1
資治通鑑第182卷卷第一百八十二
Zizhi Tongjian, Volume 182.
2
【隋紀六】起昭陽作噩，盡旃蒙大淵獻，凡三年。
[Records of Sui, Number Six] Spanning from the cyclical year Zhaoyang Zuoe through Zhanmeng Dayuanxian—three years in all.
3
春，正月，丁丑，詔徵天下兵集涿郡。 始募民為驍果，修遼東古城以貯軍糧。
In spring, on the dingchou day of the first month, an edict ordered troops from across the empire to gather at Zhuo commandery. Commoners were first enlisted as the Xiaoguo corps, and abandoned cities in Liaodong were restored to hold army provisions.
4
靈武賊帥白瑜娑劫掠牧馬，北連突厥，隴右多被其患，謂之「奴賊」。
“Bai Yusa, a rebel leader in Lingwu, plundered imperial stud herds and allied with the Turks to the north; Longyou was ravaged by his raids, and people called him the Slave Bandit.”
5
戊戌，赦天下。
On the wuxu day, the emperor proclaimed a general amnesty.
6
己亥，命刑部尚書衛文升等輔代王侑留守西京。
On the jihai day, the emperor appointed Minister of Justice Wei Wensheng and others to support Prince Dai You in holding the Western Capital.
7
二月，壬午，詔：「宇文述以兵糧不繼，遂陷王師； 乃軍吏失於支料，非述之罪，宜復其官爵。」 尋又加開府儀同三司。
In the second month, on the renwu day, an edict declared: "Because army provisions failed to arrive in time, Yuwen Shu brought disaster upon the imperial forces; yet the fault lay with supply clerks who mismanaged disbursements, not with Shu himself—his offices and titles should be restored." Shortly afterward he was further promoted to Grand Master for Splendid Happiness with Honored Equipage of the Third Rank.
8
帝謂侍臣曰：「高麗小虜，侮慢上國； 今拔海移山，猶望克果，況此虜乎！」 乃復議伐高麗。 左光祿大夫郭榮諫曰：「戎狄失禮，臣下之事； 千鈞之弩，不為鼷鼠發機，奈何親辱萬乘以敵小寇乎！」 帝不聽。
The emperor told his attendants: "Goguryeo is a trifling border state that dares slight our empire; if we can drain seas and move mountains and still expect success, how much more so against this petty enemy!" Thereupon the court again debated war against Goguryeo. Left Grand Master for Promoting Righteousness Guo Rong admonished: "When frontier peoples breach protocol, that is work for officials below; a thousand-jun crossbow is not drawn for a field mouse—why should Your Majesty personally debase the imperial presence to meet a petty raider?" The emperor refused to heed him.
9
三月，丙子，濟陰孟海公起為盜，保據周橋，眾至數萬，見人稱引書史，輒殺之。
In the third month, on the bingzi day, Meng Haigong of Jiyin took to banditry, fortified Zhouqiao, and gathered tens of thousands; anyone he heard quoting books or history he killed on the spot.
10
丁丑，發丁男十萬城大興。 戊寅，帝幸遼東，命民部尚書樊子蓋等輔越王侗留守東都。
On the dingchou day, one hundred thousand conscripted men were sent to build up the walls of Daxing. On the wuyin day the emperor departed for Liaodong and left Minister of Revenue Fan Zigai and others to support Prince Yue Tong in holding the Eastern Capital.
11
時所在盜起，齊郡王薄、孟讓、北海郭方預、清河張金稱、平原郝孝德、河間格謙、勃海孫宣雅，各聚眾攻剽，多者十餘萬，少者數萬人，山東苦之。 天下承平日久，人不習兵，郡縣吏每與賊戰，望風沮敗。 唯齊郡丞閺鄉張須陀得士眾心，勇決善戰，將郡兵擊王薄於泰山下。 薄恃其驟勝，不設備； 須陀掩擊，大破之。 薄收餘兵北渡河，須陀追擊於臨邑，又破之。 薄北連孫宣雅、郝孝德等十餘萬攻章丘，須陀帥步騎二萬擊之，賊眾大敗。 賊帥裴長才等眾二萬掩至城下，大掠。 須陀未暇集兵，帥五騎與戰，賊競赴之，圍百餘重，身中數創，勇氣彌厲。 會城中兵至，賊稍退卻。 須陀督眾擊之，長才等敗走。 庚子，郭方預等合軍攻陷北海，大掠而去。 須陀謂民屬曰：「賊恃其強，謂我不能救。 吾今速行，破之必矣！」 乃簡精兵倍道進擊，大破之，斬數萬級，前後獲賊輜重不可勝計。
Bandits were rising everywhere: Wang Bo of Qi, Meng Rang, Guo Fangyu of Beihai, Zhang Jincheng of Qinghe, Hao Xiaode of Pingyuan, Ge Qian of Hejian, and Sun Xuanya of Bohai each mustered gangs for plunder—some above a hundred thousand, none fewer than tens of thousands—and Shandong groaned under the scourge. After generations of peace the people knew nothing of war; whenever local officials met the rebels they usually broke and fled at the first alarm. Only Zhang Sotuo, assistant magistrate of Qi from Minxiang, won the loyalty of his men; bold and skilled in battle, he led the commandery forces against Wang Bo at the foot of Mount Tai. Bo, trusting in his string of quick victories, took no precautions; Sotuo struck by surprise and routed him completely. Bo rallied his survivors and fled north across the Yellow River; Sotuo pursued him to Linyi and defeated him once more. Bo then joined Sun Xuanya, Hao Xiaode, and others—more than a hundred thousand in all—to assault Zhangqiu; Sotuo led twenty thousand foot and horse soldiers against them and smashed the rebel host. The bandit leader Pei Changcai and twenty thousand men suddenly appeared beneath the walls and plundered freely. Sotuo had no chance to muster his force; he charged in with only five horsemen. The rebels swarmed him in layer upon layer of encirclement; though he took many wounds, his fighting spirit only burned hotter. When reinforcements from the city arrived, the rebels fell back a little. Sotuo rallied his men and pressed the attack; Changcai and his band fled in defeat. On the gengzi day, Guo Fangyu and allied bands stormed Beihai, plundered the city, and withdrew. Sotuo told the townspeople: "The rebels trust in their numbers and believe we cannot rescue you. If we march at once, we are certain to crush them!" He then picked elite troops, marched by forced stages, and smashed the enemy, taking tens of thousands of heads; rebel baggage captured before and after was beyond reckoning.
12
歷城羅士信，年十四，從須陀擊賊於濰水上。 賊始布陳，士信馳至陳前，刺殺數人，斬一人首，擲空中，以槊盛之，揭以略陳； 賊徒愕眙，莫敢近。 須陀因引兵奮擊，賊眾大潰。 士信逐北，每殺一人，劓其鼻懷之，還，以驗殺賊之數； 須陀歎賞，引置左右。 每戰，須陀先登，士信為副。 帝遣使慰諭，並畫須陀、士信戰陳之狀而觀之。
Luo Shixin of Licheng, only fourteen years old, followed Sotuo to fight bandits along the Wei River. As the rebels were forming their battle line, Shixin galloped to the fore, killed several men in succession, severed one head, tossed it skyward, caught it on his spear, and paraded it along the enemy ranks; The rebel ranks stood frozen in shock; none dared close with him. Sotuo then drove his men forward in a fierce charge, and the rebel host collapsed in rout. Shixin pursued the fleeing enemy; for each man he slew he cut off the nose and tucked it in his robe, then on returning counted them to prove how many rebels he had killed; Sotuo marveled at his deed and kept him at his side. In every fight Sotuo led the assault and Shixin followed as his second. The emperor sent envoys with words of praise and had paintings made of Sotuo and Shixin in battle for his own viewing.
13
夏，四月，庚午，車駕渡遼。 壬申，遣宇文述與上大將軍楊義臣趣平壤。
In summer, on the gengwu day of the fourth month, the imperial procession crossed the Liao River. On the renshen day, Yuwen Shu and Senior General-in-Chief Yang Yichen were dispatched to advance on Pyongyang.
14
左光祿大夫王仁恭出扶餘道。 仁恭進軍至新城，高麗兵數萬拒戰，仁恭帥勁騎一千擊破之，高麗嬰城固守。 帝命諸將攻遼東，聽以便宜從事。 飛樓、橦、雲梯、地道四面俱進，晝夜不息，而高麗應變拒之，二十餘日不拔，主客死者甚眾。 沖梯竿長十五丈，驍果吳興沈光升其端，臨城與高麗戰，短兵接，殺十數人，高麗競擊之而墜； 未及地，適遇竿有垂絲亙，光接而復上。 帝望見，壯之，即拜朝散大夫，恆置左右。
Left Grand Master for Promoting Righteousness Wang Rengong marched out by the Fuyu route. Rengong marched to Xincheng, where tens of thousands of Goguryeo soldiers met him in battle; he led a thousand elite horsemen to shatter them, after which the enemy shut themselves within the walls and refused to sally forth. The emperor ordered his generals to assault Liaodong and granted them discretion to act as local conditions demanded. Flying towers, battering rams, siege ladders, and mining tunnels pressed in from every side without pause day or night, yet Goguryeo adapted and held them off; after more than twenty days the city still stood, and both besiegers and defenders fell in vast numbers. On assault ladders whose poles were fifteen zhang high, the Xiaoguo fighter Shen Guang of Wuxing climbed to the top, fought hand to hand atop the wall, and killed more than ten men before the Goguryeo troops swarmed him and knocked him down; Before he hit the ground a loose rope happened to hang across the pole; Guang seized it and hauled himself back up. The emperor saw this from afar, admired his daring, and at once appointed him Gentleman Consultant for the Court, keeping him constantly at hand.
15
禮部尚書楊玄感，驍勇，便騎射，好讀書，喜賓客，海內知名之士多與之遊； 與薄山公李密善。 密，弼之曾孫也，少有才略，志氣雄遠，輕財好士，為左親侍。 帝見之，謂宇文述曰：「向者左仗下黑色小兒，瞻視異常，勿令宿衛！」 述乃諷密使稱病自免，密遂屏人事，專務讀書。 嘗乘黃牛讀《漢書》，楊素遇而異之，因召至家，與語，大悅，謂其子玄感等曰：「李密識度如此，汝等不及也！」 由是玄感與為深交。 時或侮之，密曰：「人言當指實，寧可面諛！ 若決機兩陳之間，暗嗚咄嗟，使敵人震懾，密不如公； 驅策天下賢俊，各申其用，公不如密：豈可以階級稍崇而輕天下士大夫邪！」 玄感笑而服之。
Minister of Rites Yang Xuangan was fierce in battle, expert at mounted archery, devoted to books, and fond of hosting guests; many celebrated men across the realm sought his company; He was especially close to Li Mi, Duke of Boshan. Mi was the great-grandson of Li Bi; even as a youth he showed talent and strategy, ambition that reached far, generosity toward scholars, and held the post of Left Palace Attendant. When the emperor noticed him he told Yuwen Shu: "That dark-complexioned boy beside the left halberd guard stared about in an odd way—do not let him stand night watch in the palace!" Shu then prompted Mi to plead illness and resign; Mi withdrew from court life and devoted himself wholly to study. Once, reading the Book of Han while riding an ox, he was seen by Yang Su, who was struck by the sight, invited him home, and talked with him at length. Delighted, Su told his sons Xuangan and the rest: "Li Mi's breadth of mind is like this—you are not his equal!" From that time Xuangan became his close friend. When people sometimes slighted him, Mi would say: "Speech should aim at truth—who would choose flattery to one's face! But if the moment calls for a decision between two battle lines, or a sudden shout that makes the enemy quake, I am not your equal; to rally the worthy of the realm and set each to his proper use—you are not my equal: can you despise the empire's scholars merely because your rank has risen a little!" Xuangan laughed and accepted it.
16
素恃功驕倨，朝宴之際，或失臣禮。 帝心銜而不言，素亦覺之。 及素薨，帝謂近臣曰：「使素不死，終當夷族。」 玄感頗知之，且自以累世貴顯，在朝文武多父之故吏，見朝政日紊，而帝多猜忌，內不自安，乃與諸弟潛謀作亂。 帝方事征伐，玄感自言：「世荷國恩，願為將領。」 帝喜曰：「將門必有將，相門必有相，固不虛也！」 由是寵遇日隆，頗預朝政。
Su, trusting in his achievements, grew arrogant; at court banquets he sometimes forgot the deference owed a subject. The emperor nursed resentment but kept silent; Su sensed it as well. When Su died the emperor told his close attendants: "Had Su lived on, his whole clan would eventually have been wiped out." Xuangan understood this all too well. He saw his family's generations of power, with many officials at court still his father's old retainers; he watched government grow daily more chaotic and the emperor grow daily more suspicious, and inwardly he could not rest—so he and his brothers secretly plotted rebellion. While the emperor was busy with campaigns, Xuangan volunteered: "My house has long enjoyed the state's favor; I wish to serve as a commander." The emperor was pleased and said: "A general's house breeds generals, a minister's house breeds ministers—the old saying is true!" From then on his favor grew daily and he took an active part in state affairs.
17
帝伐高麗，命玄感於黎陽督運，遂與虎賁郎將王仲伯、汲郡贊治趙懷義等謀，故逗遛漕運，不時進發，欲令渡遼諸軍乏食； 帝遣使者促之，玄感揚言水路多盜，不可前後而發。 玄感弟虎賁郎將玄縱，鷹揚郎將萬石，並從幸遼東，玄感潛遣人召之，二人皆亡還。 萬石至高陽，為監事許華所執，斬於涿郡。
When the emperor marched on Goguryeo he put Xuangan in charge of grain transport at Liyang; Xuangan then conspired with Tiger Guards Regiment Commander Wang Zhongbo, Ji commandery magistrate Zhao Huaiyi, and others to hold back the canal shipments and send them forward late, so that the armies across the Liao would run short of food; The emperor sent envoys to hurry him along; Xuangan spread word that bandits infested the waterways and convoys could not travel together in column. Xuangan's brothers Xuanganzong, a Tiger Guards regiment commander, and Wanshi, an Eagle-Flying regiment commander, were both with the emperor in Liaodong; Xuangan secretly summoned them, and both deserted and fled home. Wanshi reached Gaoyang, was seized by surveillance officer Xu Hua, and beheaded at Zhuo commandery.
18
時右驍衛大將軍來護兒以舟師自東萊將入海趣平壤，玄感遣家奴偽為使者從東方來，詐稱護兒反。 六月，乙巳，玄感入黎陽，閉城，大索男夫，取帆布為牟、甲，署官屬，皆准開皇之舊。 移書傍郡，以討護兒為名，各令發兵會於倉所。 郡縣官有干用者，玄感皆以運糧追集之，以趙懷義為衛州刺史，東光尉元務本為黎州刺史，河內郡主簿唐禕為懷州刺史。
At that time Senior General of the Right Brave Guards Lai Huer was leading a fleet from Donglai to strike Pyongyang by sea; Xuangan sent a household slave disguised as an envoy from the east to spread a false report that Huer had rebelled. In the sixth month, on the yisi day, Xuangan entered Liyang, shut the gates, pressed every able-bodied man into service, took sailcloth for mantlets and armor, and appointed officials—all on the Kaihuang model. He sent proclamations to neighboring commanderies in the name of punishing Huer, ordering each to raise troops and assemble at the granary depot. Capable local officials he rounded up under the pretext of grain transport; he made Zhao Huaiyi inspector of Weizhou, Yuan Wuben of Dongguang inspector of Liyang, and Tang Yi, chief clerk of Henei, inspector of Huaizhou.
19
治書侍御史游元，督運在黎陽，玄感謂曰：「獨夫肆虐，陷身絕域，此天亡之時也。 我今親帥義兵以誅無道，卿意如何？」 元正色曰：「尊公荷國寵靈，近古無比。 公之弟兄，青紫交映，當謂竭誠盡節上答鴻恩。 豈意墳土未干，親圖反噬！ 僕有死而己，不敢聞命！」 玄感怒而囚之，屢脅以兵，不能屈，乃殺之。 元，明根之孫也。
Investigative Censor You Yuan was supervising transport at Liyang when Xuangan said to him: "The tyrant rages unchecked and has trapped himself in a distant land—this is the hour Heaven has chosen for his fall. I now lead righteous troops in person to punish the lawless—what say you?" Yuan answered sternly: "Your father enjoyed the state's favor beyond compare in recent memory. You and your brothers wear high office one upon another—you should repay that vast grace with utmost loyalty. Who would have thought that before your father's grave was dry you would turn on the state that raised you! I have only death to offer—I will not heed your command!" Xuangan flew into a rage and imprisoned him; he threatened him again and again with arms but could not break him, and in the end had him killed. Yuan was a grandson of You Minggen.
20
玄感選運夫少壯者得五千餘人，丹楊、宣城篙梢三千餘人，刑三牲誓眾，且諭之曰：「主上無道，不以百姓為念，天下騷擾，死遼東者以萬計。 今與君等起兵，以救兆民之弊，何如？」 眾皆踴躍稱萬歲。 乃勒兵部分。 唐禕自玄感所逃歸河內。
Xuangan picked out more than five thousand able-bodied transport laborers and more than three thousand boatmen from Danyang and Xuancheng, sacrificed three animals to bind the host by oath, and told them: "The ruler is without the Way and cares nothing for the people; the realm is in turmoil, and those who have died in Liaodong number in the tens of thousands. Now I join with you to raise arms and deliver the people from their misery—what say you?" The crowd leaped up as one and shouted "Long live!" He then arrayed the troops and assigned their divisions. Tang Yi fled from Xuangan's camp and made his way back to Henei.
21
先是玄感陰遣家僮至長安，召李密及弟玄挺赴黎陽。 及舉兵，密適至，玄感大喜，以為謀主，謂密曰：「子常以濟物為己任，今其時矣！ 計將安出？」 密曰：「天子出征，遠在遼外，去幽州猶隔千里。 南有巨海，北有強胡，中間一道，理極艱危。 公擁兵出其不意，長驅入薊，據臨渝之險，扼其咽喉。 歸路既絕，高麗聞之，必躡其後。 不過旬月，資糧皆盡，其眾不降則潰，可不戰而擒，此上計也。」 玄感曰：「更言其次。」 密曰：「關中四塞，天府之國，雖有衛文升，不足為意。 今帥眾鼓行而西，經城勿攻，直取長安。 收其豪傑，撫其士民，據險而守之。 天子雖還，失其根本，可徐圖也。」 玄感曰：「更言其次。」 密曰：「簡精銳，晝夜倍道，襲取東都，以號令四方。 但恐唐禕告之，先己固守。 若引兵攻之，百日不克，天下之兵四面而至，非僕所知也。」 玄感曰：「不然，今百官家口並在東都，若先取之，足以動其心。 且經城不拔，何以示威！ 公之下計，乃上策也。」 遂引兵向洛陽，遣楊玄挺將驍勇千人為前鋒，先取河內。 唐禕據城拒守，玄挺無所獲。
Earlier Xuangan had secretly sent household servants to Chang'an to summon Li Mi and his brother Xuanting to Liyang. When the rebellion broke out Mi had just arrived; Xuangan was overjoyed, made him his chief strategist, and said: "You have always made saving the world your task—now is the moment! What is your plan?" Mi said: "The Son of Heaven is on campaign, far away in Liaodong, still a thousand li from Youzhou. To the south lies the open sea, to the north fierce barbarians; between them a single road—by its nature desperately perilous. If you lead your forces by surprise, drive straight into Ji, hold the perilous crossing at Linyu, and seize his throat. Once his line of retreat is cut, Goguryeo will hear of it and surely press on his rear. Within a month or so his supplies will be exhausted; his army will either surrender or scatter—you can take him without a battle. That is the best plan." Xuangan said: "Tell me the next plan." Mi said: "The Guanzhong region is locked by four passes—a natural treasury of the realm; though Wei Wensheng is there, he need not trouble you. Now march your army west with drums beating; do not stop to attack the cities you pass, but drive straight for Chang'an. Win over its outstanding men, reassure its gentry and common people, and hold the strategic strongpoints. Even if the emperor returns, he will have lost his base—then you can pursue your aims at leisure." Xuangan said: "Tell me the next plan." Mi said: "Pick elite troops, force-march day and night, strike and seize the Eastern Capital, and from there command the realm. But I fear Tang Yi will get word and they will fortify the city before we arrive. If we lay siege, we may fail to take it within a hundred days, and armies from every quarter will converge—I cannot foresee how that ends." Xuangan said: "Not so. Every official's family is in the Eastern Capital now; if we seize it first, that alone will shake them. Besides, what authority do we show if we pass every city without capturing it! Your lowest plan is actually the best strategy." He thereupon marched on Luoyang, sending Yang Xuanting with a thousand crack troops as vanguard to take Henei first. Tang Yi held the city and refused battle, and Xuanting took nothing.
22
禕又使人告東都越王侗與樊子蓋等勒兵為備，修武民相帥守臨清關。 玄感不得度，乃於汲郡南渡河，從之者如市。 使弟積善將兵三千自偃師南緣洛水西入，玄挺自白司馬板逾邙山南入，玄感將三千餘人隨其後，相去十里許，自稱大軍。 其兵皆執單刀柳楯，無弓矢甲冑。 東都遣河南令達奚善意將精兵五千人拒積善，將作監、河南贊治裴弘策將八千人拒玄挺。 善意渡洛南，營於漢王寺； 明日，積善兵至，不戰自潰，鎧仗皆為積善所取。 弘策出至白司馬板，一戰，敗走，棄鎧仗者太半，玄挺亦不追。 弘策退三四里，收散兵，復結陳以待之； 玄挺徐至，坐息良久，忽起擊之，弘策又敗，如是五戰。 丙辰，玄挺直抵太陽門，弘策將士餘騎馳入宮城，自餘無一人返者，皆歸於玄感。
Yi also sent word to the Eastern Capital to Prince of Yue Yang Tong and Fan Zigai and the rest to mobilize for defense, and the people of Xiuwu rallied to hold Linqing Pass. Unable to get through, Xuangan crossed the river south of Ji Commandery, and followers thronged him like a market crowd. He sent his brother Jishan with three thousand men to enter from the south along the west bank of the Luo from Yanshi; Xuanting crossed Mount Mang from White Horse Ford to the south; Xuangan followed with over three thousand men, the columns about ten li apart, all calling themselves the main force. His soldiers carried only single-edged blades and willow-wood shields—they had no bows, arrows, armor, or helmets. The Eastern Capital sent Henan Prefect Daxi Shanyi with five thousand elite troops to block Jishan, and Director of Palace Construction and Henan Administrative Supervisor Pei Hongce with eight thousand to block Xuanting. Shanyi crossed south of the Luo and encamped at Hanwang Temple; The next day Jishan's men arrived; Shanyi's force broke without a fight, and Jishan seized all their armor and weapons. Hongce marched out to White Horse Ford; after one engagement he was routed, and more than half his men cast off their armor and arms—Xuanting did not pursue. Hongce fell back three or four li, rallied his scattered men, and re-formed his lines to wait; Xuanting advanced at an easy pace, rested his men a long while, then suddenly attacked; Hongce was beaten again—this happened five times. On bingchen Xuanting reached the Taiyang Gate outright; Hongce and a handful of horsemen raced into the palace city; of the rest not a man came back—they all went over to Xuangan.
23
玄感屯上春門，每誓眾曰：「我身為上柱國，家累鉅萬金，至於富貴，無所求也。 今不顧滅族者，但為天下解倒懸之急耳！」 眾皆悅。 父老爭獻牛酒，子弟詣軍門請自效者，日以千數。
Xuangan encamped at the Upper Spring Gate and often addressed the troops: "I am already a Pillar of the State, and my family's wealth runs to tens of thousands in gold—there is nothing left for me to want in rank or riches. I risk the destruction of my whole clan only to deliver the realm from its desperate plight!" The troops all cheered. Local elders vied to bring cattle and wine, and young men came to the gates offering their service by the thousands each day.
24
內史舍人韋福嗣，洸之兄子也，從軍出拒玄感。 為玄感所獲； 玄感厚禮之，使與其黨胡師耽共掌文翰。 玄感令福嗣為書遺樊子蓋，數帝罪惡，云：「今欲廢昏立明，願勿拘小禮，自貽伊戚。」 樊子蓋新自外籓入為京官，東都舊官多慢之，至於部分軍事，未甚承稟。 裴弘策與子蓋同班，前出討賊失利，子蓋更使出戰，不肯行，子蓋命引出斬之以徇。 國子祭酒河東楊汪，小有不恭，子蓋又將斬之； 汪頓首流血，乃得免。 於是將吏震肅，無敢仰視，令行禁止。 玄感盡銳攻城，子蓋隨方拒守，玄感不能克。 然達官子弟應募從軍者，聞弘策死，皆不敢入城。 韓擒虎子世咢、觀王雄子恭道、虞世基子柔、來護兒子淵、裴蘊子爽、大理卿鄭善果子儼、周羅睺子仲等四十餘人皆降於玄感，玄感悉以親要重任委之。 善果，譯之兄子也。
Palace Secretariat Attendant Wei Fusi, a nephew of Wei Kuang, marched out with the army to resist Xuangan. He was captured by Xuangan; Xuangan honored him generously and put him in charge of documents together with his follower Hu Shidan. Xuangan had Fusi write to Fan Zigai, listing the emperor's crimes, saying: "We mean now to depose the dark ruler and set up a worthy one—do not let small formalities bind you to self-inflicted ruin." Fan Zigai had only lately come from a provincial post to serve in the capital, and many longtime Eastern Capital officials slighted him; they did not readily accept his orders when it came to military dispositions. Pei Hongce held the same rank as Zigai; after his earlier defeat against the rebels, Zigai ordered him out again—Hongce refused, and Zigai had him executed before the troops as a warning. When Director of the National University Yang Wang of Hedong showed even slight disrespect, Zigai again meant to execute him; Wang kowtowed until his brow bled, and was spared. From then on the officers stood in terrified obedience, none daring even to meet his gaze—his orders were obeyed without question. Xuangan threw his best troops against the walls, and Zigai met him at every point; Xuangan could not break through. Still, sons of high officials who had enlisted dared not enter the city after Hongce's execution. Han Qihu's son Shi'e, Prince of Guan Yang Xiong's son Gongdao, Yu Shiji's son Rou, Lai Huer's son Yuan, Pei Zi's son Shuang, Chief Minister of Justice Zheng Shanguo's son Yan, Zhou Luohou's son Zhong, and more than forty others all defected to Xuangan, who put them in positions of trust and authority. Shanguo was a nephew of Yizhi.
25
玄感收兵得五萬餘人，發五千守慈澗道，五千守伊闕道，遣韓世咢將三千人圍滎陽，顧覺將五千人取虎牢。 虎牢降，以覺為鄭州刺史，鎮虎牢。
Xuangan's ranks swelled to more than fifty thousand; he posted five thousand to hold Cijian Pass and five thousand Yique Pass, sent Han Shi'e with three thousand to besiege Xingyang, and Gu Jue with five thousand to take Hulao. When Hulao surrendered, he appointed Jue Prefect of Zhengzhou and left him to guard the fortress.
26
代王侑使刑部尚書衛文升帥兵四萬救東都，文升至華陰，掘楊素塚，焚其骸骨，示士卒以必死，遂鼓行出崤、澠，直趨東都城北。 玄感逆拒之； 文升且戰且行，屯於金谷。
Prince of Dai Yang You sent Minister of Justice Wei Wensheng with forty thousand men to relieve the Eastern Capital; at Huayin Wensheng opened Yang Su's tomb and burned the bones, showing his men he would fight to the death, then marched with drums sounding through the Xiao and Mian passes straight for the north wall of Luoyang. Xuangan marched out to block him; Wensheng fought as he advanced and encamped at Jingu.
27
遼東城久不拔，帝遣造布囊百餘萬口，滿貯土，欲積為魚梁大道，闊三十步，高與城齊，使戰士登而攻之。 又作八輪樓車，高出於城，夾魚梁道，欲俯射城內，指期將攻，城內危蹙。 會楊玄感反書至，帝大懼，引納言蘇威入帳中，謂曰：「此兒聰明，得無為患？」 威曰：「夫識是非，審成敗，乃謂之聰明，玄感粗疏，必無所慮。 但恐因此浸成亂階耳。」 帝又聞達官子弟皆在玄感所，益憂之。 兵部侍郎斛斯政素與玄感善，玄感之反，政與之通謀，玄縱兄弟亡歸，政潛遣之。 帝將窮治玄縱等黨與，政內不自安，戊辰，亡奔高麗。 庚午，夜二更，帝密召諸將，使引軍還，軍資、器械、攻具，積如丘山，營壘、帳幕、案堵不動，皆棄之而去。 眾心忷懼，無復部分，諸道分散。 高麗即時覺之，然不敢出，但於城內鼓噪。 至來日午時，方漸出外，四遠覘偵，猶疑隋軍詐之。 經二日，乃出數千兵追躡，畏隋軍之眾，不敢逼，常相去八九十里，將至遼水，知御營畢渡，乃敢逼後軍。 時後軍猶數萬人，高麗隨而抄擊，最後羸弱數千人為所殺略。
As the siege of Liaodong dragged on, the emperor ordered more than a million cloth sacks filled with earth to build a raised assault ramp thirty paces wide and level with the walls, so his soldiers could climb it to attack. He also built eight-wheeled siege towers taller than the walls, lining the ramp, to rain missiles down on the defenders; with the assault set for a fixed day, the city was in desperate straits. When word of Yang Xuangan's revolt arrived, the emperor was deeply alarmed; he drew Remonstrating Censor Su Wei into his tent and said: "That boy is clever—won't he become a serious threat?" Wei said: "True cleverness means knowing right from wrong and weighing success and failure—Xuangan is rash and shallow and surely lacks that. I only fear this may slowly open the door to wider rebellion." The emperor also learned that sons of the great families had joined Xuangan, and his anxiety grew. Vice Minister of War Qisi Zheng had long been close to Xuangan; when the rebellion broke out Zheng colluded with him, and when the Xuanzong brothers fled home Zheng secretly helped them escape. As the emperor prepared to root out the Xuanzong faction, Zheng lost his nerve; on wuchen he fled to Goguryeo. On gengwu, at the second watch of night, the emperor secretly summoned his generals and ordered a withdrawal; supplies, arms, and siege gear lay heaped like hills, and camps, tents, and palisades stood untouched—all abandoned as they marched away. Panic spread through the ranks; units lost all cohesion and broke up along separate routes. Goguryeo noticed at once, but dared not sally out—they only beat drums and shout within the walls. Not until noon the next day did they gradually emerge; scouts from all quarters still suspected a Sui trick. After two days they sent out several thousand men in pursuit; fearing Sui numbers, they kept eighty or ninety li back; only when they neared the Liao River and saw the imperial camp fully across did they dare close on the rear guard. The rear guard still numbered in the tens of thousands, but Goguryeo harried them from behind; the weakest few thousand at the tail were killed and stripped.
28
初，帝再征高麗，復問太史令庚質曰：「今段何如？」 對曰：「臣實愚迷，猶執前見，陛下若親動萬乘，勞費實多。」 帝怒曰：「我自行猶不克，直遣人去，安得有功！」 及還，謂質曰：「卿前不欲我行，當為此耳。 玄感其有成乎？」 質曰：「玄感地勢雖隆，素非人望，因百姓之勞，冀幸成功。 今天下一家，未易可動。」
Earlier, when the emperor set out on his second Goguryeo campaign, he again asked Grand Astrologer Geng Zhi: "What do you make of this expedition?" He answered: "I am a dull man, but I still hold to my earlier view—if Your Majesty leads the host in person, the cost in labor and treasure will be enormous." The emperor snapped: "If I go and still fail, how could sending someone else succeed!" After his return he said to Geng Zhi: "You did not want me to go—it was because of this. Will Xuangan succeed?" Geng Zhi said: "Though Xuangan holds strong ground, he has never commanded popular respect; he is betting on the people's exhaustion and hoping for a lucky break. The realm is still one house—not easily moved."
29
帝遣虎賁郎將陳稜攻元務本於黎陽，又遣左翊衛大將軍宇文述、左候衛將軍屈突通乘傳發兵以討玄感。 來護兒至東萊，聞玄感圍東都，召諸將議旋軍救之。 諸將咸以無敕，不宜擅還，固執不從，護兒厲聲曰：「洛陽被圍，心腹之疾； 高麗逆命，猶疥癬耳。 公家之事，知無不為，專擅在吾，不關諸人，有沮議者，軍法從事！」 即日回軍。 令子弘、整馳驛奏聞。 帝時還至涿郡，已敕護兒救東都，見弘、整，甚悅，賜護兒璽書曰：「公旋師之時，是朕敕公之日，君臣意合，遠同符契。」
The emperor sent Tiger Guard Commandant Chen Ling to attack Wu Ben at Liyang, and dispatched Left Wing Guard Grand General Yuwen Shu and Left Garrison Guard General Qutu Tong by fast relay to raise troops against Xuangan. When Lai Huer reached Donglai and learned Xuangan was besieging the Eastern Capital, he called his generals to discuss marching back to relieve the city. The generals argued that without an imperial order they must not withdraw on their own and stubbornly refused; Huer declared in a stern voice: "Luoyang under siege is a wound to the heart; Goguryeo's rebellion is nothing but a skin rash. In the emperor's service one acts when action is needed—the decision is mine alone and none of yours; whoever argues against it, let military law deal with him!" That same day he turned the army about. He sent his sons Hong and Zheng by express relay to inform the throne. The emperor was then returning to Zhuo Commandery and had already ordered Huer to relieve the Eastern Capital; when he saw Hong and Zheng he was delighted and sent Huer an imperial letter saying: "The day you turned your army was the day I commanded you to do so—monarch and minister thinking as one, though far apart, as if sealed by one tally."
30
先是，右武候大將軍李子雄坐事除名，令從軍自效，從來護兒在東萊，帝疑之，詔鎖子雄至行在所。 子雄殺使者，逃奔玄感。 衛文升以步騎二萬渡瀍水，與玄感戰，玄感屢破之。 玄感每戰，身先士卒，所向摧陷，又善撫悅其下，皆樂為致死，由是每戰多捷，眾益盛，至十萬人。 文升眾寡不敵，死傷太半且盡，乃更進屯邙山之陽，與玄感決戰，一日十餘合。 會楊玄挺中流矢死，玄感軍乃稍卻。
Earlier Right Martial Inspector Grand General Li Zixiong had been stripped of rank for an offense and ordered to redeem himself in the field under Lai Huer at Donglai; the emperor grew suspicious and ordered him chained and brought to the mobile court. Zixiong killed the messenger and fled to join Xuangan. Wei Wensheng crossed the Chan River with twenty thousand infantry and cavalry and fought Xuangan, who routed him again and again. Xuangan always fought at the head of his men and broke through wherever he led; he also knew how to win his troops' hearts, and they gladly fought to the death for him—battle after battle he won, and his ranks swelled to a hundred thousand. Outnumbered and with more than half his force killed or wounded, Wensheng pressed on to the south slope of Mount Mang and fought a decisive battle with Xuangan—more than ten engagements in a single day. When Yang Xuanting took an arrow and died, Xuangan's army began to give ground.
31
秋，七月，癸未，餘杭民劉元進起兵以應玄感。 元進手長尺餘，臂垂過膝，自以相表非常，陰有異志。 會帝再發三吳征高麗，三吳兵皆相謂曰：「往歲天下全盛，吾輩父兄征高麗者猶太半不返； 今已罷弊，復為此行，吾屬無遺類矣！」 由是多亡命。 郡縣捕之急，聞元進舉兵，亡命者雲集，旬月間，眾至數萬。
In the seventh month of autumn, on guiwei, Liu Yuanjin of Yuhang took up arms in support of Xuangan. Yuanjin's hands measured more than a foot, his arms hung below his knees; he took his unusual build as a sign of destiny and secretly nursed ambitions of his own. When the emperor again conscripted the Three Wu for Goguryeo, the soldiers there said among themselves: "In years past when the empire was at its height, more than half of our fathers and brothers sent against Goguryeo never came back; and now, worn to the bone, we are sent again on the same errand—not one of us will survive!" Many took to flight as outlaws. As counties hunted them down, fugitives streamed to Yuanjin when he raised his banner; within a month his following swelled to tens of thousands.
32
始，楊玄感至東都，自謂天下響應，功在朝夕。 得韋福嗣，委以心膂，不復專任李密。 福嗣每畫策，皆持兩端； 密揣知其意，謂玄感曰：「福嗣元非同盟，實懷觀望； 明公初起大事而奸人在側，聽其是非，必為所誤，請斬之！」 玄感曰：「何至於此！」 密退，謂所親曰：「楚公好反而不欲勝，吾屬今為虜矣！」
When Xuangan first reached the Eastern Capital, he expected the realm to rally to him and victory within days. Once he had Wei Fusi, he treated him as his right hand and no longer relied on Li Mi alone. Fusi's every plan hedged both ways; Mi saw through him and told Xuangan: "Fusi was never truly one of us—he is watching to see which way the wind blows; you have begun a great enterprise with a traitor at your side; if you heed his advice you will surely be ruined—I beg you, execute him!" Xuangan said: "Surely it need not go that far!" Mi withdrew and told his confidants: "Lord Chu loves rebellion but not victory—we are prisoners already!"
33
李子雄勸玄感速稱尊號，玄感以問密，密曰：「昔陳勝自欲稱王，張耳諫而被外； 魏武將求九錫，荀彧止而見誅。 今者密欲正言，還恐追蹤二子； 阿諛順意，又非密之本圖。 何者？ 兵起以來，雖復頻捷，至於郡縣，未有從者； 東都守禦尚強，天下救兵益至，公當挺身力戰，早定關中，乃亟欲自尊，何示人不廣也！」 玄感笑而止。
Li Zixiong urged Xuangan to proclaim himself emperor at once; Xuangan asked Mi, who said: "When Chen Sheng wanted to make himself king, Zhang Er cautioned him and was cast out; when Cao Cao sought the Nine Bestowals, Xun Yu opposed him and was killed. If I speak plainly now, I fear I will share the fate of those two; yet to flatter and agree with you would betray everything I stand for. Why is that? Since we took up arms, we have won battle after battle, yet no commandery or county has rallied to our cause; The Eastern Capital still holds strong, and relief armies from across the empire arrive daily—you should throw yourself into the fight and secure Guanzhong first, yet you rush to proclaim yourself ruler. What a cramped signal to send the world!" Xuangan laughed and said no more.
34
屈突通引兵屯河陽，宇文述繼之，玄感問計於李子雄，子雄曰：「通曉習兵事，若一得渡河，則勝負難決，不如分兵拒之。 通不能濟，則樊、衛失援。」 玄感然之，將拒通； 樊子蓋知其謀，數擊其營，玄感不得往。 通濟河，軍於破陵。 玄感分為二軍，西抗文升，東拒通。 子蓋復出兵大戰，玄感軍屢敗，與其黨謀之，李子雄曰：「東都援軍益至，我軍數敗，不可久留，不如直入關中，開永豐倉以振貧乏，三輔可指麾而定，據有府庫，東面而爭天下，亦霸王之業也。」 李密曰：「弘化留守元弘嗣握強兵在隴右，可聲言其反，遣使迎公，因此入關，可以紿眾。」
Qu Tutong encamped his army at Heyang, with Yuwen Shu coming up behind him. Xuangan consulted Li Zixiong, who said: "Tutong knows his craft. Once he crosses the river, the outcome becomes uncertain—we should detach a force to block him. If he cannot get across, Fan and Wei will be cut off from help." Xuangan agreed and prepared to block Tutong; Fan Zigai learned of the plan and struck his camps again and again, so Xuangan never got there. Tutong crossed the river and made camp at Poling. Xuangan split his forces: one wing to hold off Wei Wensheng in the west, the other to face Tutong in the east. Fan Zigai launched another major assault, and Xuangan's troops lost again and again. In council with his followers, Li Zixiong said: "Relief for the Eastern Capital grows daily, and we keep losing—we cannot stay here. Better to strike straight into Guanzhong, open the Yongfeng Granary to feed the hungry, and sweep the Three Adjuncts at a wave of the hand. With the imperial storehouses in our grip, we can turn east and contest the realm—that is the path of a true hegemon." Mi said: "Yuan Hongsi, the garrison commander at Honghua, commands a strong force in Longyou. Declare that he has risen in rebellion and send envoys to welcome you—use that pretext to enter the passes and keep the army believing."
35
會華陰諸楊請為嚮導，壬辰，玄感解東都圍，引兵西趣潼關，宣言：「我已破東都，取關西矣！」 宇文述等諸軍躡之。 至弘農宮，父老遮說玄感曰：「宮城空虛，又多積粟，攻之易下。」 玄感以為然。 弘農太守蔡王智積謂官屬曰：「玄感聞大軍將至，欲西圖關中，若成其計，則難克也； 當以計縻之，使不得進，不出一旬，可以成擒。」 及玄感軍至城下，智積登陴詈之； 玄感怒，留攻之。 李密諫曰：「公今詐眾西入，軍事貴速，況乃追兵將至，安可稽留！ 若前不得據關，退無所守，大眾一散，何以自全！」 玄感不從，遂攻之，燒其城門，智積於內益火，玄感兵不得入。 三日不拔，乃引而西。 至閺鄉，宇文述、衛文昇、來護兒、屈突通等軍追及於皇天原。 玄感上槃豆，布陳亙五十里，且戰且行，玄感一日三敗。 八月，壬寅，玄感陳於董杜原，諸軍擊之，玄感大敗，獨與十餘騎奔上洛。 追騎至，玄感叱之，皆反走。 至葭蘆戍，獨與弟積善徒步走，自度不免，謂積善曰：「我不能受人戮辱，汝可殺我！」 積善抽刀斫殺之，因自刺，不死，為追兵所執，與玄感首俱送行在所。 磔玄感屍於東都市，三日，復臠而焚之。 玄感弟玄獎為義陽太守，將赴玄感，為郡丞周旋玉所殺； 仁行為朝請大夫，伏誅於長安。
The Yang clan of Huayin offered to guide them. On renchen day, Xuangan raised the siege of the Eastern Capital and marched west toward Tong Pass, declaring: "I have taken the Eastern Capital—Guanzhong is mine!" Yuwen Shu and the other imperial armies pressed in pursuit. At Hongnong Palace, local elders waylaid Xuangan and said: "The palace stands nearly empty yet is packed with grain—it would fall easily to assault." Xuangan agreed. Hongnong's prefect, Prince of Cai Zhiji, told his staff: "Xuangan means to break through into Guanzhong before the main army arrives. If he succeeds, he will be impossible to crush; we must use a stratagem to tie him down and keep him from advancing—in less than ten days we can take him alive." When Xuangan's army reached the walls, Zhiji climbed the battlements and hurled insults at him; Enraged, Xuangan halted to lay siege. Mi urged him: "You have deceived the army into marching west—war demands speed, and the pursuers are close. How can we delay here! If we fail to seize the passes ahead, we will have nowhere to fall back—and once this host disperses, none of us survives!" Xuangan refused to listen. He pressed the assault and set fire to the gate, but Zhiji kindled flames inside as well, and Xuangan's men could not break through. After three days without success, he marched on toward the west. At Wenxiang, the armies of Yuwen Shu, Wei Wensheng, Lai Huer, and Qu Tutong caught up with him on Huangtian Plain. Xuangan took up positions at Mount Pandou, drawing his battle line along fifty li of road as he fought and retreated—and suffered three defeats in a single day. In the eighth month, on renyin day, Xuangan made his stand on Dongdu Plain. The imperial armies struck and shattered him. With barely a dozen riders he fled toward Shangluo. When pursuers caught up, Xuangan roared at them and they wheeled about in flight. At Jialu Post he fled on foot with only his brother Jishan. Seeing capture was inevitable, he told Jishan: "I will not endure the humiliation of execution—kill me yourself!" Jishan drew his blade and struck him down, then tried to take his own life but failed. Pursuers seized him and sent him, with Xuangan's severed head, to the emperor's camp. Xuangan's body was dismembered and displayed in the Eastern Capital market. After three days it was cut to pieces and burned. Xuangan's brother Xuanjiang, prefect of Yiyang, was marching to join the rebellion when the assistant prefect Zhou Xuanyu killed him; His brother Renxing, a court gentleman, was put to death in Chang'an.
36
玄感之圍東都也，梁郡民韓相國舉兵應之，玄感以為河南道元帥，旬月間眾十餘萬，攻剽郡縣； 至襄城，聞玄感敗，眾稍散，為吏所獲，傳首東都。
While Xuangan besieged the Eastern Capital, Han Xiangguo of Liang commandery rose in support. Xuangan appointed him commander of the Henan circuit, and within a month his following swelled to more than a hundred thousand as they raided commanderies and counties. At Xiangcheng he learned of Xuangan's defeat; his army melted away, and officials captured him and sent his head to the Eastern Capital.
37
帝以元弘嗣，斛斯政之親也，留守弘化郡，遣衛尉少卿李淵馳往執之，因代為留守，關右十三郡兵皆受徵發。 淵御眾寬簡，人多附之。 帝以淵相表奇異，又名應圖讖，忌之。 未幾，徵詣行在所，淵遇疾未謁，其甥王氏在後宮，帝問曰：「汝舅來何遲？」 王氏以疾對，帝曰：「可得死否？」 淵聞之，懼，因縱酒納賂以自晦。
Because Yuan Hongsi was a relative of Qisi Zheng, the emperor had stationed him at Honghua. He dispatched Li Yuan, vice director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, to arrest him and take over the garrison. All thirteen commanderies of Longyou were mobilized. Li Yuan ruled with a light hand, and people flocked to him. The emperor noted Li Yuan's unusual features and a name that matched prophetic texts—and grew wary of him. Soon Li Yuan was summoned to the emperor's camp, but illness delayed his audience. His niece Lady Wang served in the inner palace, and the emperor asked her: "Why is your uncle so slow to appear?" She cited his illness. The emperor said: "Might he die, perhaps?" Li Yuan heard of this and was terrified. He took to drunkenness and bribery to make himself seem harmless.
38
癸卯，吳郡朱燮、晉陵管崇聚眾寇掠江左。 燮本還俗道人，涉獵經史，頗知兵法，形容眇小，為昆山縣博士，與數十學生起兵，民苦役者赴之如歸。 崇長大，美姿容，志氣倜儻，隱居常熟，自言有王者相，故群盜相與奉之。 時帝在涿郡，命虎牙郎將趙六兒將兵萬人屯楊子，分為五營以備南賊。 崇遣其將陸顗渡江，夜，襲六兒，破其兩營，收其器械軍資而去，眾益盛，至十萬。
On guimao day, Zhu Xie of Wu commandery and Guan Chong of Jinling raised bands to pillage the lands south of the Yangtze. Zhu Xie had been a defrocked Taoist priest, well read in the classics and versed in military strategy, though slight of build. A county erudite in Kunshan, he took up arms with a few dozen students, and labor-weary commoners rallied to him as though returning home. Guan Chong was tall and handsome, bold and free-spirited, living in seclusion at Changshu. He claimed the bearing of a king, and the bandits made him their leader. The emperor was then at Zhuo commandery. He ordered General Zhao Liu'er of the Tiger Guards to encamp ten thousand men at Yangzi in five camps against the southern rebels. Guan Chong sent his commander Lu Yan across the river. In a night attack he smashed two of Liu'er's camps and carried off weapons and supplies. His force swelled to a hundred thousand.
39
辛酉，司農卿雲陽趙元淑坐楊玄感黨伏誅。 帝使大理卿鄭善果、御史大夫裴蘊、刑部侍郎骨儀、與留守樊子蓋推玄感黨與。 儀，本天竺胡人也。 帝謂蘊曰：「玄感一呼而從者十萬，益知天下人不欲多，多即相聚為盜耳。 不盡加誅，無以懲後。」 子蓋性既殘酷，蘊復受此旨，由是峻法治之，所殺三萬餘人，皆籍沒其家，枉死者太半，流徙者六千餘人。 玄感之圍東都也，開倉賑給百姓。 凡受米者，皆坑之於都城之南。 玄感所善文士會稽虞綽、琅邪王冑俱坐徙邊，綽、冑亡命，捕得，誅之。
On xinyou day, Zhao Yuanshu of Yunyang, minister of revenue, was executed as an associate of Yang Xuangan. The emperor ordered Chief Judge Zheng Shanguo, Censor Pei Yun, Vice Minister Gu Yi, and Fan Zigai, who held the Eastern Capital, to investigate Xuangan's accomplices. Gu Yi was originally of Indian descent. The emperor told Pei Yun: "At Xuangan's single call, a hundred thousand followed. It proves my point—the people cannot tolerate overcrowding. Gather too many together and they turn to banditry. Unless we kill them all, there will be no deterring the next rebellion." Fan Zigai was brutal by nature, and Pei Yun now had the emperor's mandate. The purge was merciless: more than thirty thousand were killed, their property seized; well over half were innocent, and six thousand more were exiled. During the siege of the Eastern Capital, Xuangan had opened the granaries to feed the people. Every person who had taken grain was buried alive south of the capital. Yu Chuo of Kuaiji and Wang Zhou of Langye, literati whom Xuangan had favored, were sentenced to frontier exile. They fled, were captured, and were put to death.
40
帝善屬文，不欲人出其右。 薛道衡死，帝曰：「更能作『空梁落燕泥』否！」 王冑死，帝誦其佳句曰：「『庭草無人隨意綠，』復能作此語邪！」 帝自負才學，每驕天下之士，嘗謂侍臣曰：「天下皆謂朕承藉緒餘而有四海，設令朕與士大夫高選，亦當為天子矣。」
The emperor was a gifted writer and could not abide rivals. When Xue Daohang was dead, the emperor mocked: "Can he still write 'empty rafters, swallows' mud' now?" When Wang Zhou died, the emperor quoted his best line—"'Unseen, the courtyard grass grows green as it will'"—and sneered: "Can he still write like that?" Vain about his own brilliance, the emperor despised the scholars of the realm. He once told his courtiers: "The world thinks I inherited the throne. Had I competed with the finest minds of the land, I would still have become emperor."
41
帝從容謂秘書郎虞世南曰：「我性不喜人諫，若位望通顯而諫以求名者，彌所不耐。 至於卑賤之士，雖少寬假，然卒不置之地上。 汝其知之！」 世南，世基之弟也。
The emperor said casually to Secretariat Gentleman Yu Shinan: "I do not take well to advice. Officials of rank who counsel me only to burnish their reputations—I find especially unbearable. Humble men may receive somewhat more leniency, but in the end I never let them off entirely. You would do well to remember that!" Yu Shinan was the younger brother of Yu Shiji.
42
帝使裴矩安集隴右，因之會寧，存問曷薩那可汗部落，遣闕達度設寇掠吐谷渾以自富，還而奏狀，帝大賞之。
The emperor sent Pei Ju to stabilize Longyou. At Huining he paid respects to the tribes of the Qaghan Hasa Ke, then dispatched Que Dachu She to raid Tuyuhun and fill the coffers. When Ju returned with his report, the emperor richly rewarded him.
43
九月，己卯，東海民彭孝才起為盜，有眾數萬。
In the ninth month, on jimao day, Peng Xiaocai of the East Sea turned bandit with a following of tens of thousands.
44
甲午，車駕至上谷，以供費不給，免太守虞荷等官。 閏月，己巳，幸博陵。
On jiawu day the imperial procession reached Shanggu. Because local supplies failed to meet demand, Prefect Yu He and others were dismissed. In the intercalary month, on jisi day, the emperor visited Boling.
45
冬，十月，丁丑，賊帥呂明星圍東郡，虎賁郎將費青奴擊破之。
In the tenth month of winter, on dingchou day, the bandit chief Lu Mingxing besieged Dong commandery. General Fei Qingnu of the Tiger Guards routed him.
46
劉元進帥其眾將渡江，會楊玄感敗，朱燮、管崇迎元進，推以為主，據吳郡，稱天子，燮、崇俱為尚書僕射，署置百官，毘陵、東陽、會稽、建安豪傑多執長吏以應之。 帝遣左屯衛大將軍代人吐萬緒、光祿大夫下邽魚俱羅將兵討之。
Liu Yuanjin was about to cross the Yangtze with his army when Xuangan fell. Zhu Xie and Guan Chong welcomed him, set him up as their leader, seized Wu commandery, and proclaimed him emperor. Xie and Chong became vice premiers; offices were filled across the government. Leading men in Piling, Dongyang, Kuaiji, and Jian'an seized their local officials and joined the cause. The emperor dispatched Grand General Tuyuan Xu of the Left Garrison Guard and Palace Official Yuju Luo of Xi Gui to crush the rebellion.
47
十一月，己酉，右候衛將軍馮孝慈討張金稱於清河，孝慈敗死。
In the eleventh month, on jiyou day, General Feng Xiaoci of the Right Houwei Guard attacked Zhang Jinheng in Qinghe—and was defeated and killed.
48
楊玄感之西也，韋福嗣亡詣東都歸首，是時如其比者皆不問。 樊子蓋收玄感文簿，得其書草，封以呈帝； 帝命執送行在。 李密亡命，為人所獲，亦送東都。 樊子蓋鎖送福嗣、密及楊積善、王仲伯等十餘人詣高陽，密與王仲伯等竊謀亡去，悉使出其所繼金以示使者曰：「吾等死日，此金並留付公，幸用相瘞，其餘即皆報德。」 使者利其金，許諾，防禁漸弛。 密請通市酒食，每宴飲，喧嘩竟夕，使者不以為意。 行至魏郡石梁驛，飲防守者皆醉，穿牆而逸。 密呼韋福嗣同去，福嗣曰：「我無罪，天子不過一面責我耳。」 至高陽，帝以書草示福嗣，收付大理。 宇文述奏：「凶逆之徒，臣下所當同疾，若不為重法，無以肅將來。」 帝曰：「聽公所為。」 十二月，甲申，述就野外，縛諸應刑者於格上，以車輪括其頸，使文武九品以上皆持兵斫射，亂髮矢如□胃毛，支體糜碎，猶在車輪中。 積善、福嗣仍加車裂，皆焚而揚之。 積善自言手殺玄感，冀得免死。 帝曰：「然則梟類耳！」 因更其姓曰梟氏。
When Xuangan marched west, Wei Fusi fled to the Eastern Capital and surrendered. Others who did the same were not punished. Fan Zigai seized Xuangan's papers and found among them draft documents, which he sealed and sent to the emperor; the emperor ordered Wei Fusi arrested and brought to his camp. Mi, also a fugitive, was captured and sent to the Eastern Capital. Fan Zigai had Fusi, Mi, Yang Jishan, Wang Zhongbo, and a dozen others chained and sent toward Gaoyang. Mi and Wang Zhongbo plotted escape. They pooled their gold and showed the escorts: "When we die, keep this gold for burying us—and keep the rest as our thanks." Greedy for the gold, the escorts agreed, and their watch grew lax. Mi began buying wine and food at every stop. Their nightly feasts rang with rowdy laughter until dawn, and the escorts thought nothing of it. At Shiliang Post in Wei commandery they got the guards drunk, broke through a wall, and fled. Mi urged Wei Fusi to come along. Fusi refused: "I have done nothing wrong. The worst the emperor will do is scold me to my face." At Gaoyang the emperor showed Fusi the incriminating drafts and handed him over to the judiciary. Yuwen Shu urged: "Traitors such as these are enemies to every loyal subject. Unless we make an example of them, rebellion will never end." The emperor said: "Do as you see fit." In the twelfth month, on jiashen day, Yuwen Shu bound the condemned in the open field, wedging their necks in cart wheels. He ordered every official from the ninth rank upward to hack and shoot at them. Arrows flew thick as hedgehog bristles until their flesh was pulp—yet they still hung in the wheels. Jishan and Fusi were further torn apart by chariots; all were burned and their ashes cast to the wind. Jishan claimed he had killed Xuangan with his own hand, hoping to escape death. The emperor said: "Then he is no better than an owl!" And had his surname changed to Owl.
49
唐縣人宋子賢，善幻術，能變佛形，自稱彌勒出世，遠近信惑，遂謀因無遮大會舉兵襲乘輿； 事洩，伏誅，並誅黨與千餘家。
Song Zixian of Tang county was a master of illusion who could appear in the form of the Buddha. Proclaiming himself Maitreya reborn, he won believers far and wide and plotted to attack the emperor during the Unhindered Assembly; The plot was discovered; he was executed, along with more than a thousand families of his followers.
50
扶風桑門向海明亦自稱彌勒出世，人有歸心者，輒獲吉夢，由是三輔人翕然奉之，因舉兵反，眾至數萬。 丁亥，海明自稱皇帝，改元白烏。 詔太僕卿楊義臣擊破之。
The monk Xiang Haiming of Fufeng also claimed to be Maitreya. Those who joined him dreamed lucky dreams, and the people of the Three Adjuncts rallied to him by the thousands. He rebelled with an army of tens of thousands. On dinghai day he proclaimed himself emperor under the era name White Crow. The emperor ordered Grand Master Yang Yichen to defeat him—and Yichen did.
51
帝召衛文升、樊子蓋詣行在； 慰勞之，賞賜極厚，遣還所任。
The emperor summoned Wei Wensheng and Fan Zigai to his camp; praised them lavishly, rewarded them richly, and sent them back to their posts.
52
劉元進攻丹楊，吐萬緒濟江擊破之，元進解圍去，緒進屯曲阿。 元進結柵拒緒，相持百餘日； 緒擊之，賊眾大潰，死者以萬數。 元進挺身夜遁，保其壘。 朱燮、管崇等屯毘陵，連營百餘里，緒乘勝進擊，復破之。 賊退保黃山，緒圍之，元進、燮僅以身免，於陳斬崇及其將卒五個餘人，收其子女三萬餘口，進解會稽圍。 魚俱羅與緒偕行，戰無不捷，然百姓從亂者如歸市，賊敗而復聚，其勢益盛。
Liu Yuanjin attacked Danyang. Tuyuan Xu crossed the Yangtze and routed him. Yuanjin broke off the siege and fled; Xu advanced and encamped at Qu'e. Yuanjin fortified his lines against Xu, and the two armies faced each other for more than a hundred days; Xu attacked and the rebel army collapsed; the dead were counted in the tens of thousands. Yuanjin slipped away under cover of night and held his fortified camp. Zhu Xie and Guan Chong had encamped at Piling in a chain of fortifications stretching more than a hundred li. Xu pressed his advantage, attacked again, and routed them once more. The rebels fell back to Huang Mountain, where Xu besieged them. Yuanjin and Xie escaped with their lives alone. On the field Xu beheaded Chong and more than fifty thousand of his officers and men, took more than thirty thousand women and children captive, and marched on to raise the siege of Kuaiji. Yu Juluo campaigned alongside Xu, and every battle went their way. Yet the people flocking to rebellion came as thick as shoppers at a market—defeated bands regrouped, and the movement only grew stronger.
53
元進退據建安，帝令緒進討，緒以士卒疲弊，請息甲待來春，帝不悅。 俱羅亦以賊非歲月可平，諸子在洛京，潛遣家僕迎之； 帝怒。 有司希旨，奏緒怯懦，俱羅敗衄，俱羅坐斬，徵緒詣行在，緒憂憤，道卒。
Yuanjin withdrew to Jian'an. The emperor ordered Xu to press the attack, but Xu, finding his men exhausted, asked to stand down until spring. The emperor was displeased. Juluo too believed the rebels could not be crushed in a matter of months. His sons were in Luoyang, and he secretly sent household servants to fetch them; The emperor flew into a rage. Officials eager to please the throne reported that Xu was timid and Juluo had been routed. Juluo was executed, and Xu was recalled to the emperor's camp. Overcome with grief and anger, Xu died on the journey.
54
帝更遣江都丞王世充發淮南兵數萬人討元進。 世充渡江，頻戰皆捷，元進、燮敗死於吳，其餘眾或降或散。 世充召先降者於通玄寺瑞像前焚香為誓，約降者不殺。 散者始欲入海為盜，聞之，旬月之間，歸首略盡，世充悉坑之於黃亭澗，死者三萬餘人。 由是餘黨復相聚為盜，官軍不能討，以至隋亡。 帝以世充有將帥才，益加寵任。
The emperor sent Jiangdu's assistant prefect Wang Shichong with tens of thousands of Huainan troops against Yuanjin. Shichong crossed the Yangtze and won battle after battle. Yuanjin and Xie were defeated and killed in Wu, and the rest of their followers either surrendered or melted away. Shichong gathered earlier defectors before the sacred image at Tongxuan Temple, burned incense, and swore that those who surrendered would not be harmed. Dispersed rebels who had planned to take to the sea heard the promise, and within a month nearly all came in to surrender. Shichong had every one of them buried alive at Huangting Stream—more than thirty thousand dead. After that, surviving rebels banded together again, and the imperial armies could not root them out—a disorder that endured until the fall of Sui. Impressed by Shichong's talent as a commander, the emperor lavished still greater favor upon him.
55
是歲，詔為盜者籍沒其家。 時群盜所在皆滿，群縣官因之各專威福，生殺任情矣。
That year an edict ordered the property of anyone who turned bandit to be confiscated and his household registered for punishment. Bandits swarmed in every quarter, and local officials seized the chance to wield unchecked power, killing or sparing as they pleased.
56
章丘杜伏威與臨濟輔公祏為刎頸交，俱亡命為群盜。 伏威年十六，每出則居前，入則殿後，由是其徒推以為帥。 下邳苗海潮亦聚眾為盜，伏威使公祏謂之曰：「今我與君同苦隋政，各舉大義，力分勢弱，常恐被擒。 若合為一，則足以敵隋矣。 君能為主，吾當敬從，自揆不堪，宜來聽命； 不則一戰以決雌雄。」 海潮懼，即帥其眾降之。 伏威轉掠淮南，自稱將軍，江都留守遣校尉宋顥討之，伏威與戰，陽為不勝，引顥眾入葭葦中，因從上風縱火，顥眾皆燒死。 海陵賊帥趙破陳以伏威兵少，輕之，召與並力； 伏威使公祏嚴兵居外，自與左右十人繼牛酒入謁，於座殺破陳，並其眾。
Du Fuwei of Zhangqiu and Fu Gongshi of Linji were sworn brothers in exile, both having taken to the hills as outlaws. Fuwei was only sixteen, yet on every raid he marched at the head and covered the rear on withdrawal. His band made him their leader. Miao Haichao of Xiapi had also raised a band of rebels. Fuwei sent Gongshi to tell him: "We both suffer under Sui rule and have each taken up arms, but divided we are weak and easily captured. Unite with us, and together we can stand against Sui. If you can lead, I will follow gladly. If you find me the better choice, come and take orders under me; otherwise let one battle decide who commands." Haichao was terrified and brought his followers over at once. Fuwei swept through Huainan proclaiming himself a general. The Jiangdu garrison sent Commandant Song Hao against him. Fuwei feigned defeat, lured Hao's men into the reeds, and set the marsh ablaze from upwind. Hao's entire force burned alive. Zhao Pochen, a rebel leader at Hailing, despised Fuwei for his small numbers and invited him to join forces; Fuwei posted Gongshi with armed men outside, then entered with ten companions bearing oxen and wine as gifts—and killed Pochen at the banquet table, absorbing his band.
57
春，二月，辛未，詔百僚議伐高麗，數日，無敢言者。 戊子，詔復徵天下兵，百道俱進。
In spring, on the xinwei day of the second month, the emperor ordered the court to debate another campaign against Goguryeo. For days not a soul spoke up. On wuzi day an edict went out to levy troops across the empire once more, advancing on a hundred fronts.
58
丁酉，扶風賊帥唐弼立李弘芝為天子，有眾十萬，自稱唐王。
On dingyou day Tang Bi of Fufeng proclaimed Li Hongzhi emperor before a host of a hundred thousand and styled himself King of Tang.
59
三月，壬子，帝行幸涿郡，士卒在道，亡者相繼。 癸亥，至臨渝宮，榪祭黃帝，斬叛軍者以釁鼓，亡者亦不止。
In the third month, on renzi day, the emperor set out for Zhuo commandery. Soldiers deserted along the march in an unbroken stream. On guihai day he reached Linyu Palace, offered the ma sacrifice to the Yellow Emperor, and beheaded deserters to consecrate the war drums—but the flight of troops did not cease.
60
夏，四月，榆林太守成紀董純與彭城賊帥張大虎戰於昌慮，大破之，斬首萬餘級。
In summer, the fourth month, Yulin's prefect Dong Chun of Chengji fought Zhang Dahu of Pengcheng at Changlu, routed him, and took more than ten thousand heads.
61
甲午，車駕至北平。
On jiawu day the imperial procession arrived at Beiping.
62
五月，庚申，延安賊帥劉迦論自稱皇王，建元大世，有眾十萬，與稽胡相表裡為寇。 詔以左驍衛大將軍屈突通為關內討捕大使，發兵擊之，戰於上郡，斬迦論並將卒萬餘級，虜男女數萬口而還。
In the fifth month, on gengshen day, Liu Jialun of Yan'an proclaimed himself emperor under the era name Great Age, mustered a hundred thousand men, and coordinated raids with the Ji Hu tribes. The emperor appointed Qu Tutong, Grand General of the Left Xiaowei Guard, commissioner to suppress bandits in Guannei. Tutong gave battle in Shang commandery, killed Jialun along with more than ten thousand of his officers and men, and returned with tens of thousands of captives.
63
秋，七月，癸丑，車駕次懷遠鎮。 時天下已亂，所徵兵多失期不至，高麗亦困弊。 來護兒至畢奢城，高麗舉兵逆戰，護兒擊破之，將趣平壤，高麗王元懼，甲子，遣使乞降，囚送斛斯政。 帝大悅，遣使持節召護兒還。 護兒集眾曰：「大軍三出，未能平賊，此還不可復來。 勞而無功，吾竊恥之。 今高麗實困，以此眾擊之，不日可克。 吾欲進兵徑圍平壤，聚高元，獻捷而歸，不亦善乎！」 答表請行，不肯奉詔。 長吏崔君肅固爭，護兒不可，曰：「賊勢破矣，獨以相任，自足辦之。 吾在閫外，事當專決，寧得高元還而獲譴，捨此成功，所不能矣！」 君肅告眾曰：「若從元帥違拒詔書，必當聞奏，皆應獲罪。」 諸將懼，俱請還，乃始奉詔。
In autumn, on the guichou day of the seventh month, the imperial procession halted at Huaiyuan garrison. The realm was already in turmoil. Levied troops failed to arrive on time in great numbers, and Goguryeo too was worn to the bone. Lai Huer reached Bishe city, where Goguryeo met him in battle. Huer routed the enemy and was advancing on Pyongyang when King Yuan of Goguryeo, terrified, sent envoys on jiazi day to sue for peace and delivered Husi Zheng in chains. The emperor was delighted and sent envoys with imperial credentials ordering Huer to withdraw. Huer assembled his troops and said: "The empire has sent three great armies and still failed to crush them. If we turn back now, we may never get another chance. To toil without victory is a shame I cannot bear. Goguryeo is truly at the end of its strength. With this army we can finish them in days. I mean to march straight on Pyongyang, seize Gao Yuan, and return in triumph—would that not be better!" He memorialized asking leave to advance and refused to obey the recall. Chief clerk Cui Junsu argued fiercely against him, but Huer would not listen. "The enemy is broken," he said. "The emperor has entrusted this to me alone, and I am equal to it. A general in the field decides for himself. I would rather bring Gao Yuan back in chains and face punishment than throw away certain victory—that I cannot do!" Junsu warned the army: "If you follow the commander in defying the imperial edict, I will report this to the throne, and every one of you will be punished." The officers were terrified, all pleaded to withdraw, and only then did Huer obey the recall.
64
八月，己巳，帝自懷遠鎮班師。 邯鄲賊帥楊公卿帥其黨八千人抄駕後第八隊，得飛黃上廄馬四十二匹而去。 冬，十月，丁卯，上至東都； 己丑，還西京。 以高麗使者及斛斯政告太廟； 仍徵高麗王元入朝，元竟不至。 敕將帥嚴裝，更圖後舉，竟不果行。
In the eighth month, on jisi day, the emperor withdrew his army from Huaiyuan garrison. Yang Gongqing of Handan led eight thousand followers in a raid on the eighth company trailing the imperial procession, seized forty-two of the palace's finest steeds, and escaped. In winter, on the dingmao day of the tenth month, the emperor reached the Eastern Capital; on jichou day he returned to the Western Capital. He presented the Goguryeo envoys and Husi Zheng before the Imperial Ancestral Temple; and summoned King Yuan of Goguryeo to court—but Yuan never came. He ordered his commanders to stand ready for another campaign, but in the end nothing came of it.
65
初，開皇之末，國家殷盛，朝野皆以高麗為意，劉炫獨以為不可，作《撫夷論》以刺之，至是，其言始驗。
In the prosperous closing years of Emperor Wen's Kaihuang era, court and country alike had Goguryeo on the mind. Only Liu Xuan dissented, writing his Treatise on Pacifying the Barbarians in protest. Now at last his warning had come true.
66
十一月，丙申，殺斛斯政於金光門外，如楊積善之法，仍烹其肉，使百官啖之，佞者或啖之至飽，收其餘骨，焚而揚之。
In the eleventh month, on bingshen day, Husi Zheng was executed outside Jinguang Gate in the same manner as Yang Jishan. His flesh was boiled and the officials forced to eat it—sycophants gorged themselves. The bones that remained were gathered, burned, and cast to the wind.
67
乙巳，有事於南郊，上不齋於次。 詰朝，備法駕，至即行禮。 是日，大風。 上獨獻上帝，三公分獻五帝。 禮畢，御馬疾驅而歸。
On yisi day rites were performed at the Southern Suburb, but the emperor did not observe the fasting retreat beforehand. At dawn he assembled the full imperial procession, arrived, and performed the ceremony at once. That day a fierce wind blew. The emperor alone made offering to Supreme Heaven; the Three Dukes each offered to one of the Five Emperors. When the rites were finished, he galloped back on horseback without delay.
68
乙卯，離石胡劉苗王反，自稱天子，眾至數萬； 將軍潘長文討之，不克。
On yimao day Liu Miaowang of the Lishi Hu rebelled, proclaimed himself emperor, and gathered tens of thousands; General Pan Changwen was sent against him but could not prevail.
69
汲郡賊帥王德仁擁眾數萬，保林慮山為盜。
Wang Deren of Jijun mustered tens of thousands and held Mount Linlu as an outlaw stronghold.
70
帝將如東都，太史令庚質諫曰：「比歲伐遼，民實勞弊，陛下宜鎮撫關內，使百姓盡力農桑，三五年間，四海稍豐實，然後巡省，於事為宜。」 帝不悅。 質辭疾不從，帝怒，下質獄，竟死獄中。 十二月，壬申，帝如東都，赦天下； 戊子，入東都。
As the emperor prepared to travel to the Eastern Capital, Grand Astrologer Geng Zhi remonstrated: "These repeated campaigns against Liaodong have exhausted the people. Your Majesty should settle Guanzhong and let the farmers return to their fields. In three or five years the realm may grow prosperous again—then a tour would be fitting." The emperor was displeased. Geng pleaded illness and refused to accompany him. The emperor in fury had him imprisoned, and there Geng died. In the twelfth month, on renshen day, the emperor traveled to the Eastern Capital and proclaimed a general amnesty; on wuzi day he entered the Eastern Capital.
71
東海賊帥彭孝才轉掠沂水，彭城留守董純討擒之。 純戰雖屢捷，而盜賊日滋，或譖純怯懦； 帝怒，鎖純詣東都，誅之。
Peng Xiaocai of Donghai raided along the Yishui River until Dong Chun, garrison commander of Pengcheng, hunted him down and captured him. Though Chun won battle after battle, banditry only spread, and some at court slandered him as timid; the emperor in anger had Chun shackled, brought to the Eastern Capital, and executed.
72
孟讓自長白山寇掠諸郡，至盱眙，眾十餘萬，據都梁宮，阻淮為固。 江都丞王世充將兵拒之，為五柵以塞險要，羸形示弱。 讓笑曰：「世充文法小吏，安能將兵！ 吾今生縛取，鼓行入江都耳！」 時民皆結堡自固，野無所掠，賊眾漸餒，乃少留兵，圍五柵，分人於南方抄掠； 世充伺其懈，縱兵出擊，大破之，讓以數十騎遁去，斬首萬餘級。
Meng Rang, operating from Changbai Mountain, raided commanderies across the region until he reached Xuyi with more than a hundred thousand men, seized Dulang Palace, and fortified his position along the Huai. Wang Shichong of Jiangdu marched against him, built five palisades to hold the passes, and deliberately appeared weak. Rang laughed and said: "Shichong is a clerk who knows only paperwork—what does he know of war! I'll bind him alive today and march straight into Jiangdu!" The people had all fortified their villages, leaving nothing to loot in the countryside. Meng Rang's army grew hungry. He left a small force to besiege the five palisades and sent parties south to forage; Shichong waited until they slackened, then sallied forth and routed them. Rang escaped with a few dozen horsemen; more than ten thousand heads were taken.
73
齊郡賊帥左孝友眾十萬屯蹲狗山，郡丞張須陀列營逼之，孝友窘迫出降。 須陀威振東夏，以功遷齊郡通守，領河南道十二郡黜陟討捕大使。 涿郡賊帥盧明月眾十餘萬軍祝阿，須陀將萬人邀之。 相持十餘日，糧盡，將退，謂將士曰：「賊見吾退，必悉眾來追，若以千人襲據其營，可有大利。 此誠危事，誰能往者？」 眾莫對，唯羅士信及歷城秦叔寶請行。 於是須陀委柵而遁，使二人分將千兵伏葭葦中，明月悉眾追之。 士信、叔寶馳至其柵，柵門閉，二人超升其樓，各殺數人，營中大亂； 二人斬關以納外兵，因縱火焚其三十餘柵，煙焰漲天。 明月奔還，須陀回軍奮擊，大破之，明月以數百騎遁去，所俘斬無算。 叔寶名瓊，以字行。
Zuo Xiaoyou of Qi commandery held Squatting Dog Mountain with a hundred thousand men. Assistant prefect Zhang Xutuo pressed him with encircling camps until Xiaoyou, trapped, surrendered. Xutuo's fame shook the eastern provinces. For his victories he was made communications-guardian of Qi commandery and commissioner over twelve Henan commanderies with authority to appoint, dismiss, and suppress bandits. Lu Mingyue of Zhuo commandery camped at Zhua with more than a hundred thousand followers. Xutuo met him with ten thousand men. After more than ten days their provisions ran out and Xutuo prepared to withdraw. He told his men: "When the enemy sees us retreat, they will pursue in full force. Send a thousand men to seize their camp and the gain will be great. It is a dangerous mission—who will go?" No one spoke until Luo Shixin and Qin Shubao of Licheng volunteered. Xutuo then abandoned camp and withdrew, while the two men each led a thousand men into ambush among the reeds. Mingyue pursued with his entire force. Shixin and Shubao raced to the enemy camp. The gate was shut, so the two scaled the tower, each killing several men, and threw the camp into chaos; they cut down the gate to let the main force in and set fire to more than thirty palisades until smoke blotted out the sky. Mingyue raced back, but Xutuo wheeled and struck. The rebel army was shattered; Mingyue fled with a few hundred horsemen. Captives and slain were beyond count. Shubao's given name was Qiong, but he was known by his style name.
74
春，正月，增秘書省官百二十員，並以學士補之。 帝好讀書著述，自為揚州總管，置正府學士至百人，常令修撰，以至為帝，前後近二十載，修撰未嘗暫停； 自經術、文章、兵、農、地理、醫、卜、釋、道乃至蒱博、鷹狗，皆為新書，無不精洽，共成三十一部，萬七千餘卷。 初，西京嘉則殿有書三十七萬卷，帝命秘書監柳顧言等詮次，除其復重猥雜，得正御本三萬七千餘卷，納於東都修文殿。 又寫五十副本，簡為三品，分置西京、東都宮、省、官府，其正御書皆裝剪華淨，寶軸錦褾。 於觀文殿前為書室十四間，窗戶床褥廚幔，咸極珍麗，每三間開方戶，垂錦幔，上有二飛仙，戶外地中施機發。 帝幸書室，有宮人執香爐，前行踐機，則飛仙下，收幔而上，戶扉及廚扉皆自啟，帝出，則垂閉復故。 帝以戶口逃亡，盜賊繁多，二月，庚午，詔民悉城居，田隨近給。 郡縣驛亭村塢皆築城。
In spring, the first month, the Secretariat was expanded by a hundred and twenty posts, all filled from the ranks of imperial academicians. The emperor loved reading and writing. From his days as regional inspector of Yangzhou he had kept as many as a hundred scholars compiling texts for him, and for nearly twenty years as emperor the work never stopped; covering classics, literature, warfare, agriculture, geography, medicine, divination, Buddhism, Daoism—even gambling and falconry. Nothing was omitted. The result was thirty-one works totaling more than seventeen thousand scrolls. The Jiaze Hall in the Western Capital held three hundred seventy thousand scrolls. The emperor ordered Secretariat Director Liu Guyang and others to collate the collection, strip out duplicates and rubbish, and select thirty-seven thousand authoritative volumes for the Xiuwen Hall in the Eastern Capital. Fifty duplicate sets were made, graded in three tiers, and distributed to the palaces, ministries, and offices of both capitals. The imperial editions were bound with jeweled rollers and brocade covers. Before the Hall of Viewing Literature he built fourteen book chambers, furnished with windows, bedding, and curtains of the utmost luxury. Every three chambers shared a square doorway hung with brocade, above which stood two figures of flying immortals. Mechanisms were set into the floor outside each door. When the emperor entered, a palace woman bearing an incense burner stepped on the trigger. The flying immortals descended, drew up the curtains, and every door swung open by itself. When he left, everything closed and reset as before. Alarmed by fleeing taxpayers and rampant banditry, the emperor in the second month, on gengwu day, ordered the people to live only within walled towns and assigned fields nearby. Every commandery, county, post station, village, and stockade was ordered to build walls.
75
上谷賊帥王須拔自稱漫天王，國號燕； 賊帥魏刀兒自稱歷山飛：眾各十餘萬，北連突闕，南寇燕、趙。
Wang Xuba of Shanggu proclaimed himself King of Boundless Heaven and styled his realm Yan; The bandit chief Wei Dao'er styled himself Flying Over Mount Li; his followers numbered more than one hundred thousand, linking with the Turks in the north and raiding Yan and Zhao in the south.
76
初，高祖夢洪水沒都城，意惡之，故遷都大興。 申明公李穆薨，孫筠襲爵。 叔父渾忿其吝嗇，使兄子善衡賊殺之，而證其從父弟瞿曇，使之償死。 渾謂其妻兄左衛率宇文述曰：「若得紹封，當歲奉國賦之半。」 述為之言於太子，奏高祖，以渾為穆嗣。 二歲之後，不復以國賦與述，述大恨之。 帝即位，渾累官至右驍衛大將軍，改封郕公，帝以其門族強盛，忌之。 會有方士安伽陀言「李氏當為天子」，勸帝盡誅海內凡李姓者。 渾從子將作監敏，小名洪兒，帝疑其名應讖，常面告之，冀其引決。 敏大懼，數與渾及善衡屏人私語； 述譖之於帝，仍遣虎賁郎將河東裴會基表告渾反。 帝收渾等家，遣尚書左丞元文都、御史大夫裴蘊雜治之，案問數日，不得反狀，以實奏聞。 帝更遣述窮治之，述誘教敏妻宇文氏為表，誣告渾謀因渡遼，與其家子弟為將領者共襲取御營，立敏為天子。 述持入，奏之，帝泣曰：「吾宗社幾傾，賴公獲全耳。」 三月，丁酉，殺渾、敏、善衡及宗族三十二人，自三從以上皆徙邊徼。 後數月，敏妻亦鴆死。
Earlier, Emperor Wen had dreamed that floodwaters submerged the capital—a sign he found ominous—and for that reason relocated the court to Daxing. Duke Shenming Li Mu died, and his grandson Yun succeeded to the title. His paternal uncle Hun, resenting his stinginess, had his nephew Shanheng murder him and then framed his cousin Qutan to pay with his life. Hun told his brother-in-law Yuwen Shu, commandant of the Left Guard: "If I can inherit the title, I will every year give you half the empire's tax revenue." Shu pleaded his case before the crown prince and memorialized Emperor Wen, who named Hun Li Mu's successor. Two years later Hun stopped paying Shu his share of the tax revenue, and Shu came to hate him bitterly. After the emperor's accession, Hun rose to grand general of the Right Xiao Wei Guard and was re-enfeoffed as Duke of Cheng; the emperor, wary of his clan's strength, grew suspicious of him. A Daoist named An Jiatuo then declared that "the Li will become Son of Heaven" and urged the emperor to slaughter every Li in the realm. Hun's nephew Min, director of palace construction, went by the childhood name Hong'er; the emperor suspected the name fulfilled the prophecy and repeatedly told him so to his face, hoping he would kill himself. Min was terrified and repeatedly met in secret with Hun and Shanheng, speaking behind closed doors; Shu denounced them to the emperor and sent Pei Huiji of Hedong, a Tiger Guard regiment commander, to memorialize that Hun was plotting rebellion. The emperor seized Hun's household and sent Yuan Wendu, left assistant director of the Masters of Writing, and Censor-in-Chief Pei Yun to investigate together; after days of interrogation they found no proof of rebellion and reported the truth. The emperor then sent Shu to press the case to the end; Shu coached Min's wife, Lady Yuwen, into writing a memorial falsely accusing Hun of plotting, during the crossing of the Liao, to join with kinsmen serving as generals in a surprise attack on the imperial camp and install Min as emperor. Shu presented the memorial, and the emperor wept, saying: "My altars of soil and grain nearly fell—it is thanks to you that they stand intact." In the third month, on dingyou day, Hun, Min, Shanheng, and thirty-two of their clansmen were put to death, and all relatives within three removes and above were banished to the border marches. Several months later Min's wife was also killed by poison.
77
有二孔雀自西苑飛集寶城朝堂前，親衛校尉高德儒等十餘人見之，奏以為鸞。 時孔雀已飛去，無可得驗，於是百僚稱賀。 詔以德儒誠心冥會，肇見嘉祥，擢拜朝散大夫，賜物百段，餘人皆賜束帛； 仍於其地造儀鸞殿。
Two peacocks flew from the Western Park and alighted before the hall at Baocheng; Gao Deru, a commandant of the Personal Guard, and more than ten others who saw them memorialized that they were phoenixes. By then the peacocks had already flown away and nothing could be verified, yet the officials all offered congratulations. An edict declared that Deru's sincere heart had mysteriously accorded with Heaven and that he had been first to witness an auspicious omen; he was promoted to court gentleman for dispersal and given a hundred rolls of goods, while the others all received bolts of silk; and on that spot a Ceremonial Phoenix Hall was built.
78
己酉，帝行幸太原； 夏，四月，幸汾陽宮避暑。 宮城迫隘，百官士卒布散山谷間，結草為營而居之。
On jiyou day the emperor set out for Taiyuan; In the fourth month of summer he went to Fenyang Palace to escape the heat. The palace grounds were cramped, so officials and soldiers were scattered through the valleys and lived in camps of grass huts.
79
以衛尉少卿李淵為山西、河東撫慰大使，承製黜陟選補郡縣文武官，仍發河東兵討捕群盜。 淵行至龍門，擊賤帥母端兒，破之。
Li Yuan, vice minister of the guard, was appointed pacification commissioner of Shanxi and Hedong, empowered by imperial commission to appoint, dismiss, and fill civil and military posts in the commanderies and counties, and to dispatch Hedong troops against the bandit hosts. When Li Yuan reached Longmen he attacked the bandit chief Mu Duan'er and routed him.
80
秋，八月，乙丑，帝巡北塞。
In the eighth month of autumn, on yichou day, the emperor toured the northern frontier.
81
初，裴矩以突厥始畢可汗部眾漸盛，獻策分其勢，欲以宗女嫁弟叱吉設，拜為南面可汗； 叱吉不敢受，始畢聞而漸怨。 突厥之臣史蜀胡悉多謀略，為始畢所寵任，矩詐與為互市，誘至馬邑下，殺之。 遣使詔始畢曰：「史蜀胡悉叛可汗來降，我已相為斬之。」 始畢知其狀，由是不朝。
Earlier, seeing that Shibi Khan's following was steadily growing, Pei Ju proposed a plan to divide Turk power: marry an imperial clanswoman to Shibi's younger brother Chijishe and invest him as Southern Khan; Chiji did not dare accept the honor, and when Shibi heard of the scheme he grew steadily resentful. The Turk minister Shishu Huxi was a man of many stratagems and enjoyed Shibi's favor; Ju feigned a mutual-trade market, lured him beneath Mayi, and killed him. He sent an envoy to tell Shibi: "Shishu Huxi rebelled against you and came over to us; I have already executed him on your behalf." Shibi knew what had really happened and from then on ceased paying court.
82
戊辰，始畢帥騎數十萬謀襲乘輿，義成公主先遣使者告變。 壬申，車駕馳入雁門，齊王暕以後軍保崞縣。 癸酉，突厥圍雁門，上下惶怖，撤民屋為守禦之具，城中兵民十五萬口，食僅可支二旬，雁門四十一城，突厥克其三十九，唯雁門、崞不下。 突厥急攻雁門，矢及御前； 上大懼，抱趙王杲而泣，目盡腫。
On wuchen day Shibi led several hundred thousand horsemen in a planned assault on the imperial carriage; Princess Yicheng sent an envoy ahead to warn of the plot. On renshen day the imperial carriage raced into Yanmen; the Prince of Qi, Yang Liang, held the rear at Guo county. On guiyou day the Turks besieged Yanmen; panic seized the court and city alike; houses were torn down for defensive materials; one hundred fifty thousand soldiers and civilians were inside, with provisions for barely twenty days; of the forty-one fortresses around Yanmen the Turks took thirty-nine—only Yanmen and Guo held out. The Turks pressed hard on Yanmen, and arrows fell before the emperor himself; The emperor was terrified; he clutched Prince Zhao Yang Gao and wept until his eyes were swollen shut.
83
左衛大將軍宇文述勸帝簡精銳數千騎潰圍而出，納言蘇威曰：「城守則我有餘力，輕騎乃彼之所長，陛下萬乘之主，豈宜輕動！」 民部尚書樊子蓋曰：「陛下乘危徼幸，一朝狼狽，悔之何及！ 不若據堅城以挫其銳，坐徵四方兵使入援。 陛下親撫循士卒，諭以不復征遼，厚為勳格，必人人自奮，何憂不濟！」 內史侍郎蕭瑀以為：「突厥之俗，可賀敦預知軍謀； 且義成公主以帝女嫁外夷，必恃大國之援。 若使一介告之，借使無益，庸有何損。 又，將士之意，恐陛下既免突厥之患，還事高麗，若發明詔，諭以赦高麗、專討突厥，則眾心皆安，人自為戰矣。」 瑀，皇后之弟也。 虞世基亦勸帝重為賞格，下詔停遼東之役。 帝從之。
Left Guard Grand General Yuwen Shu urged the emperor to break out with a few thousand picked horsemen; Remonstrating Master Su Wei said: "While we hold the walls we still have strength to spare; light cavalry is exactly what they excel at—Your Majesty, lord of ten thousand chariots, must not take such a risk!" Minister of the Household Fan Zigai said: "Your Majesty courted danger for a whim; one morning of rout would leave regret too late! Better to hold this strong city, break their momentum, and summon relief from every quarter. Your Majesty should walk among the troops in person, promise that the Liaodong campaign will not be resumed, and set generous rewards for merit—then every man will fight of his own will. What failure need we fear?" Vice Director of the Palace Secretariat Xiao Yu argued: "By Turk custom the khatun shares in military planning; moreover Princess Yicheng, the emperor's daughter given in marriage to a foreign tribe, must rely on the great state's support. Send one messenger to inform her—even if it avails nothing, what harm can it do? And the troops fear that once the Turk danger passes Your Majesty will turn again to Goguryeo; issue a clear edict pardoning Goguryeo and declaring war only on the Turks, and every heart will be steadied and each man will fight for himself." Yu was the empress's younger brother. Yu Shiji also urged the emperor to set lavish rewards and issue an edict halting the Liaodong campaign. The emperor agreed.
84
帝親巡將士，謂之曰：「努力擊賊，苟能保全，凡在行陳，勿憂富貴，必不使有司弄刀筆破汝勳勞。」 乃下令：「守城有功者，無官直除六品，賜物百段； 有官以次增益。」 使者慰勞，相望於道，於是眾皆踴躍，晝夜拒戰，死傷甚眾。
The emperor walked among the troops and told them: "Fight hard against the enemy; if you preserve the realm, every man in the ranks need not worry about rank or reward—I will not let clerks wield their brushes to erase your merit." He then ordered: "Defenders with merit who hold no office shall be directly appointed to sixth rank and given a hundred rolls of goods; those already in office shall receive successive promotions." Envoys bearing imperial comfort lined the roads, and the troops rallied, fighting day and night at heavy cost in dead and wounded.
85
甲申，詔天下募兵，守令競來赴難。 李淵之子世民，年十六，應募隸屯衛將軍雲定興，說定興多繼旗鼓為疑兵，曰：「始畢敢舉兵圍天子，必謂我倉猝不能赴援故也。 宜晝則引旌旗數十里不絕，夜則鉦鼓相應，虜必謂救兵大至，望風遁去。 不然，彼眾我寡，若悉軍來戰，必不能支。」 定興從之。
On jiashen day an edict called for troops empire-wide, and magistrates and prefects raced to the rescue. Li Yuan's son Shimin, sixteen years old, answered the call and served under Garrison Guard General Yun Dingxing; he advised Dingxing to stretch relay banners and flags as a decoy, saying: "Shibi dared besiege the Son of Heaven because he thought we could not reach him in time. By day stretch banners and flags for tens of li without end; by night answer with gongs and drums—the enemy will think a great relief army has come and flee at the first sign of wind. Otherwise they outnumber us; if their whole army comes to fight, we cannot stand." Dingxing did as he advised.
86
帝遣間使求救於義成公主，公主遣使告始畢云：「北邊有急。」 東都及諸郡援兵亦至忻口； 九月，甲辰，始畢解圍去。 帝使人出偵，山谷皆空，無胡馬，乃遣二千騎追躡，至馬邑，得突厥老弱二千餘人而還。
The emperor sent a secret envoy to beg Princess Yicheng for rescue; the princess sent word to Shibi: "There is urgent trouble on the northern border." Relief from the Eastern Capital and the commanderies also reached Xinkou; In the ninth month, on jiachen day, Shibi lifted the siege and withdrew. The emperor sent scouts out; the valleys were empty of Turk horses; he then sent two thousand horsemen in pursuit, reaching Mayi and bringing back more than two thousand Turk weak and aged.
87
丁未，車駕還至太原。 蘇威言於帝曰：「今盜賊不息，士馬疲弊，願陛下亟還西京，深根固本，為社稷計。」 帝初然之。 宇文述曰：「從官妻子多在東都，宜便道向洛陽，自潼關而入。」 帝從之。
On dingwei day the imperial carriage returned to Taiyuan. Su Wei told the emperor: "Banditry still rages and men and horses are spent; Your Majesty should return quickly to the Western Capital, deepen your roots, and secure the foundation of the realm." The emperor at first agreed. Yuwen Shu said: "The attendant officials' wives and children are mostly in the Eastern Capital; it would be convenient to go straight to Luoyang and enter through Tong Pass." The emperor agreed.
88
冬，十月，壬戌，帝至東都，顧眄街衢，謂侍臣曰：「猶大有人在。」 意謂向日平楊玄感，殺人尚少故也。 蘇威追論勳格太重，宜加斟酌，樊子蓋固請，以為不宜失信，帝曰：「公欲收物情邪！」 子蓋懼，不敢對。 帝性吝官賞，初平楊玄感，應授勳者多，乃更置戎秩：建節尉為正六品，次奮武、宣惠、綏德、懷仁、秉義、奉誠、立信等尉，遞降一階。 將士守雁門者萬七千人，至是，得勳者才千五百人，皆准平玄感勳，一戰得第一勳者進一階，其先無戎秩者止得立信尉，三戰得第一勳者至秉義尉，其在行陳而無勳者四戰進一階，亦無賜。 會仍議伐高麗，由是將士無不憤怨。
In the tenth month of winter, on renxu day, the emperor reached the Eastern Capital; he looked about the streets and told his attendants: "There are still too many people here." He meant that when he had put down Yang Xuangan he had not killed enough. Su Wei pressed his argument that the promised rewards were too lavish and should be scaled back; Fan Zigai pleaded hard that the throne must not break faith; the emperor said: "Are you trying to win popular favor!" Fan Zigai was afraid and dared not answer. The emperor was by nature stingy with official rewards; after suppressing Yang Xuangan many men deserved merit, so he created new military ranks: Jianjie Wei at regular sixth rank, then Fenwu, Xuanhui, Suide, Huairen, Bingyi, Fengcheng, Lixin, and the rest, each a step lower. Seventeen thousand men had defended Yanmen; in the end only fifteen hundred received merit awards, all measured against the Xuangan standard: first merit in one battle meant one rank; men without prior military rank got no more than Lixin Wei; three first merits reached Bingyi Wei; men in the ranks without merit advanced one rank after four battles—and there were no gifts at all. Meanwhile the court again debated war against Goguryeo, and the troops were filled with resentment.
89
初，蕭瑀以外戚有才行，嘗事帝於東宮，累遷至內史侍郎，委以機務。 瑀性剛鯁，數言事忤旨，帝漸疏之。 及雁門圍解，帝謂群臣曰：「突厥狂悖，勢何能為！ 少時未散，蕭瑀遽相恐動，情不可恕！」 出為河池郡守，即日遣之。 候衛將軍楊子崇從帝在汾陽宮，知突厥必為寇，屢請早還京師，帝不納，及解圍，帝怒曰：「子崇怯懦，驚動眾心，不可居爪牙之官。」 出為離石郡守。 子崇，高祖之族弟也。
Earlier, Xiao Yu, an able and upright affinal kinsman, had served the emperor in the Eastern Palace and risen to vice director of the Palace Secretariat, entrusted with critical affairs. Yu was stiff-spined and outspoken; he repeatedly spoke against the emperor's wishes, and the emperor gradually distanced himself from him. After the siege of Yanmen was lifted the emperor told his ministers: "The Turks were wildly insolent—what could they have done! They had barely withdrawn when Xiao Yu rushed to spread alarm—such conduct cannot be forgiven!" He was sent out as prefect of Heguan and ordered away the same day. Guard General Yang Zichong had accompanied the emperor at Fenyang Palace; foreseeing a Turk raid he repeatedly urged an early return to the capital, but the emperor would not listen; after the siege was lifted the emperor said in anger: "Zichong is a coward who shook the troops' hearts—he is unfit for a post among the emperor's claws and fangs." He was sent out as prefect of Lishi. Zichong was a younger clansman of Emperor Wen.
90
楊玄感之亂，龍舟水殿皆為所焚，詔江都更造，凡數千艘，制度仍大於舊者。
Yang Xuangan's rebellion had burned the dragon boats and water halls; an edict ordered them rebuilt at Jiangdu—several thousand vessels in all, each larger than before.
91
壬申，盧明月帥眾十萬寇陳、汝。
On renshen day Lu Mingyue led one hundred thousand men to raid Chen and Ru.
92
東海李子通，有勇力，先依長白山賊帥左才相，群盜皆殘忍，而子通獨寬仁，由是人多歸之，未半歲，有眾萬人。 才相忌之，子通引去，渡淮，與杜伏威合。 伏威選軍中壯士養為假子，凡三十餘人，濟陰王雄誕、臨濟闞稜為之冠。 既而李子通謀殺伏威，遣兵襲之。 伏威被重創墜馬，雄誕負之逃葭葦中，收散兵復振。 將軍來整擊伏威，破之； 其將西門君儀之妻王氏，勇而多力，負伏威以逃，雄誕帥壯士十餘人衛之，與隋兵力戰，由是得免。 來整又擊李子通，破之，子通帥其餘眾奔海陵，復收兵得二萬人，自稱將軍。
Li Zitong of Donghai was a man of courage and strength; he first joined the bandit chief Zuo Caixiang on Changbai Mountain; the outlaws were all cruel, but Zitong alone was generous and humane, and men flocked to him; in less than half a year he had ten thousand followers. Caixiang grew jealous; Zitong withdrew, crossed the Huai, and joined Du Fuwei. Fuwei picked the strongest warriors in his army and adopted them as nominal sons—more than thirty in all—with Wang Xiong of Jiyin and Kan Ling of Linji at their head. Before long Li Zitong plotted to kill Fuwei and sent troops against him. Fuwei was gravely wounded and fell from his horse; Xiongdan carried him into the reeds, gathered the scattered troops, and rallied them again. General Lai Zheng attacked Fuwei and routed him; Lady Wang, wife of his general Ximen Junyi, was brave and strong; she carried Fuwei to safety while Xiongdan led a dozen warriors to guard them and fought the Sui troops hand to hand, and so Fuwei escaped. Lai Zheng then attacked Li Zitong and defeated him; Zitong fled to Hailing with his remnant force, raised troops again to twenty thousand, and styled himself general.
93
城父朱粲始為縣佐史，從軍，遂亡命聚眾為盜，謂之「可達寒賊」，自稱迦樓羅王，眾至十餘萬，引兵轉掠荊、沔及山南郡縣，所過□類無遺。
“Zhu Can of Chengfù had begun as a county clerk, entered military service, then fled and gathered outlaws known as the Kedahan Bandits; he styled himself King Garuda and built a following of more than one hundred thousand; he swept through Jing, Mian, and the mountain-south commanderies and counties, leaving nothing alive wherever he passed—not even fowl or dogs.”
94
十二月，庚寅，詔民部尚書樊子蓋發關中兵數萬擊絳賊敬盤陀等。 子蓋不分臧否，自汾水之北，村塢盡焚之，賊有降者皆坑之。 百姓怨憤，益相聚為盜。 詔以李淵代之。 有降者，淵引置左右，由是賊眾多降，前後數萬人，餘黨散入它郡。
In the twelfth month, on gengyin day, an edict ordered Minister of the Household Fan Zigai to dispatch tens of thousands of Guanzhong troops against the Jiang bandits Jing Pantuo and others. Fan Zigai made no distinction between loyal and rebel; north of the Fen River he burned every village stockade, and every bandit who surrendered was buried alive. The people seethed with resentment and turned to banditry in ever greater numbers. An edict replaced him with Li Yuan. Li Yuan kept surrendered men at his side, and bandits came over in droves—tens of thousands in all—while the remaining partisans scattered into other commanderies.