the sixth month, on wuzi, an edict ordered the Bedrock Pillars cut through to improve navigation.
37
庚寅，相州刺史豆盧通貢綾文布，命焚之於朝堂。
On gengyin Doulu Tong, prefect of Xiangzhou, presented patterned silk as tribute. The emperor ordered it burned in the court hall.
38
秋，七月，納言蘇威坐從祠太山不敬，免，俄而復位。 上謂群臣曰：「世人言蘇威詐清，家累金玉，此妄言也。 然其性狠戾，不切世要，求名太甚，從己則悅，違之必怒，此其大病耳。」
In autumn, the seventh month, Director of the Secretariat Su Wei was dismissed for irreverence during the Mount Tai sacrifice, but was soon restored to office. The emperor told his ministers, "People say Su Wei only pretends to be upright while his house is piled with gold and jade. That is nonsense. But his nature is harsh and obstinate, out of touch with practical affairs, and too hungry for reputation. Agree with him and he is delighted; cross him and he flies into a rage. That is his real flaw."
39
戊寅，上至自仁壽宮。 冬，十月，戊子，以吏部尚書韋世康為荊州總管。 世康，洸之弟也，和靜謙恕，在吏部十餘年，時稱廉平。 常有止足之志，謂子弟曰：「祿豈須多，防滿則退； 年不待暮，有疾便辭。」 因懇乞骸骨。 帝不許，使鎮荊州。 時天下惟有四總管，並、揚、益、荊，以晉、秦、蜀三王及世康為之，當世以為榮。
On wuyin the emperor returned from Renshou Palace. In winter, the tenth month, on wuzi he made Wei Shikang, Minister of Personnel, overall commander of Jingzhou. Shikang was the younger brother of Wei Guang—gentle, quiet, modest, and forgiving. He had served in the Ministry of Personnel for more than ten years and was known for integrity and fairness. He often spoke of knowing when he had enough, telling his family, "Why must one's salary be great? When you have enough, step back; Do not wait until you are old; resign at the first sign of illness." He then earnestly petitioned to retire. The emperor refused but sent him to govern Jingzhou. At the time there were only four regional overall commanders in the realm—Bing, Yang, Yi, and Jing. The three princes of Jin, Qin, and Shu, together with Shikang, held these posts, and the age regarded it as a supreme honor.
40
十一月，辛酉，上幸溫湯。
In the eleventh month, on xinyou, the emperor visited the hot springs.
41
十二月，戊子，敕：「盜邊糧一升已上，皆斬，仍籍沒其家。」
In the twelfth month, on wuzi, an edict declared: "Anyone who steals a sheng or more of frontier grain will be beheaded, and the offender's household will be registered and confiscated."
42
己丑，詔文武官以四考受代。
On jichou an edict required civil and military officials to surrender their posts after four performance reviews.
43
汴州刺史令狐熙來朝，考績為天下之最，賜帛三百匹，頒告天下。 熙，整之子也。
Linghu Xi, prefect of Bianzhou, came to court. His performance review ranked first in the realm, and he was granted three hundred bolts of silk; the achievement was proclaimed throughout the land. Xi was the son of Linghu Zheng.
44
春，正月，丁亥，以皇孫裕為平原王，筠為安成王，嶷為安平王，恪為襄城王，該為高陽王，韶為建安王，煚為穎川王，皆勇之子也。
In spring, the first month, on dinghai the emperor enfeoffed his grandsons: Yu as Prince of Pingyuan, Yun as Prince of Ancheng, Ni as Prince of Anping, Ke as Prince of Xiangcheng, Gai as Prince of Gaoyang, Shao as Prince of Jian'an, and Jiong as Prince of Yingchuan—all sons of Prince Yong.
45
夏，六月，甲午，初制工商不得仕進。
In summer, the sixth month, on jiawu a new rule barred merchants and artisans from official careers.
46
秋，八月，丙戌，詔：「決死罪者，三奏然後行刑。」
In autumn, the eighth month, on bingxu an edict declared: "Before carrying out a death sentence, the case must be reported three times."
47
冬，十月，己丑，上幸長春宮； 十一月，壬子，還長安。
In winter, the tenth month, on jichou the emperor visited Changchun Palace; in the eleventh month, on renzi, he returned to Chang'an.
48
党項寇會州，詔發隴西兵討降之。
The Tangut attacked Huizhou, and an edict dispatched troops from Longxi to subdue them.
49
帝以光化公主妻吐谷渾可汗世伏； 世伏上表請稱公主為天後，上不許。
The emperor gave Princess Guanghua in marriage to Shifu, khan of the Tuyuhun; Shifu submitted a memorial asking to address the princess as Heavenly Empress, but the emperor refused.
50
春，二月，癸未，太平公史萬歲擊南寧羌，平之。 初，梁睿之克王謙也，西南夷、獠莫不歸附，唯南寧州酋帥爨震恃遠不服。 睿上疏，以為：「南寧州，漢世牂柯之地，戶口殷眾，金寶富饒。 梁南寧州刺史徐文盛為湘東王征赴荊州，屬東夏尚阻，未遑遠略，土民爨瓚遂竊據一方，國家遙授刺史，其子震相承至今。 而震臣禮多虧，貢賦不入，乞因平蜀之眾，略定南寧。」 其後南寧夷爨玩來降，拜昆州刺史，既而復叛。 乃以左領軍將軍史萬歲為行軍總管，帥眾擊之，入自蜻蛉川，至於南中。 夷人前後屯據要害，萬歲皆擊破之； 過諸葛亮紀功碑，渡西洱河，入渠濫川，行千餘里，破其三十餘部，虜獲男女二萬餘口。 諸夷大懼，遣使請降，獻明珠徑寸，於是勒石頌美隋德。 萬歲請將爨玩入朝，詔許之。 爨玩陰有二心，不欲詣闕，賂萬歲以金寶，萬歲於是捨玩而還。
In spring, the second month, on guiwei Duke of Taiping Shi Wansui attacked the Nanning tribes and pacified them. When Liang Rui earlier conquered Wang Qian, the tribes of the southwest all submitted—only Cuan Zhen, chieftain of Nanning, held out in his remote territory. Rui submitted a memorial arguing that Nanning had been Zangke territory in Han times, with a large population and rich stores of gold and treasure. During the Liang, Nanning prefect Xu Wensheng was summoned by the Prince of Xiangdong to Jingzhou. While eastern affairs still commanded attention, the court had no leisure for distant campaigns, and the local leader Cuan Zan seized the region. The state invested him as prefect from afar, and his son Zhen has held the post ever since. But Zhen is lax in feudal obligations and sends no tribute or taxes. I ask permission to use the army that pacified Shu to subdue Nanning as well." Later the Nanning chieftain Cuan Wan surrendered and was appointed prefect of Kunzhou, but soon rebelled again. Shi Wansui, General of the Left Guard, was appointed campaign commander and marched against him, entering through Qingling Stream into the southern interior. The tribes held the strategic passes one after another, and Wansui broke through them all; He passed Zhuge Liang's victory stele, crossed the Western Er River, and entered Qulan Stream. After marching more than a thousand li, he broke more than thirty tribal divisions and took more than twenty thousand captives. The tribes were terrified. They sent envoys to surrender and presented pearls an inch in diameter. Wansui had a stele carved praising the virtue of the Sui. Wansui asked to bring Cuan Wan to court, and the emperor approved. "Cuan Wan had no intention of going to court. He secretly bribed Wansui with gold and jewels, and Wansui left him behind and returned.
51
庚寅，上幸仁壽宮。
On gengyin the emperor visited Renshou Palace.
52
桂州俚帥李光仕作亂，帝遣上柱國王世積與前桂州總管周法尚討之，法尚發嶺南兵，世積發嶺北兵，俱會尹州。 世積所部遇瘴，不能進，頓於衡州，法尚獨討之。 光仕戰敗，帥勁兵走保白石洞。 法尚大獲家口，其黨有來降者，輒以妻子還之。 居旬日，降者數千人。 光仕眾潰而走，追斬之。
Li Guangshi, a Li chieftain in Guizhou, rebelled. The emperor sent Senior Statesman Wang Shiji and former Guizhou commander Zhou Fashang against him. Fashang raised troops south of the Nanling passes, Shiji raised troops north of them, and both converged on Yinzhou. Shiji's troops were halted by miasma in Hengzhou and could not advance. Fashang continued the campaign alone. Guangshi was defeated and fled with his best troops to hold Bai Rock Cave. Fashang captured many families. Whenever a follower surrendered, he immediately returned the man's wife and children. Within ten days several thousand men surrendered. Guangshi's force collapsed and fled; pursuers caught and killed him.
53
帝又遣員外散騎侍郎何稠募兵討光仕，稠諭降其黨莫崇等，承製署首領為州縣官。 稠，妥之兄子也。
The emperor also sent Supernumerary Palace Attendant He Chou to raise troops. Chou persuaded followers such as Mo Chong to surrender and, by imperial commission, appointed tribal leaders as prefectural and county officials. Chou was the nephew of He Tuo.
54
上以嶺南夷、越數反，以汴州刺史令狐熙為桂州總管十七州諸軍事，許以便宜從事，刺史以下官得承製補授。 熙至部，大弘恩信，其溪洞渠帥更相謂曰：「前時總管皆以兵威相脅，今者乃以手教相諭，我輩其可違乎！」 於是相帥歸附。 先是州縣生梗，長吏多不得之官，寄政於總管府。 熙悉遣之，為建城邑，開設學校，華、夷感化焉。 俚帥寧猛力，在陳世已據南海，隋因而撫之，拜安州刺史。 猛力恃險驕倨，未嘗參謁。 熙諭以恩信，猛力感之，詣府請謁，不敢為非。 熙奏改安州為欽州。
Because the tribes of Lingnan rebelled repeatedly, the emperor appointed Linghu Xi, prefect of Bianzhou, commander over seventeen Guizhou prefectures with full discretionary authority, including power to appoint officials below the rank of prefect by imperial commission. When Xi reached his post, he relied on grace and good faith. The chieftains of the valleys said to one another, "Previous commanders threatened us with armed force, but this one appeals to us with his own letters. How can we refuse?" They then submitted in succession. Previously the prefectures and counties had been ungovernable, and many appointed magistrates never reached their posts; administration was handled from the commander's office. Xi sent officials to every post, built towns, and established schools. Both Chinese settlers and native peoples were won over. The Li chieftain Ning Mengli had held the South Sea region under the Chen. The Sui court conciliated him and appointed him prefect of Anzhou. Mengli relied on his rugged territory and never came to pay respects—proud and defiant. Xi won him over with kindness and trust. Mengli was moved, came to headquarters to pay his respects, and afterward dared not cause trouble. Xi memorialized to rename Anzhou as Qinzhou.
55
帝以所在屬官不敬憚其上，事難克舉，三月，丙辰，詔「諸司論屬官罪，有律輕情重者，聽於律外斟酌決杖。」 於是上下相驅，迭行捶楚，以殘暴為干能，以守法為懦弱。
Because subordinate officials everywhere showed no respect for their superiors and government work suffered, in the third month on bingchen the emperor issued an edict: "When judging subordinates' crimes, if the statute is lenient but the offense serious, superiors may impose flogging beyond what the law allows." Officials at every level took this as license to beat their subordinates. Cruelty passed for competence; fidelity to the law was mocked as weakness.
56
帝以盜賊繁多，命盜一錢以上皆棄市，或三人共盜一瓜，事發即死。 於是行旅皆晏起早宿，天下懍懍。 有數人劫執事而謂之曰：「吾豈求財者邪！ 但為枉人來耳。 而為我奏至尊：自古以來，體國立法，未有盜一錢而死者也。 而不為我以聞，吾更來，而屬無類矣！」 帝聞之，為停此法。
With theft rampant, the emperor decreed death for stealing as little as one cash—or for three men sharing a stolen melon. Offenders were executed on the spot. Travelers dared venture out only late in the day and lodge early; fear spread across the realm. Several men seized a court attendant and said, "Do you think we are common thieves? We came only to speak for the wronged. Report to His Majesty for us: since antiquity, no state has made death the penalty for stealing a single cash. If you do not carry our words to him, we will come again—and then people like you will not survive!" When the emperor heard this, he abolished the law.
57
帝嘗乘怒，欲以六月杖殺人，大理少卿河東趙綽固爭曰：「季夏之月，天地成長庶類，不可以此時誅殺。」 帝報曰：「六月雖曰生長，此時必有雷霆； 我則天而行，有何不可！」 遂殺之。
Once, in a fit of anger during the sixth month, the emperor wished to beat a man to death. Zhao Chuo of Hedong, Vice Director of the Court of Judicial Review, firmly remonstrated: "In midsummer, when Heaven and Earth nurture all living things, executions are forbidden." The emperor replied, "Summer may be a season of growth, but thunder still rolls at this time of year; I act as Heaven does. What may I not do?" And he had the man beaten to death.
58
大理掌固來曠上言大理官司太寬，帝以曠為忠直，遣每旦於五品行中參見。 曠又告少卿趙綽濫免徒囚，帝使信臣推驗，初無阿曲，帝怒，命斬之。 綽固爭，以為曠不合死，帝拂衣入閣。 綽矯言，「臣更不理曠，自有它事，未及奏聞。」 帝命引入閣，綽再拜請曰：「臣有死罪三，臣為大理少卿，不能制馭掌固，使曠觸掛天刑，一也。 囚不合死，而臣不能死爭，二也。 臣本無它事，而妄言求入，三也。」 帝解顏。 會獨孤後在坐，命賜綽二金盃酒，並杯賜之。 曠因免死，徙廣州。
Lai Kuang, a clerk in the Court of Judicial Review, complained that the court was too lenient. The emperor judged him loyal and direct and ordered him to attend the morning assembly with officials of the fifth rank and above. Kuang also accused Zhao Chuo of improperly releasing convicts. The emperor sent trusted officials to investigate and found no favoritism—but flew into a rage and ordered Kuang executed. Chuo insisted that Kuang did not deserve death. The emperor swept aside his robes and stalked into the inner chamber. Chuo said falsely, "Your Majesty, I am no longer concerned with Kuang's case. There is another matter I have not yet reported." The emperor had him brought in. Chuo bowed and said, "Your servant is guilty of three capital offenses. First, as Vice Director I failed to control my clerks and allowed Kuang to offend against imperial authority. Second, Kuang did not deserve death, yet I failed to remonstrate as if my life depended on it. Third, I had no other business but lied to gain audience with Your Majesty." The emperor's face softened. Empress Dugu was present. The emperor ordered two gold cups of wine for Chuo and had both cups given to him. Kuang was spared and exiled to Guangzhou.
59
蕭摩訶子世略在江南作亂，摩訶當從坐，上曰：「世略年未二十，亦何能為？ 以其名將之子，為人所逼耳。」 因赦摩訶。 綽固諫不可，上不能奪，欲綽去而赦之，因命綽退食。 綽曰：「臣奏獄未決，不敢退。」 上曰：「大理其為朕特捨摩訶也。」 因命左右釋之。
Shilue, son of Xiao Mohe, rebelled in the south. Mohe faced punishment by association. The emperor said, "Shilue is not yet twenty. What could he possibly have done? As the son of a famous general, he was driven to it by others." He then pardoned Mohe. Chuo firmly objected. The emperor could not prevail and, wanting Chuo gone before pardoning Mohe, ordered him to withdraw for his meal. Chuo said, "The case is not yet decided. I dare not withdraw." The emperor said, "Court of Judicial Review, grant Me a special exception and spare Mohe." He then ordered attendants to release Mohe.
60
刑部侍郎辛但嘗衣緋褌，俗雲利官； 上以為厭蠱，將斬之。 綽曰：「法不當死，臣不敢奉詔。」 上怒甚，曰：「卿惜辛但而不自惜也！」 命引綽斬之。 綽曰：「陛下寧殺臣，不可殺辛但。」 至朝堂，解衣當斬，上使人謂綽曰：「竟何如？」 對曰：「執法一心，不敢惜死！」 上拂衣而入，良久，乃釋之。 明日謝綽，勞勉之，賜物三百段。
Xin Dan, Vice Director of the Ministry of Justice, once wore red undergarments—a folk superstition said this brought promotion; the emperor took this for witchcraft and ordered his execution. Chuo said, "The law does not prescribe death. I dare not obey." The emperor was furious. "You would spare Xin Dan but not yourself!" He ordered Chuo led out for execution. Chuo said, "Your Majesty may kill me, but you may not kill Xin Dan." At the execution ground Chuo stripped for the axe. The emperor sent a messenger: "What do you say now?" He replied, "I uphold the law with all my heart and do not fear death!" The emperor turned away and went inside. After a long while he ordered Chuo released. The next day the emperor apologized to Chuo, praised his steadfastness, and rewarded him with three hundred bolts of goods.
61
時上禁行惡錢，有二人在市，以惡錢易好者，武候執以聞，上令悉斬之，綽進諫曰：「此人所坐當杖，殺之非法。」 上曰：「不關卿事。」 綽曰：「陛下不以臣愚闇，置在法司，欲妄殺人，豈得不關臣事！」 上曰：「撼大木，不動者當退。」 對曰：「臣望感天心，何論動木。」 上復曰：「啜羹者熱則置之，天子之威，欲相挫邪！」 綽拜而益前，訶之，不肯退，上遂入。 治書侍御史柳彧復上奏切諫，上乃止。
At the time the emperor had banned debased coin. Two men in the market traded bad coin for good; guards seized them and reported. The emperor ordered both beheaded. Chuo remonstrated: "Their offense merits flogging, not execution." The emperor said, "This is none of your affair." Chuo said, "Your Majesty did not think me too dull to appoint me to the court of law. If you intend to kill men unlawfully, how can that be none of my affair?" The emperor said, "When you shake a great tree, the branch that will not bend should be cut away." Chuo replied, "I hope to move the heart of Heaven itself. What talk of moving trees?" The emperor replied again, "When soup is too hot, one sets it aside. Do you mean to blunt the Son of Heaven's authority? Chuo bowed and stepped even closer. The emperor shouted at him, but he would not retreat, and the emperor finally went inside. Supervising Secretary Liu Yu submitted another forceful memorial, and the emperor relented.
62
上以綽有誠直之心，每引入閣中，或遇上與皇后同榻，即呼綽坐，評論得失，前後賞賜萬計。 與大理卿薛冑同時，俱名平恕； 然冑斷獄以情而綽守法，俱為稱職。 冑，端之子也。
Finding Chuo sincere and upright, the emperor often summoned him to the inner chambers. At times when he and the empress were on the same couch, he would call Chuo to sit with them and discuss affairs of state. Over time he lavished on Chuo rewards beyond counting. In the same era as Xue Zhou, Director of the Court of Justice, both men were famed for fairness and clemency— yet Zhou decided cases with an eye to human circumstances while Chuo held strictly to the law. Both were regarded as fully equal to their duties. Zhou was the son of Duan.
63
帝晚節用法益峻，御史於元日不劾武官衣劍之不齊者，帝曰：「爾為御史，縱捨自由。」 命殺之，諫議大夫毛思祖諫，又殺之。 將作寺丞以課麥遲晚，武庫令以署庭荒蕪，左右出使，或授牧宰馬鞭、鸚鵡，帝察知，並親臨斬之。
In his later years the emperor grew ever harsher in enforcing the law. On New Year's Day a censor failed to impeach military officers whose dress and swords were out of order. The emperor said, "You are a censor, yet you let offenses pass as you please." He ordered the censor executed. Remonstrance and Advice Grandee Mao Sizu protested—and was executed too. A deputy of the Directorate of Palace Construction was beheaded because his wheat quota was late. The Director of the Armory was beheaded because his office yard had gone to weeds. Attendants on foreign missions who gave local magistrates horsewhips or parrots—when the emperor learned of it, he personally executed them all.
64
帝既喜怒不恆，不復依準科律。 信任楊素，素復任情不平，與鴻臚少卿陳延有隙，嘗經蕃客館，庭中以馬屎，又眾僕於氈上樗蒲，以白帝。 帝大怒，主客令及樗蒲者皆杖殺之，棰陳延幾死。
His moods now swung wildly, and he no longer governed by the code of law. He trusted Yang Su, who again ruled by whim rather than justice. Su bore a grudge against Vice Director of the Court of Diplomatic Reception Chen Yan. Passing the lodge for foreign guests one day, he found horse dung in the courtyard and servants gambling on felt mats, and reported it to the emperor. The emperor flew into a rage. The Master of Reception and the gamblers were all beaten to death. Chen Yan was flogged almost to death.
65
帝遣新衛大都督長安屈突通往隴西檢覆群牧，得隱匿馬二萬餘匹，帝大怒，將斬太僕卿慕容悉達及諸監官千五百人。 通諫曰：「人命至重，陛下奈何以畜產之故殺千有餘人！ 臣敢以死請！」 帝□真目叱之，通又頓首曰：「臣一身份死，就陛下丐千餘人命。」 帝感寤，曰：「朕之不明，以至於此！ 賴有卿忠言耳。」 於是悉達等皆減死論，擢通為右武候將軍。
The emperor sent Qutu Tong, the new guard commander at Chang'an, to Longxi to inspect the imperial pastures. More than twenty thousand concealed horses were discovered. In a fury the emperor prepared to execute Grand Master of Studs Murong Xida and fifteen hundred pasture officials. Tong remonstrated, "Human life is beyond price. How can Your Majesty slaughter more than a thousand men over livestock! I dare ask for their lives at the cost of my own!" The emperor glared and shouted him down. Tong prostrated himself again. "Let this one body die—I beg Your Majesty for the lives of those thousand men." The emperor was moved to his senses. "How could my judgment have fallen so low! I owe it only to your loyal counsel." Xida and the others were all spared execution, and Tong was promoted to General of the Right Martial Guard.
66
上柱國彭公劉昶與帝有舊，帝甚親之； 其子居士，任俠不遵法度，數有罪，上以昶故，每原之。 居士轉驕恣，取公卿子弟雄健者，輒將至家，以車輪括其頸而棒之，殆死能不屈者，稱為壯士，釋而與交。 黨與三百人，毆擊路人，多所侵奪，至於公卿妃主，莫敢與校。 或告居士謀為不軌，帝怒，斬之，公卿子弟坐居士除名者甚眾。
Grand General Liu Chang, Duke of Peng, was an old companion of the emperor, who held him in great affection— His son Jushi was a swaggering freebooter who scorned the law and repeatedly broke it. Out of regard for Chang, the emperor always pardoned him. Jushi grew ever bolder. He would seize strong sons of high officials, bring them home, loop a cart wheel around their necks, and beat them with clubs. Any who nearly died rather than submit he hailed as true men, freed, and took as companions. His band numbered three hundred. They assaulted wayfarers and seized whatever they pleased. Even the wives and princesses of the great ministers—none dared stand against them. When someone reported that Jushi was plotting treason, the emperor had him executed. Many sons of high officials who had kept company with Jushi were struck from the rolls.
67
楊素、牛弘等復薦張冑玄歷術。 上令楊素與術數人立議六十一事，皆舊法久難通者，令劉暉等與冑玄等辯析之。 暉杜口一無所答，冑玄通者五十四，上乃拜冑玄員外散騎侍郎兼太史令，賜物千段，令參定新術。 至是，冑玄歷成。 夏，四月，戊寅，詔頒新歷； 前造歷者劉暉等四人並除名。 秋，七月，桂州人李世賢反，上議討之。 諸將數人請行，上不許，顧右武候大將軍虞慶則曰：「位居宰相，爵乃上公，國家有賊，遂無行意，何也？」 慶則拜謝，恐懼，乃以慶則為桂州道行軍總管，討平之。
Yang Su, Niu Hong, and others again recommended Zhang Zhouxuan for his expertise in calendrical science. The emperor had Yang Su and experts in numerology compile sixty-one disputed points—all longstanding flaws in the old calendar—and ordered Liu Hui and others to debate them with Zhouxuan's party. Hui kept silent and answered not one point. Zhouxuan carried fifty-four. The emperor then made Zhouxuan Extraordinary Cadet of the Chariots and Cavalry and concurrent Director of the Bureau of Astronomy, rewarded him with a thousand bolts of goods, and charged him with drafting the new calendar. By then Zhouxuan's calendar was complete. In summer, the fourth month, on wuyin, an edict promulgated the new calendar. Liu Hui and the three other former calendar-makers were all struck from the rolls. In autumn, the seventh month, Li Shixian of Guizhou rebelled, and the court debated sending troops against him. Several generals volunteered to lead the campaign, but the emperor refused. He turned to Grand General Yu Qingze of the Right Martial Guard and said, "You hold a chancellor's rank and a grand duke's title—yet when rebels arise you show no zeal to march. Why?" Qingze bowed in apology, terrified. The emperor then appointed him Commander-in-Chief on the Guizhou Route, and he put down the rebellion.
68
秦王俊，幼仁恕，喜佛教，嘗請為沙門，不許。 及為并州總管，漸好奢侈，違越制度，盛治宮室。 俊好內，其妃崔氏，弘度之妹也，性妒，於瓜中進毒，由是得疾，征還京師。 上以為奢縱，丁亥，免俊官，以王就第。 崔妃以毒王，廢絕，賜死於家。 左武衛將軍劉升諫曰：「秦王非有它過，但費官物，營廨捨而已，臣謂可容。」 上曰：「法不可違。」 楊素諫曰：「秦王之過，不應至此，願陛下詳之！」 上曰：「我是五兒之父，非兆民炎父？ 若如公意，何不別制天子兒律！ 以周公之為人，尚誅管、蔡，我誠不及周公遠矣，安能虧法乎！」 卒不許。
Prince of Qin Jun had been gentle and forgiving since boyhood and loved Buddhism. Once he asked to become a monk, but was refused. Once made Commander-in-Chief of Bingzhou, he grew fond of luxury, ignored regulations, and spent lavishly on palaces. Jun was fond of women. His consort Lady Cui, sister of Hongdu, was jealous and slipped poison into a melon. He fell ill and was recalled to the capital. Judging him profligate and ungoverned, on dinghai the emperor stripped Jun of his posts and confined him to his princely residence. Consort Cui was deposed for poisoning the prince and ordered to die at home. General Liu Sheng of the Left Martial Guard remonstrated, "The Prince of Qin has no other fault than spending official funds on buildings. I believe this can be forgiven." The emperor said, "The law cannot be broken." Yang Su remonstrated, "The prince's offense does not deserve such punishment—I beg Your Majesty to reconsider!" The emperor said, "I am father to five sons—am I not also father and mother to all the people? If I followed your advice, why not write a separate law for the emperor's sons! The Duke of Zhou himself executed Guan and Cai. I am far beneath the Duke of Zhou—how could I bend the law!" In the end he refused.
69
戊戌，突厥突利可汗來逆女，上捨之太常，教習六禮，妻以宗女安義公主。 上欲離間都藍，故特厚其禮，遣太常卿牛弘、納言蘇威、民部尚書斛律孝卿相繼為使。
On wuxu, Tuli Khan of the Turks arrived to meet his bride. The emperor housed him at the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, instructed him in the Six Rites, and married him to the clanswoman Princess Anyi. Wishing to drive a wedge between Dulou and Tuli, the emperor treated Tuli with exceptional honor and sent Niu Hong, Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, Chief Minister Su Wei, and Minister of the Household Hulu Xiaqing as envoys in succession.
70
突利本居北方，既尚主，長孫晟說其帥眾南徙，居度斤舊鎮，錫賚優厚。 都藍怒曰：「我，大可汗也，反不如染干！」 於是朝貢遂絕，亟來抄掠邊鄙。 突利伺知動靜，輒遣奏聞，由是邊鄙每先有備。
Tuli had originally lived in the north. After marrying the princess, Zhangsun Sheng persuaded him to move his people south to the old fort at Dujin, and the court rewarded him generously. Dulou raged, "I am the great khan—yet I rank below Ran'gan!" Tribute ceased, and he repeatedly raided the frontier. Tuli kept watch on Dulou's movements and reported them promptly, so the frontier was always prepared.
71
九月，甲申，上至自仁壽宮。
In the ninth month, on jiashen, the emperor returned from Renshou Palace.
72
何稠之自嶺南還也，寧猛力請隨稠入朝。 稠見其疾篤，遣還欽州，與之約曰：「八九月間，可詣京師相見。」 使還，奏狀，上意不懌。 冬，十月，猛力病卒。 上謂稠曰：「汝前不將猛力來，今竟死矣！」 稠曰：「猛力與臣約，假令身死，當遣子入侍。 越人性直，其子必來。」 猛力臨終，果戒其子長真曰：「我與大使約，不可失信，汝葬我畢，即宜登路。」 長真嗣為刺史，如言入朝。 上大悅曰：「何稠著信蠻夷，乃至於此！」
When He Chou returned from Lingnan, Ning Mengli asked to accompany him to court. Chou saw that he was deathly ill and sent him back to Qinzhou, promising, "Come to the capital between the eighth and ninth months and we shall meet." When Chou reported this, the emperor was displeased. In winter, the tenth month, Mengli died of illness. The emperor said to Chou, "You did not bring Mengli when you could—now he is dead!" Chou said, "Mengli and I agreed that even if he died, he would send his son to serve at court. The Yue are straightforward by nature. His son will surely come." On his deathbed Mengli indeed charged his son Changzhen, "I gave my word to the ambassador. Do not break faith. Once you have buried me, set out at once." Changzhen succeeded as prefect and came to court as promised. The emperor was delighted. "He Chou's faith among the barbarians is absolute!"
73
魯公虞慶則之討李世賢也，以婦弟趙什住為隨府長史。 什住通於慶則愛妾，恐事洩，乃宣言慶則不欲此行，上聞之，禮賜甚薄。 慶則還，至潭州臨桂嶺，觀眺山川形勢，曰：「此誠險固，加以足糧，若守得其人，攻不可拔。」 使什住馳詣京師奏事，觀上顏色，什住因告慶則謀反，下有司案驗。 十二月，壬子，慶則坐死，拜什住為柱國。
When Duke of Lu Yu Qingze marched against Li Shixian, he appointed his wife's younger brother Zhao Shizhu chief of staff of the campaign headquarters. Shizhu was carrying on with Qingze's favorite concubine. Fearful of exposure, he spread the rumor that Qingze did not want the campaign. When the emperor heard this, his rewards to Qingze were meager indeed. On his return, at Lin Gui Ridge in Tanzhou, Qingze surveyed the terrain and said, "This is a formidable position. With enough grain and the right defender, it could not be taken by assault." He sent Shizhu posthaste to the capital to report. Reading the emperor's mood, Shizhu accused Qingze of plotting rebellion, and the matter was handed to the judicial offices. In the twelfth month, on renzi, Qingze was executed. Shizhu was made Grand General.
74
高麗王湯聞陳亡，大懼，治兵積穀，為拒守之策。 是歲，上賜湯璽書，責以「雖稱籓附，誠節未盡」。 且曰：「彼之一方，雖地狹人少，今若黜王，不可虛置，終須更選官屬，就彼安撫。 王若灑心易行，率由憲章，即是朕之良臣，何勞別遣才彥！ 王謂遼水之廣，何如長江？ 高麗之人，多少陳國？ 朕若不存含育，責王前愆，命一將軍，何待多力！ 殷勤曉示，許王自新耳。」 湯得書，惶恐，將奉表陳謝。 會病卒，子元嗣立，上使使拜元為上開府儀同三司，襲爵遼東公。 元奉表謝恩，因請封王，上許之。
King Tang of Goguryeo, hearing that Chen had fallen, was terrified. He drilled troops, stockpiled grain, and prepared to resist invasion. That year the emperor sent Tang an imperial letter rebuking him: "Though you call yourself a vassal, your loyalty is incomplete." It went on, "That land may be small and its people few, but if I remove you, the throne cannot sit empty. Officials would have to be sent to govern and pacify the realm. If you purge your heart and reform your ways, obeying the laws, you remain a worthy minister of mine. Why should I send another to replace you? Do you think the Liao River is as wide as the Yangzi? Are the people of Goguryeo as numerous as Chen's? If I were not merciful, I could punish your past offenses with a single general—what need of a great army? I write only to exhort you and offer you a chance to reform." Tang received the letter in terror and prepared a memorial of apology. But he died before he could. His son Yuan succeeded him. The emperor sent envoys to appoint Yuan Senior General with Honored Standing of the First Rank and to let him inherit the title Duke of Liaodong. Yuan submitted a memorial of thanks and asked to be made king. The emperor agreed.
75
吐谷渾大亂，國人殺世伏，立其弟伏允為主，遣使陳廢立之事，並謝專命之罪，且請依俗尚主； 上從之。 自是朝貢歲至。
Tuyuhun fell into chaos. The people killed Shifu and enthroned his brother Fuyun. Envoys came to report the change of rulers, apologize for acting without permission, and request a princess in marriage according to their custom— and the emperor agreed. From then on tribute arrived every year.
76
春，二月，甲辰，上幸仁壽宮。
In spring, the second month, on jiachen, the emperor went to Renshou Palace.
77
高麗王元帥靺鞨之眾萬餘寇遼西，營州總管衝擊韋走之。 上聞而大怒，乙巳，以漢王諒、王世積並為行軍元帥，將水陸三十萬伐高麗，以尚書左僕射高熲為漢王長史，周羅□為水軍總管。
King Yuan of Goguryeo led more than ten thousand Mohe warriors in a raid on Liaoxi. Wei Chong, Commander-in-Chief of Yingzhou, drove them off. Enraged, on yisi the emperor made Prince of Han Liang and Wang Shiji campaign commanders-in-chief, leading three hundred thousand troops by land and sea against Goguryeo. Gao Jiong, Minister of the Left, became chief of staff to Prince Liang, and Zhou Luohou was made naval commander-in-chief.
78
延州刺史獨孤陀有婢曰徐阿尼，事貓鬼，能使之殺人，雲每殺人，則死家財物潛移於畜貓鬼家。 會獨孤後及楊素妻鄭氏俱有疾，醫皆曰：「貓鬼疾也。」 上以陀，後之異母弟，陀妻，楊素異母妹，由是意陀所為。 令高熲等雜治之，具得其實。 上怒，令以犢車載陀夫妻，將賜死。 獨孤後三日不食，為之請命曰：「陀若蠹政害民者，妾不敢言； 今坐為妾身，敢請其命。」 陀弟司勳侍郎整詣闕求哀，於是免陀死，除名為民，以其妻楊氏為尼。 先是，有人訟其母為貓鬼所殺者，上以為妖妄，怒而遣之。 至是，詔誅被訟行貓鬼家。
Yanzhou Inspector Dugu Tuo had a servant girl named Xu Ani who practiced cat-demon sorcery and could send it to kill people. Whenever a victim died, it was said, his family's possessions mysteriously passed to the sorcerer's household. When Empress Dugu and Yang Su's wife Lady Zheng both fell ill, physicians declared it cat-demon sickness." Tuo was the empress's half-brother, and his wife was Yang Su's half-sister. The emperor suspected Tuo was responsible. He ordered Gao Jiong and others to investigate jointly and establish the full truth. Enraged, the emperor ordered Tuo and his wife loaded into an ox cart to be executed. Empress Dugu fasted three days and pleaded for his life. "If Tuo had abused power and harmed the people, I would not speak— but he is punished only on my account. I beg you to spare him." Tuo's brother Zheng, Director of the Directorate of Merits, came to the palace to beg mercy. Tuo was spared death, struck from the rolls, and reduced to commoner status. His wife Lady Yang was made a nun. Earlier someone had petitioned that his mother was killed by a cat demon. The emperor dismissed it as occult nonsense and angrily sent him away. Now an edict ordered the execution of every household accused of cat-demon sorcery.
79
夏，四月，辛亥，詔：「畜貓鬼、蠱毒、厭媚野道之家，並投於四裔。」
In summer, the fourth month, on xinhai, an edict declared: "Households practicing cat-demon sorcery, witch-poisoning, or effigy-cursing are to be exiled to the frontier."
80
六月，丙寅，下詔黜高麗王元官爵。 漢王諒軍出臨渝關，值水潦，饋運不繼，軍中乏食，復遇疾疫。 周羅□自東萊泛海趣平壤城，亦遭風，船多飄沒。 秋，九月，己丑，師還，死者什八九。 高麗王元亦惶懼遣使謝罪，上表稱「遼東糞土臣元」，上於是罷兵，待之如初。
In the sixth month, on bingyin, an edict stripped King Yuan of Goguryeo of his titles. Prince Liang's army marched out through Linyu Pass into floods. Supply lines broke down, food ran short, and plague swept the camp. Zhou Luohou sailed from Donglai toward Pyongyang but ran into storms. Many ships were lost. In autumn, the ninth month, on jichou, the army withdrew. Eight or nine men in ten had died. King Yuan of Goguryeo, terrified, sent envoys to apologize. In a memorial he styled himself "Yuan, subject of the worthless soil of Liaodong." The emperor thereupon halted the campaign and treated him as before.
81
百濟王昌遣使奉表，請為軍導，帝下詔諭以「高麗服罪，朕已赦之，不可致伐。」 厚其使而遣之。 高麗頗知其事，以兵侵掠其境。
King Chang of Baekje sent envoys with a memorial offering to guide the army. The emperor replied by edict, "Goguryeo has submitted, and I have already pardoned them. You must not attack them." He treated the envoys generously and sent them home. Goguryeo soon learned of the offer and sent troops to raid Baekje's borders.
82
辛卯，上至自仁壽宮。
On xinmao the emperor returned from Renshou Palace.
83
冬，十一月，癸未，上祀南郊。
In winter, the eleventh month, on guiwei, the emperor offered sacrifice at the southern suburbs.
84
十二月，自京師至仁壽宮，置行宮十有二所。
In the twelfth month, twelve traveling palaces were built along the route from the capital to Renshou Palace.
85
南寧夷爨玩復反。 蜀王秀奏「史萬歲受賂縱賊，致生邊患。」 上責萬歲，萬歲詆讕； 上怒，命斬之。 高熲及左衛大將軍元旻等固請曰：「萬歲雄略過人，將士樂為致力，雖古名將，未能過也。」 上意少解，於是除名為民。
Cuan Wan of the Nanning Yi rebelled again. Prince of Shu Xiu memorialized, "Shi Wansui took bribes and let bandits go free, bringing trouble to the frontier." The emperor rebuked Wansui, who answered with slander and denial. The emperor flew into a rage and ordered his execution. Gao Jiong, General of the Left Guard Yuan Min, and others urgently pleaded, "Wansui's strategic brilliance surpasses ordinary men. Officers and soldiers gladly give him their utmost—even the great generals of old could not match him." The emperor relented somewhat and instead stripped Wansui of rank, reducing him to commoner status.
86
春，正月，癸酉，赦天下。 二月，甲寅，上幸仁壽宮。
In spring, the first month, on guiyou, the emperor proclaimed a general amnesty. In the second month, on jiayin, the emperor went to Renshou Palace.
87
突厥突利可汗因長孫晟奏言都藍可汗作攻具，欲攻大同城。 詔以漢王諒為元帥，尚書左僕射高熲出朔州道，右僕射楊素出靈州道，上柱國燕榮出幽州道以擊都藍，皆取漢王節度； 然漢王竟不臨戎。
Through Zhangsun Sheng's memorial, Tuli Khan reported that Khan Dulou was building siege engines and planned to attack Datong Fort. An edict appointed Prince of Han Liang commander-in-chief. Gao Jiong, Minister of the Left, marched by the Shuozhou route; Yang Su, Minister of the Right, by the Lingzhou route; and Senior Grand Duke Yan Rong by the Youzhou route—all to strike Dulou under Prince Liang's command. Prince Liang, however, never went to the front in person.
88
都藍聞之，與達頭可汗結盟，合兵掩襲突利，大戰長城下，突利大敗。 都藍盡殺其兄弟子侄，遂渡河入蔚州。 突利部落散亡，夜，與長孫晟以五騎南走，比旦，行百餘里，收得數百騎。 突利與其下謀曰：「今兵敗入朝，一降人耳，大隋天子豈禮我乎！ 玷厥雖來，本無冤隙，若往投之，必相存濟。」 晟知之，密遣使者入伏遠鎮，令速舉烽。 突利見四烽俱發，以問晟，晟紿之曰：「城高地迥，必遙見賊來。 我國家法，若賊少，舉二烽； 來多，舉三烽； 大逼，舉四烽。 彼見賊多而又近耳。」 突利大懼，謂其眾曰：「追兵己逼，且可投城。」 既入鎮，晟留其達官執室領其眾，自將突利馳驛入朝。 夏，四月，丁酉，突利至長安。 帝大喜，以晟為左勳衛驃騎將軍，持節護突厥。
When Dulou heard of the campaign, he allied with Khan Toutou and launched a surprise attack on Tuli. They fought a great battle below the Great Wall, and Tuli was routed. Dulou slaughtered Tuli's brothers, sons, and nephews, then crossed the river and entered Weizhou. Tuli's tribes scattered. That night he fled south with Zhangsun Sheng and five horsemen. By dawn they had ridden more than a hundred li and gathered several hundred followers. Tuli consulted his followers and said, "Defeated and fleeing to court, I am nothing but a surrendered man. Would the Son of Heaven of Great Sui treat me with honor? Dianjue is nearby, and we have no old quarrel with him. If we go over to him, he is sure to shelter us." Sheng learned of the plan and secretly sent a messenger to Fuyuan Garrison with orders to raise the beacon fires at once. When Tuli saw all four beacon fires lit, he questioned Sheng. Sheng deceived him, saying, "The garrison sits high on open ground. They must have seen the enemy coming from far off. By our state's law, if the enemy are few, two beacons are raised; if many come, three; if they press hard, four. They saw a large enemy force close at hand, that is all." Tuli was terrified and told his followers, "Pursuers are already upon us. We had better take refuge in the garrison." Once inside the garrison, Sheng left Zhishi, a high Turkic official, to lead the followers while he himself escorted Tuli by post horse to the capital. In summer, the fourth month, on dingyou, Tuli arrived at Chang'an. The emperor was delighted and appointed Sheng General of Rapid Cavalry of the Left Merit Guard, with credentials to oversee the Turks.
89
上令突利與都藍使者因頭特勒相辯詰，突利辭直，上乃厚待之。 都藍弟都速六棄其妻子，與突利歸朝，上嘉之，使突利多遺之珍寶以慰其心。
The emperor had Tuli debate face to face with Dulou's envoy Yintou teqin. Tuli spoke plainly and convincingly, and the emperor treated him generously. Dulou's younger brother Dusuliui abandoned his wife and children and came to court with Tuli. The emperor praised his loyalty and had Tuli give him many precious gifts to comfort him.
90
高熲使上柱國趙仲卿將兵三千為前鋒，至族蠡山，與突厥遇，交戰七日，大破之； 追奔至乞伏泊，復破之，虜千餘口，雜畜萬計。 突厥復大舉而至，仲卿為方陳，四面拒戰，凡五日。 會高熲大兵至，合擊之，突厥敗走，追度白道，逾秦山七百餘里而還。 楊素軍與達頭遇。 先是諸將與突厥戰，慮其騎兵奔突，皆以戎車步騎相參，設鹿角為方陳，騎在其內。 素曰：「此乃自固之道，未足以取勝也。」 於是悉除舊法，令諸軍為騎陳。 達頭聞之，大喜曰：「天賜我也！」 下馬仰天而拜，帥騎兵十餘萬直前。 上儀同三司周羅□曰：「賊陳未整，請擊之。」 先帥精騎逆戰，素以大兵繼之，突厥大敗，達頭被重創而遁，殺傷不可勝計，其眾號哭而去。
Gao Jiong sent Senior Grand Duke Zhao Zhongqing ahead with three thousand troops. At Zuli Mountain they met the Turks and fought for seven days before routing them. Pursuing the fleeing enemy to Qifu Marsh, they defeated them again, capturing more than a thousand people and tens of thousands of livestock. The Turks returned in force. Zhongqing formed a square battle line and fought on all four sides for five days. When Gao Jiong's main army arrived, they joined the attack and drove the Turks off. The pursuit crossed the White Road and continued more than seven hundred li beyond Qin Mountain before turning back. Yang Su's army encountered Toutou. Previously, when generals fought the Turks, they feared cavalry charges and always mixed war wagons with infantry and cavalry, setting up antler barriers in a square formation with the horsemen inside. Su said, "That is only a way to protect yourself. It is not enough to win." He then discarded the old method entirely and ordered his armies to deploy as cavalry formations. When Toutou heard of this, he rejoiced and cried, "Heaven has delivered them to me!" He dismounted, bowed toward Heaven, and led more than a hundred thousand horsemen straight at the enemy. Senior Attendant-in-Ordinary Zhou Luohou said, "The enemy line is not yet formed. Let us attack at once." He led elite cavalry to meet the charge, and Su followed with the main force. The Turks were routed. Toutou was gravely wounded and fled. The dead and wounded were beyond counting, and his followers wailed as they fled.
91
六月，丁酉，以豫章王暕為內史令。
In the sixth month, on dingyou, Prince of Yuzhang Yang was appointed Director of the Palace Secretariat.
92
宜陽公王世積為涼州總管，其親信安定皇甫孝諧有罪，吏捕之，亡抵世積，世積不納。 孝諧配防桂州，因上變，稱「世積嘗令道人相其貴不，道人答曰：『公當為國主，又將之涼州。』 其所親謂世積曰：『河西天下精兵處，可圖大事。』 世積曰：『涼州土曠人希，非用武之國。』」 世積坐誅，拜孝諧上大將軍。
Duke of Yiyang Wang Shiji was Area Commander of Liangzhou. His confidant Huangfu Xiaoxie of Anding was wanted for a crime. When officials came to arrest him, he fled to Shiji, but Shiji refused to shelter him. Xiaoxie was sent to garrison duty in Guizhou and submitted a denunciation claiming, "Shiji once had a Daoist read his fortunes. The Daoist answered, 'You are destined to become ruler of the realm, and you will also be sent to Liangzhou. His intimates then told Shiji, 'Hexi is where the empire's finest troops are gathered. You could plot something great there.' Shiji replied, 'Liangzhou is vast and sparsely populated. It is no place to raise an army.' Shiji was executed for the crime, and Xiaoxie was appointed Grand General.'
93
獨孤后性妨忌，後宮莫敢進御。 尉遲迥女孫，有美色，先沒宮中。 上於仁壽宮見而悅之，因得幸。 后伺上聽朝，陰殺之。 上由是大怒，單騎從苑中出，不由徑路，入山谷間二十餘里。 高熲、楊素等追及上，扣馬苦諫。 上太息曰：「吾貴為天子，不得自由！」 高熲曰：「陛下豈以一婦人而輕天下！」 上意少解，駐馬良久，中夜方還宮。 后俟上於閣內，及至，后流涕拜謝，熲、素等和解之，因置酒極歡。 先是后以高熲父之家客，甚見親禮，至是，聞熲謂己為一婦人，遂銜之。
Empress Dugu was fiercely jealous, and no woman in the inner palace dared share the emperor's bed. A granddaughter of Yuwen Kai, a woman of striking beauty, had earlier been taken into the palace. The emperor saw her at Renshou Palace, was taken with her, and slept with her. The empress waited until the emperor was at court and secretly had the woman killed. The emperor flew into a rage, rode out of the park alone, left the main paths, and plunged more than twenty li into the hills. Gao Jiong, Yang Su, and others caught up with him, seized his bridle, and pleaded with him urgently. The emperor sighed and said, "I am Son of Heaven, yet I am not even free!" Gao Jiong said, "Your Majesty, would you throw away the empire for one woman!" The emperor relented somewhat. He reined in his horse and remained there a long time, returning to the palace only at midnight. The empress waited for him inside the pavilion. When he arrived, she wept and bowed in apology. Jiong, Su, and the others helped reconcile them, and a feast was held in great good humor. The empress had once been a guest in Gao Jiong's father's household and had been treated with great kindness. Now, hearing Jiong call her "one woman," she nursed a grievance against him.
94
時太子勇失愛於上，潛有廢立之志，從容謂熲曰：「有神告晉王妃，言王必有天下，若之何？」 熲長跪曰：「長幼有序，其可廢乎！」 上默然而止。 獨孤后知熲不可奪，陰欲去之。
Crown Prince Yong had fallen from favor and secretly contemplated removing himself from succession. At leisure he said to Jiong, "A spirit told the consort of Prince of Jin Guang that the prince would surely gain the throne. What should be done?" Jiong knelt and said, "Elder and younger have their proper order. How can the heir be set aside!" The emperor fell silent and dropped the matter. Empress Dugu knew Jiong could not be swayed and secretly resolved to remove him.
95
會上令選東宮衛士以入上台，熲奏稱：「若盡取強者，恐東宮宿衛太劣。」 上作色曰：「我有時出入，宿衛須得勇毅。 太子毓德東宮，左右何須壯士！ 此極弊法。 如我意者，恆於交番之日，分向東宮，上下團伍不別，豈非佳事！ 我熟見前代，公不須仍踵舊風。」 熲子表仁，娶太子女，故上以此言防之。
When the emperor ordered guards from the Eastern Palace transferred to his own guard, Jiong memorialized, "If all the strongest men are taken, the Eastern Palace guard will be left too weak." The emperor's face darkened. "When I go abroad, my guard must be brave and resolute. The crown prince is cultivating virtue in the Eastern Palace. Why does he need strong warriors at his side! That is a thoroughly corrupt practice. As I see it, on every rotation day the guards should be divided between my palace and the Eastern Palace without distinction of rank or unit. Would that not be better! I know the precedents of earlier dynasties well. You need not cling to the old ways." Jiong's son Biaoren had married the crown prince's daughter, so the emperor spoke in this way to guard against him.
96
熲夫人卒，獨孤后言於上曰：「高僕射老矣，而喪夫人，陛下何能不為之娶！」 上以後言告熲。 熲流涕謝曰：「臣今已老，退朝，唯齋居讀佛經而已。 雖陛下垂哀之深，至於納室，非臣所願。」 上乃止。 既而熲愛妾生男，上聞之，極喜，後甚不悅。 上問其故，后曰：「陛下尚覆信高熲邪？ 始，陛下欲為熲娶，熲心存愛妾，面欺陛下。 今其詐已見，安得信之！」 上由是疏熲。
When Jiong's wife died, Empress Dugu said to the emperor, "Vice Director Gao is growing old and has lost his wife. Your Majesty, surely you should find him a new match!" The emperor repeated the empress's words to Jiong. Jiong wept and declined, saying, "I am old now. After court I live quietly, reading Buddhist sutras and nothing more. However deep Your Majesty's kindness, taking a new wife is not what I wish." The emperor let the matter drop. Soon afterward Jiong's favorite concubine bore a son. The emperor was delighted, but the empress was deeply displeased. When the emperor asked why, the empress said, "Your Majesty, do you still trust Gao Jiong? When Your Majesty offered to find him a wife, Jiong already had a favorite concubine and lied to Your Majesty's face. Now his deceit is plain. How can he be trusted!" From that time the emperor grew distant from Jiong.
97
伐遼之役，熲固諫，不從，及師無功，后言於上曰：「熲初不欲行，陛下強遣之，妾固知其無功矣！」 又，上以漢王年少，專委軍事於熲，熲以任寄隆重，每懷至公，無自疑之意，諒所言多不用。 諒甚銜之，及還，泣言於后曰：「兒倖免高熲所殺。」 上聞之，彌不平。
During the Liaodong campaign Jiong had strongly remonstrated, but the emperor would not listen. When the army returned without success, the empress said, "Jiong never wanted to go. Your Majesty forced him. I knew all along it would fail!" Moreover, because Prince Liang was young, the emperor entrusted military affairs entirely to Jiong. Jiong, mindful of the weight of that trust, always acted with utmost impartiality and paid no heed to self-interest. Most of Liang's suggestions went unused. Liang deeply resented this. When he returned, he wept and told the empress, "Your son barely escaped death at Gao Jiong's hands." When the emperor heard this, his displeasure with Jiong only deepened.
98
及擊突厥，出白道，進圖入磧，遣使請兵，近臣緣此言熲欲反。 上未有所答，熲已破突厥而還。 及王世積誅，推核之際，有宮禁中事，云於熲處得之，上大驚。 有司又奏「熲及左右衛大將軍元旻、元冑，並與世積交通，受其名馬之贈。」 旻、冑坐免官。 上柱國賀若弼、吳州總管宇文弼、刑部尚書薛冑、民部尚書斛律孝卿、兵部尚書柳述等明熲無罪，上愈怒，皆以屬吏，自是朝臣無敢言者。 秋，八月，癸卯，熲坐免上柱國、左僕射，以齊公就第。
During the campaign against the Turks, after marching out by the White Road and advancing into the desert, Jiong sent envoys requesting reinforcements. Court favorites seized on this to claim he was plotting rebellion. Before the emperor could respond, Jiong had already defeated the Turks and returned. When Wang Shiji was executed, the investigation turned up palace secrets said to have come from Jiong's household. The emperor was deeply alarmed. The officials also reported, "Jiong, along with Generals of the Left and Right Guard Yuan Min and Yuan Zhou, had dealings with Shiji and accepted prized horses from him." Min and Zhou were stripped of office. Senior Grand Duke He Ruobi, Area Commander of Wuzhou Yuwen Bi, Minister of Justice Xue Zhou, Minister of Revenue Hulü Xiaoqing, Minister of War Liu Shu, and others declared Jiong innocent. The emperor grew still angrier and had them all handed over to the judicial officers. From then on no court minister dared speak up for Jiong. In autumn, the eighth month, on guimao, Jiong was stripped of his rank as Senior Grand Duke and Minister of the Left and sent home as Duke of Qi.
99
未幾，上幸秦王俊第，召熲侍宴。 熲歔欷悲不自勝，獨孤后亦對之泣。 上謂熲曰：「朕不負公，公自負也。」 因謂侍臣曰：「我於高熲，勝於兒子，雖或不見，常似目前。 自其解落，瞑然忘之，如本無高熲。 人臣不可以身要君，自雲第一也。」
Before long the emperor visited Prince of Qin Jun's residence and summoned Jiong to join the banquet. Jiong wept until he could no longer contain himself, and Empress Dugu wept as she looked on. The emperor said to Jiong, "I have not failed you. You have failed yourself." He then told his attendants, "My bond with Gao Jiong is closer than with a son. Even when I do not see him, he is always before my eyes. Since I removed him from office I have forgotten him entirely, as though Gao Jiong had never existed. A subject must not hold his ruler hostage to his own importance and proclaim himself indispensable."
100
頃之，熲國令上熲陰事，稱其子表仁謂熲曰：「司馬仲達初托疾不朝，遂有天下。 公今遇此，焉知非福！」 於是上大怒，囚熲於內史省而鞫之。 憲司復奏沙門真覺嘗謂熲云：「明年國有大喪。」 尼令暉復云：「十七、十八年，皇帝有大厄，十九年不可過。」 上聞而益怒，顧謂群臣曰：「帝王豈可力求！ 孔子以大聖之才，猶不得天下。 熲與子言，自比晉帝，此何心乎！」 有司請斬之。 上曰：「去年殺虞慶則，今茲斬王世積，如更誅熲，天下其謂我何！」 於是除名為民。
Soon afterward Jiong's chief of staff reported his secret dealings, alleging that his son Biaoren had told him, "Sima Zhongda first feigned illness and stayed away from court, and in the end he won the realm. You face the same situation now. Who is to say it may not prove a blessing!" The emperor flew into a rage, imprisoned Jiong in the Secretariat, and interrogated him. The censorate further reported that the monk Zhenjue had once told Jiong, "Next year the state will suffer a great bereavement." The nun Linghui had also said, "In the seventeenth and eighteenth years the emperor will face grave peril, and he will not survive the nineteenth." When the emperor heard this he grew still angrier and said to his ministers, "Can an emperor's throne be seized by force! Confucius, for all his supreme wisdom, never won the realm. Jiong spoke with his son and compared himself to an emperor of Jin. What was he thinking!" The responsible offices asked that he be executed. The emperor said, "Last year I killed Yu Qingze, and this year I executed Wang Shiji. If I also execute Jiong, what will the realm say of me!" He was therefore struck from the rolls and reduced to commoner status.
101
熲初為僕射，其母戒之曰：「汝富貴已極，但有一斫頭耳，爾其慎之！」 熲由是常恐禍變。 至是，熲歡然無恨色。 先是國子祭酒元善言於上曰：「楊素粗疏，蘇威怯懦，元冑、元熲正似鴨耳。 可以付社稷者，唯獨高熲。」 上初然之。 及熲得罪，上深責之，善憂懼而卒。
When Jiong first became Vice Director, his mother warned him, "You have reached the summit of wealth and honor. Only one thing remains—a beheading. Take care!" From that day Jiong lived in constant fear of calamity. When his fall came, Jiong accepted it cheerfully, without a trace of bitterness. Earlier National University Chancellor Yuan Shan had told the emperor, "Yang Su is crude and careless, Su Wei timid and weak. Yuan Zhou and Yuan Jiong are no better than ducks. Only Gao Jiong can be entrusted with the altars of state." At first the emperor agreed. When Jiong fell, the emperor blamed Shan harshly. Shan died soon afterward, consumed by fear and grief.
102
九月，以太常卿牛弘為吏部尚書。 弘選舉先德行而後文才，務在審慎，雖致停緩，其所進用，並多稱職。 吏部侍郎高孝基鑒賞機晤，清慎絕倫，然爽俊有餘，跡似輕薄，時宰多以此疑之； 唯弘深識其真，推心任委。 隋之選舉得人，於斯為最，時論彌服弘識度之遠。
In the ninth month, Minister of Imperial Sacrifices Niu Hong was appointed Minister of Personnel. Hong ranked moral conduct above literary talent in appointments. He was deliberately cautious, and though the process moved slowly, most of those he advanced proved competent. Vice Minister Gao Xiaoji was brilliant and exceptionally upright, yet his manner was so quick and sharp that many senior officials suspected him of being frivolous; only Hong saw his true worth and entrusted him wholeheartedly. Never did the Sui court choose officials so well as under Hong, and contemporaries admired his foresight all the more.
103
冬，十月，甲午，以突厥突利可汗為意利珍豆啟民可汗，華言意智健也。 突厥歸啟民者男女萬餘口，上命長孫晟將五萬人於朔州築大利城以處之。 時安義公主已卒，復使晟持節送宗女義成公主以妻之。
In winter, the tenth month, on jiawu, the Türk Khan Tuli was enthroned as Qimin Khan Yilizhendou—a Chinese rendering meaning wise and vigorous. More than ten thousand Türks submitted to Qimin. The emperor ordered Zhangsun Sheng to lead fifty thousand men to build Dali City at Shuozhou to settle them. The Princess of Righteousness had by then died, so the emperor again sent Sheng with credentials to escort the clanswoman Princess Yicheng as Qimin's bride.
104
晟奏：「染幹部落，歸者益眾，雖在長城之內，猶被雍虞閭抄掠，不得寧居。 請徙五原，以河為固，於夏、勝兩州之間，東西至河，南北四百里，掘為橫塹，令處其內，使得任情畜牧。」 上從之。
Sheng memorialized, "Ran'gan's followers grow daily, yet even inside the Long Wall they are still raided by Yongyu Lubu and cannot live in peace. I ask that they be moved to Wuyuan, using the Yellow River as a barrier. Between Xia and Sheng prefectures, four hundred li from east to west and from north to south, let a trench be dug and the tribes settled within it so they may pasture freely." The emperor agreed.
105
又令上柱國趙仲卿屯兵二萬為啟民防達頭，代州總管韓洪等將步騎一萬鎮恆安。 達頭騎十萬來寇，韓洪軍大敗，仲卿自樂寧鎮邀擊，斬首虜千餘級。
He also ordered Grand General Zhao Zhongqing to station twenty thousand troops to shield Qimin from Datou, while Han Hong, overall commander of Daizhou, and others led ten thousand infantry and cavalry to garrison Heng'an. Datou invaded with one hundred thousand horsemen and routed Han Hong's army. Zhongqing intercepted him from Leling and killed or captured more than a thousand of the enemy.
106
帝遣越公楊素出靈州，行軍總管韓僧壽出慶州。 太平公史萬歲出燕州，大將軍武威姚辯出河州，以擊都藍。 師未出塞，十二月，乙未，都藍為部下所殺，達頭自立為步迦可汗，其國大亂。 長孫晟言於上曰：「今官軍臨境，戰數有功，虜內自攜離，其主被殺，乘此招撫，可以盡降。 請遣染幹部下分道招慰。」 上從之。 降者甚眾。
The emperor sent Duke of Yue Yang Su from Lingzhou and Campaign Commander-in-Chief Han Shoushou from Qingzhou. Duke of Taiping Shi Wansui marched from Yanzhou, and Grand General Weiwu Yao Bian from Hezhou, all to strike Dulou. Before the armies crossed the frontier, in the twelfth month, on yiwei, Dulou was killed by his own followers. Datou proclaimed himself Khan Bujia, and the Türk realm fell into chaos. Zhangsun Sheng told the emperor, "Our armies stand at the border with repeated victories. The barbarians are tearing one another apart and their khan is dead. If we seize this moment to offer terms, we can bring them all to submission. I ask that Ran'gan's followers be sent out in separate columns to offer surrender terms." The emperor agreed. A great multitude submitted.