1
資治通鑑第180卷卷第一百八十
Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance, Volume 180
2
【隋紀四】起閼逢困敦，盡強圉單閼，凡四年。
[Sui Annals 4] From Eyu Kundun through Qiangyu Dan'e—four years in all.
3
春，正月，丙午，赦天下。
In spring, on the first month, day bingwu, an amnesty was proclaimed throughout the empire.
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帝將避暑於仁壽宮，術士章仇太翼固諫； 不聽，太翼曰：「是行恐鑾輿不返！」 帝大怒，系之長安獄，期還而斬之。 甲子，幸仁壽宮。 乙丑，詔賞賜支度，事無鉅細，並付皇太子。 夏，四月，乙卯，帝不豫。 六月，庚申，赦天下。 秋，七月，甲辰，上疾甚，臥與百僚辭訣，並握手歔欷，命太子赦章仇太翼。 丁未，崩於大寶殿。
The emperor was preparing to spend the summer at Renshou Palace, and the diviner Zhangqiu Taiyi remonstrated with him at length. The emperor would not heed him. Taiyi said, "On this journey I fear Your Majesty's carriage will not return!" The emperor flew into a rage, had him thrown into the Chang'an prison, and set a date to execute him when he returned. On day jiazi he proceeded to Renshou Palace. On day yichou an edict ordered that all rewards and expenditures, whether great or small, be handled by the crown prince. In summer, the fourth month, on day yimao, the emperor fell ill. In the sixth month, on day gengshen, an amnesty was proclaimed throughout the empire. In autumn, the seventh month, on day jiachen, the emperor's illness grew grave. Prostrate in bed he took leave of the officials, all grasping hands and weeping together, and commanded the crown prince to pardon Zhangqiu Taiyi. On day dingwei he died in the Dabao Hall.
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高祖性嚴重，令行禁止，勤於政事。 每旦聽朝，日昃忘倦。 雖嗇於財，至於賞賜有功，即無所愛； 將士戰沒，必加優賞，仍遣使者勞問其家。 愛養百姓，勸課農桑，輕徭薄賦。 其自奉養，務為儉素，乘輿御物，故弊者隨令補用； 自非享宴，所食不過一肉； 後宮皆服浣濯之衣。 天下化之，開皇、仁壽之間，丈夫率衣絹布，不服綾綺，裝帶不過銅鐵骨角，無金玉之飾。 故衣食滋殖，倉庫盈溢。 受禪之初，民戶不滿四百萬，末年，逾八百九十萬，獨冀州已一百萬戶。 然猜忌苛察，信受讒言，功臣故舊，無始終保全者； 乃至子弟，皆如仇敵，此其所短也。
Emperor Gaozu was stern and dignified; his orders were obeyed without exception, and he was tireless in governing. Each morning he held court, and when the sun had passed its zenith he still showed no sign of fatigue. Though he was frugal with money, when it came to rewarding merit he held nothing back. Officers and soldiers who fell in battle always received generous rewards, and envoys were dispatched to comfort their families. He cared for the people, encouraged farming and sericulture, and kept corvée labor and taxes light. In his own living he insisted on austerity; when carriages and imperial goods wore out he had them repaired for continued use. Except at banquets his meals included no more than a single dish of meat. Everyone in the inner palace wore washed and mended clothing. The empire followed his example: during the Kaihuang and Renshou reigns men commonly wore plain silk and cloth, shunned brocades and gauzes, and belt fittings were of copper, iron, bone, or horn—never gold or jade. Food and clothing grew abundant, and the granaries brimmed full. When he first accepted the throne there were fewer than four million registered households; by his final years there were more than eight million nine hundred thousand, and Jizhou alone already counted one million. Yet he was suspicious and exacting, readily believed slander, and not one of his meritorious ministers or old companions was spared to the end. Even his own sons and brothers he treated like foes—this was his failing.
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初，文獻皇后既崩，宣華夫人陳氏、容華夫人察氏皆有寵。 陳氏，陳高宗之女； 蔡氏，丹楊人也。 上寢疾於仁壽宮，尚書左僕射楊素、兵部尚書柳述、黃門侍郎元巖皆入閣侍疾，召皇太子入居大寶殿。 太子慮上有不諱，須預防擬，手自為書，封出問素； 素條錄事狀以報太子。 宮人誤送上所，上覽而大恚。 陳夫人平旦出更衣，為太子所逼，拒之，得免，歸於上所； 上怪其神色有異，問其故。 夫人泫然曰：「太子無禮！」 上恚，抵床曰：「畜生何足付大事！ 獨孤誤我！」 乃呼柳述、元巖曰：「召我兒！」 述等將呼太子，上曰：「勇也。」 述、巖出閣為敕書。 楊素聞之，以白太子，矯詔執述、巖，系大理獄； 追東宮兵士帖上台宿衛，門禁出入，並取宇文述、郭衍節度； 令右庶子張衡入寢殿侍疾，盡遣後宮出就別室； 俄而上崩。 故中外頗有異論。 陳夫人與後宮聞變，相顧戰慄失色。 晡後，太子遣使者繼小金合，帖紙於際，親署封字，以賜夫人。 夫人見之，惶懼，以為鴆毒，不敢發。 使者促之，乃發，合中有同心結數枚，宮人鹹悅，相謂曰：「得免死矣！」 陳氏恚而卻坐，不肯致謝； 諸宮人共逼之，乃拜使者。 其夜，太子蒸焉。
Earlier, after Empress Wenxian's death, Lady Xuanhua of the Chen clan and Lady Ronghua of the Cai clan had both won the emperor's favor. Lady Chen was a daughter of Emperor Gao of Chen. Lady Cai was a native of Danyang. When the emperor fell ill at Renshou Palace, Yang Su, Left Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs, Liu Shu, Minister of War, and Yuan Yan, Yellow Gate Attendant, all entered the inner chambers to attend him, and the crown prince was summoned to take up residence in the Dabao Hall. The crown prince, fearing the worst for his father, made advance preparations: he wrote a letter in his own hand, sealed it, and sent it to Yang Su for advice. Yang Su drew up a detailed report of the situation and sent it to the crown prince. A palace woman mistakenly delivered the letter to the emperor instead; when he read it he was furious. At dawn Lady Chen went out to change her clothes and was accosted by the crown prince; she resisted him and got away, then hurried back to the emperor's side. The emperor noticed her distraught look and asked what had happened. With tears in her eyes she said, "The crown prince behaved disgracefully toward me!" The emperor raged, struck the bed, and cried, "That brute is not fit to receive the great charge! Dugu misled me!" He then called Liu Shu and Yuan Yan and said, "Summon my son!" As Shu and the others moved to summon the crown prince, the emperor said, "Yong—not him." Shu and Yan withdrew to draft an imperial edict. Yang Su learned of this, informed the crown prince, and by forged edict had Shu and Yan arrested and thrown into the Court of Judicial Review. He recalled the Eastern Palace troops to guard the palace, controlled all passage through the gates, and put Yuwen Shu and Guo Yan in overall command. He ordered Zhang Heng, Right Vice Mentor, into the sickroom and had all the palace women removed to other quarters. Before long the emperor was dead. Rumors of foul play soon spread throughout the court and beyond. Lady Chen and the other palace women, hearing what had happened, stared at one another in terror, trembling and pale. That afternoon the crown prince sent an envoy with a small gilt box, paper pasted over the seam and sealed in his own hand, as a gift for Lady Chen. When she saw it she was terrified, thinking it contained poison, and dared not open it. The envoy pressed her, and at last she opened it. Inside were several lover's knots; the palace women rejoiced and said to one another, "We are spared!" Lady Chen, still furious, sat back and refused to thank the envoy. The other palace women pressed her until she finally bowed to the envoy. That same night the crown prince took her to his bed.
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乙卯，發喪，太子即皇帝位。 會伊州刺史楊約來朝，太子遣約入長安，易留守者，矯稱高祖之詔，賜故太子勇死，縊殺之； 然後陳兵集眾，發高祖凶問。 煬帝聞之，曰：「令兄之弟，果堪大任。」 追封勇為房陵王，不為置嗣。 八月，丁卯，梓宮至自仁壽宮； 丙子，殯於大興前殿。 柳述、元巖並除名，述徙龍川，巖徙南海。 帝令蘭陵公主與述離絕，欲改嫁之； 公主以死自誓，不復朝謁，上表請與述同徙，帝大怒。 公主憂憤而卒，臨終，上表請葬於柳氏。 帝愈怒，竟不哭，葬送甚薄。
On day yimao the funeral procession set out, and the crown prince ascended the throne. Yang Yue, governor of Yizhou, happened to be at court; the crown prince sent him to Chang'an to replace the garrison commander, forged an edict in Gaozu's name ordering the former crown prince Yong to take his own life, and had him strangled. Only after that did he marshal troops, assemble the officials, and publicly announce Gaozu's death. When Emperor Yang heard of it he remarked, "A younger brother in the mold of Linggong—truly equal to a great charge." He posthumously enfeoffed Yong as Prince of Fangling but appointed no successor to carry on his line. In the eighth month, on day dingmao, the coffin arrived from Renshou Palace. On day bingzi the body was laid in state in the front hall at Daxing. Liu Shu and Yuan Yan were both struck from the registers; Shu was exiled to Longchuan and Yan to Nanhai. The emperor ordered Princess Lanling to divorce Shu and planned to marry her to someone else. The princess swore she would rather die, ceased attending court, and submitted a memorial asking to be exiled with Shu; the emperor was furious. The princess died of grief and anger; on her deathbed she petitioned to be buried in the Liu family plot. The emperor grew still angrier, refused to weep for her, and gave her a mean funeral.
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太史令袁充奏言：「皇帝即位，與堯受命年合。」 諷百官表賀。 禮部侍郎許善心議，以為「國哀甫爾，不宜稱賀。」 左衛大將軍宇文述素惡善心，諷御史劾之； 左遷給事郎，降品二等。
Yuan Chong, Director of the Astral Service, memorialized that the year of the emperor's accession coincided with the year in which Yao received the Mandate. He urged the officials to submit congratulatory memorials. Xu Shansin, Vice Minister of Rites, argued that national mourning had only just begun and congratulations were inappropriate. Yuwen Shu, Left Guard General, who had long disliked Xu Shansin, prompted the censors to impeach him. "Xu Shansin was demoted to Attendant Gentleman and his rank was lowered by two grades."
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漢王諒有寵於高祖，為并州總管，自山以東，至於滄海，南距黃河，五十二州皆隸焉； 特許以便宜從事，不拘律令。 諒自以所居天下精兵處，見太子勇以讒廢，居常怏怏，及蜀王秀得罪，尤不自安，陰蓄異圖。 言於高祖，以「突厥方強，宜修武備。」 於是大發工役，繕治器械，招集亡命，左右私人殆將數萬。 突厥嘗寇邊，高祖使諒御之，為突厥所敗； 其所領將帥坐除解者八十餘人，皆配防嶺表。 諒以其宿舊，奏請留之，高祖怒曰：「爾為籓王，惟當敬依朝命，何得私論宿舊，廢國家憲法邪！ 嗟乎小子，爾一旦無我，或欲妄動，彼取爾如籠內雞雛耳，何用腹心為！」
Prince Han, Yang Liang, had been a favorite of Gaozu and held the post of governor-general of Bingzhou; from the eastern mountains to the sea and south to the Yellow River, fifty-two prefectures answered to him. He was specially authorized to act at his own discretion, unconstrained by the code. Liang knew his territory held the empire's finest troops; after Crown Prince Yong was deposed on false charges he brooded constantly, and when Prince Shu Yang Xiu was punished he grew still more uneasy and began secretly plotting rebellion. He told Gaozu that the Turks were growing strong and that military preparations should be strengthened. Gaozu approved, and Liang mobilized vast labor levies, refurbished arms and equipment, recruited fugitives, and gathered nearly ten thousand personal retainers. When the Turks once raided the frontier Gaozu sent Liang to repel them, and Liang was defeated. More than eighty of his officers were dismissed and assigned to garrison duty in Lingnan. Liang petitioned to keep them on account of their long service. Gaozu raged: "You are a feudatory prince—you should obey the court's orders. How dare you plead for old friends and set aside the laws of the state! Alas, boy—once I am gone you may be tempted to act rashly, but they will seize you as easily as chicks in a cage. What good will your trusted men do you then!"
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王頍者，僧辯之子，倜儻好奇略，為諒咨議參軍，蕭摩訶，陳氏舊將，二人俱不得志，每鬱鬱思亂，皆為諒所親善，贊成其陰謀。
Wang Wen, son of Wang Senbian, was bold, unconventional, and drawn to daring stratagems; he served Liang as advising staff officer. Xiao Mohe was a former Chen general. Both were frustrated men who brooded on rebellion; Liang favored them both, and they encouraged his conspiracy.
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會熒惑守東井，儀曹鄴人傅奕曉星歷，諒問之曰：「是何祥也？」 對曰：「天上東井，黃道所經，熒惑過之，乃其常理，若入地上井，則可怪耳。」 諒不悅。
When Mars came to station at the Eastern Well, Liang questioned Fu Yi of Ye, an official in the Bureau of Ceremonies skilled in astronomy, and asked, "What omen does this portend?" Fu Yi replied, "The Eastern Well in the heavens lies on the ecliptic; for Mars to pass through it is perfectly ordinary—it would be strange only if it fell into a well on earth." Liang was displeased.
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及高祖崩，煬帝遣車騎將軍屈突通以高祖璽書征之。 先是，高祖與諒密約：「若璽書召汝，敕字傍別加一點，又與玉麟符合者，當就征。」 及發書無驗，諒知有變。 詰通，通占對不屈，乃遣歸長安。 諒遂發兵反。
After Gaozu's death Emperor Yang sent Cavalry General Qutu Tong with an imperial summons bearing Gaozu's seal to recall him to court. Gaozu and Liang had earlier agreed in secret: "If a summons with the imperial seal recalls you, look for an extra dot beside the character for 'edict' and a matching jade tally—only then obey the call." When the document arrived without those signs, Liang knew something was wrong. He questioned Qutu Tong, who answered firmly and would not yield; Liang then sent him back to Chang'an. Liang thereupon rose in rebellion.
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總管司馬安定皇甫誕切諫，諒不納。 誕流涕曰：「竊料大王兵資非京師之敵； 加以君臣位定，逆順勢殊，士馬雖精，難以取勝。 一旦陷身叛逆，絓於刑書，雖欲為布衣，不可得也。」 諒怒，囚之。
Huangfu Yan of Anding, the governor-general's chief aide, remonstrated urgently, but Liang would not listen. Huangfu Yan said through his tears, "I venture to judge that Your Highness's forces cannot match those of the capital. Moreover, the throne is settled, the moral advantage lies with the loyal side, and however fine your troops and horses, victory will be hard to win. Once you are branded a rebel and caught in the law, not even the life of a commoner will be yours." Liang flew into a rage and had him imprisoned.
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嵐州刺史喬鐘葵將赴諒，其司馬京兆陶模拒之曰：「漢王所圖不軌，公荷國厚恩，當竭誠效命，豈得身為厲階乎！」 鐘葵失色曰：「司馬反邪！」 臨之以兵，辭氣不撓，鐘葵義而釋之。 軍吏曰：「若不斬模，無以壓眾心。」 乃囚之。 於是從諒反者凡十九州。
Qiao Zhongkui, governor of Lanzhou, was preparing to join Liang when his chief aide Tao Mo of Jingzhao refused, saying, "Prince Han's plot is treasonous. You owe the state a great debt of gratitude and should serve it with all your heart—how can you make yourself the instrument of his ruin!" Zhongkui turned pale and cried, "Aide—are you rebelling against me?" He threatened him with armed men, but Tao Mo's tone did not waver; impressed by his integrity, Zhongkui let him go. An officer said, "Unless you execute Mo, you cannot keep the men in line." Zhongkui had him imprisoned instead. In all, nineteen prefectures joined Liang's rebellion.
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王頍說諒曰：「王所部將吏，家屬盡在關西，若用此等，則宜長驅深入，直據京都，所謂疾雷不及掩耳； 若但欲割據舊齊之地，宜任東人。」 諒不能決，乃兼用二策，唱言楊素反，將誅之。
Wang Wen urged Liang, "Your officers' families are all in Guanxi. If you rely on such men you must drive deep and strike straight for the capital—the thunderclap that gives no time to cover one's ears. If you only mean to hold the old Qi lands, you should rely on men from the east. Liang could not choose between them and tried both at once, declaring that Yang Su had rebelled and that he would put him to death."
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總管府兵曹聞喜裴文安說諒曰：「井陘以西，在王掌握之內，山東士馬，亦為我有，宜悉發之； 分遣羸兵屯守要害，仍命隨方略地，帥其精銳，直入蒲津。 文安請為前鋒，王以大軍繼後，風行雷擊，頓於霸上。 咸陽以東，可指麾而定。 京師震擾，兵不暇集，上下相疑，群情離駭； 我陳兵號令，誰敢不從！ 旬日之間，事可定矣。」 諒大悅，於是遣所署大將軍余公理出太谷，趣河陽，大將軍綦良出滏口，趣黎陽，大將軍劉建出井陘，略燕、趙，柱國喬鐘葵出雁門，署文安為柱國，與柱國紇單貴、王聃等直指京師。
Pei Wen'an of Wenxi, military registrar on Liang's staff, urged him, "Everything west of Jingxing is in your hands, and the armies of Shandong are yours as well—you should mobilize them all. Post weak detachments at the key passes, then lead your best troops straight for Pujin. Let me take the vanguard while Your Highness follows with the main army—we will strike like wind and thunder and halt at Bashang. Everything east of Xianyang will fall at a gesture. The capital will panic, troops will not have time to gather, court and camp will turn on one another, and the people will scatter in terror. Once we parade our forces and issue our orders, who will dare disobey! Within ten days the matter will be settled." Liang was delighted and sent his appointed generals in every direction: Yu Gongli through Taigu toward Heyang, Qi Liang through Fukou toward Liyang, Liu Jian through Jingxing to overrun Yan and Zhao, and Qiao Zhongkui through Yanmen. He made Wen'an a Pillar Duke and, with Heda Gui, Wang Dan, and others, marched straight on the capital.
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帝以右武衛將軍洛陽丘和為蒲州刺史，鎮蒲津。 諒簡精銳數百騎戴羃，詐稱諒宮人還長安，門司弗覺，逕入蒲州，城中豪傑亦有應之者； 丘和覺其變，逾城，逃歸長安。 蒲州長史勃海高義明、司馬北平榮毘皆為反者所執。 裴文安等未至蒲津百餘里，諒忽改圖，令紇單貴斷河橋，守蒲州，而召文安還。 文安至，謂諒曰：「兵機詭速，本欲出其不意。 王既不行，文安又返，使彼計成，大事去矣。」 諒不對。 以王聃為蒲州刺史，裴文安為晉州刺史，薛粹為絳州刺史，梁菩薩為潞州刺史，韋道正為韓州刺史，張伯英為澤州刺史。 代州總管天水李景發兵拒諒，諒遣其將劉暠襲景； 景擊斬之。 諒復遣喬鐘葵帥勁勇三萬攻之，景戰士不過數千，加以城池不固，為鐘葵所攻，崩毀相繼，景且戰且築，士卒皆殊死鬥； 鐘葵屢敗。 司馬馮孝慈、司法呂玉並驍勇善戰，儀同三司侯莫陳乂多謀畫，工拒守之術，景知三人可用，推誠任之，己無所關預，唯在閤持重，時撫循而已。
The emperor appointed Qiu He of Luoyang, Right Martial Guard General, governor of Puzhou to hold Pujin. Liang picked several hundred elite horsemen in disguise, pretending to be his palace women returning to Chang'an. The gate guards never noticed, and they rode straight into Puzhou, where local leaders rallied to them. Qiu He sensed the plot, climbed over the wall, and fled to Chang'an. Gao Yiming of Bohai, chief administrator of Puzhou, and Rong Pi of Beiping, vice administrator, were both taken prisoner. When Pei Wen'an was still more than a hundred li from Pujin, Liang suddenly changed his mind, ordered Heda Gui to destroy the river bridge and hold Puzhou, and recalled Wen'an. When Wen'an arrived he told Liang, "War depends on speed and surprise—that was the whole point of this plan. Your Highness would not advance, and now I am recalled as well—the enemy will have time to prepare, and the cause is lost." Liang made no answer. He appointed Wang Dan governor of Puzhou, Pei Wen'an of Jinzhou, Xue Cui of Jiangzhou, Liang Pusa of Luzhou, Wei Daozheng of Hanzhou, and Zhang Boying of Zezhou. Li Jing of Tianshui, governor-general of Daizhou, raised troops to resist Liang, who sent his general Liu Gao against him. Jing attacked and killed him. Liang sent Qiao Zhongkui with thirty thousand crack troops against him. Jing had only a few thousand men, and his walls were weak; under assault they crumbled section by section. Jing fought while rebuilding, and his men battled to the death. Zhongkui was beaten again and again. His vice administrator Feng Xiaoci and judicial officer Lü Yu were both fierce fighters; Senior General Hou Mo Chen Yi was a master of strategy and defense. Jing entrusted them fully and intervened in nothing himself—he merely sat in council, steady and grave, and encouraged the men from time to time.
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楊素將輕騎五千襲王聃、紇單貴於蒲州，夜，至河際，收商賈船，得數百艘，船內多置草，踐之無聲，遂銜枚而濟； 遲明，擊之； 紇單貴敗走，聃懼，以城降。 有詔征素還。 初，素將行，計日破賊，皆如所量，於是以素為并州道行軍總管、河北道安撫大使，帥眾數萬以討諒。
Yang Su led five thousand light cavalry against Wang Dan and Heda Gui at Puzhou. By night he reached the river, commandeered hundreds of merchant boats, lined them with straw so footsteps made no sound, and crossed with reeds clenched in the men's teeth. At dawn he attacked. Heda Gui was routed and fled; Dan, terrified, surrendered the city. An edict recalled Su to court. When Su had first set out he had predicted the day of victory—and been right. The emperor now made him campaign commander on the Bingzhou front and pacification commissioner for Hebei, with tens of thousands of men to crush Liang.
19
諒之初起兵也，妃兄豆盧毓為府主簿，苦諫，不從，私謂其弟懿曰：「吾匹馬歸朝，自得免禍，此乃身計，非為國也。 不若且偽從之，徐伺其使。」 毓，勣之子也。 毓兄顯州刺史賢言於帝曰：「臣弟毓素懷志節，必不從亂，但逼凶威，不能自遂。 臣請從軍，與毓為表裡，諒不足圖也。」 帝許之。 賢密遣家人繼敕書至毓所，與之計議。
When Liang first rebelled, his consort's brother Doulu Yu was chief clerk on his staff. Yu remonstrated in vain, then told his brother Yi in private, "If I ride alone back to court I can save myself—that is a plan for my own skin, not for the realm. Better to pretend to go along and watch for my chance." Yu was a son of Li Ji. Yu's elder brother Xian, governor of Xianzhou, told the emperor, "My brother Yu has always been a man of principle and will not join the rebellion, but Liang's power holds him in check. Let me join the campaign and work with him from within and without—Liang will be easy to bring down." The emperor agreed. Xian secretly sent a servant after the imperial edict to confer with Yu.
20
諒出城，將往介州，令毓與總管屬朱濤留守。 毓謂濤曰：「漢王構逆，敗不旋踵，吾屬豈可坐受夷滅，孤負國家邪！ 當與卿出兵拒之。」 濤驚曰：「王以大事相付，何得有是語！」 因拂衣而去，毓追斬之。 出皇甫誕於獄，與之協計，及開府儀同三司宿勤武等閉城拒諒。 部分未定，有人告諒，諒襲擊之。 毓見諒至，紿其眾曰：「此賊軍也！」 諒攻城南門，稽胡守南城，不識諒，射之； 矢下如雨； 諒移攻西門，守兵識諒，即開門納之，毓、誕皆死。
Liang left the city for Jiezhou and left Yu and Zhu Tao, an aide on his staff, to hold the capital. Yu told Tao, "Prince Han's rebellion will collapse any day now. Shall we sit here and wait to be wiped out and betray the state! I must join with you and raise troops to resist him." Tao cried in alarm, "The prince entrusted us with a great charge—how can you speak so! He turned to leave; Yu ran him down and killed him. He freed Huangfu Yan from prison, plotted with him, and with Senior General Suqin Wu and others shut the gates against Liang. Before the dispositions were complete someone informed Liang, and he struck at once. When Yu saw Liang approach he cried to the troops, "These are enemy soldiers!" Liang attacked the south gate. Jiehu guards on the wall did not recognize him and shot at him. Arrows fell like rain. Liang turned to the west gate; the guards there recognized him and opened the gates. Yu and Yan were both killed.
21
綦良攻慈州刺史上官政，不克，引兵攻行相州事薛冑，又不克，遂自滏口攻黎州，塞白馬津。 余公理自太行下河內，帝以右衛將軍史祥為行軍總管，軍於河陰。 祥謂軍吏曰：「余公理輕而無謀，恃眾而驕，不足破也。」 公理屯河陽，祥具舟南岸，公理聚兵當之。 祥簡精銳於下流潛濟，公理聞之，引兵拒之，戰於須水。 公理未成列，祥擊之，公理大敗。 祥東趣黎陽，綦良軍不戰而潰。 祥，寧之子也。
Qi Liang attacked the governor of Cizhou, Shangguan Zheng, without success, then turned on Xue Zhou, acting administrator of Xiangzhou, and failed again. He advanced from Fukou against Lizhou and blocked Baima Ford. Yu Gongli came down from the Taihang into Henei; the emperor sent Shi Xiang, Right Guard General, as campaign commander to encamp at Heyin. Xiang told his officers, "Yu Gongli is rash and stupid, swollen with his numbers—he is nothing to fear." Gongli encamped at Heyang; Xiang lined boats on the south bank, and Gongli massed his men to meet him. Xiang picked elite troops to ford downstream in secret. Gongli heard and marched to meet him; they fought at the Xu River. Before Gongli could form his line Xiang struck, and Gongli was routed. Xiang pressed east to Liyang; Qi Liang's army fled without a fight. Xiang was a son of Shi Ning.
22
帝將發幽州兵，疑幽州總管竇抗有貳心，問可使取抗者於楊素，素薦前江州刺史勃海李子雄，授上大將軍，拜廣州刺史。 又以左領軍將軍長孫晟為相州刺史，發山東兵，與李子雄共經略之。 晟辭以男行布在諒所部，帝曰：「公體國之深，終不以兒害義，朕今相委，公其勿辭。」 李子雄馳至幽州，止傳捨，召募得千餘人。 抗來詣子雄，子雄伏甲擒之。 抗，榮定之子也。
The emperor planned to mobilize Youzhou troops but suspected Dou Kang, governor-general of Youzhou, of disloyalty. He asked Yang Su whom to send; Su recommended Li Zixiong of Bohai, former governor of Jiangzhou, made him a Grand General, and sent him as governor of Guangzhou. He also appointed Zhangsun Sheng, Left Army General, governor of Xiangzhou, raised Shandong troops, and joined Li Zixiong in the campaign. Sheng declined, saying his son Xingbu was in Liang's territory. The emperor said, "Your loyalty to the state runs too deep for a son to sway you. I entrust this to you—do not refuse." Li Zixiong raced to Youzhou, lodged at a relay station, and raised more than a thousand men. When Kang came to call on him, Zixiong's hidden guards seized him. Kang was a son of Dou Rongding.
23
子雄遂發幽州兵步騎三萬，自井陘西擊諒。 時劉建圍戍將京兆張祥於井陘，子雄破建於抱犢山下，建遁去。 李景被圍月餘，詔朔州刺史代人楊義臣救之。 義臣帥馬步二萬，夜出西陘，喬鐘葵悉眾拒之。 義臣自以兵少，悉取軍中牛驢，得數千頭，復令兵數百人，人持一鼓潛驅之，匿於澗谷間。 晡後，義臣復與鐘葵戰，兵初合，命驅牛驢者疾進，一時鳴鼓，塵埃張天，鐘葵軍不知，以為伏兵發，因而奔潰； 義臣縱擊，大破之。 晉、絳、呂三州皆為諒城守，楊素各以二千人縻之而去。 諒遣其將趙子開擁眾十餘萬，柵絕徑路，屯據高壁，布陳五十里。 素令諸將以兵臨之，自引奇兵潛入霍山，緣崖谷而進。 素營於谷口，自坐營外，使軍司入營簡留三百人守營，軍士憚北兵之強，不欲出戰，多願守營，因爾致遲。 素責所由，軍司具對，素即召所留三百人出營，悉斬之； 更令簡留，人皆無願留者。 素乃引軍馳進，出北軍之北，直指其營，鳴鼓縱火； 北軍不知所為，自相蹂踐，殺傷數萬。 諒所署介州刺史梁修羅屯介休，聞素至，棄城走。
Zixiong then led thirty thousand Youzhou infantry and cavalry west through Jingxing against Liang. Liu Jian was then besieging the garrison commander Zhang Xiang of Jingzhao at Jingxing; Zixiong defeated him at Mount Baodu and Jian fled. Li Jing had been besieged for more than a month when the emperor ordered Yang Yichen of Dairen, governor of Shuozhou, to relieve him. Yichen led twenty thousand horse and foot out by night through the western pass; Qiao Zhongkui met him with his full army. Thinking his force too small, Yichen collected several thousand oxen and donkeys from the army and hid several hundred men with drums among the ravines to drive them. In the afternoon Yichen engaged Zhongkui again. As the lines met he signaled the drovers forward; drums burst out at once, dust filled the sky, and Zhongkui's men, thinking an ambush had sprung, broke and ran. Yichen pursued and routed them completely. The prefectures of Jin, Jiang, and Lü all held their cities for Liang; Yang Su left two thousand men at each to pin them down and marched on. Liang sent his general Zhao Zikai with more than a hundred thousand men, blocking the passes, holding the heights, and drawing up a line fifty li long. Su ordered his generals to pin the enemy in front while he led picked troops secretly through Mount Huo along the cliffs and ravines. Su camped at the mouth of the valley and sat outside the lines while his registrar chose three hundred men to hold the camp. The soldiers feared the northern army's strength and hung back, many preferring to stay in camp, which caused delay. Su demanded an explanation; when the registrar answered, Su had the three hundred men brought out and beheaded every one of them. He called for volunteers to stay behind; not a man stepped forward. Su then charged forward, swung around behind the northern army, struck straight at their camp, beat the drums, and set fires. The northern army panicked, trampled one another, and tens of thousands were killed or wounded. Liang Xiuluo, Liang's appointee as governor of Jiezhou, was at Jiexiu; when he heard Su was coming he abandoned the city and fled.
24
諒聞趙子開敗，大懼，自將眾且十萬，拒素於蒿澤。 會大雨，諒欲引軍還，王頍諫曰：「楊素懸軍深入，士馬疲弊，王以銳卒自將擊之，其勢必克。 今望敵而退，示人以怯，沮戰士之心，益西軍之氣，願王勿還。」 諒不從，退守清源。
When Liang heard of Zhao Zikai's defeat he was terrified and personally led nearly a hundred thousand men to face Su at Haose Marsh. Heavy rain fell, and Liang wanted to withdraw. Wang Wen urged him, "Yang Su is deep in enemy country with exhausted men and horses. If Your Highness leads your best troops against him in person, you are sure to win. To retreat at the sight of the enemy shows cowardice, breaks your men's spirit, and heartens the western army. I beg Your Highness not to turn back." Liang would not listen and fell back to Qingyuan.
25
王頍謂其子曰：「氣候殊不佳，兵必敗，汝可隨我。」 楊素進擊諒，大破之，擒蕭摩訶。 諒退保晉陽，素進兵圍之，諒窮蹙，請降，餘黨悉平。 帝遣楊約繼手詔勞素。 王頍將奔突厥，至山中，逕路斷絕，知必不免，謂其子曰：「吾之計數不減楊素，但坐言不見從，遂至於此，不能坐受擒獲，以成豎子名。 吾死之後，汝慎勿過親故。」 於是自殺，瘞之石窟中。 其子數日不得食，遂過其故人，竟為所擒； 並獲頍屍，梟於晉陽。
Wang Wen told his son, "The omens are terrible—the army will lose. Come with me." Yang Su attacked and routed Liang, capturing Xiao Mohe. Liang retreated to Jinyang; Su besieged him until, desperate, he surrendered and the last of his followers were crushed. The emperor sent Yang Yue with repeated personal edicts to congratulate Su. Wang Wen tried to flee to the Turks; in the mountains the paths were blocked, and knowing he could not escape he told his son, "My plans were no worse than Yang Su's, but no one listened, and so it has come to this. I will not sit here to be captured and make some boy's reputation. After I am dead, do not go near kin or old friends." He killed himself and was buried in a stone cave. His son went hungry for days, then visited an old friend and was captured. Wen's corpse was dug up and displayed at Jinyang.
26
群臣奏漢王諒當死，帝不許，除名為民，絕其屬籍，竟以幽死。 諒所部吏民坐諒死徙者二十餘萬家。 初，高祖與獨孤後甚相愛重，誓無異生之子，嘗謂群臣曰：「前世天子，溺於嬖倖，嫡庶分爭，遂有廢立，或至亡國； 朕旁無姬侍，五子同母，可謂真兄弟也，豈有此憂邪！」 帝又懲周室諸王微弱，故使諸子分據大鎮，專制方面，權侔帝室。 及其晚節，父子兄弟迭相猜忌，五子皆不以壽終。
The ministers urged that Prince Han Yang Liang be put to death; the emperor refused, struck his name from the registers, cut him off from the imperial clan, and in the end he died in confinement. More than two hundred thousand households among Liang's officials and people were executed or exiled for his rebellion. In the beginning Gaozu and Empress Dugu loved each other deeply and swore they would have no sons by other women. Gaozu once told his ministers, "Emperors of old drowned in favorites, let legitimate and illegitimate sons fight, deposed and enthroned at will, and sometimes lost their kingdoms altogether. I have no concubines at my side; my five sons share one mother—they are true brothers. What need is there for such worry!" The emperor also took warning from the weakness of the Zhou princes and gave each son a great territory to rule in his own right, with power rivaling the throne. In his later years father, sons, and brothers turned on one another in suspicion, and none of the five sons died a natural death.
27
臣光曰：昔辛伯諗周桓公曰：「內寵並後，外寵貳政，嬖子配嫡，大都偶國，亂之本也。」 人主誠能慎此四者，亂何自生哉！ 隋高祖徒知嫡庶之多爭，孤弱之易搖，曾不知勢鈞位逼，雖同產至親，不能無相傾奪。 考諸辛伯之言，得其一而失其三乎！
Your servant Guang observes: Long ago Xin Bo warned Duke Huan of Zhou, saying, "When inner favorites rival the empress, outside favorites divide power, beloved sons match the heir, and great cities rival the throne—that is the root of disorder." If a ruler truly guards against these four things, how can disorder arise! Emperor Gaozu of Sui knew only that legitimate and illegitimate sons fight and that the weak are easily toppled; he never understood that when power and position are equal, even full brothers of the same womb cannot help overthrowing one another. Measured against Xin Bo's warning, he grasped one point and missed three!
28
冬，十月，己卯，葬文皇帝於太陵，廟號高祖，與文獻皇后同墳異穴。
In winter, the tenth month, on day jimao, Emperor Wen was buried at Tailang with the temple name Gaozu, in the same mound as Empress Wenxian but in a separate chamber.
29
詔除婦人及奴婢、部曲之課，男子二十二成丁。
An edict abolished taxes on women, slaves, and household retainers and fixed the age of male adulthood for corvée at twenty-two.
30
章仇太翼言於帝曰：「陛下木命，雍州為破木之沖，不可久居。 又讖云：『修治洛陽還晉家。』」 帝深以為然。 十一月，乙未，幸洛陽，留晉王昭守長安。 楊素以功拜其子萬石、仁行、侄玄挺為儀同三司，賚物五萬段，綺羅千匹，諒妓妾二十人。 丙申，發丁男數十萬掘塹，自龍門東接長平、汲郡，抵臨清關，渡河至浚儀、襄城，達於上洛，以置關防。
Zhangqiu Taiyi told the emperor, "Your Majesty's fate element is Wood, and Yongzhou is the clash that shatters Wood—you cannot remain there long. Moreover a prophecy says, 'Repair Luoyang and the house of Jin will return.'" The emperor was deeply convinced. In the eleventh month, on day yiwei, he proceeded to Luoyang and left Prince Jin Yang Zhao to guard Chang'an. For his merit Yang Su had his sons Wanshi and Renxing and his nephew Xuanting made Senior Generals of the Third Rank, and was given fifty thousand bolts of goods, a thousand bolts of silk gauze, and twenty of Liang's concubines. On day bingshen several hundred thousand men were mobilized to dig defensive ditches from Longmen east through Changping and Jijun to Linqing Pass, then across the river to Junyi and Xiangcheng and on to Shangluo.
31
壬子，陳叔寶卒； 贈大將軍、長城縣公，謚曰煬。
On day renzi Chen Shubao died. He was posthumously made Grand General and Duke of Changcheng County with the posthumous name Yang.
32
癸丑，下詔於伊洛建東京，仍曰：「宮室之制，本以便生，今所營構，務從儉約。」
On day guichou an edict ordered the Eastern Capital built at Yiluo, stating, "Palaces exist for the convenience of living; what we build now must be frugal and restrained."
33
蜀王秀之得罪也，右衛大將軍元冑坐與交通除名，久不得調。 時慈州刺史上官政坐事徙嶺南，將軍丘和以蒲州失守除名，冑與和有舊，酒酣，謂和曰：「上官政，壯士也，今徙嶺表，得無大事乎！」 因自拊腹曰：「若是公者，不徒然矣。」 和奏之，冑竟坐死。 於是征政為驍衛將軍，以和為代州刺史。
When Prince Shu Yang Xiu fell from favor, Right Guard General Yuan Zhou was struck from the registers for associating with him and went long without a new post. Shangguan Zheng, governor of Cizhou, had been banished to Lingnan; Qiu He had been struck from the registers for losing Puzhou. Zhou and He were old friends, and when drunk Zhou said to He, "Shangguan Zheng is a formidable man—sent to the far south, might he not raise great trouble! He slapped his belly and added, "A man like that would not sit idle." He reported this, and Zhou was executed. Zheng was then recalled as general of the Martial Guard and He was made governor of Daizhou.
34
煬皇帝上之上
Emperor Yang, Part One, Upper
35
春，正月，壬辰朔，赦天下，改元。
In spring, on the first day of the first month, day renchen, an amnesty was proclaimed and the reign title was changed.
36
立妃蕭氏為皇后。
Lady Xiao was made empress.
37
廢諸州總管府。
All prefectural governor-general offices were abolished.
38
丙辰，立晉王昭為皇太子。
On day bingchen Prince Jin Yang Zhao was made crown prince.
39
高祖之末，群臣有言林邑多奇寶者。 時天下無事，劉方新平交州，乃授方驩州道行軍總管，經略林邑。 方遣欽州刺史寧長真等以步騎萬餘出越裳，方親帥大將軍張愻等以舟師出比景，是月，軍至海口。
Near the end of Gaozu's reign ministers reported that Linyi held many rare treasures. The empire was at peace and Liu Fang had just pacified Jiaozhou; Fang was made campaign commander on the Huanzhou front to subdue Linyi. Fang sent Ning Changzhen, governor of Qinzhou, with more than ten thousand infantry and cavalry through Zoulang, while he personally led Grand General Zhang Xun and a fleet from Bijing. That month the army reached the coast.
40
二月，戊辰，敕有司大陳金寶、器物、錦彩、車馬，引楊素及諸將討漢王諒有功者立於前，使奇章公牛弘宣詔，稱揚功伐，賜賚各有差。 素等再拜舞蹈而出。 己卯，以素為尚書令。
In the second month, on day wuchen, the emperor ordered gold, vessels, brocades, and carriages displayed in state, summoned Yang Su and the generals who had suppressed Prince Han, and had Gongyang Hong of Niuzhang read the edict praising their achievements and distributing rewards. Su and the others bowed, performed the court dance, and withdrew. On day jimao Su was appointed Director of the Department of State Affairs.
41
詔天下公除，惟帝服淺色黃衫、鐵裝帶。
An edict ordered public mourning throughout the empire; only the emperor wore a pale yellow shirt and iron belt fittings.
42
三月，丁未，詔楊素與納言楊達、將作大匠宇文愷營建東京，每月役丁二百萬人，徙洛州郭內居民及諸州富商大賈數萬戶以實之。 廢二崤道，開菱冊道。
In the third month, on day dingwei, Yang Su, Palace Counselor Yang Da, and Master of Works Yuwen Kai were ordered to build the Eastern Capital with two million corvée laborers a month, and tens of thousands of Luoyang residents and wealthy merchants from across the empire were moved in to populate it. The two Xia roads were abandoned and the Lingce road was opened.
43
戊申，詔曰：「聽采輿頌，謀及庶民，故能審刑政之得失； 今將巡歷淮、海，觀省風俗。」
On day wushen an edict declared, "By heeding folk songs and consulting commoners, a ruler can judge whether justice and government succeed or fail. I shall now tour the Huai and coastal regions and observe local customs."
44
敕宇文愷與內史舍人封德彝等營顯仁宮。 南接皁澗，北跨洛濱。 發大江之南、五嶺以北奇材異石，輸之洛陽； 又求海內嘉木異草，珍禽奇獸，以實園苑。 辛亥，命尚書右丞皇甫議發河南、淮北諸郡民，前後百餘萬，開通濟渠。 自西苑引谷、洛水達於河； 復自板渚引河歷滎澤入汴； 又自大梁之東引汴水入泗，達於淮； 又發淮南民十餘萬開邗溝，自山陽至楊子入江。 渠廣四十步，渠旁皆築御道，樹以柳； 自長安至江都，置離宮四十餘所。 庚申，遣黃門侍郎王弘等往江南造龍舟及雜船數萬艘。 東京官吏督役嚴急，役丁死者什四五，所司以車載死丁，東至城皋，北至河陽，相望於道。 又作天經宮於東京，四時祭高祖。
Yuwen Kai, Palace Secretary Feng Deyi, and others were ordered to build Xianren Palace. It stretched south to the Zao Stream and north across the Luo embankment. Exotic timbers and stones from south of the Yangzi and north of the Five Ranges were hauled to Luoyang. Fine trees, rare plants, exotic birds, and strange beasts from across the empire were gathered to stock the parks. On day xinhai Huangfu Yi, Right Vice Director, was ordered to mobilize more than a million people from Henan and the Huai north to dig the Tongji Canal. From the Western Park the Gu and Luo rivers were channeled to the Yellow River. From Banzhu the Yellow River was led through Xingze into the Bian. East of Daliang the Bian was channeled into the Si and on to the Huai. More than a hundred thousand Huainan laborers dug the Hangou Canal from Shanyang to Yangzi on the Yangzi. The canal was forty paces wide, with imperial roads and willows on both banks. More than forty detached palaces were built from Chang'an to Jiangdu. On day gengshen Wang Hong, Yellow Gate Attendant, and others were sent to Jiangnan to build dragon boats and tens of thousands of other vessels. Eastern Capital officials drove the laborers mercilessly; forty or fifty percent died. Carts bearing the dead stretched from Chenggao in the east to Heyang in the north, one after another along the roads. The Tianjing Palace was also built in the Eastern Capital for seasonal sacrifices to Gaozu.
45
林邑王梵志遣兵守險，劉方擊走之。 師渡闍黎江，林邑兵乘巨像，四面而至。 方戰不利，乃多掘小坑，草覆其上，以兵挑之，既戰，偽北； 林邑逐之，像多陷地顛躓，轉相驚駭，軍遂亂。 方以弩射象，像卻走，蹂其陣，因以銳師繼之。 林邑大敗，俘馘萬計。 方引兵追之，屢戰皆捷，過馬援銅柱南，八日至其國都。 夏，四月，梵志棄城走入海。 方入城，獲其廟主十八，皆鑄金為之； 刻石紀功而還。 士卒腫足，死者什四五。 方亦得疾，卒於道。
King Fan Zhi of Linyi sent troops to hold the passes; Liu Fang drove them off. The army crossed the Zhanli River; Linyi forces advanced on war elephants from every side. When the battle went badly Fang dug many small pits, covered them with grass, skirmished with the enemy, then feigned retreat. Linyi pursued; elephants stumbled into the pits, panicked one another, and their army collapsed into chaos. Fang shot the elephants with crossbows; they turned and fled, trampling their own lines, and he pressed the attack with elite troops. Linyi was routed; captives and heads numbered in the tens of thousands. Fang pursued, winning every engagement, passed south of Ma Yuan's bronze pillar, and reached their capital in eight days. In summer, the fourth month, Fan Zhi abandoned the capital and fled overseas. Fang entered the city and seized eighteen golden temple icons. He carved a stone monument to his victory and withdrew. The soldiers' feet swelled with disease and forty or fifty percent died. Fang also fell ill and died on the march home.
46
初，尚書右丞李綱數以異議忤楊素及蘇威，素薦綱於高祖，以為方行軍司馬。 方承素意，屈辱之，幾死。 軍還，久不得調，威復遣綱詣南海應接林邑，久而不召。 綱自歸奏事，威劾奏綱擅離所職，下吏案問； 會赦，免官，屏居於鄠。
Earlier Li Gang, Right Vice Director, had repeatedly crossed Yang Su and Su Wei with dissenting views. Su recommended him to Gaozu, and Gang was made Liu Fang's campaign marshal. Fang, doing Su's bidding, humiliated him nearly to death. After the campaign he went long without reassignment; Wei sent him to Nanhai to support the Linyi operation and left him there for years without recall. Gang returned on his own to report; Wei impeached him for abandoning his post and had him investigated. An amnesty spared his life but he was dismissed and lived in retirement at E.
47
五月，築西苑，週二百里； 其內為海，周十餘里； 為方丈、蓬萊、瀛洲諸山，高出水百餘尺，台觀宮殿，羅絡山上，向背如神。 北有龍鱗渠，縈紆注海內。 緣渠作十六院，門皆臨渠，每院以四品夫人主之，堂殿樓觀，窮極華麗。 宮樹秋冬凋落，則剪綵為華葉，綴於枝條，色渝則易以新者，常如陽春。 沼內亦剪綵為荷芰菱芡，乘輿游幸，則去冰而布之。 十六院競以淆羞精麗相高，求市恩寵。 上好以月夜從宮女數千騎游西苑，作《清夜遊曲》，於馬上奏之。
In the fifth month the Western Park was built, two hundred li around. Inside was an artificial sea more than ten li around. Isles of Fangzhang, Penglai, and Yingzhou rose more than a hundred feet above the water, crowned with terraces and palaces facing one another like a divine landscape. To the north the Dragon Scale Canal wound into the inner sea. Sixteen courtyards lined the canal, each gate opening on the water, each headed by a lady of fourth rank, with halls and towers of extravagant splendor. When the trees shed their leaves in autumn and winter, silk flowers and leaves were hung on the branches and replaced when they faded, so the park was always in spring. Silk lotus and water plants were laid on the ponds; when the emperor toured, the ice was broken and they were spread on the water. The sixteen courtyards vied in lavish feasts to win the emperor's favor. The emperor loved to ride through the Western Park on moonlit nights with thousands of palace women, composing the song "Clear Night Journey" and playing it from horseback.
48
帝待諸王恩薄，多所猜忌。 滕王綸、衛王集內自憂懼，呼術者問吉凶及章醮求福。 或告其怨望咒詛，有司奏請誅之； 秋，七月，丙午，詔除名為民，徙邊郡。 綸，瓚之子； 集，爽之子也。
The emperor treated his brothers sparingly and suspected them constantly. Prince Teng Yang Lun and Prince Wei Yang Ji, fearful within, consulted diviners and performed Daoist rites for protection. Someone reported their resentment and curses; officials urged their execution. In autumn, the seventh month, on day bingwu, an edict struck them from the registers and exiled them to the frontier. Lun was a son of Yang Zan. Ji was a son of Yang Shuang.
49
八月，壬寅，上行幸江都，發顯仁宮，王弘遣龍舟奉迎。 乙巳，上御小朱航，自漕渠出洛口，御龍舟。 龍舟四重，高四十五十尺，長二百丈。 上重有正殿、內殿、東西朝堂，中二重有百二十房，皆飾以金玉，下重內侍處之。 皇后乘翔□離舟，制度差小，而裝飾無異。 別有浮景九艘，三重，皆水殿也，。 又有漾彩、朱鳥、蒼□離、白虎、玄武、飛羽、青鳧、陵波、五樓、道場、玄壇、板𦪙、黃篾等數千艘，後宮、諸王、公主、百官、僧、尼、道士、蕃客乘之，及載內外百司供奉之物，共用挽船士八萬餘人，其挽漾彩以上者九千餘人，謂之殿腳，皆以錦彩為袍。 又有平乘、青龍、艨艟、艚艟、八棹、艇舸等數千艘，並十二衛兵乘之，並載兵器帳幕，兵士自引，不給夫。 舳艫相接二百餘里，照耀川陸，騎兵翊兩岸而行，旌旗蔽野。 所過州縣，五百里內皆令獻食，多者一州至百轝，極水陸珍奇； 後宮厭飫，將發之際，多棄埋之。
In the eighth month, on day renyin, the emperor set out for Jiangdu from Xianren Palace; Wang Hong sent dragon boats to meet him. On day yisi he boarded the small vermilion fleet, left through the canal at Luokou, and transferred to the dragon boat. The dragon boat had four decks, stood forty-five zhang high, and was two hundred zhang long. The top deck held the main hall, inner hall, and eastern and western audience halls; the middle two decks held one hundred twenty chambers adorned with gold and jade; eunuchs occupied the lower deck. The empress rode the Qingluan boat, somewhat smaller but equally lavish. There were also nine triple-deck Floating Vista vessels, all floating palaces. Thousands more vessels—the Yangcai, Vermilion Bird, Cangli, White Tiger, Black Warrior, and many others—carried the inner palace, princes, princesses, officials, monks, nuns, Daoists, and foreign guests, along with supplies for every office. More than eighty thousand men hauled the boats; nine thousand of the elite haulers of the grandest vessels, called Palace Feet, wore brocade robes. Thousands of warships of the Twelve Guards—Pingsheng, Green Dragon, Mengchong, and others—carried weapons and tents, rowed by the soldiers themselves without corvée haulers. The fleet stretched stern to prow for more than two hundred li, lighting river and shore; cavalry rode both banks and banners blotted out the sky. Every county within five hundred li was ordered to supply food—some prefectures sent a hundred cartloads of the rarest delicacies by land and water. The inner palace grew glutted; before departing they buried much of the food untouched.
50
契丹寇營州，詔通事謁者韋雲起護突厥兵討之，啟民可汗發騎二萬，受其處分。 雲起分為二十營，四道俱引，營相去一里，不得交雜，聞鼓聲而行，聞角聲而止，自非公使，勿得走馬，三令五申，擊鼓而發。 有紇干犯約，斬之，持首以徇。 於是突厥將帥入謁，皆膝行股慄，莫敢仰視。 契丹本事突厥，情無猜忌。 雲起既入其境，使突厥詐雲向柳城與高麗交易，敢漏洩事實者斬。 契丹不為備，去其營五十里，馳進襲之，盡獲其男女四萬口，殺其男子，以女子及畜產之半賜突厥，餘皆收之以歸。 帝大喜，集百官曰：「雲起用突厥平契丹，才兼文武，朕今自舉之。」 擢為治書侍御史。
The Khitan raided Yingzhou; Wei Yunqi, Interpreter-Attendant, was ordered to lead Turkic troops against them, and Qimin Khaghan sent twenty thousand horsemen under his command. Yunqi divided them into twenty camps on four routes, one li apart, with strict discipline: march at the drum, halt at the horn, no galloping without orders. After repeated warnings they set out at the drum. A Heghan soldier broke discipline; Yunqi beheaded him and displayed the head as a warning. Turkic officers came to audience crawling on their knees, trembling, afraid to look up. The Khitan had long been subject to the Turks and suspected nothing. Once inside Khitan territory Yunqi had the Turks pretend they were bound for Liucheng to trade with Goguryeo; anyone who revealed the truth was beheaded. The Khitan were unprepared. Fifty li from their camp Yunqi charged in and captured forty thousand men and women, killed the men, gave half the women and livestock to the Turks, and took the rest home. The emperor was delighted and told the officials, "Yunqi used Turks to crush the Khitan—talent in both civil and military affairs. I promote him myself." He was promoted to Attendant Imperial Censor.
51
初，西突厥阿波可汗為葉護可汗所虜，國人立鞅素特勒之子，是為泥利可汗。 泥利卒，子達漫立，號處羅可汗。 其母向氏，本中國人，更嫁泥利之弟婆實特勒。 開皇末，婆實與向氏入朝，遇達頭之亂，遂留長安，捨於鴻臚寺。 處羅多居烏孫故地，撫御失道，國人多叛，復為鐵勒所困。 鐵勒者，匈奴之遺種，族類最多，有僕骨、同羅、契苾、薛延陀等部，其酋長皆號俟斤。 族姓雖殊，通謂之鐵勒，大抵與突厥同俗，以寇抄為生，無大君長，分屬東、西兩突厥。 是歲，處羅引兵擊鐵勒諸部，厚稅其物，又猜忌薛延陀，恐其為變，集其酋長數百人，盡殺之。 於是鐵勒皆叛，立俟利發俟斤契苾歌楞為莫何可汗，又立薛延陀俟斤字也咥為小可汗，與處羅戰，屢破之。 莫何勇毅絕倫，甚得眾心，為鄰國所憚，伊吾、高昌、焉耆皆附之。
Earlier Apo Khaghan of the Western Turks was captured by Yehu Khaghan; the people enthroned Yangsu Tegin's son as Nili Khaghan. When Nili died his son Damo succeeded as Khaghan Chuluo. His mother, Lady Xiang, was originally Chinese; she remarried Nili's younger brother Boshi Tegin. At the end of the Kaihuang era Boshi and Lady Xiang came to court; caught in Tardu Khan's upheaval, they stayed in Chang'an at the Court of Diplomatic Reception. Chuluo mostly held the old Wusun lands but governed badly; many of his people rebelled, and the Tiele pressed him hard. The Tiele were descendants of the Xiongnu, with many tribes including Pugu, Tongluo, Qibi, and Xueyantuo; their chiefs were called irkin. Though their clans differed, all were called Tiele; they shared Turkic customs, lived by raiding, had no single paramount chief, and were split between the Eastern and Western Turks. That year Chuluo attacked the Tiele tribes, taxed them heavily, and fearing the Xueyantuo might rebel, summoned several hundred of their chiefs and slaughtered them. All the Tiele rose in rebellion, made Qibi Geleng of the Irli tribe Mohe Khaghan, and Ziye of the Xueyantuo lesser khaghan; they fought Chuluo and beat him again and again. Mohe was incomparably brave and won the people's loyalty; neighboring states feared him, and Yiwu, Gaochang, and Yanqi all submitted to him.
52
春，正月，辛酉，東京成，進將作大匠宇文愷位開府儀同三司。
In spring, the first month, on day xinyou, the Eastern Capital was completed and Yuwen Kai, Master of Works, was promoted to Senior General of the Third Rank.
53
丁卯，遣十使並省州省。
On day dingmao ten envoys were sent to consolidate prefectures and provinces.
54
二月，丙戌，詔吏部尚書牛弘等議定輿服、儀衛制度。 以開府儀同三司何稠為太府少卿，使之營造，送江都。 稠智思精巧，博覽圖籍，參會古今，多所損益； 袞冕畫日、月、星、辰，皮弁用漆紗為之。 又作黃麾三萬六千人仗，及輅輦車輿，皇后鹵簿，百官儀服，務為華盛，以稱上意。 課州縣送羽毛，民求捕之，網羅被水陸，禽獸有堪氅毦之用者，殆無遺類。 烏程有高樹，逾百尺，旁無附枝，上有鶴巢，民欲取之，不可上，乃伐其根； 鶴恐殺其子，自拔氅毛投於地，時人或稱以為瑞，曰：「天子造羽儀，鳥獸自獻羽毛。」 所役工十萬餘人，用金銀錢帛巨億計。 帝每出遊幸，羽儀填街溢路，亙二十餘里。 三月，庚戌，上發江都，夏，四月，庚戌，自伊闕陳法駕，備千乘萬騎入東京。 辛亥，御端門，大赦，免天下今年租賦。 制五品以上文官乘車，在朝弁服，佩玉； 武官馬加珂，戴幘，服褲褶。 文物之盛，近世莫及也。
In the second month, on day bingxu, Niu Hong, Minister of Personnel, and others were ordered to draft regulations for carriages, robes, and ceremonial guards. He Dou, Senior General of the Third Rank, was made Vice Director of the Imperial Storehouse to oversee the work and ship everything to Jiangdu. Chou was ingenious, widely read, and revised the ancient regulations to suit the present. The ceremonial robes bore sun, moon, stars, and constellations; the leather caps were made of lacquered gauze. He also made thirty-six thousand yellow-banner guards, imperial carriages, the empress's escort, and ceremonial dress for all officials—everything as lavish as the emperor desired. Prefectures were ordered to supply feathers; people hunted land and water until almost every bird and beast fit for plumes was gone. At Wucheng stood a tree over a hundred feet tall with a crane's nest atop it; unable to climb it, the people cut down the roots. Fearing for its young, the crane plucked its own feathers and dropped them to the ground; some called it an omen that birds offered feathers for the emperor's regalia. More than a hundred thousand laborers were employed at a cost of hundreds of millions in gold, silver, and silk. Whenever the emperor went abroad, his retinue filled the streets for more than twenty li. In the third month, on day gengxu, he left Jiangdu. In summer, the fourth month, on day gengxu, he entered the Eastern Capital from Yique in full imperial procession with thousands of chariots and horsemen. On day xinhai he held court at the Duan Gate, proclaimed a great amnesty, and remitted the year's rents and taxes empire-wide. Civil officials of fifth rank and above were required to ride in carriages, wear court dress in audience, and wear jade pendants. Military officials rode horses with trappings, wore headcloths, and dressed in trousers and short jackets. "The splendor of court ritual had not been matched in recent memory."
55
六月，壬子，以楊素為司徒，進封豫章王暕為齊王。
In the sixth month, on day renzi, Yang Su was made Minister of Education and Prince Yuzhang Yang Jian was enfeoffed as Prince of Qi.
56
秋，七月，庚申，制百官不得計考增級，必有德行、功能灼然顯著者進擢之。 帝頗惜名位，群臣當進職者，多令兼假而已； 雖有闕員，留而不補。 時牛弘為吏部尚書，不得專行其職，別敕納言蘇威、左翊衛大將軍宇文述、左驍衛大將軍張瑾、內史侍郎虞世基、御史大夫裴蘊、黃門侍郎裴矩參掌選事，時人謂之「選曹七貴」。 雖七人同在坐，然與奪之筆，虞世基獨專之，受納賄賂，多者超越等倫，無者注色而已。 蘊，邃之從曾孫也。
In autumn, the seventh month, on day gengshen, officials were forbidden routine promotion by seniority; only those of clearly outstanding virtue or merit could advance. The emperor hoarded titles and ranks; ministers due for promotion usually received only acting or concurrent appointments. Even vacant posts were left unfilled. Niu Hong was Minister of Personnel but could not act alone; Su Wei, Yuwen Shu, Zhang Jin, Yu Shiji, Pei Yun, and Pei Ju were ordered to share appointments—the "Seven Nobles of the Selection Bureau." Though all seven sat together, Yu Shiji alone held the power of appointment; he took bribes—generous donors leaped over their peers, others received only a notation. Pei Yun was a collateral descendant of Pei Sui.
57
元德太子昭自長安來朝，數月，將還，欲乞少留； 帝不許。 拜請無數，體素肥，因致勞疾，甲戌，薨。 帝哭之，數聲而止，尋奏聲伎，無異平日。
Crown Prince Yuande Zhao came from Chang'an to court; after several months, as he prepared to return, he begged to stay a little longer. The emperor refused. He pleaded again and again; naturally heavyset, he fell ill from grief and died on day jiaxu. The emperor wept briefly, then soon had music played as on any ordinary day.
58
楚景武公楊素，雖有大功，特為帝所猜忌，外示殊禮，內情甚薄。 太史言隋分野有大喪，乃徙素為楚公，意言楚與隋同分，欲以厭之。 素寢疾，帝每令名醫診候，賜以上藥，然密問醫者，恆恐不死。 素亦自知名位已極，不肯餌藥，亦不將慎，謂弟約曰：「我豈須更活邪！」 乙亥，素薨，贈太尉公、弘農等十郡太守，葬送甚盛。
Duke Jingwu of Chu, Yang Su, though he had great merit, was especially distrusted by the emperor—honored in public, held in contempt in private. The Director of Astral Service predicted great mourning for the Sui asterism; Su was made Duke of Chu, sharing Sui's asterism, to avert the omen. When Su fell ill the emperor sent famous physicians and fine medicines, yet secretly asked whether Su would recover—always fearing he would not die. Su knew his power had peaked, refused medicine, and told his brother Yue, "Why should I go on living!" On day yihai Su died; he was posthumously made Grand Commandant and governor of ten commanderies including Hongnong, with a lavish funeral.
59
八月，辛卯，封皇孫倓為燕王，侗為越王，侑為代王，皆昭之子也。
In the eighth month, on day xinmao, grandsons Tan, Tong, and You—sons of Zhao—were enfeoffed as princes of Yan, Yue, and Dai.
60
九月，乙丑，立秦孝王子浩為秦王。
In the ninth month, on day yichou, Prince Xiao of Qin's son Hao was made Prince of Qin.
61
帝以高祖末年，法令峻刻，冬，十月，詔改修律令。
Finding Gaozu's late laws too harsh, the emperor in winter, the tenth month, ordered a revision of the code.
62
置洛口倉於鞏東南原上，築倉城，周回二十餘里，穿三千窖，窖容八千石以還，置監官並鎮兵千人。 十二月，置回洛倉於洛陽北七里，倉城周回十里，穿三百窖。
The Luokou granary was built on the plateau southeast of Gong—a walled complex twenty li around with three thousand cellars holding up to eight thousand shi each, guarded by officials and a thousand troops. In the twelfth month the Huiluo granary was built seven li north of Luoyang—a ten-li compound with three hundred cellars.
63
初，齊溫公之世，有魚龍、山車等戲，謂之散樂，周宣帝時，鄭譯奏征之。 高祖受禪，命牛弘定樂，非正聲清商及九部四舞之色，悉放遣之。 帝以啟民可汗將入朝，欲以富樂誇之。 太常少卿裴蘊希旨，奏括天下周、齊、梁、陳樂家子弟皆為樂戶； 其六品以下至庶人，有善音樂者，皆直太常。 帝從之。 於是四方散樂，大集東京，閱之於芳華苑積翠池側。 有捨利獸先來跳躍，激水滿衢，黿鼉、龜鱉、水人、蟲魚，遍覆於地。 又有鯨魚噴霧翳日，倏忽化成黃龍，長七八丈。 又二人戴竿，上有舞者，焱□然騰過，左右易處。 又有神鰲負山，幻人吐火，千變萬化。 伎人皆衣錦繡繒彩，舞者鳴環珮，綴花毦； 課京兆、河南制其衣，兩京錦彩為之空竭。 帝多制艷篇，令樂正白明達造新聲播之，音極哀怨。 帝甚悅，謂明達曰：「齊氏偏隅，樂工曹妙達猶封王； 我今天下大同，方且貴汝，宜自修謹！」
In Duke Wen of Qi's day there were entertainments such as fish-dragons and mountain carts called scattered music; under Zhou Emperor Xuandi Zheng Yi had them recruited. When Gaozu took the throne he ordered Niu Hong to regulate music and dismissed all performers outside orthodox court music. With Qimin Khaghan about to visit court, the emperor wished to dazzle him with lavish entertainments. Pei Yun, Vice Director of the Imperial Sacrifices, following the emperor's wish, registered all musician families from the former Zhou, Qi, Liang, and Chen as music households. Anyone from sixth rank down to commoners skilled in music was assigned to the Imperial Sacrifices. The emperor agreed. Scattered entertainers from across the empire were gathered at the Eastern Capital and performed beside the Accumulated Emerald Pool in the Garden of Flowering Splendor. First a shari beast leaped about, flooding the streets with water and covering the ground with turtles, fish, and costumed water creatures. A whale spouted mist that blotted out the sun, then suddenly became a yellow dragon seven or eight zhang long. Two men bore poles with dancers atop who leaped blazing from one to the other. A divine tortoise bore a mountain; illusionists spat fire—in endless transformations. Performers wore brocades and silks; dancers jingled with rings and pendants and wore flowered plumes. Jingzhao and Henan were ordered to supply their costumes until both capitals' brocades were exhausted. The emperor wrote many sensuous lyrics and had Music Director Bai Mingda compose new tunes of heartbreaking melancholy. The emperor was delighted and told Mingda, "The petty Qi state enfeoffed its musician Cao Miaoda as a king. I have unified the empire and mean to honor you—conduct yourself carefully!"
64
春，正月，朔旦，大陳文物。 時突厥啟民可汗入朝，見而慕之，請襲冠帶，帝不許。 明日，又帥其屬上表固請，帝大悅，謂牛弘等曰：「今衣冠大備，致單于解辮，卿等功也。」 各賜帛甚厚。
In spring, at dawn on the new moon of the first month, court ritual was displayed in full splendor. Qimin Khaghan of the Turks was at court; admiring the display, he asked to adopt Chinese dress, but the emperor refused. The next day he and his followers petitioned again; the emperor was delighted and told Niu Hong and others, "Our ritual is complete enough to make the khaghan cut his braids—this is your achievement." Each received a generous gift of silk.
65
三月，辛亥，帝還長安。
In the third month, on day xinhai, the emperor returned to Chang'an.
66
癸丑，帝使羽騎尉朱寬入海求訪異俗，至流求國而還。
On day guichou the emperor sent Zhu Kuan, Feathered Cavalry Commandant, to sea in search of foreign lands; he reached Liuqiu and returned.
67
初，雲定興、閻毘坐媚事太子勇，與妻子皆沒官為奴婢。 上即位，多所營造，聞其有巧思，召之，使典其事，以毘為朝請郎。 時宇文述用事，定興以明珠絡帳賂述，並以奇服新聲求媚於求； 述大喜，兄事之。 上將有事四夷，大造兵器，述薦定興可使監造，上從之。 述謂定興曰：「兄所作器仗，併合上心，而不得官者，為長寧兄弟猶未死耳。」 定興曰：「此無用物，何不勸上殺之。」 述因奏：「房陵諸子年並成立，今欲興兵征討，若使之從駕，則守掌為難； 若留於一處，又恐不可。 進退無用，請早處分。」 帝然之，乃鴆殺長寧王儼，分徙其七弟於嶺表，仍遣間使於路盡殺之。 襄城王恪之妃柳氏自殺以從恪。
Earlier Yun Dingxing and Yan Pi had been enslaved for currying favor with Crown Prince Yong. When the emperor took the throne he summoned them for their ingenuity to oversee construction and made Pi a Court Gentleman for Imperial Audience. Yuwen Shu was in power; Dingxing bribed him with pearl curtains and rare clothes and music. Shu was delighted and treated him like an elder brother. As the emperor prepared for campaigns abroad and mass-produced arms, Shu recommended Dingxing to supervise manufacture, and the emperor agreed. Shu told Dingxing, "Your weapons please the emperor, but you get no rank because the Changning brothers still live." Dingxing said, "Those useless men—why not urge the emperor to kill them?" Shu memorialized, "The sons at Fangling are grown men; if they accompany the campaign they will be hard to guard. If left in one place, that is also dangerous. They are useless either way—dispose of them soon." The emperor agreed; Prince Changning Yang Yan was poisoned, his seven brothers exiled to Lingnan, and secret agents killed them on the road. Lady Liu, consort of Prince Xiangcheng Yang Ke, killed herself to follow her husband.
68
夏，四月，庚辰，下詔欲安輯河北，巡省趙、魏。
In summer, the fourth month, on day gengchen, an edict announced a tour to pacify Hebei and inspect Zhao and Wei.
69
牛弘等造新律成，凡十八篇，謂之《大業律》； 甲申，始頒行之。 民久厭嚴刻，喜於寬政。 其後征役繁興，民不堪命。 有司臨時迫脅以求濟事，不復用律令矣。 旅騎尉劉炫預修律令，弘嘗從容問炫曰：「《周禮》士多而府史少，今令史百倍於前，減則不濟，其故何也？」 炫曰：「古人委任責成，歲終考其殿最，案不重校，文不繁悉，府史之任，掌要目而已。 今之文簿，恆慮覆治，若鍛煉不密，則萬里追證百年舊案。 故諺云：『老吏抱案死。』 事繁政弊，職此之由也。」 弘曰：「魏、齊之時，令史從容而已，今則不遑寧處，何故？」 炫曰：「往者州唯置綱紀，郡置守、丞，縣置令而已。 其餘具僚則長官自辟，受詔赴任，每州不過數十。 今則不然，大小之官，悉由吏部，纖介之跡，皆屬考功。 省官不如省事，官事不省而望從容，其可得乎！」 弘善其言而不能用。
Niu Hong and others completed the new code in eighteen sections, called the Daye Code. On day jiashen it was promulgated. The people, long weary of harsh laws, rejoiced at the leniency. Soon corvée and campaigns multiplied until the people could not endure it. Offices coerced people as expedience required, and the code fell into disuse. Liu Xuan, Cavalry Commandant, had helped revise the code; Hong once asked him casually, "The Rites of Zhou had many gentlemen and few clerks; today clerks are a hundred times more numerous—cut them and work stops. Why?" Xuan said, "The ancients delegated authority and judged results at year's end; records were not double-checked or endlessly detailed—clerks kept only the main headings. Today every document fears review; if a case is not ironclad, proof is chased ten thousand li for cases a century old. Hence the proverb: 'An old clerk dies clutching his files.'" Bloated paperwork is the root of bad government. Hong asked, "Under Wei and Qi clerks had leisure; today they never rest—why?" Xuan said, "Formerly a province had only an inspector, a commandery a governor and aide, a county only a magistrate. Other staff were recruited by the chief; each province had only a few dozen officials. Today every post, great or small, comes from the Ministry of Personnel, and every detail is tracked by the evaluation office. Cutting officials is useless without cutting paperwork—how can clerks ever rest!" Hong agreed but could not act on it."
70
壬辰，改州為郡； 改度量權衡，並依古式。 改上柱國以下官為大夫； 置殿內省，與尚書、門下、內史、秘書為五省； 增謁者、司隸台，與御史為三台； 分太府寺置少府監，與長秋、國子、將作、都水為五監； 又增改左、右翊衛等為十六府； 廢伯、子、男爵，唯留王、公、侯三等。
On day renchen prefectures were renamed commanderies. Weights, measures, and balances were revised to ancient standards. Ranks from Superior Pillar of State down were retitled grandees. The Palace Secretariat was added to form the Five Departments with the Department of State Affairs, Chancellery, Drafting Office, and Secretariat. The Attendants and Metropolitan Inspectorate joined the Censorate as the Three Platforms. The Lesser Treasury was split from the Imperial Storehouse to form the Five Directorates with Long Autumn, Imperial University, Construction, and Waterways. The guard offices were expanded to sixteen, including the Left and Right Flank Guards. Earl, viscount, and baron were abolished, leaving only kings, dukes, and marquises.
71
丙寅，車駕北巡； 己亥，頓赤岸澤。 五月，丁巳，突厥啟民可汗遣其子拓特勒來朝。 戊午，發河北十餘郡丁男鑿太行山，達於并州，以通馳道。 丙寅，啟民遣其兄子毘黎伽特勒來朝。 辛未，啟民遣使請自入塞奉迎輿駕，上不許。 初，高祖受禪，唯立四親廟，同殿異室而已。 帝即位，命有司議七廟之制。 禮部侍郎攝太常少卿許善心等奏請為太祖、高祖各立一殿，准周文、武二祧，與始祖而三，餘並分室而祭，從迭毀之法。 至是，有司請如前議，於東京建宗廟。 帝謂秘書監柳辯曰：「今始祖及二祧已具，後世子孫處朕何所？」 六月，丁亥，詔為高祖建別廟，仍修月祭禮。 既而方事巡幸，竟不果立。
On day bingyin the emperor began a northern tour. On day jihai he halted at Chian Marsh. In the fifth month, on day dingsi, Qimin Khaghan sent his son Tuotele to court. On day wuwu corvée laborers from more than ten Hebei commanderies cut a highway through the Taihang Mountains to Bingzhou. On day bingyin Qimin sent his nephew Pilijia Tegin to court. On day xinwei Qimin asked to enter the passes to welcome the emperor in person; the emperor refused. When Gaozu took the throne he built only the temple of the four progenitors in one hall with separate chambers. On his accession he ordered officials to deliberate the system of seven ancestral temples. Xu Shansin, Vice Minister of Rites, and others proposed separate halls for the Grand Progenitor and Gaozu, following the Zhou two-ancestor model with the founder as three, the rest in side chambers under the law of successive removal. The offices now asked to build the ancestral temple at the Eastern Capital as proposed. The emperor asked Secretariat Director Liu Bian, "The founder and two distant ancestors are provided for—where will my descendants place me?" In the sixth month, on day dinghai, an edict ordered a separate temple for Gaozu and the restoration of monthly sacrifices. Tours intervened, and it was never built.
72
帝過雁門，雁門太守丘和獻食甚精； 至馬邑，馬邑太守楊廓獨無所獻，帝不悅。 以和為博陵太守，仍使廓至博陵觀和為式。 由是所至獻食，競為豐侈。
At Yanmen, Governor Qiu He presented a lavish feast. At Mayi, Governor Yang Kuo alone presented nothing, and the emperor was displeased. Qiu He was made governor of Boling, and Yang Kuo was sent there to learn from his example. Thereafter every place he visited vied in extravagant feasts.
73
戊子，車駕頓榆林郡。 帝欲出塞耀兵，逕突厥中，指於涿郡，恐啟民驚懼，先遣武衛將軍長孫晟諭旨。 啟民奉詔，因召所部諸國奚、□、室韋等酋長數十人咸集。 晟見牙帳中草穢，欲令啟民親除之，示諸部落，以明威重，乃指帳前草曰：「此根大香。」 啟民遽嗅之，曰：「殊不香也。」 晟曰：「天子行幸所在，諸侯躬自灑掃，耕除御路，以表至敬之心； 今牙內蕪穢，謂是留香草耳！」 啟民乃悟曰：「奴之罪也！ 奴之骨肉皆天子所賜，得效筋力，豈敢有辭。 特以邊人不知法耳，賴將軍教之； 此將軍之惠，奴之幸也。」 遂拔所佩刀，自芟庭草。 其貴人及諸部爭效之。 於是發榆林北境，至其牙，東達於薊，長三千里，廣百步，舉國就役，開為御道。 帝聞晟策，益嘉之。
On day wuzi the emperor halted at Yulin Commandery. The emperor planned to cross the frontier in force through Turk territory toward Zhuo Commandery; fearing Qimin would panic, he sent Zhangsun Sheng, Martial Guard General, ahead to explain. Qimin obeyed and summoned dozens of chiefs of the Xi, Shiwei, and other subject peoples. Sheng saw the royal tent overgrown with weeds and wanted Qimin to clear them himself as a lesson to the tribes; pointing at the grass he said, "This weed smells wonderful." Qimin sniffed it and said, "It smells terrible." Sheng said, "Wherever the Son of Heaven travels, lords sweep the road themselves to show utmost respect. Your tent is filthy with weeds—is this how you show respect!" Qimin understood and cried, "Your slave has failed! My body and kin are the Son of Heaven's gift—I dare not refuse to serve. We border folk know no better—thanks to the general for teaching us. This is the general's kindness and my good fortune." He drew his sword and cut the courtyard weeds himself. His nobles and all the tribes rushed to follow his example. From Yulin's northern border to his tent and east to Ji, three thousand li long and a hundred paces wide, the whole nation labored to build an imperial highway. The emperor heard of Sheng's maneuver and praised him all the more.
74
丁酉，啟民及義成公主來朝行宮。 己亥，吐谷渾、高昌並遣使入貢。
On day dingyou Qimin and Princess Yicheng attended the emperor at his traveling palace. On day jihai Tuyuhun and Gaochang both sent tribute missions.
75
甲辰，上御北樓觀漁於河，以宴百僚。 定襄太守周法尚朝於行宮，太府卿元壽言於帝曰：「漢武出關，旌旗千里。 今御營之外，請分為二十四軍，日別遣一軍發，相去三十里，旗幟相望，鉦鼓相聞，首尾相屬，千里不絕，此亦出師之盛者也。」 法尚曰：「不然，兵亙千里，動間山川，猝有不虞，四分五裂； 腹心有事，首尾未知，道路阻長，難以相救，雖有故事，乃取敗之道也。」 帝不懌，曰：「卿意如何？」 法尚曰：「結為方陳，四面外拒，六宮及百官家屬並在其內； 若有變起，所當之面，即令抗拒，內引奇兵，出外奮擊，車為壁壘，重設鉤陳，此與據城，理亦何異！ 若戰而捷，抽騎追奔，萬一不捷，屯營自守，臣謂此萬全之策也。」 帝曰：「善！」 因拜法尚左武衛將軍。
On day jiachen the emperor watched fishing from the north tower and feasted his officials. Dingxiang Governor Zhou Fashang attended court; Yuan Shou, Director of the Imperial Treasury, told the emperor, "When Han Emperor Wu left the passes, his banners stretched a thousand li. Let the camp outside be divided into twenty-four armies, one departing each day thirty li apart, banners and drums linking head to tail for a thousand li—that would match Han Wu's grandeur." Fashang objected, "No—an army stretched a thousand li is broken by terrain; at any surprise it shatters. If the center is struck, the ends cannot help; long roads prevent rescue. Precedent or not, that is the road to defeat." The emperor was displeased and asked, "What do you propose?" Fashang said, "Form a square camp facing outward on all sides, with the palace women and officials' families inside. Whichever side is attacked, resist there; hold elite troops within to strike out; use wagons as walls in layered formations—it is no different from holding a city! If we win, send cavalry in pursuit; if we lose, the camp holds itself. That is the sure plan." The emperor said, "Excellent!" He appointed Fashang Left Martial Guard General.
76
啟民可汗復上表，以為「先帝可汗憐臣，賜臣安義公主，種種無乏。 臣兄弟嫉妒，共欲殺臣。 臣當是時，走無所適，仰視唯天，俯視唯地，奉身委命，依歸先帝。 先帝憐臣且死，養而生之，以臣為大可汗，還撫突厥之民。 至尊今御天下，還如先帝養生臣及突厥之民，種種無乏。 臣荷戴聖恩，言不能盡。 臣今非昔日突厥可汗，乃是至尊臣民，願帥部落變改衣服，一如華夏。」 帝以為不可。 秋，七月，辛亥，賜啟民璽書，諭以「磧北未靜，猶須征戰，但存心恭順，何必變服？」 帝欲誇示突厥，令宇文愷為大帳，其下可坐數千人； 甲寅，帝於城東御大帳，備儀衛，宴啟民及其部落，作散樂。 諸胡駭悅，爭獻牛羊駝馬數千萬頭。 帝賜啟民帛二千萬段，其下各有差。 又賜啟民路車乘馬，鼓歡幡旗，贊拜不名，位在諸侯王上。
Qimin Khaghan memorialized again: "The former emperor pitied me, gave me Princess Anyi, and provided everything I needed. My brothers envied me and tried to kill me. I fled with nowhere to turn, looked only to Heaven and earth, and entrusted my life to the former emperor. He pitied me near death, restored me, and made me great khaghan over the Turks. Your Majesty now rules the world and nurtures me and my people as the former emperor did, leaving us wanting nothing. I cannot express my gratitude. I am no longer the Turk khaghan but Your Majesty's subject; I wish to lead my tribes to dress like the Chinese." The emperor refused. In autumn, the seventh month, on day xinhai, he sent Qimin an imperial letter: "The north is not yet pacified and war continues—stay obedient in heart; why change your dress?" The emperor wished to impress the Turks and had Yuwen Kai build a great tent seating thousands. On day jiayin he feasted Qimin and his tribes in the great tent east of the city with full ceremony and scattered entertainments. The frontier peoples were awed and delighted, competing to offer tens of millions of cattle, sheep, camels, and horses. The emperor gave Qimin twenty million bolts of silk and lesser gifts to his followers. He also gave Qimin an imperial carriage, horses, drums and banners, the honor of not having his name spoken in audience, and rank above the feudatory princes.
77
又詔發丁男百餘萬築長城，西拒榆林，東至紫河。 尚書左僕射蘇威諫，帝不聽，築之二旬而畢。 帝之征散樂也，太常卿高熲諫，不聽。 熲退，謂太常丞李懿曰：「周天元以好樂而亡，殷鑒不遠，安可復爾！」 熲又以帝遇啟民過厚，謂太府卿何稠曰：「此虜頗知中國虛實，山川險易，恐為後患。」 又謂觀王雄曰：「近來朝廷殊無綱紀。」 禮部尚書宇文弼私謂熲曰：「天元之侈，以今方之，不亦甚乎？」 又言：「長城之役，幸非急務。」 光祿大夫賀若弼亦私議宴可汗太侈。 並為人所奏。 帝以為誹謗朝政，丙子，高熲、宇文弼、賀若弼皆坐誅，熲諸子徙邊，弼妻子沒官為奴婢。 事連蘇威，亦坐免官。 熲有文武大略，明達世務，自蒙寄任，竭誠盡節，進引貞良，以天下為己任； 蘇威、楊素、賀若弼、韓擒虎皆熲所推薦，自餘立功立事者不可勝數； 當朝執政將二十年，朝野推服，物無異議，海內富庶，熲之力也。 及死，天下莫不傷之。 先是，蕭琮以皇后故，甚見親重，為內史令，改封梁公，宗族緦麻以上，皆隨才擢用，諸蕭昆弟，布列朝廷。 琮性澹雅，不以職務為意，身雖羈旅，見北間豪貴，無所降下。 與賀若弼善，弼既誅，又有童謠曰：「蕭蕭亦復起。」 帝由是忌之，遂廢於家，未幾而卒。
An edict mobilized more than a million men to build the Great Wall from Yulin west to the Zi River east. Su Wei, Left Vice Director, remonstrated in vain; the wall was finished in twenty days. When the emperor recruited scattered entertainers, Gao Feng, Director of Imperial Sacrifices, remonstrated in vain. Feng told Imperial Sacrifices Aide Li Yi, "Northern Zhou's Emperor Xuan destroyed his state with music—the lesson is recent; how can we repeat it!" Feng also told He Chou, Director of the Imperial Treasury, "This barbarian now knows China's strengths and terrain—he may become a future threat." He told Prince Guan Xiong, "The court lately has no discipline at all." Yuwen Bi, Minister of Rites, whispered to Feng, "Compared with Emperor Xuan, is today's extravagance not worse?" He also said the Great Wall project was no urgent necessity. He Ruo Bi, Household Counsellor, also privately said the feast for the khaghan was too lavish. All were reported to the emperor. The emperor deemed it slander of the government; on day bingzi Gao Feng, Yuwen Bi, and He Ruo Bi were executed; Feng's sons were exiled and Bi's family enslaved. Su Wei was implicated and dismissed. Feng had great civil and military talent, served with complete loyalty, promoted worthy men, and took the empire as his charge. Su Wei, Yang Su, He Ruo Bi, and Han Qinhu were all his protégés; countless others owed their success to him. He dominated the court for nearly twenty years; the empire prospered through his efforts, and none disputed his authority. When he died the empire grieved. Earlier Xiao Cong, the empress's kinsman, had been favored as Drafting Director and Duke of Liang; Xiao clansmen filled the court. Cong was refined and indifferent to office; though a captive prince, he bowed to no northern grandee. He was close to He Ruo Bi; after Bi's execution a children's song ran, "Xiao Xiao will rise again." "The emperor grew suspicious, confined him at home, and he soon died."
78
八月，壬午，車駕發榆林，歷雲中，溯金河。 時天下承平，百物豐實，甲士五十餘萬，馬十萬匹，旌旗輜重，千里不絕。 令宇文愷等造觀風行殿，上容侍衛者數百人，離合為之，下施輪軸，倏忽推移。 又作行城，週二千步，以板為干，衣之以布，飾以丹青，樓櫓悉備。 胡人驚以為神，每望御營，十里之外，屈膝稽顙，無敢乘馬。 啟民奉廬帳以俟車駕。 乙酉，帝幸其帳，啟民奉觴上壽，跪伏恭甚，王侯以下袒割於帳前，莫敢仰視。 帝大悅，賦詩曰：「呼韓頓顙至，屠耆接踵來； 何如漢天子，空上單于台。」 皇后亦幸義成公主帳。 帝賜啟民及公主金甕各一，並衣服被褥錦彩，特勒以下，受賜各有差。 帝還，啟民從入塞，己丑，遣歸國。
In the eighth month, on day renwu, the emperor left Yulin, passed Yunzhong, and ascended the Golden River. The empire was at peace and abundance; more than five hundred thousand armored men and a hundred thousand horses marched with banners and baggage stretching unbroken for a thousand li. Yuwen Kai built a Wind-Viewing Traveling Hall for hundreds of guards, mounted on wheels so it could move in an instant. They also built a traveling fort two thousand paces around, with board shields draped in cloth and painted, complete with towers. The Hu thought it divine; ten li from the imperial camp they knelt and touched their foreheads to the ground, none daring to ride. Qimin pitched his felt tent to await the emperor. On day yiyou the emperor visited his tent; Qimin offered wine and wishes for long life, kneeling in deepest respect; nobles down to marquises bared their shoulders and carved meat before the tent, none daring to look up. The emperor was delighted and composed a poem: "Huhhan comes bowing, Tujue follows in turn; how unlike the Han emperor who vainly climbed the Chanyu's terrace." The empress also visited Princess Yicheng's tent. The emperor gave Qimin and the princess each a golden urn, clothing, bedding, and brocades; lesser ranks received gifts in proportion. On the return journey Qimin followed into the passes; on day jichou he was sent home.
79
癸巳，入樓煩關； 壬寅，至太原，詔營晉陽宮。 帝謂御史大夫張衡曰：「朕欲過公宅，可為朕作主人。」 衡乃先馳至河內，具牛酒。 帝上太行，開直道九十里，九月，己未，至濟源，幸衡宅。 帝悅其山泉，留宴三日，賜賚甚厚。 衡復獻食，帝令頒賜公卿，下至衛士，無不沾洽。 己巳，至東都。
On day guisi he entered Loufan Pass. On day renyin he reached Taiyuan and ordered the Jinyang Palace built. The emperor told Censor-in-Chief Zhang Heng, "I mean to visit your home—be my host." Heng rode ahead to Henei and prepared beef and wine. The emperor crossed the Taihang, cut a straight road ninety li long, and in the ninth month, on day jiwei, reached Jiyuan and visited Heng's home. He delighted in the mountain springs, stayed three days feasting, and gave lavish gifts. Heng presented more food, and the emperor had it distributed from the highest ministers down to the guards until everyone had a share. On day jisi he reached the Eastern Capital.
80
壬申，以齊王暕為河南尹； 癸酉，以民部尚書楊文思為納言。
On day renshen Prince of Qi Yang Jian was made Governor of Henan. On day guiyou Yang Wensi, Minister of the People, was made Palace Counselor.
81
冬，十月，敕河北諸郡送一藝戶陪東都三千餘家，置十二坊於洛水南以處之。 西域諸胡多至張掖交市，帝使吏部侍郎裴矩掌之。 矩知帝好遠略，諸商胡至者，矩誘訪諸國山川風俗，王及庶人儀形服飾，撰《西域圖記》三卷，合四十四國，入朝奏之。 仍別造地圖，窮其要害，從西傾以去，縱橫所亙，將二萬里，發自敦煌，至於西海，凡為三道，北道從伊吾，中道從高昌，南道從鄯善，總湊敦煌。 且云：「以國家威德，將士驍雄，泛濛汜而越崑崙，易如反掌。 但突厥、吐渾分領羌、胡之國，為其壅遏，故朝貢不通。 今並因商人密送誠款，引領翹首，願為臣妾。 若服而撫之，務存安輯，皇華遣使，弗動兵車，諸蕃既從，渾、厥可滅，混壹戎、夏，其在茲乎！」 帝大悅，賜帛五百段，日引矩至御坐，親問西域事。 矩盛言「胡中多諸珍寶，吐谷渾易可併吞。」 帝於是慨然慕秦皇、漢武之功，甘心將通西域； 四夷經略，鹹以委之。 以矩為黃門侍郎，復使至張掖，引致諸胡，啗之以利，勸令入朝。 自是西域諸胡往來相繼，所經郡縣，疲於送迎，糜費以萬萬計，卒令中國疲弊以至於亡，皆矩之唱導也。
In winter, the tenth month, Hebei commanderies were ordered to send artisan households—more than three thousand families in all—to the Eastern Capital, housed in twelve wards south of the Luo River. Many Western Region peoples traded at Zhangye; the emperor put Vice Minister of Personnel Pei Ju in charge. Knowing the emperor's appetite for conquest, Ju questioned every merchant about the mountains, customs, and dress of forty-four states and compiled three juan of Records of the Western Regions, which he presented at court. He also drew maps of the key routes west from Mount Xiqing—nearly twenty thousand li from Dunhuang to the Western Sea—three roads north through Yiwu, center through Gaochang, and south through Shanshan, all meeting at Dunhuang. He added, "With the empire's might and our brave troops, crossing the Mengsi and Kunlun would be as easy as turning one's hand. Only the Turks and Tuyuhun, controlling the Qiang and Hu peoples, block the way, so tribute does not reach us. Now through merchants they secretly send loyalty and crane their necks in hope, wishing to become our subjects. If we win them by kindness and send envoys without war chariots, once the frontier peoples submit, Tuyuhun and the Turks can be destroyed and barbarian and Chinese unified—this is the moment!" The emperor was delighted, gave him five hundred bolts of silk, and daily summoned him to question him about the Western Regions. Ju stressed that "the frontier holds many treasures and Tuyuhun can easily be swallowed whole." The emperor sighed with longing for the deeds of the First Emperor and Han Wudi and set his heart on opening the Western Regions. All frontier strategy was entrusted to him. Ju was made Yellow Gate Attendant and sent again to Zhangye to lure the frontier peoples with profit and urge them to court. Thereafter Western Region peoples came and went in endless streams; every commandery and county was exhausted hosting them at a cost of tens of millions, until China was drained to ruin—all Ju's doing.
82
鐵勒寇邊，帝遣將軍馮孝慈出敦煌擊之，不利。 鐵勒尋遣使謝罪，請降； 帝使裴矩慰撫之。
The Tiele raided the frontier; the emperor sent General Feng Xiaoci from Dunhuang against them, without success. The Tiele soon sent envoys to apologize and surrender. The emperor sent Pei Ju to console and accept them.