1
資治通鑑第183卷卷第一百八十三
Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance, Volume 183.
2
【隋紀七】起柔兆困敦，盡強圉赤備若五月，凡一年有奇。
[Sui Records 7] From Rouzhao Kundun through Qiangyu Chifenruo, fifth month—a span of a little more than one year.
3
春，正月，朝集使不至者二十餘郡，始議分遣使者十二道發兵討捕盜賊。
In spring, the first month, envoys from more than twenty commanderies failed to appear at court, and the government first considered sending commissioners along twelve circuits to raise troops and hunt down the bandits.
4
詔毘陵通守路道德集十郡兵數萬人，於郡東南起宮苑，周圍十二里，內為十六離宮，大抵仿東都西苑之制，而奇麗過之。 又欲築宮於會稽，會亂，不果成。
The emperor ordered Lu Daode, defender of Piling, to gather tens of thousands of soldiers from ten commanderies and build a palace park southeast of the seat, twelve li around, containing sixteen detached palaces—roughly on the model of the Western Park at the eastern capital, but even more extravagant. He also planned a palace at Kuaiji, but unrest intervened and the project was never finished.
5
三月，上巳，帝與群臣飲於西苑水上，命學士杜寶撰《水飾圖經》，采古水事七十二，使朝散大夫黃袞以木為之，間以妓航、酒船，人物自動如生，鐘磬箏瑟，能成音曲。
In the third month, on the Shangsi festival, the emperor feasted with his ministers on the Western Park's waters and ordered the scholar Du Bao to compile a Water Ornament Canon, gathering seventy-two tales of waters from antiquity. Huang Gun, Gentleman for Court Discussion, fashioned them in wood, mingling pleasure craft and wine boats among them; the figures moved by themselves as though alive, and bells, stone chimes, zithers, and lutes could actually play tunes.
6
己丑，張金稱陷平恩，一朝殺男女萬餘口； 又陷武安、鉅鹿、清河諸縣。 金稱比諸賊尤殘暴，所過民無孑遺。
On jichou, Zhang Jincheng captured Ping'en and in one morning slaughtered more than ten thousand men, women, and children; then overran the counties of Wu'an, Julu, and Qinghe as well. Among the rebel leaders Jincheng was the most savage of all—wherever he marched, no commoner was left alive.
7
夏，四月，丁巳，大業殿西院火。 帝以為盜起，驚走，入西苑，匿草間，火定乃還。 帝自八年以後，每夜眠恆驚悸，雲有賊，令數婦人搖撫，乃得眠。
In summer, the fourth month, on dingsi, fire destroyed the western wing of the Hall of Great Works. The emperor took it for a rising of bandits, fled in panic into the Western Park, and hid in the undergrowth until the blaze died down. After the eighth year of his reign he could scarcely sleep at night without waking in terror, crying that bandits were upon him; only when several women rocked and comforted him could he rest.
8
癸亥，歷山飛別將甄翟兒眾十萬寇太原，將軍潘長文敗死。 五月，丙戌朔，日有食之，既。
On guihai, Zhen Zhai'er—a lieutenant of the rebel Lishan Fei—led a hundred thousand men against Taiyuan; General Pan Changwen was defeated and slain. In the fifth month, on the new moon of bingxu day, the sun was totally eclipsed.
9
壬午，帝於景華宮徵求螢火，得數斛，夜出遊山，放之，光遍巖谷。
On renwu, at Jinghua Palace the emperor collected fireflies by the bushel; that night he roamed the hills and set them free until their glow filled every ravine and peak.
10
帝問侍臣盜賊，左翊衛大將軍宇文述曰：「漸少。」 帝曰：「比從來少幾何？」 對曰：「不能什一。」 納言蘇威引身隱柱，帝呼前問之，對曰：「臣非所司，不委多少，但患漸近。」 帝曰：「何謂也？」 威曰：「他日賊據長白山，今近在汜水。 且往日租賦丁役，今皆何在！ 豈非其人皆化為盜乎！ 比見奏賊皆不以實，遂使失於支計，不時剪除。 又昔在雁門，許罷征遼，今復征發，賊何由息！」 帝不悅而罷。 尋屬五月五日，百僚多饋珍玩，威獨獻《尚書》。 或譖之曰：「《尚書》有《五子之歌》，威意甚不遜。」 帝益怒。 頃之，帝問威以伐高麗事，威欲帝知天下多盜，對曰：「今茲之役，願不發兵，但赦群盜，自可得數十萬。 遣之東征，彼喜於免罪，爭務立功，高麗可滅。」 帝不懌。 威出，御史大夫裴蘊奏曰：「此大不遜！ 天下何處有許多賊！」 帝曰：「老革多奸，以賊脅我！ 欲批其口，且復隱忍。」 蘊知帝意，遣河南白衣張行本奏：「威昔在高陽典選，濫授人官； 畏怯突厥，請還京師。」 帝令按驗，獄成，下詔數威罪狀，除名為民。 後月餘，復有奏威與突厥陰圖不軌者，事下裴蘊推之，蘊處威死。 威無以自明，但摧謝而已。 帝憫而釋之，曰：「未忍即殺。」 遂並其子孫三世皆除名。
The emperor asked his attendants about the bandits, and Left Wing Guard General Yuwen Shu replied, "They are dwindling." "Compared with before," the emperor asked, "by how much have they fallen off?" "Not even a tenth," he answered." Su Wei, Censor-in-Chief, had slipped behind a pillar; the emperor summoned him and asked the same question. Su Wei answered, "That is not my department—I cannot say how many there are—but I fear they are drawing ever closer." "What do you mean?" said the emperor." "Once they held Changbai Mountain," said Wei; "now they are at our gates in Sishui. And where are all the men who once paid taxes and bore corvée labor? Have they not every one become bandits themselves? The reports you receive understate the truth, so the court misjudges its resources and fails to strike them down in time. And at Wild Goose Gate you promised to end the Liaodong war; now the levies are renewed—how can the rebels ever lay down their arms?" The emperor took offense and broke up the audience. Before long came the fifth day of the fifth month, when the officials showered the throne with luxuries; Su Wei alone presented a copy of the Documents. Someone whispered that the Documents contained the "Song of the Five Sons"—a barely veiled reproach—and that Wei's gesture was insolent in the extreme." The emperor's rage only deepened. Soon afterward the emperor asked Wei about the Goguryeo expedition. Wei, wanting him to grasp how many rebels roamed the land, said, "For this campaign, send no regular troops—merely pardon the bandit hosts, and you will have several hundred thousand men at once. Dispatch them eastward; grateful to be spared execution, they will fight for merit, and Goguryeo will fall." The emperor was not pleased. As Wei withdrew, Censor-in-Chief Pei Yun submitted: "This is rank insubordination! Where in the empire are there so many bandits?" "The old rascal is full of guile," said the emperor; "he threatens me with bandits! I would strike his mouth shut, yet for the moment I hold my peace." Reading the emperor's mood, Yun had Zhang Xingben, a commoner of Henan, accuse Wei: "When he oversaw appointments at Gaoyang, he handed out offices recklessly; and, cowed by the Turks, begged to be sent back to the capital." The emperor ordered an inquiry; when the case was proved, an edict listed Wei's offenses and struck him from office, reducing him to common status. A month later came fresh charges that Wei had conspired with the Turks; the case went to Pei Yun, who recommended death. Wei could not clear himself and could only bow his head in submission. The emperor took pity and spared him, saying, "I am not yet ready to kill him outright." But he struck Wei and three generations of his descendants from the registers.
11
秋，七月，壬戌，濟景公樊子蓋卒。
In autumn, the seventh month, on renxu, Fan Zigai, Duke Jing of Ji, died.
12
江都新作龍舟成，送東都； 守文述勸幸江都，帝從之。 右候衛大將軍酒泉趙才諫曰：「今百姓疲勞，府藏空竭，盜賊蜂起，禁令不行，願陛下還京師，安兆庶。」 帝大怒，以才屬吏，旬日，意解，乃出之。 朝臣皆不欲行，帝意甚堅，無敢諫者。 建節尉任宗上書極諫，即日於朝堂杖殺之。 甲子，帝幸江都，命越王侗與光祿大夫段達、太府卿元文都、檢校民部尚書韋津、右武衛將軍皇甫天逸、右司郎盧楚等總留後事。 津，孝寬之子也。 帝以詩留別宮人曰：「我夢江都好，征遼亦偶然。」 奉信郎崔民象以盜賊充斥，於建國門上表諫； 帝大怒，先解其頤，然後斬之。
The new dragon boat built at Jiangdu was finished and sent to the eastern capital; Yuwen Shu urged a progress to Jiangdu, and the emperor agreed. Right Rear Guard General Zhao Cai of Jiuquan remonstrated: "The people are worn out, the treasury is bare, bandits swarm everywhere, and your orders go unheeded. I beg Your Majesty to return to the capital and restore peace to the realm." The emperor flew into a rage and handed Zhao Cai over to the law officers; ten days later his temper cooled and he set him free. The courtiers were united in wishing to stay, but the emperor's mind was made up and no one dared speak against the journey. Establishment Commandant Ren Zong submitted a fierce memorial of protest and was clubbed to death in the audience hall that very day. On jiazi the emperor set out for Jiangdu, leaving Prince of Yue Yang Tong with Household Grandee Duan Da, Palace Grand Steward Yuan Wendu, acting Minister of Revenue Wei Jin, Right Martial Guard General Huangfu Tianyi, Right Secretariat Gentleman Lu Chu, and others to govern the capital in his absence. Wei Jin was a son of the great general Wei Xiaokuan. The emperor left a parting verse for the palace women: "I dreamed Jiangdu fair; the Liaodong war was chance alone." Gentleman for Attendance Cui Minxiang, citing the bandits that filled the land, submitted a memorial of protest at the Gate of Establishing the Realm; the emperor was furious, had his jaw torn loose, and then beheaded him.
13
戊辰，馮翊孫華舉兵為盜。 虞世基以盜賊充斥，請發兵屯洛口倉，帝曰：「卿是書生，定猶恇怯。」 戊辰，車駕至鞏。 敕有司移箕山、公路二府於倉內，仍令築城以備不虞。 至汜水，奉信郎王愛仁復上表請還西京，帝斬之而行。 至梁郡，郡人邀車駕上書曰：「陛下若遂幸江都，天下非陛下之有！」 又斬之。 是時李子通據海陵，左才相掠淮北，杜伏威屯六合，眾各數萬； 帝遣光祿大夫陳稜將宿衛精兵八千討之，往往克捷。
On wuchen, Sun Hua of Fengyi took up arms as a rebel leader. Yu Shiji, alarmed at the bandits everywhere, asked that troops garrison Luokou Granary; the emperor said, "You are a scholar—no doubt still timid." On wuchen the imperial train reached Gong. He ordered the Jishan and Gonglu prefectural offices moved inside the granary compound and commanded that a defensive wall be thrown up against surprise attack. At Sishui, Gentleman for Attendance Wang Airen again begged the court to turn back to the western capital; the emperor had him executed and pressed on. At Liang commandery the local people waylaid the imperial procession with a petition: "If Your Majesty persists in going to Jiangdu, the empire will slip from your grasp!" He had them executed as well. At that time Li Zitong held Hailing, Zuo Caixiang ravaged north of the Huai, and Du Fuwei camped at Liuhe—each commanded tens of thousands of men; the emperor sent Household Grandee Chen Leng with eight thousand elite palace guards against them, and Chen won repeated victories.
14
八月，乙巳，賊帥趙萬海眾數十萬，自恆山寇高陽。
In the eighth month, on yisi, the rebel chief Zhao Wanhai led several hundred thousand men from Hengshan against Gaoyang.
15
冬，十月，己丑，許恭公宇文述卒。 初，述子化及、智及皆無賴。 化及事帝於東宮，帝寵暱之，及即位，以為太僕少卿。 帝幸榆林，化及、智及冒禁與突厥交市，帝怒，將斬之，已解衣辮發，既而釋之，賜述為奴。 智及弟士及，以尚主之故，常輕智及，唯化及與之親暱。 述卒，帝復以化及為右屯衛將軍，智及為將作少監。
In winter, the tenth month, on jichou, Yuwen Shu, Duke Gong of Xu, died. Yuwen Shu's sons Huaji and Zhiji had long been wastrels. Huaji had served the emperor when he was heir apparent and won his affection; on his accession the emperor made him Vice Director of the Palace Stud. On the emperor's visit to Yulin, Huaji and Zhiji defied the prohibition and traded with the Turks. The emperor flew into a rage and was about to execute them—they had already stripped and unbound their hair—then relented and gave them to their father as slaves. Zhiji's younger brother Shiji, having married an imperial princess, often looked down on Zhiji; only Huaji remained close to him. After Shu's death the emperor restored Huaji as Right Rear Guard General and Zhiji as Vice Director of Palace Construction.
16
李密之亡也，往依郝孝德，孝德不禮之； 又入王薄，薄亦不之奇也。 密困乏，至削樹皮而食之，匿於淮陽村舍，變姓名，聚徒教授。 郡縣疑而捕之，密亡去，抵其妹夫雍丘令丘君明。 君明不敢捨，轉寄密於遊俠王秀才家，秀才以女妻之。 君明從侄懷義告其事，帝令懷義自繼敕書與梁郡通守楊汪相知收捕。 汪遣兵圍秀才宅，適值密出外，由是獲免，君明、秀才皆死。
When Li Mi was on the run he sought refuge with Hao Xiaode, who treated him coldly; he then joined Wang Bo's band, but Bo likewise saw nothing remarkable in him. Reduced to peeling bark from trees for food, he hid in a Huaiyang farmhouse under an assumed name, gathering pupils and teaching school. The local authorities grew suspicious and moved to seize him; Mi escaped and made his way to his brother-in-law Qiu Junming, magistrate of Yongqiu. Junming dared not shelter him openly and passed him to the swordsman Wang Xiucai, who gave Mi his daughter in marriage. Junming's nephew Huaiyi informed on them; the emperor had Huaiyi carry the sealed warrant himself and coordinate with Yang Wang, defender of Liang commandery, to take Mi. Yang Wang sent soldiers to surround Wang Xiucai's house; Mi happened to be away and so survived, but Junming and Wang Xiucai were both put to death.
17
韋城翟讓為東都法曹，坐事當斬。 獄吏黃君漢奇其驍勇，夜中潛謂讓曰：「翟法司，天時人事，抑亦可知，豈能守死獄中乎！」 讓驚喜叩頭曰：「讓，圈牢之豕，死生唯黃曹主所命！」 君漢即破械出之。 讓再拜曰：「讓蒙再生之恩則幸矣，奈黃曹主何！」 因泣下。 君漢怒曰：「本以公為大丈夫，可救生民之命，故不顧其死以奉脫，奈何反效兒女子涕泣相謝乎！ 君但努力自免，勿憂吾也！」 讓遂亡命於瓦崗為群盜，同郡單雄信，驍健，善用馬槊，聚少年往從之。 離狐徐世勣家於衛南，年十七，有勇略，說讓曰：「東郡於公與勣皆為鄉里，人多相識，不宜侵掠。 滎陽、梁郡，汴水所經，剽行舟、掠商旅，足以自資。」 讓然之，引眾入二郡界，掠公私船，資用豐給，附者益眾，聚徒至萬餘人。
Zhai Rang of Weicheng had served as a legal officer at the eastern capital and, implicated in a crime, was condemned to death. The jailer Huang Junhan admired his courage and spirit. In the dead of night he whispered to him, "Law Officer Zhai, the times and the heavens speak plainly enough—will you simply die in this cell?" Zhai Rang, astonished and grateful, kowtowed and said, "I am but a pig in the sty—my life or death rests entirely with you, Master Huang!" Huang Junhan broke his chains and set him free on the spot. Zhai Rang bowed again. "If I live, it is your gift—but what will become of you, Master Huang?" He burst into tears. Huang Junhan snapped, "I thought you a man who might save the people, and risked my life to free you—why do you weep and thank me like some fretful woman? Save yourself if you can, and spare no thought for me!" Zhai Rang fled to Wagang and became a bandit chief. Shan Xiongxin of the same commandery—a fierce fighter skilled with the cavalry lance—rallied young men and joined him. Xu Shiji of Lihu, whose family lived south of Wei, was seventeen and already bold and resourceful. He urged Zhai Rang, "In Dong commandery we are all neighbors—too many would recognize us. We should not raid there. But Xingyang and Liang commandery lie on the Bian Canal—seizing river craft and robbing merchants will keep us supplied." Zhai Rang agreed, led his men into both commanderies, and preyed on public and private shipping until his stores overflowed. Followers flocked to him until his band numbered more than ten thousand.
18
時又有外黃王當仁、濟陽王伯當、韋城周文舉、雍丘李公逸等皆擁眾為盜。 李密自雍州亡命，往來諸帥間，說以取天下之策，始皆不信。 久之，稍以為然，相謂曰：「斯人公卿子弟，志氣若是。 今人人皆雲楊氏將滅，李氏將興。 吾聞王者不死。 斯人再三獲濟，豈非其人乎！」 由是漸敬密。
About the same time Wang Dangren of Waihuang, Wang Bodang of Jiyang, Zhou Wenju of Weicheng, Li Gongyi of Yongqiu, and others each raised bands of their own. Li Mi, fugitive from the capital region, moved among these chiefs preaching strategies to seize the empire; at first none believed him. In time they began to listen, saying among themselves, "Here is a scion of the great houses, and his spirit is unmistakable. Everyone now says the Yang will fall and the Li will rise. They say a man marked for kingship cannot be killed. This man has slipped the noose again and again—is he not the one?" From that day they treated Li Mi with growing respect.
19
密察諸帥唯翟讓最強，乃因王伯當以見讓，為讓畫策，往說諸小盜，皆下之。 讓悅，稍親近密，與之計事，密因說讓曰：「劉、項皆起布衣為帝王。 今主昏於上，民怨於下，銳兵盡於遼東，和親絕於突厥，方乃巡遊揚、越，委棄東都，此亦劉、項奮起之會也。 以足下雄才大略，士馬精銳，席捲二京，誅滅暴虐，隋氏不足亡也！」 讓謝曰：「吾儕群盜，旦夕偷生草間，君之言者，非吾所及也。」
Li Mi saw that Zhai Rang was the strongest of the chiefs; through Wang Bodang he gained an audience, laid out a plan, and went among the smaller bands until all submitted to Rang. Zhai Rang was delighted, drew Li Mi into his counsels, and Li Mi told him, "Liu Bang and Xiang Yu both rose from commoners to rule as emperors. Today the ruler is blind above and the people seethe below; his best troops are spent in Liaodong, his peace with the Turks is broken, and he wanders off to Yang and Yue while leaving the eastern capital undefended. This is the very hour in which Liu and Xiang seized their chance. With talent like yours and troops like these, you could sweep both capitals, cut down the tyrants, and bring the House of Sui to its end without breaking stride. Zhai Rang demurred. "We are nothing but outlaws scrabbling for life in the weeds. What you describe is far beyond men like us."
20
會有李玄英者，自東都逃來，經歷諸賊，求訪李密，云「斯人當代隋家」。 人問其故，玄英言：「比來民間謠歌有《桃李章》曰：『桃李子，皇后繞揚州，宛轉花園裡。 勿浪語，誰道許！』 『桃李子』，謂逃亡者李氏之子也； 皇與後，皆君也； 『宛轉花園裡』，謂天子在揚州無還日，將轉於溝壑也； 『莫浪語，誰道許』者，密也。」 既與密遇，遂委身事之。 前宋城尉齊郡房彥藻，自負其才，恨不為時用，預於楊玄感之謀。 變姓名亡命，遇密於梁、宋之間，遂與之俱游漢、沔，遍入諸賊，說其豪傑； 還日，從者數百人，仍為遊客，處於讓營。 讓見密為豪傑所歸，欲從其計，猶豫未決。
About this time a man named Li Xuanying fled the Eastern Capital, wandered through one rebel camp after another in search of Li Mi, and declared that this was the man fated to supplant the Sui. Asked to explain, Xuanying said a folk song called "Peach and Plum" had lately been circulating: "Peach-and-plum boy, the empress roams Yangzhou, turning and turning in the garden. Do not speak lightly—who would dare say such a thing!" Peach-and-plum boy" points to a fugitive son of the Li clan; The words "emperor" and "empress" both signify "sovereign"; "Turning and turning in the garden" means the emperor at Yangzhou will never come home again, but will end in a ditch; Do not speak lightly—who would dare say such a thing?" That word is Mi." Once he found Li Mi, he pledged himself to his service. Fang Yanzao of Qi, once captain of Songcheng district, thought highly of his own abilities and bitterly resented his wasted years; he had joined Yang Xuangan's conspiracy. He changed his name and went into hiding. He met Li Mi in the borderlands of Liang and Song, and together they traveled the Han and Mian regions, passing through rebel bands one by one to win over their leaders. When he returned, several hundred men followed in his train. Still passing as an itinerant guest, he took up residence in Zhai Rang's camp. "Zhai Rang saw the best men gathering around Li Mi and wanted to follow his counsel, yet he wavered, unable to decide."
21
有賈雄者，曉陰陽占候，為讓軍師，言無不用。 密深結於雄，使之托術數以說讓； 雄許諾，懷之未發。 會讓召雄，告以密所言，問其可否，對曰：「吉不可言。」 又曰：「公自立恐未必成，若立斯人，事無不濟。」 讓曰：「如卿言，蒲山公當自立，何來從我？」 對曰：「事有相因。 所以來者，將軍姓翟，翟者，澤也，蒲非澤不生，故須將軍也。」 讓然之，與密情好日篤。
Among them was Jia Xiong, versed in yin-yang lore and divination, who served as Zhai Rang's strategist. Rang never ignored his advice. Li Mi cultivated Jia Xiong closely and set him to persuade Zhai Rang under the guise of divination; Xiong agreed, but held the matter in his breast and did not yet reveal it. Soon afterward Zhai Rang summoned Xiong, repeated Li Mi's proposal, and asked whether it would succeed. Xiong answered, "The omen is too auspicious to speak of." He added, "If you proclaim yourself leader, success is uncertain. Raise this man instead, and nothing you attempt will fail." Zhai Rang said, "By your reasoning the Duke of Pushan should rule in his own name. Why would he come and serve under me?" Xiong replied, "All things depend on one another. He comes to you because your surname is Zhai—'marsh.' Rushes do not flourish except in marshland. He needs you, General, to thrive." Zhai Rang accepted this reasoning, and his bond with Li Mi grew warmer by the day.
22
密因說讓曰：「今四海糜沸，不得耕耘，公士眾雖多，食無倉稟，唯資野掠，常苦不給。 若曠日持久，加以大敵臨之，必渙然離散。 未若先取滎陽，休兵館谷，待士馬肥充，然後與人爭利。」 讓從之，於是破金堤關，攻滎陽諸縣，多下之。
Li Mi pressed Zhai Rang: "The realm is in turmoil and the fields lie untilled. Your force is large, but you have no granaries—only what you seize on raids, and even that never lasts. If this goes on, and a powerful foe closes in, your army will break apart like water. Better to seize Xingyang first, let the men rest and fill the stores, fatten horses and soldiers, and only then contend for mastery." Zhai Rang agreed. They stormed Jindi Pass, overran the counties around Xingyang, and took most of them.
23
滎陽太守郇王慶，弘之子也，不能討，帝徙張須阤為滎陽通守以討之。 庚戌，須阤引兵擊讓，讓向數為須阤所敗，聞其來，大懼，將避之。 密曰：「須阤勇而無謀，兵又驟勝，既驕且狠，可一戰擒也。 公但列陳以待，密保為公破之。」 讓不得已，勒兵將戰，密分兵千餘人伏於大海寺北林間。 須阤素輕讓，方陳而前，讓與戰，不利，須阤乘之，逐北十餘里； 密發伏掩之，須阤兵敗。 密與讓及徐世勣、王伯當合軍圍之，須阤潰圍出； 左右不能盡出，須阤躍馬復入救之，來往數四，遂戰死。 所部兵晝夜號哭，數日不止，河南郡縣為之喪氣。 鷹揚郎將河東賈務本為須阤之副，亦被傷，帥餘眾五千餘人奔梁郡，務本尋卒。 詔以光祿大夫裴仁基為河南道討捕大使，代領其眾，徙鎮虎牢。
The prefect of Xingyang, Xun Wang Qing—son of Wang Hong—could not put them down. The emperor replaced him with Zhang Xueta as general defender of Xingyang and ordered him to destroy the rebels. On the day gengxu, Zhang Xueta marched against Zhai Rang. Rang had already lost to him more than once; when he heard Xueta was coming, he was terrified and meant to run. Li Mi said, "Xueta is brave but no strategist. His men have won too quickly—they are proud and brutal. One battle is enough to take him. Deploy your line and hold your ground. I will break him for you." Zhai Rang, with no alternative, drew up his army to fight. Li Mi sent more than a thousand men into ambush in the forest north of Dahai Temple. Xueta had always despised Zhai Rang. As his line moved forward, Rang gave ground; Xueta pressed the attack and chased the fleeing rebels more than ten li. Li Mi sprang the ambush. Xueta's army collapsed. Li Mi, Zhai Rang, Xu Shiji, and Wang Bodang united their forces and closed the ring. Xueta broke out of the encirclement, but not all his men could follow. Four times he wheeled his horse back into the press to save them, and at last fell fighting. His soldiers wept day and night for days on end, and every garrison in Henan lost its nerve. Jia Wuben of Hedong, Yingyang Lang General and Xueta's second-in-command, was wounded as well. He fled with some five thousand survivors to Liang Commandery and died soon after. The emperor appointed Pei Renji, Grandee of Splendid Happiness, commissioner for the suppression of bandits in Henan, to take over Xueta's command and garrison the force at Hulao.
24
讓乃令密建牙，別統所部，號薄山公營。 密部分嚴整，凡號令士卒，雖盛夏，皆如背負霜雪。 躬服儉素，所得金寶，悉頒賜麾下，由是人為之用。 麾下士卒多為讓士卒所陵辱，以威約有素，不敢報也。 讓謂密曰：「今資糧粗足，意欲還向瓦崗，公若不往，唯公所適，讓從此別矣。」 讓帥輜重東引，密亦西行至康城，說下數城，大獲資儲。 讓尋悔，復引兵從密。
Zhai Rang then allowed Li Mi to raise his own standard and command a separate division, known as the Duke of Pushan Camp. Li Mi's camp was run with iron discipline. Even in the heat of midsummer, his orders fell on the men like winter frost on their backs. He lived plainly himself and gave every scrap of gold and booty to his officers and men. For that reason they served him willingly. Many of Li Mi's soldiers were bullied and humiliated by Zhai Rang's men, but Li Mi's stern rule was well established, and they did not dare strike back. Zhai Rang told Li Mi, "We have enough supplies for now, and I mean to return to Wagang. If you won't come, go where you will—I part from you here." Zhai Rang marched east with the baggage train. Li Mi went west to Kangcheng, brought several towns over by persuasion, and amassed great stores of grain and supplies. Before long Zhai Rang regretted his decision and marched after Li Mi with his army.
25
鄱陽賊帥操師乞自稱元興王，建元始興，攻陷豫章郡，以其鄉人林士弘為大將軍。 詔治書侍御史劉子翊將兵討之。 師乞中流矢死，士弘代統其眾，與子翊戰於彭蠡湖，子翊敗死。 士弘兵大振，至十餘萬人。 十二月，壬辰，士弘自稱皇帝，國號楚，建元太平； 遂取九江、臨川、南康、宜昌等郡，豪傑爭殺隋守令，以郡縣應之。 其地北自九江，南及番禺，皆為所有。
Cao Shiji, leader of the Poyang rebels, declared himself King of Yuanxing, adopted the era name Beginning of Yuanshi, seized Yuzhang Commandery, and made his townsman Lin Shihong grand general. The court ordered Liu Ziyi, investigative censor, to take an army against him. Cao Shiji took an arrow and died. Lin Shihong assumed command, met Liu Ziyi on Lake Poyang, and killed him in defeat. Lin Shihong's force swelled to more than a hundred thousand men. In the twelfth month, on the day renchen, Lin Shihong declared himself emperor of Chu and adopted the era name Great Peace; then seized Jiujiang, Linchuan, Nankang, Yichang, and other commanderies, as local strongmen raced to slaughter Sui officials and surrender their districts to him. His domain stretched from Jiujiang in the north to Panyu in the south.
26
詔以右驍衛將軍唐公李淵為太原留守，以虎賁郎將王威、虎牙郎將高君雅為之副，將兵討甄翟兒，與翟兒遇於雀鼠谷。 淵眾才數千，賊圍淵數匝； 李世民將精兵救之，拔淵於萬眾之中，會步兵至，合擊，大破之。
The emperor named Li Yuan, Duke of Tang and Right Xiaowei General, commander of Taiyuan, with Wang Wei and Gao Junya as his deputies, and sent them against the rebel Zhen Zhai'er. They met at Sparrow-and-Rat Gorge. Li Yuan had only a few thousand men. The rebels ringed him round and round; Li Shimin led a picked force to the rescue, pulled his father free from the press of enemies, and when the infantry arrived they struck together and broke the rebels utterly.
27
帝疏薄骨肉，蔡王智積每不自安，及病，不呼醫，臨終，謂所親曰：「吾今日始知得保首領沒於地矣！」
The emperor kept his own flesh and blood at arm's length. Prince of Cai Zhiji lived in constant dread. When illness took him, he refused physicians. On his deathbed he told those near him, "At last I know I shall keep my head and die in my own bed!"
28
張金稱、郝孝德、孫宣雅、高士達、楊公卿等寇掠河北，屠陷郡縣； 隋將帥敗亡者相繼，唯虎賁中郎將蒲城王辯、清河郡丞華陰楊善會數有功，善會前後與賊七百餘戰，未嘗負敗。 帝遣太僕卿楊義臣討張金稱。 金稱營於平恩東北，義臣引兵直進抵臨清之西，據永濟渠為營，去金稱營四十里，深溝高壘，不與戰。 金稱日引兵至義臣營西，義臣勒兵擐甲，約與之戰，既而不出。 日暮，金稱還營，明旦，復來； 如是月餘，義臣竟不出。 金稱以為怯，屢逼其營詈辱之。 義臣乃謂金稱曰：「汝明旦來，我當必戰。」 金稱易之，不復設備。 義臣簡精騎二千，夜自館陶濟河，伺金稱離營，即入擊其累重。 金稱聞之，引兵還，義臣從後擊之，金稱大敗，與左右逃於清河之東。 月餘，楊善會討擒之。 吏立木於市，懸其頭，張其手足，令仇家割食之； 未死間，歌謳不輟。 詔以善會為清河通守。
Zhang Jincheng, Hao Xiaode, Sun Xuanya, Gao Shida, Yang Gongqing, and others ravaged Hebei, sacking and slaughtering their way through town after town; Sui commanders fell in defeat one after another. Only Wang Bian of Pucheng, Huben Zhonglang General, and Yang Shanhu of Huayin, magistrate of Qinghe, won repeated victories—Shanhui fought the rebels more than seven hundred engagements and never lost. The emperor sent Yang Yichen, Minister of the Imperial Stud, to destroy Zhang Jincheng. Zhang Jincheng encamped northeast of Ping'en. Yang Yichen pushed west to Linqing, pitched camp on the Yongji Canal forty li away, dug deep trenches, raised high walls, and refused to fight. Every day Zhang Jincheng marched to the west of Yichen's camp. Yichen would muster his men in armor as if ready to give battle—and then stay inside. At dusk Jincheng withdrew; at dawn he returned; and so for more than a month Yang Yichen never emerged. Zhang Jincheng decided he was a coward and repeatedly rode up to curse and taunt his camp. At last Yichen sent word: "Come tomorrow, and I will fight you." Jincheng took him at his word and relaxed his guard. Yichen chose two thousand crack horsemen, crossed the river by night from Guantao, waited until Jincheng marched out, then fell upon his baggage train. Jincheng turned back at the news. Yichen hit him from the rear. Jincheng was routed and fled east of the Qing River with a handful of followers. A month later Yang Shanhu ran him down and took him prisoner. The authorities set up a post in the marketplace, hung his head, spread his limbs, and let the families of his victims cut flesh from his body and eat it; and even as he died he would not stop singing. The emperor made Shanhui general defender of Qinghe.
29
涿郡通守郭絢將兵萬餘人討高士達。 士達自以才略不及竇建德，乃進建德為軍司馬，悉以兵授之。 建德請士達守輜重，自簡精兵七千人拒絢，詐為與士達有隙而叛，遣人請降於絢，願為前驅，擊士達以自效。 絢信之，引兵隨建德至長河，不復設備。 建德襲之，殺虜數千人，斬絢首，獻士達，張金稱餘眾皆歸建德。 楊義臣乘勝至平原，欲入高雞泊討之。 建德謂士達曰：「歷觀隋將，善用兵者無如義臣。 今滅張金稱而來，其鋒不可當。 請引兵避之，使其欲戰不得，坐費歲月，將士疲倦。 然後乘間擊之，乃可破也。 不然，恐非公之敵。」 士達不從，留建德守營，自帥精兵逆擊義臣，戰小勝，因縱酒高宴。 建德聞之曰：「東海公未有破敵，遽自矜大，禍至不久矣！」 後五日，義臣大破士達，於陳斬之，乘勝逐北，趣其營，營中守兵皆潰。 建德與百餘騎亡去，至饒陽，乘其無備，攻陷之，收兵，得三千餘人。 義臣既殺士達，以為建德不足憂，引去。 建德還平原，收士達散兵，收葬死者，為士達發喪，軍復大振，自稱將軍。 先是，群盜得隋官及士族子弟，皆殺之，獨建德善遇之。 由是隋官稍以城降之，聲勢日盛，勝兵至十餘萬人。
Guo Xuan, general defender of Zhuo Commandery, marched against Gao Shida with more than ten thousand men. Gao Shida knew himself no match in talent or strategy for Dou Jiande. He made Jiande army marshal and handed over command of all his forces. Jiande left Shida to guard the baggage, took seven thousand picked troops to face Guo Xuan, pretended to break with Shida and defect, sent envoys offering surrender, and promised to lead the van against Shida to prove his loyalty. Guo Xuan believed him, followed Jiande to Changhe, and lowered his guard. Jiande turned on him, killed and captured several thousand, severed Xuan's head and sent it to Shida, and the remnants of Zhang Jincheng's band all rallied to Jiande. Yang Yichen pressed his advantage into Pingyuan, intending to drive into Gaojibo and finish them off. Jiande told Shida, "Of all Sui commanders, none handles an army like Yang Yichen. He has just crushed Zhang Jincheng and is coming at us with momentum no one can meet head-on. Withdraw and refuse battle. Let him burn to fight and find no foe. Wear away the months until his men are exhausted. Then strike when the moment opens—and only then can we break him. Otherwise I fear he is more than you can handle." Gao Shida would not listen. He left Jiande to hold the camp, led his best troops out to meet Yichen, won a minor skirmish, and then gave himself over to wine and celebration. When Jiande heard, he said, "Lord Donghai has not broken the enemy and already struts like a conqueror. Ruin is close at hand." Five days later Yang Yichen shattered Shida's army, cut off his head on the field, chased the rout to the camp, and the garrison fled in panic. Jiande escaped with a little over a hundred horsemen, seized Raoyang while it was undefended, and gathered more than three thousand soldiers. Yichen, having killed Shida, dismissed Jiande as no further threat and marched away. Jiande returned to Pingyuan, rallied Shida's scattered men, buried the dead, and held funeral rites for Shida. His army swelled again, and he took the title of general. Until then rebel bands had killed every Sui official and gentry hostage they took. Jiande alone treated such captives with kindness. Sui officials therefore began surrendering their towns to him. His reputation and power grew day by day until his fighting force exceeded a hundred thousand.
30
內史侍郎虞世基以帝惡聞賊盜，諸將及郡縣有告敗求救者，世基皆抑損表狀，不以實聞，但云：「鼠竊狗盜，郡縣捕逐，行當殄盡，願陛下勿以介懷。」 帝良以為然，或杖其使者，以為妄言，由是盜賊遍海內，陷沒郡縣，帝皆弗之知也。 楊義臣破降河北賊數十萬，列狀上聞，帝歎曰：「我初不聞，賊頓如此，義臣降賊何多也！」 世基對曰：「小竊雖多，未足為慮。 義臣克之，擁兵不少，久在閫外，此最非宜。」 帝曰：「卿言是也。」 遽追義臣，放散其兵，賊由是復盛。
Yu Shiji, vice minister of the Secretariat, knew the emperor loathed reports of rebellion. Whenever generals or local officials sent word of defeat and begged for help, Shiji toned down their memorials and told the throne only this: "Petty thieves and scavengers—the districts are hunting them down and will soon wipe them out. Your Majesty need not trouble yourself." The emperor accepted this gladly, and sometimes had the bearers of bad news beaten for spreading alarm. Rebels overran the empire and cities fell, while the emperor remained ignorant. When Yang Yichen crushed and accepted the surrender of several hundred thousand Hebei rebels and reported the fact in full, the emperor sighed and said, "I had no idea the rebels had grown so vast. Why has Yichen taken so many surrenders?" Shiji answered, "They are only small bands—nothing to worry over. But Yichen now commands a large force and has long been away from court. That is what should trouble us." The emperor said, "You are right." The emperor immediately recalled Yang Yichen, disbanded his army, and the rebels surged back to strength.
31
治書侍御史韋雲起劾奏：「世基及御史大夫裴蘊職典樞要，維持內外，四方告變，不為奏聞。 賊數實多，裁減言少，陛下既聞賊少，發兵不多，眾寡懸殊，往皆不克，故使官軍失利，賊黨日滋。 請付有司結正其罪。」 大理卿鄭善果奏：「雲起詆訾名臣，所言不實，非毀朝政，妄作威權。」 由是左遷雲起為大理司直。
Supervising Secretary Attendant Censor Wei Yunqi submitted an impeachment: "Yu Shiji and Censor-in-Chief Pei Yun hold the empire's most critical posts, yet when the provinces report rebellion they fail to inform Your Majesty. The rebels are far more numerous than they admit, yet the memorials are cut down to make them seem small. Believing this, Your Majesty sends too few troops against overwhelming odds; the government forces lose battle after battle, and rebel ranks swell daily. I ask that they be turned over to the proper authorities for judgment. Chief Judge Zheng Shanguo replied: "Wei Yunqi has slandered eminent ministers with false charges. This is not honest criticism of the court but an abuse of power." Wei Yunqi was demoted to Directing Secretary in the Court of Judicial Review."
32
帝至江都，江、淮郡官謁見者，專問禮餉豐薄，豐則超遷丞、守，薄則率從停解。 江都郡丞王世充獻銅鏡屏風，遷通守； 歷陽郡丞趙元楷獻異味，遷江都郡丞。 由是郡縣競務刻剝，以充貢獻。 民外為盜賊所掠，內為郡縣所賦，生計無遺； 加之饑饉無食，民始采樹皮葉，或搗稿為末，或煮土而食之，諸物皆盡，乃自相食； 而官食猶充牣，吏皆畏法，莫敢振救。 王世充密為帝簡閱江淮民間美女獻之，由是益有寵。
When Emperor Yang reached Jiangdu, the local officials who came to pay their respects were judged solely on the lavishness of their gifts. Generous tribute won swift promotion to assistant prefect or prefect; meager gifts brought demotion or dismissal. Wang Shichong, assistant prefect of Jiangdu, offered a folding screen set with bronze mirrors and was made vice prefect; Zhao Yuankai, assistant prefect of Liyang, sent rare delicacies and was appointed assistant prefect of Jiangdu. Commanderies and counties raced to squeeze the people dry in order to meet the tribute demands. The people were robbed by bandits without and taxed by officials within, until nothing remained of their livelihood; Famine followed. People stripped bark and leaves from trees, ground straw into meal, or boiled clay to eat. When every substitute was gone, they turned to cannibalism; Yet government granaries remained full, and the officials, fearing the law, dared not open them to save the starving. Wang Shichong secretly searched out beautiful women across the Jiang-Huai region and sent them to the emperor, winning still greater favor at court.
33
河間賊帥格謙擁眾十餘萬，據豆子，自稱燕王，帝命王世充將兵討斬之。 謙將勃海高開道收其餘眾，寇掠燕地，軍勢復振。
Ge Qian, a rebel leader from Hejian, mustered more than a hundred thousand men, seized Douzi, and proclaimed himself King of Yan. Emperor Yang ordered Wang Shichong to destroy him. Ge Qian's lieutenant Gao Kaidao of Bohai rallied the survivors, raided across Yan, and restored the rebels' strength.
34
初，帝謀伐高麗，器械資儲，皆積於涿郡； 涿郡人物殷阜，屯兵數萬。 又，臨朔宮多珍寶，諸賊競來侵掠； 留守官虎賁郎將趙什住等不能拒，唯虎賁郎將雲陽羅藝獨出戰，前後破賊甚眾，威名日重，什住等陰忌之。 藝將作亂，先宣言以激其眾曰：「吾輩討賊數有功，城中倉庫山積，制在留守之官，而莫肯散施以濟貧乏，將何以勸將士！」 眾皆憤怨。 軍還，郡丞出城候藝，藝因執之，陳兵而入。 什住等懼，皆來聽命，乃發庫物以賜戰士，開倉廩以賑貧乏，境內鹹悅； 殺不同己者勃海太守唐禕等數人，威振燕地，柳城、懷遠並歸之。 藝黜柳城太守楊林甫，改郡為營州，以襄平太守鄧暠為總管，藝自稱幽州總管。
Earlier, when Emperor Yang prepared his campaign against Goguryeo, arms and supplies had been stockpiled at Zhuo Commandery; The commandery was populous and prosperous, garrisoned by tens of thousands of soldiers. Linshuo Palace held great stores of treasure, and rebels flocked to plunder it; The garrison commanders Zhao Shizhu and his colleagues could not hold them off. Only Luo Yi, a Tiger Guard commandant from Yunyang, took the field alone, crushing rebel bands again and again until his fame grew daily—and Shizhu and the others secretly resented him. Planning a revolt, Luo Yi first roused his men with a proclamation: "We have fought bandits with repeated success, yet the city granaries overflow while the garrison officers refuse to share with the starving. How can such men inspire loyalty? The soldiers burned with anger. When the troops returned, the assistant prefect came out to greet Luo Yi. Yi seized him, marched his soldiers into the city, and took control. Shizhu and the rest submitted in fear. Luo Yi opened the treasuries to reward his soldiers and the granaries to feed the poor, winning the people's approval throughout the region; He executed several dissenters, including Bohai Prefect Tang Yi, and his power spread across Yan. Liucheng and Huaiyuan both joined him. Luo Yi deposed Yang Linfu as prefect of Liucheng, reorganized the district as Ying Prefecture, named Deng Gao of Xiangping as its commander, and took for himself the title Overall Commander of You Province.
35
突厥數寇北連。 詔晉陽留守李淵帥太原道兵與馬邑太守王仁恭擊之。 時突厥方強，兩軍眾不滿五千，仁恭患之。 淵選善騎射者二千人，使之飲食捨止一如突厥，或與突厥遇，則伺便擊之，前後屢捷，突厥頗憚之。
The Turks raided the northern frontier again and again. The court ordered Li Yuan, garrison commander at Jinyang, to lead the Taiyuan circuit army with Mayi Prefect Wang Rengong against them. The Turks were at the height of their power, and the combined force numbered fewer than five thousand men. Wang Rengong was deeply worried. Li Yuan picked two thousand expert mounted archers and trained them to live and march like Turks. Whenever they encountered Turk raiders they seized the moment to attack, winning victory after victory until the Turks learned to fear them.
36
恭皇帝上
Emperor Gong, Part One
37
春，正月，右御衛將軍陳稜討杜伏威，伏威帥眾拒之。 稜閉壁不戰，伏威遺以婦人之服，謂之「陳姥」。 稜怒，出戰，伏威奮出，大破之，稜僅以身免。 伏威乘勝破高郵，引兵據歷陽，自稱總管，以輔公祏為長史，分遣諸將徇屬縣，所至輒下，江淮間小盜爭附之。 伏威常選取死之士五千人，謂之「上募」，寵遇甚厚，有攻戰，輒令上募先擊之，戰罷閱視，有傷在背者即殺之，以其退而被擊故也。 所獲資財，皆以賞軍。 士有戰死者，以妻、妾徇葬。 故人自為戰，所向無敵。
In spring, the first month, Right Imperial Guard General Chen Leng marched against Du Fuwei, who met him at the head of his army. Chen Leng shut himself in his camp and refused battle. Du Fuwei sent him women's clothing and mocked him as "Old Mother Chen." Enraged, Chen Leng sallied out to fight. Du Fuwei charged hard and routed him completely. Chen Leng escaped with nothing but his life. Du Fuwei pressed his advantage, seized Gaoyou, and established himself at Liyang as self-declared overall commander, with Fu Gongshi as chief clerk. He sent his generals to subdue neighboring counties, which fell one after another, and petty bandits across the Jiang-Huai region flocked to his banner. Du Fuwei maintained five thousand picked warriors called the Elite Levy, whom he favored lavishly. In every battle they led the assault. Afterward he inspected the survivors and executed any man wounded in the back, treating retreat as cowardice punishable by death. All captured wealth went to reward the troops. When a soldier fell in battle, his wife or concubine was buried with him. "His men fought as if for their own lives, and his army seemed invincible."
38
丙辰，竇建德為壇於樂壽，自稱長樂王，置百官，改元丁丑。
On bingchen, Dou Jiande raised an altar at Leshou, proclaimed himself King of Changle, appointed a full court, and declared a new reign era, Dingchou.
39
辛巳，魯郡賊帥徐圓朗攻陷東平，分兵略地，自琅邪以西，北至東平，盡有之，勝兵二萬餘人。
On xinsi, Xu Yuanlang, a rebel leader from Lu Commandery, took Dongping and sent columns to seize the land from Langye in the west to Dongping in the north. He commanded more than twenty thousand fighting men.
40
盧明月轉掠河南，至於淮北，眾號四十萬，自稱無上王； 帝命江都通守王世充討之。 世充與戰於南陽，大破之，斬明月，餘眾皆散。
Lu Mingyue swept through Henan as far as the Huai River's north bank, claiming four hundred thousand followers and proclaiming himself the Unsurpassed King; Emperor Yang ordered Wang Shichong, vice prefect of Jiangdu, to destroy him. Wang Shichong met him at Nanyang, crushed his army, killed Lu Mingyue, and the survivors scattered.
41
二月，壬午，朔方鷹揚郎將梁師都殺郡丞唐世宗，據郡，自稱大丞相，北連突厥。
In the second month, on renwu, Liang Shidu, an Eagle-Flight commandant at Shuofang, killed Assistant Prefect Tang Shizong, seized the commandery, declared himself Grand Chancellor, and allied with the Turks in the north.
42
馬邑太守王仁恭，多受貨賂，不能振施。 郡人劉武周，驍勇喜任俠，為鷹揚府校尉。 仁恭以其土豪，甚親厚之，令帥親兵屯閣下。 武周與仁恭侍兒私通，恐事洩，謀作亂，先宣言曰：「今百姓饑饉，殭屍滿道，王府君閉倉不賑恤，豈為民父母之意乎！」 眾皆憤怒。 武周稱疾臥家，豪傑來候問，武周椎牛縱酒，因大言曰：「壯士豈能坐待溝壑！ 今倉粟爛積，誰能與我共取之？」 豪傑皆許諾。 己丑，仁恭坐聽事，武周上謁，其黨張萬歲等隨入，升階，斬仁恭，持其首出徇，郡中無敢動者。 於是開倉以賑饑民，馳檄境內屬城，皆下之，收兵得萬餘人。 武周自稱太守，遣使附於突厥。
Wang Rengong, prefect of Mayi, took bribes freely and never opened his stores to help the people. Liu Wuzhou, a local man famed for courage and boldness, held the rank of company commander in the Eagle-Flight Guard. Wang Rengong, recognizing him as a local power, treated him with great favor and stationed him below the gate with a personal guard. Liu Wuzhou was sleeping with Wang Rengong's maid. Fearing exposure, he plotted rebellion and first spread word among the people: "Famine stalks the land and corpses choke the roads, yet Prefect Wang keeps the granaries shut. Is this how a ruler should treat his people? The crowd erupted in fury. Liu Wuzhou feigned illness at home. When local leaders came to visit, he slaughtered an ox, opened the wine, and declared: "Are brave men to sit idle while starvation kills us? The granaries overflow with grain going to waste. Who will join me in seizing it? They all pledged themselves. On jichou, Wang Rengong was holding court when Liu Wuzhou came to pay his respects. Zhang Wansui and the other conspirators followed him inside, mounted the steps, and cut Wang Rengong down. They paraded his head through the city, and no one dared move against them. He opened the granaries to feed the hungry, sent summons throughout the district, and one city after another submitted. Within days he had more than ten thousand men under arms. Liu Wuzhou declared himself prefect and sent envoys to submit to the Turks."
43
李密說翟讓曰：「今東都空虛，兵不素練； 越王沖幼，留守諸官政令不壹，士民離心。 段達、元文都，暗而無謀。 以僕料之，彼非將軍之敵。 若將軍能用僕計，天下可指麾而定也。」 乃遣其黨裴叔方覘東都虛實，留守官司覺之，始為守禦之備，且馳表告江都。 密謂讓曰：「事勢如此，不可不發。 兵法曰：『先則制於己，後則制於人。』 今百姓饑饉，洛口倉多積粟，去都百里有餘，將軍若親帥大眾，輕行掩襲，彼遠未能救，又先無豫備，取之如拾遺耳。 比其聞知，吾已獲之，發粟以賑窮乏，遠近孰不歸附！ 百萬之眾，一朝可集，枕威養銳，以逸待勞。 縱彼能來，吾有備矣。 然後檄召四方，引賢豪而資計策，選驍悍而授兵柄，除亡隋之社稷，布將軍之政令，豈不盛哉！」 讓曰：「此英雄之略，非僕所堪； 惟君之命，盡力從事，請君先發，僕為後殿。」 庚寅，密、讓將精兵七千人出陽城北，逾方山，自羅口襲興浴倉，破之； 開倉恣民所取，老弱襁負，道路相屬。
Li Mi said to Zhai Rang: "The Eastern Capital is weakly defended and its soldiers are poorly trained; the Prince of Yue is a child; the garrison officials cannot agree on policy; soldiers and civilians alike have lost heart. Duan Da and Yuan Wendu are obtuse men without a plan among them. In my judgment they are no match for you, General. If you follow my plan, the empire can be won with a gesture. He sent his follower Pei Shufang to spy out the capital's defenses. The garrison detected the plot, began preparing for siege, and dispatched urgent reports to Jiangdu. Li Mi told Zhai Rang: "Matters have come to this—we must strike at once. The art of war says: 'He who moves first holds the advantage; he who moves second is at another's mercy.' The people are starving, and Luokou Granary, a hundred li from the capital, holds vast stores of grain. If you lead the main force in a swift surprise attack, the capital cannot relieve it in time and will be caught unprepared. Seizing it would be as easy as picking up something dropped on the road. Before word even reaches the capital we will hold the granary, open the stores to feed the hungry, and who near or far would not flock to us! A million men can be gathered in a single day. We will hold our strength, rest our troops, and meet their exhausted armies fresh. Even if they come against us, we will be ready. Then we can summon the realm by proclamation, gather wise and bold men for counsel, put fierce fighters in command, overthrow the dying Sui, and establish your rule throughout the land. What glory could surpass that! Zhai Rang replied: "That is a hero's strategy, beyond my ability; but I will obey your command with all my strength. You go first; I will cover the rear. On gengyin, Li Mi and Zhai Rang led seven thousand elite troops out north of Yangcheng, crossed Mount Fang, and stormed Xingluo Granary from Luokou, taking it by assault; They opened the granaries and let the people take what they needed. The old and weak, babies on their backs, filled the roads in an unbroken stream."
44
朝散大夫時德睿以尉氏應密，前宿城令祖君彥自昌平往歸之。 君彥，珽之子也，博學強記，文辭贍敏，著名海內，吏部侍郎薛道衡嘗薦之於高祖，高祖曰：「是歌殺斛律明月人兒邪？ 朕不須此輩！」 煬帝即位，尤疾其名，依常調選東平書佐，檢校宿城令。 君彥自負其才，常鬱鬱思亂。 密素聞其名，得之大喜，引為上客，軍中書檄，悉以委之。
Palace Attendant Shide Rui of Weishi rallied to Li Mi, and Zu Junyan, former magistrate of Su, came from Changping to join him as well. Zu Junyan was the son of Zu Ting, a man of vast learning and retentive memory, whose eloquent writing had won fame across the empire. Vice Minister of Personnel Xue Daoheng once recommended him to Emperor Gaozu, who said, "Is this not the son of the man whose poem destroyed Hulu Mingyue? I want no part of such men! When Emperor Yang took the throne he hated Zu Junyan's reputation above all. Through routine appointment he was posted as a clerical aide at Dongping and acting magistrate of Su. Zu Junyan, proud of his gifts, brooded in frustration and longed for turmoil. Li Mi had long known his name and was overjoyed to have him. He treated Zu Junyan as an honored guest and entrusted him with all the army's proclamations and dispatches."
45
越王侗遣虎賁郎將劉長恭、光祿少卿房崱帥步騎二萬五千討密。 時東都人皆以密為饑賊盜米，烏合易破，爭來應募，國子三館學士及貴勝親戚皆來從軍，器械修整，衣服鮮華，旌旗鉦鼓甚盛。 長恭等當其前，使河南討捕使裴仁基等將所部兵自汜水西入以掩其後，約十一日會於倉城南，密、讓具知其計。 東都兵先至，士卒未朝食，長恭等驅之渡洛水，陳於石子河西，南北十餘里。 密、讓選驍雄，分為十隊，令四隊伏橫嶺下以待仁基，以六隊陳於石子河東。 長恭等見密兵少，輕之。 讓先接戰，不利，密帥麾下橫衝之。 隋兵饑疲，遂大敗，長恭等解衣潛竄得免，奔還東都，士卒死者什五六。 越王侗釋長恭等罪，慰撫之。 密、讓盡收其輜重器甲，威聲大振。
Prince of Yue Tong sent Tiger Guard Commandant Liu Changgong and Vice Minister of the Palace Provision Fang Ke with twenty-five thousand foot and horse to destroy Li Mi. The people of the Eastern Capital took Li Mi for a band of starving grain thieves—a rabble easily scattered—and volunteers flooded the recruiting offices. Scholars from the Imperial Academy and sons of great families enlisted in droves, turning out with polished arms, bright clothing, and banners and drums in splendid array. Liu Changgong would advance from the front while Pursuit Commissioner Pei Renji of Henan led his troops in from west of Sishui to take Li Mi from the rear. They planned to rendezvous south of the granary city on the eleventh day. Li Mi and Zhai Rang learned the whole scheme. The Eastern Capital army arrived first. The men had not yet eaten breakfast when Liu Changgong drove them across the Luo River and formed battle lines west of the Shizi River, stretching more than ten li north to south. Li Mi and Zhai Rang picked their best fighters and divided them into ten companies. Four lay in ambush below Hengling Ridge to wait for Pei Renji; six formed up east of the Shizi River. Liu Changgong saw how few men Li Mi had and despised him. Zhai Rang opened the fight and faltered. Li Mi then led his personal guard in a sweeping charge. The Sui soldiers, hungry and exhausted, broke completely. Liu Changgong and his officers stripped off their armor and fled in secret back to the Eastern Capital. Five or six soldiers in ten were killed. Prince of Yue Tong pardoned Liu Changgong and the other commanders and tried to restore their spirits. Li Mi and Zhai Rang captured all their supplies, weapons, and armor, and their fame resounded across the land.
46
讓於是推密為王，上密號為魏公； 庚子，設壇場，即位，稱元年，大赦。 其文書行下，稱行軍元帥府； 其魏公府置三司、六衛，元帥府置長史以下官屬。 拜翟讓為上柱國、司徒、東郡公，亦置長史以下官，減元帥府之半； 以單雄信為左武候大將軍，徐世勣為右武候大將軍，各領所部； 房彥藻為元帥左長史，東郡邴元真為右長史，楊德方為左司馬，鄭德韜為右司馬，祖君彥為記室，其餘封拜各有差。 於是趙、魏以南，江、淮以北，群盜莫不響應，孟讓、郝孝德、王德仁及濟陰房獻伯、上谷王君廓、長平李士才、淮陽魏六兒、李德謙、譙郡張遷、魏郡李文相、譙郡黑社、白社、濟北張青特、上洛周北洮、胡驢賊等皆歸密。 密悉拜官爵，使各鄰其眾，置百營簿以領之。 道路降者不絕如流，眾至數十萬。 乃命其護軍田茂廣築洛口城，方四十里而居之，密遣房彥藻將兵東略地，取安陸、汝南、淮安、濟陽，河南郡縣多陷於密。
Zhai Rang thereupon urged Li Mi to take royal rank and proclaimed him Duke of Wei; On gengzi he raised an altar, took the throne, declared a new reign year, and granted a general amnesty. His orders went out in the name of the Campaign Marshal's Office; the Duke of Wei's court was organized with the Three Departments and Six Guards, and the marshal's staff with a chief clerk and full bureaucracy. Zhai Rang was made Pillar of State, Minister of Education, and Duke of Dong Commandery, with a staff half the size of the marshal's own; Shan Xiongxin was named Left Martial Guard General and Xu Shiji Right Martial Guard General, each commanding his own forces; Fang Yanzao became left chief clerk of the marshal's staff, Bing Yuanzhen of Dong Commandery right chief clerk, Yang Defang left major, Zheng Detao right major, and Zu Junyan recorder; the rest received titles and posts according to merit. From Zhao and Wei south to the Jiang and Huai north, rebel bands answered his call one after another. Meng Rang, Hao Xiaode, Wang Deren, Fang Xianbo of Jiyin, Wang Junkuo of Shanggu, Li Shicai of Changping, Wei Liu'er of Huaiyang, Li Deqian, Zhang Qian of Qiao, Li Wenxiang of Wei, the Black Society and White Society of Qiao, Zhang Qingte of Jibei, Zhou Beitao of Shangluo, the Hu Donkey Bandits, and many others all joined Li Mi. Li Mi enfeoffed them all with titles and posts, set each to command his own followers, and kept a register of the hundred camps to govern them. Surrendering bands streamed in without pause until his forces numbered several hundred thousand. He ordered Protector of the Army Tian Maoguang to build Luokou City on a forty-li square and make it his capital. Li Mi sent Fang Yanzao east with an army to seize Anlu, Runan, Huai'an, and Jiyang, and one Henan commandery and county after another fell into his hands.
47
雁門郡丞河東陳孝意與虎賁郎將王智辯共討劉武周，圍其桑干鎮。 壬寅，武周與突厥合兵擊智辯，殺之； 孝意奔還雁門。 三月，丁卯，武周襲破樓煩郡，進取汾陽宮，獲隋宮人，以賂突厥始畢可汗； 始畢以馬報之，兵勢益振，又攻陷定襄。 突厥立武周為定楊可汗，遺以狼頭纛。 武周即皇帝位，立妻沮氏為皇后，改元天興。 以衛士楊伏念為尚書左僕射，妹婿同縣苑君璋為內史令。 武周引兵圍雁門，陳孝意悉力拒守，乘間出擊武周，屢破之； 既而外無救援，遣間使詣江都，皆不報。 孝意誓以必死。 旦暮向詔敕庫俯伏流涕，悲動左右。 圍城百餘日，食盡，校尉張倫殺孝意以降。
Chen Xiaoyi of Hedong, assistant prefect of Yanmen commandery, and Tiger-Fierce Commandant Wang Zhibian jointly marched against Liu Wuzhou and encircled his stronghold at Sanggan. On the renyin day, Wuzhou allied with the Turks to strike Zhibian and slew him; Xiaoyi fled back to Yanmen commandery. In the third month, on dingmao, Wuzhou stormed and broke Loufan commandery, pushed toward Fenyang Palace, seized palace women of the Sui court, and sent them as gifts to Shibi Khan of the Turks; Shibi repaid the gift with horses; Wuzhou's army grew ever bolder, and he went on to take Dingxiang as well. The Turks raised Wuzhou to the title Khan Dingyang and conferred upon him a wolf-head banner. Wuzhou proclaimed himself emperor, made his wife, the Lady Ju, empress, and declared a new era named Tianxing. He named the guardsman Yang Funian Left Vice Minister of the Secretariat and his brother-in-law Yuan Junzhang of the same county Director of the Palace Secretariat. Wuzhou brought his army to besiege Yanmen. Chen Xiaoyi held the city with every ounce of strength, and whenever a chance opened he sallied forth against Wuzhou and beat him back again and again; In time no help came from outside. He dispatched secret emissaries to Jiangdu, yet none of their appeals received any answer. Xiaoyi vowed to fight to the death. Morning and evening he bowed before the vault of imperial edicts and wept until the grief moved all who stood near him. After more than a hundred days under siege the food ran out. Commandant Zhang Lun murdered Xiaoyi and opened the gates in surrender.
48
梁師都略定雕陰、弘化、延安等郡，遂即皇帝位，國號梁，改元永隆。 始畢遺以狼頭纛，號為大度毘伽可汗。 師都乃引突厥居河南之地，攻破鹽川郡。 左翊衛蒲城郭子和坐事徙榆林。 會郡中大饑，子和潛結敢死士十八人攻郡門，執郡丞王才，數以不恤百姓，斬之，開倉賑施。 自稱永樂王，改元丑平。 尊其父為太公，以其弟子政為尚書令，子端、子升為左右僕射。 有二千餘騎，南連梁師都，北附突厥，各遣子為質以自固。 始畢以劉武周為定楊天子，梁師都為解事天子，子和為平楊天子； 子和固辭不敢當，乃更以為屋利設。
Liang Shidu brought Diaoyin, Honghua, Yan'an, and the surrounding commanderies under his control, then proclaimed himself emperor. He named his state Liang and adopted the era name Yonglong. Shibi Khan sent him a wolf-head banner and invested him as Khan Dadu Pijia. Shidu then settled Turk allies south of the Yellow River and captured Yanchuan commandery. Guo Zihe of Pucheng, an officer of the Left Wing Guard, was exiled to Yulin on account of a crime. Famine gripped the commandery. Zihe quietly gathered eighteen men ready to die, attacked the gate, seized Assistant Prefect Wang Cai, denounced him for caring nothing for the people, executed him, and opened the storehouses to feed the starving. He proclaimed himself Prince of Yongle and declared the era name Chouping. He ennobled his father as Grand Duke, made his younger brother Zizheng Director of the Secretariat, and appointed his sons Ziduan and Zisheng as the Left and Right Vice Ministers. With more than two thousand mounted followers he allied with Liang Shidu in the south and submitted to the Turks in the north; each side sent a son as hostage to bind the pact. Shibi Khan titled Liu Wuzhou the Dingyang Son of Heaven, Liang Shidu the Capable Affairs Son of Heaven, and Zihe the Pingyang Son of Heaven; Zihe repeatedly refused, unwilling to assume such a rank, and was given the Turkic title Ulisi instead.
49
汾陰薛舉，僑居金城，驍勇絕倫，家貲巨萬，交結豪傑，雄於西邊，為金城府校尉。 時隴右盜起，金城令郝瑗募兵得數千人，使舉將而討之。 夏，四月，癸未，方授甲，置酒饗士。 舉與其子仁果及同黨十三人，於座劫瑗發兵，囚郡縣官，開倉賑施。 自稱西秦霸王，改元秦興。 以仁果為齊公，少子仁越為晉公，招集群盜，掠官牧馬。 賊帥宗羅□帥眾歸之，以為義興公。 將軍皇甫綰將兵一萬屯枹罕，舉選精銳二千人襲之，遂克枹罕。 岷山羌酋鐘利俗擁眾二萬歸之，舉兵大振。 更以仁果為齊王，領東道行軍元帥，仁越為晉王，兼河州刺史，羅□為興王，以副仁果； 分兵略地，取西平、澆河二郡。 未幾，盡有隴西之地，眾至十三萬。
Xue Ju, originally from Fenyin but domiciled at Jincheng, was a warrior without equal. His household commanded enormous wealth, he cultivated the region's boldest men, and his name towered across the western marches. He held a company command in the Jincheng prefectural guard. Bandit armies were rising across Longyou. Magistrate Hao Yuan of Jincheng raised several thousand men and placed Ju at their head to hunt the raiders down. In the fourth month of summer, on guiwei, as armor was being issued he spread a feast for his men. At the feast Ju, his son Renguo, and thirteen conspirators seized Yuan, took command of the army, locked up the commandery and county officials, and opened the storehouses to feed the people. He proclaimed himself Overlord of Western Qin and declared the era name Qinxing. He made Renguo Duke of Qi and his youngest son Renyue Duke of Jin, rallied the roving bandit bands, and stripped the government stud herds. The bandit leader Zong Luohou brought his host to Ju's banner and was enfeoffed as Duke of Yixing. General Huangfu Wan held Fuhan with ten thousand men. Ju picked two thousand picked fighters, struck by surprise, and took the city. Zhong Lisu, chieftain of the Minshan Qiang, rallied twenty thousand men to Ju's cause, and Ju's power surged. He elevated Renguo to King of Qi as commander-in-chief on the eastern front, made Renyue King of Jin and concurrently Inspector of He Province, and appointed Luohou King of Xing to serve under Renguo; He sent columns to expand his holdings and took the commanderies of Xiping and Jiaohe. In short order he held all of Longxi, and his forces swelled to one hundred thirty thousand.
50
李密以孟讓為總管、齊郡公，己丑夜，讓帥步騎二千入東都外郭，燒掠豐都市，比曉而去。 於是東京居民悉遷入宮城，台省府寺皆滿。 鞏縣長柴孝和、監察御史鄭頲以城降密，密以孝和為護軍，頲為右長史。
Li Mi made Meng Rang overseer-general and Duke of Qi Commandery. On the jichou night Rang led two thousand horse and foot into the outer city of the Eastern Capital, burned and sacked Fengdu Market, and withdrew before daybreak. The people of the Eastern Capital were driven into the palace city until the halls of government were packed tight. Gong County Magistrate Chai Xiaohe and Supervising Censor Zheng Ting handed over their city to Mi, who named Xiaohe Protector of the Army and Ting Right Chief Clerk.
51
裴仁基每破賊，得軍資，悉以賞士卒，監軍御史蕭懷靜不許，士卒怨之； 懷靜又屢求仁基長短，劾奏之。 倉城之戰，仁基失期不至，聞劉長恭等敗，懼不敢進，屯百花谷，固壘自守，又鞏獲罪於朝。 李密知其狼狽，使人說之，啖以厚利。 賈務本之子閏甫在軍中，勸仁基降密，仁基曰：「如蕭御史何？」 閏甫曰：「蕭君如棲上雞，若不知機變，在明公一刀耳。」 仁基從之，遣閏甫詣密請降。 密大喜，以閏甫為元帥府司兵參軍，兼直記室事，使之覆命，遺仁基書，慰納之，仁基還屯虎牢。 蕭懷靜密表其事，仁基知之，遂殺懷靜，帥其眾以虎牢降密。 密以仁基為上柱國、河東公； 仁基子行儼，驍勇善戰，密亦以為上柱國、絳郡公。
Every time Pei Renji routed the rebels and seized supplies he paid them out to his men. Army Supervising Censor Xiao Huaijing forbade it, and the soldiers turned against him; Huaijing kept hunting for grounds to attack Renji and filed impeachments against him. At the Battle of Cangcheng Renji missed his rendezvous. Learning that Liu Changgong's force had been broken, he dared not push forward, dug in at Baihua Valley, and drew fresh condemnation from the court. Li Mi saw how cornered Renji had become and sent envoys to woo him with lavish promises. Jia Wuben's son Runfu served in Renji's camp and urged him to defect to Mi. Renji asked, "And what of Supervising Censor Xiao?" Runfu answered, "Xiao is no more than a hen on a perch. If he cannot read the moment, you need only one stroke of the blade, my lord." Renji accepted the counsel and sent Runfu to Mi to offer submission. Mi was elated. He made Runfu a military affairs officer on his marshal's staff with secretarial duties, sent him back with his answer, and wrote Renji a letter of welcome. Renji withdrew to camp at Hulao. Huaijing filed a secret report to the throne. Renji found out, executed him on the spot, and led his army from Hulao over to Mi. Mi ennobled Renji as Grand Pillar of State and Duke of Hedong; Renji's son Xingyan was a bold and capable fighter, and Mi gave him the same rank of Grand Pillar of State and the title Duke of Jiang Commandery.
52
密得秦叔寶及東阿程咬金，皆用為驃騎。 選軍中尤驍勇者八千人，分隸四驃騎以自衛，號曰內軍，常曰：「此八千人足當百萬。」 咬金後更名知節。 羅士信、趙仁基皆帥眾歸密，密署為總管，使各統所部。
Mi recruited Qin Shubao and Cheng Yaojin of Dong'e and made both marshals of the swift-cavalry corps. From his ranks he picked eight thousand of the boldest fighters, divided them among four swift-cavalry marshals as his personal guard, and named them the Inner Army. He was fond of saying, "Eight thousand such men are worth a million on any field." Yaojin later took the name Zhijie. Luo Shixin and Zhao Renji both brought their bands to Mi's camp. He made them overseer-generals, each commanding his own troops.
53
癸巳，密遣裴仁基、孟讓帥二萬餘人襲回洛東倉，破之； 遂燒天津橋，縱兵大掠。 東都出兵擊之，仁基等敗走，密自帥眾屯回洛倉。 東都兵尚二十餘萬人，乘城擊柝，晝夜不解甲。 密攻偃師、金墉，皆不克； 乙未，還洛口。 東都城內乏糧，而布帛山積，至以絹為汲綆，然布以爨。 越王侗使人運回洛倉米入城，遣兵五千屯豐都市，五千屯上春門，五千屯北邙山，為九營，首尾相應，以備密。 丁酉，房獻伯陷汝陰，淮陽太守趙阤舉郡降密。
On guisi Mi sent Pei Renji and Meng Rang with more than twenty thousand men against Huiluo East Granary and carried the place; They torched Tianjin Bridge and unleashed their men in a sweeping rampage. Forces from the Eastern Capital marched out against them; Renji's column was beaten back; and Mi himself moved up to hold Huiluo Granary. The Eastern Capital still fielded more than two hundred thousand men who manned the battlements, beat the night watches, and never laid down their armor. Mi assaulted Yanshi and Jin Yong but failed to take either city; On yimwei he withdrew to Luokou. Inside the Eastern Capital grain ran dry while silk and cloth lay heaped like hills—so people braided silk into water buckets and burned cloth to cook their meals. Prince Yang Tong of Yue had grain trucked in from Huiluo Granary and posted five thousand men at Fengdu Market, five thousand at Upper Spring Gate, and five thousand on Mount Beimang—nine linked camps in all—to block Mi's advance. On dingyou Fang Xianbo took Runan, and Huaiyang Prefect Zhao Tuo handed over his entire jurisdiction to Mi.
54
己亥，密帥眾三萬復據回洛倉，大修營塹以逼東都； 段達等出兵七萬拒之。 辛丑，戰於倉北，隋兵敗走。 丁未，密使其幕府移檄郡縣，數煬帝十罪，且曰：「罄南山之竹，書罪無窮； 決東海之波，流惡難盡。」 祖君彥之辭也。
On jihai Mi returned with thirty thousand men to Huiluo Granary and dug extensive entrenchments to choke the Eastern Capital; Duan Da marched out with seventy thousand men to meet him. On xinchou the two sides clashed north of the granary, and the Sui army broke and ran. On dingwei Mi's staff circulated a manifesto across the commanderies and counties, listing ten crimes of Emperor Yang. It declared, "Strip the Southern Mountains bare of bamboo and you could still never finish writing his offenses; Drain the Eastern Sea and still his torrent of wickedness could not be spent." The prose was Zu Junyan's.
55
趙王侗遣太常丞元善達間行賊中，詣江都奏稱：「李密有眾百萬，圍逼東都，據洛口倉，城內無食。 若陛下速還，烏合必散； 不然者，東都決沒。」 因歔欷嗚咽，帝為之改容。 虞世基進曰：「越王年少，此輩誑之。 若如所言，善達何緣來至！」 帝乃勃然怒曰：「善達小人，敢廷辱我！」 因使經賊中向東陽催運，善達遂為群盜所殺。 是後人人杜口，莫敢以賊聞。
Prince Yang Tong of Zhao sent Palace Minister of Ceremonies Assistant Yuan Shanda by a hidden path through rebel-held territory to reach Jiangdu and report: "Li Mi commands a million men, has the Eastern Capital under siege, holds Luokou Granary, and the city has no grain left. If Your Majesty returns at once this rabble will scatter; Otherwise the Eastern Capital is doomed." He broke into sobs, and even the emperor's face changed. Yu Shiqi spoke up: "The Prince of Yue is still young. These men fed him lies. If any of that were true, how could Shanda ever have reached us!" The emperor flared with rage. "Shanda is a wretch who dares humiliate me before the whole court!" He ordered Shanda sent back through rebel country to expedite the Dongyang grain convoy, and bandits cut him down on the road. After that no one at court dared breathe a word about the rebels.
56
世基容貌沉審，言多合意，特為帝所親愛，朝臣無與為比； 親黨憑之，鬻官賣獄，賄賂公行，其門如市。 由是朝野共疾怨之。 內史舍人封德彝托附世基，以世基不閒吏務，密為指畫，宣行詔命，諂順帝意。 群臣表疏忤旨者，皆屏而不奏。 鞫獄用法，多峻文深詆，論功行賞，則抑削就薄。 故世基之寵日隆而隋政益壞，皆德彝所為也。
Shiqi carried himself with grave composure, and his words almost always struck the emperor's mood. No minister enjoyed such favor; His kin and clients traded offices and verdicts for cash. Bribes changed hands in the open, and petitioners crowded his gate like a market square. Court and country alike came to loathe him. Secretariat attendant Feng Deyi clung to Shiqi's coattails. Shiqi knew little of routine administration, so Deyi drafted the orders behind the scenes, issued the edicts, and shaped every word to please the throne. Any memorial that crossed the emperor's mood was buried and never reached his desk. In criminal cases the statutes were stretched to their harshest reading; when honors were due, the grants were pared to the bone. Shiqi's star rose even as the Sui order rotted further—and the rot was largely Deyi's work.
57
初，唐公李淵娶於神武肅公竇毅，生四男，建成、世民、玄霸、元吉； 一女，適太子千牛備身臨汾柴紹。
In earlier days Duke Li Yuan of Tang had married a daughter of Duke Dou Yi of Shenwu Su and fathered four sons: Jiancheng, Shimin, Xuanba, and Yuanji; He also had a daughter, who wed Chai Shao of Linfen, a gentleman-at-arms in the Heir Apparent's Thousand Oxen Guard.
58
世民聰明勇決，識量過人，見隋室方亂，陰有安天下之志，傾身下士，散財結客，鹹得其歡心。 世民娶右驍衛將軍長孫晟之女； 右勳衛長孫順德，晟之族弟也，與右勳侍池陽劉弘基，皆避遼東之役，亡命在晉陽，依淵，與世民善。 左親衛竇琮，熾之孫也，亦亡命在太原，素與世民有隙，每以自疑； 世民加意待之，出入臥內，琮意乃安。
Shimin was bright, bold, and far-seeing. With the Sui house coming apart he quietly nursed the ambition to reorder the realm. He sought out men of talent, spent freely to gather allies, and won the hearts of all who crossed his path. Shimin had taken as his wife the daughter of Zhangsun Sheng, general of the Right Swift-Cavalry Guard; Zhangsun Shunde of the Right Meritorious Guard—a clansman of Sheng's—and Liu Hongji of Chiyang, a Right Meritorious Attendant, had both slipped away rather than march to Liaodong. They were sheltering at Jinyang under Yuan's protection and had grown close to Shimin. Dou Cong of the Left Personal Guard, grandson of Dou Chi, was likewise hiding out at Taiyuan. He and Shimin had old grievances, and Cong lived in constant fear; Shimin went out of his way to honor him, welcomed him into his inner rooms, and Cong's fears subsided.
59
晉陽宮監猗氏裴寂，晉陽令武功劉文靜，相與同宿，見城上烽火，寂歎曰：「貧賤如此，復逢亂離，將何以自存！」 文靜笑曰：「時事可知，吾二人相得，何憂貧賤！」 文靜見李世民而異之，深自結納，謂寂曰：「此非常人，豁達類漢高，神武同魏祖，年雖少，命世才也。」 寂初未然之。
Pei Ji of Yishi, keeper of Jinyang Palace, and Liu Wenjing of Wugong, magistrate of Jinyang, were sharing quarters when they saw beacon fires atop the wall. Ji sighed, "We are poor men already, and now the world is tearing itself apart. How are we to survive?" Wenjing laughed. "The times tell their own story. With the two of us together, why fret over being poor?" When Wenjing met Li Shimin he knew at once that the young man was no ordinary soul. He attached himself closely and told Ji, "This is a man apart—magnanimous as Emperor Gaozu of Han, fierce and shrewd as Emperor Wu of Wei. Young as he is, he has the makings of a world-conqueror." Ji was not persuaded at first.
60
文靜坐與李密連昏，系太原獄，世民就省之。 文靜曰：「天下大亂，非高、光之才，不能定也。」 世民曰：「安知其無，但人不識耳。 我來相省，非兒女子之情，欲與君議大事也。 計將安出？」 文靜曰：「今主上南巡江、淮，李密圍逼東都，群盜殆以萬數。 當此之際，有真主驅駕而用之，取天下如反掌耳。 太原百姓皆避盜入城，文靜為令數年，知其豪傑，一旦收集，可得十萬人，尊公所將之兵復且數萬，一言出口，誰敢不從！ 以此乘虛入關，號令天下，不過半年，帝業成矣。」 世民笑曰：「君言正合我意。」 乃陰部署賓客，淵不之知也。 世民恐淵不從，猶豫久之，不敢言。
Wenjing had been jailed at Taiyuan for maintaining marriage ties with Li Mi. Shimin visited him in prison. Wenjing said, "The empire is drowning in chaos. Only someone with the stature of a Gaozu or a Guangwu can set it right." Shimin replied, "Who is to say they are not out there? The trouble is that no one recognizes them. I came to see you not out of idle friendship but to speak of weightier matters. What do you propose we do?" Wenjing went on, "The emperor is on a southern progress through the Yangtze and Huai lands. Li Mi has the Eastern Capital under siege. The rebel bands must number in the tens of thousands. In such a moment, if a true sovereign could be found and put in the saddle, winning the empire would be as easy as turning over one's hand. Every commoner in Taiyuan has taken refuge inside the walls from the bandits. I have been magistrate here for years and know the local leaders. Summon them now and you can raise a hundred thousand men. Your own command already counts tens of thousands besides. Once the word is spoken, who would refuse to follow? Strike through the pass while the realm lies open, proclaim your rule to all under heaven, and within half a year the throne would be yours." Shimin smiled. "You have spoken my own mind." He then began secretly to deploy his followers. Yuan knew nothing of it. Shimin feared Yuan would refuse and long held his tongue, unable to bring himself to speak.
61
淵與裴寂有舊，每相與宴語，或連日夜。 文靜欲因寂關說，乃引寂與世民交。 世民出私錢數百萬，使龍山令高斌廉與寂博，稍以輸之，寂大喜，由是日從世民游，情款益狎。 世民乃以其謀告之，寂許諾。
Yuan and Pei Ji were old acquaintances and often feasted and talked together, sometimes for days and nights without break. Wenjing meant to reach Yuan through Ji and so brought Ji and Shimin together. Shimin spent millions of his own money, set Longshan magistrate Gao Binkian to gamble with Ji, and arranged for Gao to lose steadily. Ji was delighted and from then on spent his days in Shimin's company, growing ever more familiar with him. Shimin confided the plot to him, and Ji agreed.
62
會突厥寇馬邑，淵遣高君雅將兵與馬邑太守王仁恭並力拒之； 仁恭、君雅戰不利，淵恐並獲罪，甚憂之。 世民乘間屏人說淵曰：「今主上無道，百姓困窮，晉陽城外皆為戰場。 大人若守小節，下有寇盜，上有嚴刑，危亡無日。 不若順民心，興義兵，轉禍為福，此天授之時也。」 淵大驚曰：「汝安得為此言，吾今執汝以告縣官！」 因取紙筆，欲為表。 世民徐曰：「世民觀天時人事如此，故敢發言； 必欲執告，不敢辭死！」 淵曰：「吾豈忍告汝，汝慎勿出口！」 明日，世民復說淵曰：「今盜賊日繁，遍於天下，大人受詔討賊，賊可盡乎？ 要之，終不免罪。 且世人皆傳李氏當應圖讖，故李金才無罪，一朝族滅。 大人設能盡賊，則功高不賞，身益危矣！ 唯昨日之言，可以救禍，此萬全之策也，願大人勿疑！」 淵乃歎曰：「吾一夕思汝言，亦大有理。 今日破家亡軀亦由汝，化家為國亦由汝矣！」
When the Turks raided Mayi, Yuan sent Gao Junya with troops to join Mayi prefect Wang Rengong in the defense; Rengong and Junya were defeated, and Yuan feared they would both be held to account. He was deeply troubled. Shimin found a private moment, dismissed the others, and said to Yuan, "The emperor has lost the Way. The people are starving. Beyond Jinyang's walls, the whole country is a battlefield. If you cling to small scruples while bandits ravage below and the court's punishments hang over you, ruin will come any day. Better to follow the people's will, raise a righteous army, and turn disaster into deliverance. Heaven has given you this hour." Yuan was aghast. "How can you say such a thing? I will arrest you and turn you in to the authorities!" He took up brush and paper to write a report. Shimin said evenly, "I have watched the times and seen how matters stand. That is why I dared speak. If you mean to arrest me and inform on me, I will not shrink from death." Yuan said, "I could never bring myself to inform on you. Not another word of this, mind you!" The next day Shimin pressed him again. "Banditry grows every day and has spread across the empire. You have been ordered to suppress them. Can you exterminate them all? One way or another, you will not escape punishment. And everyone says the Li clan is destined to fulfill the prophecies. Li Jincai was innocent, yet his whole house was wiped out in a single day. Even if you did destroy every bandit, your merit would go unrewarded and your own position would only grow more perilous! Only what I said yesterday can save us. It is the surest course. I beg you not to hesitate! Yuan sighed. "I spent the night weighing your words. They make a great deal of sense. Whether this house is ruined or remade as a realm—it will all be because of you!"
63
先是，裴寂私以晉陽宮人侍淵，淵從寂飲，酒酣，寂從容言曰：「二郎陰養士馬，欲舉大事，正為寂以宮人侍公，恐事覺並誅，為此急計耳。 眾情己協，公意如何？」 淵曰：「吾兒誠有此謀，事已如此，當復奈何，正須從之耳。」
Earlier, Pei Ji had secretly sent a palace woman from Jinyang to attend Yuan. As they drank together and the wine warmed them, Ji said calmly, "Your second son has been gathering men and horses in secret, planning to strike. He is in haste because I gave you that palace woman—if the affair were exposed we would all be put to death together. That is why he is pressing so hard. All parties are already agreed. What do you say?" Yuan said, "My son truly means to do this. Matters have gone so far that there is nothing for it but to go along."
64
帝以淵與王仁恭不能禦寇，遣使者執詣江都。 淵大懼。 世民與寂等復說淵曰：「今主昏國亂，盡忠無益。 偏裨失律，而罪及明公。 事已迫矣，宜早定計。 且晉陽士馬精強，宮監蓄積巨萬，以茲舉事，何患無成！ 代王幼沖，關中豪傑並起，未知所附，公若鼓行而西，撫而有之，如探囊中之物耳。 奈何受單使之囚，坐取夷滅乎！」 淵然之，密部勒，將發； 會帝繼遣使者馳驛赦淵及仁恭，使復舊任，淵謀亦緩。
Because Yuan and Wang Rengong had failed to hold off the raiders, the emperor sent envoys to arrest them and bring them to Jiangdu. Yuan was terrified. Shimin, Ji, and the others pressed him again. "The ruler is lost and the realm in chaos. Loyalty will do you no good. Subordinates break the rules, yet the blame falls on you. Time is short. You must decide quickly. Jinyang's soldiers and horses are first-rate, and the palace stores hold fortunes beyond counting. With such resources, how could we fail? The Prince of Dai is still a child. The strong men of Guanzhong are rising on every side and do not yet know whom to follow. If you march west at once and win them over, taking the region will be like reaching into a sack. Why submit to arrest by a single courier and wait to be wiped out?" Yuan agreed, made secret preparations, and was ready to move; But the emperor soon sent another courier by fast post to pardon Yuan and Rengong and restore them to office, and Yuan's plans eased off.
65
淵之為河東討捕使也，請大理司直夏侯端為副。 端，詳之孫也，善占候及相人，謂淵曰：「今玉床搖動，帝座不安，參墟得歲，必有真人起於其分，非公而誰乎！ 主上猜忍，尤忌諸李，金才既死，公不思變通，必為之次矣。」 淵心然之。 乃留守晉陽，鷹揚府司馬太原許世緒說淵曰：「公姓在圖菉，名應歌謠； 據五郡之兵，當四戰之地，舉事則帝業可成，端居則亡不旋踵； 唯公圖之。」 行軍司鎧文水武士擭、前太子左勳衛唐憲、憲弟儉皆勸淵舉兵。 儉說淵曰：「明公北招戎狄，南收豪傑，以取天下，此湯、武之舉也。」 淵曰：「湯、武非所敢擬，在私則圖存，在公則拯亂。 卿姑自重，吾將思之。」 憲，邕之孫也。 時建成、元吉尚在河東，故淵遷延未發。
When Yuan was appointed Hedong pursuit commissioner, he asked for Xiahou Duan, direct clerk of the Grand Court of Judicature, as his deputy. Duan, grandson of Xiahou Xiang, was adept at reading omens and men's faces. He told Yuan, "The throne trembles and the celestial seat is unsettled. Canqiu holds the year's influence—a true sovereign will rise in that direction. If not you, who else? The emperor is mistrustful and cruel and especially hates the Li clan. Jincai is already dead. If you do not change course, you will be next." Yuan was convinced. While he held Jinyang, Xushi of Taiyuan, adjutant of the Eagle-Raising Prefecture, urged Yuan, "Your surname is written in the prophecies and your name in the ballads; you command the armies of five commanderies from a crossroads of war. Rise now and an empire can be yours. Sit idle and you will not outlive the moment. I urge you to think on this." Wushi Huo of Wenshui, armorer on the military staff, the former Left Merit Guard attendant Tang Xian, and Xian's younger brother Jian all urged Yuan to take up arms. Jian told him, "Gather the tribes of the north and the heroes of the south and seize the empire. That would be an act worthy of Tang and Wu." Yuan said, "I would not dare compare myself to Tang and Wu. For myself I seek survival; for the realm I would put down the chaos. For now keep your own counsel. I will consider it." Xian was the grandson of Tang Yong. Jiancheng and Yuanji were still in Hedong, so Yuan held back.
66
劉文靜謂裴寂曰：「先發制人，後發制於人。 何不早勸唐公舉兵，而推遷不已！ 且公為宮監，而以宮人侍客，公死可爾，何誤唐公也！」 寂甚懼，屢趣淵起兵。 淵乃使文靜詐為敕書，發太原、西河、雁門、馬邑民年二十已上五十已下悉為兵，期歲暮集涿郡，擊高麗，由是人情恟□，思亂者益眾。
Liu Wenjing told Pei Ji, "Strike first and you hold the advantage. Strike late and others hold you. Why do you not urge Duke Tang to rise now, instead of putting it off again and again? You are keeper of the palace, yet you sent a palace woman to a guest. Your death might be one thing—but why drag Duke Tang into ruin?" Ji was terrified and repeatedly urged Yuan to take up arms. Yuan had Wenjing forge an imperial order calling every man between twenty and fifty from Taiyuan, Xihe, Yanmen, and Mayi to arms, to assemble at Zhuo Commandery by year's end for the campaign against Goguryeo. The people were thrown into alarm and unrest, and those ready to rebel grew ever more numerous.
67
及劉武周據汾陽宮，世民言於淵曰：「大人為留守，而盜賊竊據離宮，不早建大計，禍今至矣！」 淵乃集將佐謂之曰：「武周據汾陽宮，吾輩不能制，罪當族滅，若之何？」 王威等皆懼，再拜請計。 淵曰：「朝廷用兵，動止皆稟節度。 今賊在數百里內，江都在三千里外，加以道路險要，復有他賊據之； 以嬰城膠柱之兵，當巨猾豕突之勢，必不全矣。 進退維谷，何為而可？」 威等皆曰：「公地兼親賢，同國休戚，若俟奏報，豈及事機； 要在平賊，專之可也。」 淵陽若不得已而從之者，曰：「然則先當集兵。」 乃命世民與劉文靜、長孫順德、劉弘基等各募兵，遠近赴集，旬日間近萬人，仍密遣使召建成、元吉於河東，柴紹於長安。
When Liu Wuzhou seized Fenyang Palace, Shimin said to Yuan, "You are the garrison commander, yet bandits hold an imperial retreat. Unless we act now, disaster is upon us!" Yuan gathered his commanders and staff. "Wuzhou holds Fenyang Palace and we cannot drive him out. The penalty is extinction of our clans. What are we to do?" Wang Wei and the others were afraid and bowed low, begging for a course of action. Yuan said, "In military matters the court decides every move. The rebels are only a few hundred li away, while Jiangdu lies three thousand li distant. The routes are treacherous and other bandits hold them. If we sit behind our walls with a rigid, passive force against a raging enemy, we cannot hold out. We are caught between advance and retreat. What can we do?" Wei and the others said, "You hold this land and its people. You share the fate of the realm. If we wait for orders from afar we will miss our chance. What matters is defeating the bandits. You should act on your own authority." Yuan feigned reluctant agreement. "Very well. Then we must first raise an army." He put Shimin, Liu Wenjing, Zhangsun Shunde, Liu Hongji, and others in charge of recruitment. Men gathered from far and near, and within ten days nearly ten thousand had assembled. He also sent secret envoys to summon Jiancheng and Yuanji from Hedong and Chai Shao from Chang'an.
68
王威、高君雅見兵大集，疑淵有異志，謂武士擭曰：「順德、弘基皆背征三侍，所犯當死，安得將兵！」 欲收按之。 士擭曰：「二人皆唐公客，若爾，必大致紛紜。」 威等乃止。 留守司兵田德平欲勸威等按募人之狀，士擭曰：「討捕之兵，悉隸唐公，威、君雅但寄坐耳，彼何能為！」 德平亦止。
Wang Wei and Gao Junya saw the great muster and suspected Yuan of ulterior designs. They said to Wushi Huo, "Shunde and Hongji were all attendants who repeatedly deserted the expedition. Their crime is death. How can they lead troops?" They meant to arrest and investigate them. Huo said, "Both are Duke Tang's guests. Move against them and you will stir up serious trouble." Wei and the others desisted. Tian Deping, adjutant for soldiery on the garrison staff, wanted to urge Wei and the others to examine the recruits' records. Huo said, "The pursuit troops all answer to Duke Tang. Wei and Junya are figureheads. What power do they have?" Deping gave up the idea as well.
69
晉陽鄉長劉世龍密告淵云：「威、君雅欲因晉祠祈雨，為不利。」 五月，癸亥夜，淵使世民伏兵於晉陽宮城之外。 甲子旦，淵與威、君雅共坐視事，使劉文靜引開陽府司馬胙城劉政會入立庭中，稱有密狀。 淵目威等取狀視之，政會不與，曰：「所告乃引留守事，唯唐公得視之。」 淵陽驚曰：「豈有是邪！」 視其狀，乃云：「威、君雅潛引突厥入寇。」 君雅攘袂大詬曰：「此乃反者欲殺我耳！」 時世民已佈兵塞衢路，文靜因與劉弘基、長孫順德等共執威、君雅繫獄。 丙寅，突厥數萬眾寇晉陽，輕騎入外郭北門，出其東門。 淵命裴寂等勒兵為備，而悉開諸城門，突厥不能測，莫敢進。 眾以為威、君雅實召之也，淵於是斬威、君雅以徇。 淵部將王康達將千餘人出戰，皆死，城中恟懼。 淵夜遣軍潛出城，旦則張旗鳴鼓自他道來，如援軍者； 突厥終疑之，留城外二日，大掠而去。
Liu Shilong, district chief of Jinyang, secretly told Yuan, "Wei and Junya plan to use the rain rites at the Jinyang shrine against you." On the night of guihei in the fifth month, Yuan placed Shimin's men in ambush outside the walls of the Jinyang palace compound. At dawn on jiazi, Yuan sat in council with Wei and Junya. Liu Wenjing brought in Liu Zhenghui of Zuocheng, adjutant of Kaiyang Prefecture, to stand in the courtyard and announce that a confidential report had arrived. Yuan gestured for Wei and the others to read it. Zhenghui refused. "This concerns the garrison commander. Only Duke Tang may see it. Yuan feigned shock. "Can this be true? He read the report. It accused Wei and Junya of secretly bringing in the Turks to raid. Junya threw back his sleeves and shouted, "The rebels are trying to murder us!" By then Shimin's men had blocked the streets. Wenjing, Liu Hongji, Zhangsun Shunde, and the others seized Wei and Junya and clapped them in prison. On bingyin the Turks struck Jinyang with tens of thousands of men. Light horsemen rode in through the outer city's north gate and out through the east gate. Yuan had Pei Ji and the others draw up the troops while throwing every gate wide open. The Turks could not read his intent and did not dare enter. The people were convinced Wei and Junya had brought the Turks, and Yuan executed them as a public example. Yuan's officer Wang Kangda rode out with a thousand men and was killed to a man. Panic seized the city. That night Yuan sent a detachment out in secret. At dawn they returned by another road with banners flying and drums beating, as though a relief army had arrived. "The Turks remained suspicious, camped outside for two days, plundered heavily, and withdrew."
70
煬帝命監門將軍涇陽寵玉、虎賁郎將霍世舉將關內兵援東都。 柴孝和說李密曰：「秦地山川之固，秦、漢所憑以成王業者也。 今不若使翟司徒守洛口，裴柱國守回洛，明公自簡精銳西襲長安。 既克京邑，業固兵強，然後東向以平河、洛，傳檄而天下定矣。 方今隋失其鹿，豪傑競逐，不早為之，必有先我者，悔無及矣！」 密曰：「此誠上策，吾亦思之久矣。 但昏主尚存，從兵猶眾，我所部皆山東人，見洛陽未下，誰肯從我西入！ 諸將出於群盜，留之各競雌雄，如此，則大業隳矣。」 孝和曰：「然則大軍既未可西上，僕請間行觀釁。」 密許之。 孝和與數十騎至陝縣，山賊歸之者萬餘人。 時密兵鋒甚銳，每入苑，與隋兵連戰。 會密為流矢所中，臥營中。 丁丑，越王侗使段達與龐玉等夜出兵，陳於回洛倉西北。 密與裴會基出戰，達等大破之，殺傷太半，密乃棄回洛，奔洛口。 寵玉、霍世舉軍於偃師，柴孝和之眾聞密退，各散去。 孝和輕騎歸密，楊德方、鄭德韜皆死。 密以鄭頲為左司馬，滎陽鄭乾象為右司馬。
Emperor Yang ordered Gate Guard general Chongyu of Jingyang and Rapid-Tiger guard officer Huo Shiju to lead Guanzhong troops to the relief of the Eastern Capital. Chai Xiaohe urged Li Mi, "The natural fortress of Qin country is what made the Qin and Han thrones possible. Send Grand Steward Zhai to hold Luokou and Pillar Duke Pei to hold Huiluo, while you yourself pick your best troops and strike west toward Chang'an. Once the capital falls your position is secure and your armies strong. Then turn east to pacify the Yellow and Luo valleys. Issue your proclamation and the empire is yours. The Sui has lost the prize and every hero is racing for it. Delay, and someone will beat us to it. Then it will be too late for regret!" Mi said, "That is indeed the best plan. I have weighed it myself for a long time. But the corrupt emperor still lives and my army is large. My men are all from the east. With Luoyang still untaken, who will follow me west? My commanders rose from the bandits. Leave them idle and each will fight for his own turf. That way the whole enterprise is lost." Xiaohe said, "If the main force cannot march west yet, let me go by a separate route and scout for an opportunity." Mi agreed. Xiaohe rode into Shan County with a few dozen men, and more than ten thousand mountain bandits rallied to him. Li Mi's army was then at the height of its fighting power, and each foray into the imperial park brought another engagement with Sui forces. Then Li Mi was hit by a stray arrow and took to his bed in camp. On dingchou day, Prince Tong of Yue sent Duan Da, Pang Yu, and others out under cover of night and formed battle lines northwest of the Huiluo granary. Li Mi and Pei Renji marched out to meet them. Duan Da's force crushed their army, killing or wounding more than half. Mi abandoned the Huiluo position and retreated to Luokou. Chongyu and Huo Shiju were encamped at Yanshi. When Xiaohe's men heard that Mi had pulled back, they broke up and scattered. Xiaohe fled back to Mi with a small cavalry escort. Yang Defang and Zheng Detuo were both killed. Mi appointed Zheng Ting Left Master of Horse and Zheng Ganxiang of Xingyang Right Master of Horse.
71
李建成、李元吉棄其弟智雲於河東而去，吏執智雲送長安，殺之。 建成、元吉遇柴紹於道，與之偕行。
Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji left their younger brother Zhiyun behind at Hedong and fled. Local officials captured Zhiyun, sent him to Chang'an, and had him executed. On the road Jiancheng and Yuanji met Chai Shao and went on together.