1
資治通鑑第204卷
The Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance, Volume 204
2
卷第二百四
Volume Two Hundred Four
3
【唐紀二十】起強圉大淵獻，盡重光單閼，凡五年。
[Tang Records Twenty] From the year Qiangyu Dayuanxian through Chongguang Danque, five years in all.
4
春，閏正月，丁卯，封皇子成美為恆王，隆基為楚王，隆范為衛王，隆業為趙王。
In spring, in the intercalary first month, on the day dingmao, the court enfeoffed the imperial sons: Chengmei as Prince of Heng, Longji as Prince of Chu, Longfan as Prince of Wei, and Longye as Prince of Zhao.
5
二月，丙辰，突厥骨篤祿等寇昌平，命左鷹揚大將軍黑齒常之帥諸軍討之。
In the second month, on the day bingchen, the Turkic chieftain Gudulu and his allies raided Changping. The court ordered Left Flying Hawk Grand General Heichi Changzhi to take command of the troops and drive them off.
6
三月，乙丑，納言韋思謙以太中大夫致仕。
In the third month, on the day yichou, Censor-in-Chief Wei Siqian retired from office with the honorary title of Grand Counselor.
7
夏，四月，命蘇良嗣留守西京。 時尚方監裴匪躬檢校京苑，將鬻苑中蔬果以收其利。 良嗣曰：「昔公儀休相魯，猶能拔葵、去織婦，未聞萬乘之主鬻蔬果也。」 乃止。
In summer, in the fourth month, Su Liangsi was appointed to remain behind and administer the Western Capital. At the time Pei Feigong, Director of the Palace Ateliers, was supervising the capital imperial gardens and planned to sell their produce for profit. Liangsi said, "Even Gongyi Xiu, when he served as prime minister of Lu, pulled up his melon patch and sent away a woman who wove for him rather than compromise his integrity — yet we have never heard of a sovereign selling garden produce for profit." The plan was abandoned.
8
壬戌，裴居道為納言。 五月，丙寅，夏官侍郎京兆張光輔為鳳閣侍郎、同平章事。
On the day renxu, Pei Judao was appointed Censor-in-Chief. In the fifth month, on the day bingyin, Zhang Guangfu of Jingzhao, Vice Minister of the Summer Office, was made Phoenix Pavilion Vice Minister and appointed co-equal with the chancellors.
9
鳳閣侍郎、同鳳閣鸞台三品劉禕之竊謂鳳閣舍人永年賈大隱曰：「太后既廢昏立明，安用臨朝稱制！ 不如返政，以安天下之心。」 大隱密奏之，太后不悅，謂左右曰：「禕之我所引，乃復叛我！」 或誣禕之受歸誠州都督孫萬榮金，又與許敬宗妾有私，太后命肅州刺史王本立推之。 本立宣敕示之，禕之曰：「不經鳳閣鸞台，何名為敕！」 太后大怒，以為拒捍制使； 庚午，賜死於家。 禕之初下獄，睿宗為之上疏申理，親友皆賀之，禕之曰：「經乃所以速吾死也。」 臨刑，沐浴，神色自若，自草謝表，立成數紙。 麟台郎郭翰、太子文學周思均稱歎其文。 太后聞之，左遷翰巫州司法，思鈞播州司倉。
Liu Yizhi, Phoenix Pavilion Vice Minister and co-equal with the Phoenix Pavilion and Crane Terrace Third Rank, whispered to Jia Dayin of Yongnian, a Phoenix Pavilion Attendant: "The Empress Dowager has already removed an unfit ruler and set a worthy one on the throne — why must she still hold court and rule by decree? She ought to return power to the throne and put the empire at ease." Jia Dayin secretly reported this to the Empress Dowager. She was displeased and said to those around her, "Yizhi was my own appointee, yet he turns against me again!" Someone then accused Yizhi of taking bribes from Sun Wanrong, military commissioner of Guicheng Prefecture, and of having an affair with a concubine of Xu Jingzong. The Empress Dowager ordered Wang Benli, prefect of Suzhou, to investigate. Wang Benli presented the edict. Yizhi replied, "An order that has not passed through the Phoenix Pavilion and Crane Terrace is no edict at all!" The Empress Dowager flew into a rage and charged him with defying an imperial commissioner. On the day gengwu, he was ordered to take his own life at home. When Yizhi was first thrown into prison, Emperor Ruizong submitted a memorial pleading his case. Friends and relatives congratulated him on this support, but Yizhi said, "That memorial is what will hasten my death." Facing execution, he bathed himself, remained perfectly composed, and drafted a final memorial of thanks to the throne, finishing several pages in a single sitting. Guo Han, a Unicorn Terrace secretary, and Zhou Sijun, a literary tutor to the Crown Prince, marveled at the quality of his prose. When the Empress Dowager learned of this, she demoted Guo Han to judicial officer in Wuzhou and Zhou Sijun to granary clerk in Bozhou.
10
秋，七月，壬辰，魏玄同檢校納言。
In autumn, in the seventh month, on the day renchen, Wei Xuantong was appointed acting Censor-in-Chief.
11
嶺南俚戶舊輸半課，交趾都護劉延祐使之全輸，俚戶不從，延祐誅其魁首。 其黨李思慎等作亂，攻破安南府城，殺延祐。 桂州司馬曹玄靜將兵討思慎等，斬之。
In Lingnan the Liao people had long paid only half the regular tax. Liu Yanyou, protector-general of Jiaozhi, demanded payment in full. When they refused, he put their ringleaders to death. Li Sishan and his followers rose in revolt, stormed the seat of Annan Prefecture, and killed Liu Yanyou. Cao Xuanjing, assistant military commander of Guizhou, marched against them, defeated Li Sishan and his band, and beheaded them.
12
突厥骨篤祿、元珍寇朔州； 遣燕然道大總管黑齒常之擊之，以右鷹揚大將軍李多祚為之副，大破突厥於黃花堆，追奔四十餘里，突厥皆散走磧北。 多祚世為靺鞨酋長，以軍功得入宿衛。 黑齒常之每得賞賜，皆分將士； 有善馬為軍士所損，官屬請笞之，常之曰：「奈何以私馬笞官兵乎！」 卒不問。
The Turks Gudulu and Yuan Zhen raided Shuozhou. The court sent Heichi Changzhi, grand commander of the Yenan circuit, to meet them, with Right Flying Hawk Grand General Li Duozhuo as his second. At Yellow Flower Mound they routed the Turks and chased the fleeing enemy more than forty li, until the invaders broke up and fled across the northern desert. Li Duozhuo came from a long line of Mohe chieftains and had won a place in the imperial guard through military service. Whenever Heichi Changzhi received imperial rewards, he divided them among his officers and men. When a good horse of his was injured by some soldiers, his staff urged that they be flogged. Changzhi said, "How can I punish my officers and men over a private horse of mine!" In the end he let the matter drop.
13
九月，己卯，虢州人楊初成詐稱郎將，矯制於都市募人迎廬陵王於房州； 事覺，伏誅。
In the ninth month, on the day jimao, a man of Guo Prefecture named Yang Chucheng impersonated a military commandant and, forging an imperial order, recruited men in the marketplace to go bring the Prince of Luling back from Fang Prefecture. The plot was discovered, and he was put to death.
14
冬，十月，庚子，右監門衛中郎將爨寶璧與突厥骨篤祿、元珍戰，全軍皆沒，寶璧輕騎遁歸。
In winter, in the tenth month, on the day gengzi, Cuan Baobi, a middle general of the Right Gate Guard, engaged Gudulu and Yuan Zhen of the Turks. His whole force was wiped out, and he escaped home with only a handful of light cavalry.
15
寶璧見黑齒常之有功，表請窮追餘寇。 詔與常之計議，遙為聲援。 寶璧欲專其功，不待常之，引精兵萬三千人先行，出塞二千餘里，掩擊其部落； 既至，又先遣人告之，使得嚴備，與戰，遂敗。 太后誅寶璧； 改骨篤祿曰不卒祿。
Seeing Heichi Changzhi's recent success, Baobi memorialized the throne asking permission to hunt down the remaining enemy to the last man. The court ordered him to coordinate with Changzhi and lend distant support. Eager to claim all the credit himself, Baobi did not wait for Changzhi. He marched ahead with thirteen thousand picked troops, crossed more than two thousand li beyond the frontier, and fell upon the Turkic encampments by surprise. Even so, he sent word ahead of his arrival, giving the enemy time to prepare. When battle was joined, he was defeated. The Empress Dowager had Baobi executed. She mockingly renamed Gudulu "Buzulu" — "He Who Does Not Die in Battle."
16
命魏玄同留守西京。
Wei Xuantong was ordered to remain behind and administer the Western Capital.
17
武承嗣又使人誣李孝逸自云「名中有兔，兔，月中物，當有天分。」 太后以孝逸有功，十一月，戊寅，減死除名，流儋州而卒。
Wu Chengsi again had Li Xiaoyi accused of boasting, "The character for 'rabbit' is in my name — and the rabbit belongs to the moon. Surely this means Heaven's mandate is mine." Because Li Xiaoyi had once done the dynasty great service, the Empress Dowager commuted his death sentence to removal from the register of officials and exile to Dan Prefecture, where he died.
18
太后欲遣韋待價將兵擊吐蕃，鳳閣侍郎韋方質奏，請如舊制遣御史監軍。 太后曰：「古者名君遣將，閫外之事悉以委之。 比聞御史監軍，軍中事無大小皆須承稟。 以下制上，非令典也； 且何以責其有功！」 遂罷之。
When the Empress Dowager planned to send Wei Daigi to lead troops against Tibet, Phoenix Pavilion Vice Minister Wei Fangzhi memorialized the throne, urging that censors be sent to supervise the army as in past practice. The Empress Dowager replied, "In antiquity, when worthy rulers dispatched generals, they entrusted them with full authority over all affairs beyond the gate. Lately I have heard that with censors overseeing the armies, no matter in camp, great or small, may be decided without awaiting instructions from above. That is the lower hand controlling the higher — it is no proper precedent. And how, under such conditions, can we hold a general accountable for winning victories?" The practice was abolished.
19
是歲，天下大饑，山東、關內尤甚。
That year famine ravaged the empire; Shandong and the Guanzhong region suffered worst of all.
20
春，正月，甲子，於神都立高祖、太宗、高宗三廟，四時享祀如西廟之儀。 又立崇先廟以享武氏祖考。 太后命有司議崇先廟室數，司禮博士周悰請為七室，又減唐太廟為五室。 春官侍郎賈大隱奏：「禮，天子七廟，諸侯五廟，百王不易之義。 今周悰別引浮議，廣異述文，直崇臨朝權儀，不依國家常度。 皇太后親承顧托，光顯大猷，其崇先廟室應如諸侯之數，國家宗廟不應輒有變移。」 太后乃止。
In spring, in the first month, on the day jiazi, temples to Gaozu, Taizong, and Gaozong were established at the Divine Capital, with seasonal rites performed according to the ceremonies used at the Western Capital. A separate Exalted Ancestors Temple was also established for sacrifices to the Wu family's forebears. The Empress Dowager ordered the relevant offices to debate how many ancestral chambers the Exalted Ancestors Temple should have. Zhou Cong, an erudite of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, proposed seven chambers for it and a corresponding reduction of the Tang imperial temple to five. Jia Dayin, Vice Minister of the Spring Office, submitted a memorial: "By ritual law the Son of Heaven maintains seven ancestral temples and a feudal lord five — a rule no true sovereign has ever overturned. Zhou Cong now cites loose opinions and stretches the texts to serve the Empress Dowager's provisional regency — this ignores the state's settled practice. Her Majesty personally received the late emperor's trust and has governed with conspicuous wisdom. The Exalted Ancestors Temple should therefore be accorded no more chambers than a feudal lord's allowance. The Tang ancestral temple must not be altered on a whim." The Empress Dowager dropped the proposal.
21
太宗、高宗之世，屢欲立明堂，諸儒議其制度，不決而止。 及太后稱制，獨與北門學士議其制，不問諸儒。 諸儒以為明堂當在國陽丙己之地，三里之外，七里之內。 太后以為去宮太遠。 二月，庚午，毀乾元殿，於其地作明堂，以僧懷義為之使，凡役數萬人。
Under Taizong and Gaozong the court had repeatedly planned to build the Bright Hall, but the Confucian scholars could never agree on its design, and each time the project was abandoned. Once the Empress Dowager took power, she discussed the design only with her Northern Gate Scholars and ignored the mainstream scholars entirely. Orthodox scholars held that the Bright Hall should stand in the state's due south, in the bing and ji directions, no closer than three li from the palace and no farther than seven. The Empress Dowager considered that too distant from the palace. In the second month, on the day gengwu, the Qianyuan Hall was torn down and the Bright Hall erected in its place. The monk Huaiyi was placed in charge of the work, and tens of thousands of laborers were impressed for the task.
22
夏，四月，戊戌，殺太子通事舍人郝象賢。 像賢，處俊之孫也。
In summer, in the fourth month, on the day wuxu, Hao Xiangxian, a duty attendant to the Crown Prince, was executed. Hao Xiangxian was the grandson of Hao Chujun.
23
初，太后有憾於處俊，會奴誣告象賢反，太后命周興鞫之，致象賢族罪。 像賢家人詣朝堂，訟冤於監察御史樂安任玄殖。 玄殖奏象賢無反狀，玄殖坐免官。 像賢臨刑，極口罵太后，發揚宮中隱慝，奪市人柴以擊刑者； 金吾兵共格殺之。 太后命支解其屍，發其父祖墳，毀棺焚屍。 自是終太后之世，法官每刑人，先以木丸塞其口。
The Empress Dowager had long resented Hao Chujun. When a household slave falsely accused Hao Xiangxian of treason, she ordered Zhou Xing to investigate and had the entire Hao clan condemned on his charge. Xiangxian's family went to the audience hall and appealed to Ren Xuanzhi of Lean, a supervising censor, proclaiming his innocence. Ren Xuanzhi submitted a memorial stating that there was no evidence Hao Xiangxian had plotted rebellion. For this he was stripped of his office. At the execution ground Xiangxian cursed the Empress Dowager without restraint, shouted out the palace's darkest secrets, and snatched firewood from bystanders to hurl at his executioners. The Gold Guard soldiers fell upon him and killed him on the spot. The Empress Dowager ordered his body cut to pieces, his father's and grandfathers' graves opened, their coffins destroyed, and their remains burned. From that day until the end of her reign, executioners routinely stuffed wooden pellets into prisoners' mouths before carrying out a sentence.
24
武承嗣使鑿白石為文曰：「聖母臨人，永昌帝業。」 末紫石雜藥物填之。 庚午，使雍州人唐同泰奉表獻之，稱獲之於洛水。 太后喜，命其石曰「寶圖」，擢同泰為游擊將軍。 五月，戊辰，詔當親拜洛，受「寶圖」； 有事南郊，先謝昊天； 禮畢，御明堂，朝群臣。 命諸州都督、刺史及宗室、外戚以拜洛前十日集神都。 乙亥，太后加尊號為聖母神皇。
Wu Chengsi had a piece of white stone inscribed with the words: "The Holy Mother rules the people; the imperial enterprise shall flourish forever." The inscription was then patched over with purple stone and medicaments. On the day gengwu, a man of Yong Prefecture named Tang Tongtai was sent to present it to the throne with a memorial claiming it had been found in the Luo River. Delighted, the Empress Dowager named the stone the "Treasure Chart" and promoted Tang Tongtai to the rank of irregular cavalry general. In the fifth month, on the day wuchen, an edict was issued ordering her to worship at the Luo River in person and receive the Treasure Chart. She was to offer the southern suburban sacrifice and first give thanks to August Heaven. When the rites were finished, she would enter the Bright Hall and hold court with the ministers. All regional commanders, prefects, imperial clansmen, and consort relatives were ordered to gather at the Divine Capital ten days before the river ceremony. "On the day yihai, the Empress Dowager took the additional honorific title Holy Mother and Divine Sovereign."
25
六月，丁亥朔，日有食之。
In the sixth month, on the new moon, the day dinghai, there was a solar eclipse.
26
壬寅，作神皇三璽。
On the day renyin, the three imperial seals of the Divine Sovereign were cast.
27
東陽大長公主削封邑，並二子徙巫州。 公主適度履行，太后以高氏長孫無忌之舅族，故惡之。
The Grand Senior Princess of Eastern Yang was stripped of her fief, and she and her two sons were banished to Wuzhou. The princess had married Du Xingli. The Empress Dowager despised her because the Du clan was related by marriage to the Zhangsun family — maternal kin of Zhangsun Wuji.
28
河南道巡撫大使、冬官侍郎狄仁傑以吳、楚多淫祠，奏焚其一千七百餘所，獨留夏禹、吳太伯、季札、伍員四祠。
Di Renjie of the Winter Office, investigation commissioner for the Henan circuit, memorialized that Wu and Chu were overrun with illicit shrines. He had more than seventeen hundred of them burned down, sparing only the temples to Yu the Great, Wu Taibo, Jizi, and Wu Zixu.
29
秋，七月，丁巳，赦天下。 更命「寶圖」為「天授聖圖」； 洛水為永昌洛水，封其神為顯聖侯，加特進，禁漁釣，祭祀比四瀆。 名圖所出曰「聖圖泉」，泉側置永昌縣。 又改嵩山為神岳，封其神為天中王，拜太師、使持節、神岳大都督，禁芻牧。 又以先於汜水得瑞石，改汜水為廣武。
In autumn, in the seventh month, on the day dingsi, a general amnesty was proclaimed throughout the empire. The Treasure Chart was renamed the Heaven-Bestowed Holy Chart. The Luo River was renamed the Eternal Prosperity Luo River. Its spirit was enfeoffed as Marquis Manifest Sage with the honorary rank of special advancement; fishing was forbidden, and its cult was elevated to the level of the Four Sacred Rivers. The spring where the chart had supposedly appeared was named Holy Chart Spring, and Yongchang County was established beside it. Mount Song was renamed the Divine Peak. Its spirit was enfeoffed as King of the Central Heaven and given the titles Grand Preceptor, commissioner bearing the staff of authority, and grand commander of the Divine Peak; grazing was forbidden on its slopes. "Because an auspicious stone had earlier been found at Sishui, that place was renamed Guangwu."
30
太后潛謀革命，稍除宗室。 絳州刺史韓王元嘉、青州刺史霍王元軌、刑州刺史魯王靈夔、豫州刺史越王貞及元嘉子通州刺史黃公譔、元軌子金州刺史江都王緒、虢王鳳子申州刺史東莞公融、靈夔子范陽王藹、貞子博州刺史琅邪王沖，在宗室中皆以才行有美名，太后尤忌之。 元嘉等內不自安，密有匡復之志。
The Empress Dowager secretly planned to overturn the dynasty and was steadily purging the imperial clan. Prince Yuan Jia of Han, prefect of Jiang Prefecture; Prince Yuan Gui of Huo, prefect of Qing Prefecture; Prince Lingqi of Lu, prefect of Xing Prefecture; Prince Zhen of Yue, prefect of Yu Prefecture; Zuan, Duke of Huang and prefect of Tong Prefecture, Yuan Jia's son; Xu, Prince of Jiangdu and prefect of Jin Prefecture, Yuan Gui's son; Rong, Duke of Dongguan and prefect of Shen Prefecture, son of Prince Feng of Guo; Ai, Prince of Fanyang, Lingqi's son; and Chong, Prince of Langye and prefect of Bo Prefecture, Zhen's son — all enjoyed fine reputations among the imperial clansmen for character and ability, and the Empress Dowager resented them above all others. Yuan Jia and the others grew uneasy at heart and secretly vowed to restore the Tang house.
31
譔謬為書與貞云：「內人病浸重，當速療之，若至今冬，恐成痼疾。」 及太后召宗室朝明堂，諸王因遞相驚曰：「神皇欲於大饗之際，使人告密，盡收宗室，誅之無遺類。」 譔詐為皇帝璽書與沖云：「朕遭幽縶，諸王宜各發兵救我。」 沖又詐為皇帝璽書云：「神皇欲移李氏社稷，以授武氏。」 八月，壬寅，沖召長史蕭德琮等令募兵，分告韓、霍、魯、越及貝州刺史紀王慎，各令起兵共趣神都。 太后聞之，以左金吾將軍丘神勣為清平道行軍大總管以討之。
Zuan forged a letter to Prince Zhen reading, "The patient within grows worse by the day. Treat her quickly — wait until winter and the sickness may become incurable." When the Empress Dowager summoned the princes to attend court at the Bright Hall, they passed frantic messages among themselves: "The Divine Sovereign intends, during the great assembly, to set informers loose, round up the entire imperial clan, and exterminate every last one of us." Zuan forged an imperial edict under the emperor's seal and sent it to Prince Chong: "I am held in secret confinement. Every prince must raise troops at once to rescue me." Chong in turn forged another imperial edict: "The Divine Sovereign means to take the Li dynasty's throne and give it to the Wu clan." In the eighth month, on the renyin day, Prince Chong summoned his chief clerk Xiao Decong and others to recruit soldiers, and dispatched messages to the princes of Han, Huo, Lu, and Yue, as well as Prince Shen of Ji, prefect of Beizhou, instructing each to rise in arms and march on the Divine Capital. When the Empress Dowager heard of this, she appointed Left Golden Crow General Qiu Shenji grand commander of the Qingping circuit campaign to suppress the rebellion.
32
沖募兵得五千餘人，欲渡河取濟州； 先擊武水，武水令郭務悌詣魏州求救。 莘令馬玄素將兵千七百人中道邀沖，恐力不敵，入武水，閉門拒守。 沖推草車塞其南門，因風縱火焚之，欲乘火突入； 火作而風回，沖軍不得進，由是氣沮。 堂邑董玄寂為衝將兵擊武水，謂人曰：「琅邪王與國家交戰，此乃反也。」 沖聞之，斬玄寂以徇，眾懼而散入草澤，不可禁止，惟家僮左右數十人在。 沖還走博州，戊申，至城門，為守門者所殺，凡起兵七日而敗。 丘神勣至博州，官吏素服出迎，神勣揮刃盡殺之，凡破千餘家。
Chong mustered a little over five thousand men and planned to cross the river and take Jizhou; He struck first at Wushui; its magistrate, Guo Wuti, hurried to Weizhou to beg for relief. Ma Xuansu, magistrate of Shen County, marched seventeen hundred men to ambush Chong on the road. Finding himself outmatched, he withdrew into Wushui, barred the gates, and held the city. Chong piled hay carts against the south gate, set them ablaze in the wind, and tried to storm the town through the flames; The flames leaped up, then the wind shifted; Chong's men could not get forward, and their spirits sank. Dong Xuanji of Tangyi, one of Chong's commanders in the assault on Wushui, told others, "The Prince of Langye is fighting the state itself — this is treason. When Chong heard this, he had Xuanji executed as an example. The troops panicked and fled into the fields and marshes; he could not hold them, and only a few dozen personal servants stayed with him. Chong fled back toward Bozhou. On the wushen day, as he reached the city gate, the guards killed him. His uprising had lasted only seven days. When Qiu Shenji arrived at Bozhou, the local officials came out in mourning dress to welcome him. He cut them down to the last man, and more than a thousand families were wiped out.
33
越王貞聞衝起，亦舉兵於豫州，遣兵陷上蔡。 九月，丙辰，命左豹韜大將軍麴崇裕為中軍大總管，岑長倩為後軍大總管，將兵十萬以討之，又命張光輔為諸軍節度。 削貞、沖屬籍，更姓虺氏。 貞聞沖敗，欲自鎖詣闕謝罪，會所署新蔡令傅延慶募得勇士二千餘人，貞乃宣言於眾曰：「琅邪已破魏、相數州，有兵二十萬，朝夕至矣。」 發屬縣兵共得五千，分為五營，使汝陽縣丞裴守德等將之，署九品以上官五百餘人。 所署官皆受迫脅，莫有鬥志，惟安德與之同謀，貞以其女妻之，署大將軍，委以腹心。 貞使道士及僧誦經以求事成，左右及戰士皆帶辟兵符。 麴崇裕等軍至豫州城東四十里，貞遣少子規及裴守德拒戰，兵潰而歸。 貞大懼，閉閣自守。 崇裕等至城下，左右謂貞曰：「王豈可坐待戮辱！」 貞、規、守德及其妻皆自殺。 與沖皆梟首東都闕下。
When Prince Zhen of Yue heard that Chong had risen in revolt, he too took up arms in Yuzhou and sent forces to seize Shangcai. In the ninth month, on the bingchen day, the court named Left Leopard-strap Grand General Qu Chongyu commander of the center army and Cen Changqian commander of the rear army, and sent a hundred thousand men against Prince Zhen. Zhang Guangfu was placed in overall command. Zhen and Chong were struck from the imperial registers and given the surname Hui. When Prince Zhen learned of Chong's defeat, he meant to put himself in chains and go to the capital to plead guilty. Just then Fu Yanqing, the magistrate of Xincai whom he had appointed, raised more than two thousand fighting men. Zhen told his followers, "The Prince of Langye has already overrun Wei, Xiang, and several neighboring prefectures. He has two hundred thousand soldiers and will be here any day now. He called up the militia of the surrounding counties until he had five thousand men, divided them into five camps under Pei Shoude, assistant magistrate of Ruyang, and others, and installed more than five hundred officials down to the ninth rank. Every officer he appointed had been coerced into service and showed no fight. Only Pei Shoude had truly joined the conspiracy. Zhen married his daughter to him, made him grand general, and relied on him as his closest confidant. Zhen set Daoists and monks to chanting scriptures for victory, and his attendants and soldiers all wore protective amulets against weapons. When Qu Chongyu's force reached a point forty li east of Yuzhou, Prince Zhen sent his younger son Gui and Pei Shoude out to fight. Their men broke and fled back to the city. Terrified, Zhen shut himself up in his quarters. When the government troops reached the walls, his attendants urged, "My lord, you cannot sit here waiting to be butchered and shamed! Zhen, his son Gui, Pei Shoude, and their wives all took their own lives. Their heads were hung beside Chong's beneath the gate tower of the eastern capital.
34
初，范陽王藹遣使語貞及沖曰：「若四方諸王一時並起，事無不濟。」 諸王往來相約結，未定而沖先發，惟貞狼狽應之，諸王皆不敢發，故敗。
Earlier, Prince Ai of Fanyang had sent messengers to Zhen and Chong saying, "If all the princes rise together at once, we cannot fail. The princes had been exchanging pledges to revolt together, but before their plans were firm Chong struck first. Only Zhen answered in haste and confusion; the others never dared move, and that was why both rebellions collapsed.
35
貞之將起兵也，遣使告壽州刺史越環，環妻常樂公主謂使者曰：「為我語越王：昔隋文帝將篡周室，尉遲迥，周之甥也，猶能舉兵匡救社稷。 功雖不成，威震海內，足為忠烈。 況汝諸王，先帝之子，豈得不以社稷為心！ 今李氏危若朝露，汝諸王不捨生取義，尚猶豫不發，欲何須邪！ 禍且至矣，大丈夫當為忠義鬼，無為徒死也。」
As Prince Zhen prepared to rebel, he sent word to Yue Huan, prefect of Shouzhou. Huan's wife, the Princess of Changle, told the messenger, "Go tell the Prince of Yue: When Emperor Wen of Sui was about to seize the Zhou throne, Yuwen Jiong — a nephew of the Zhou by marriage — still took up arms to defend the realm. He did not succeed, yet his fame shook the empire and made him a model of loyal martyrdom. You are sons of the late emperor — how can you fail to put the dynasty first! The Li house now hangs by a thread. If you princes will not risk your lives for what is right and still hang back, what are you waiting for? Disaster is at hand. A true man should die a loyal martyr's death, not throw his life away for nothing."
36
及貞敗，太后欲悉誅韓、魯等諸王，命監察御史藍田蘇□按其密狀。 □訊問，皆無明驗，或告□與韓、魯通謀，太后召□詰之，□抗論不回。 太后曰：「卿大雅之士，朕當別有任使，此獄不必卿也。」 乃命□於河西監軍，更使周興等按之。 於是收韓王元喜、魯王靈夔、黃公譔、常樂公主於東都，迫脅皆自殺，更其姓曰「虺」，親黨皆誅。
After Zhen's defeat, the Empress Dowager meant to put all the princes of Han, Lu, and the rest to death, and ordered Supervising Censor Su Xiong of Lantian to investigate the secret accusations against them. Xiong questioned the suspects but found no solid evidence. Someone then accused Xiong himself of plotting with the Han and Lu princes. The Empress Dowager summoned him for an accounting, but he stood his ground and would not budge. The Empress Dowager said, "You are a man of fine character. I shall find other work for you — this investigation is not yours to conduct. She then sent Xiong to oversee troops on the Hexi frontier and replaced him with Zhou Xing and others to continue the inquiry. “The court then seized Prince of Han Yuanxi, Prince Lingqi of Lu, Duke Zuan of Huang, and the Princess of Changle in the eastern capital. Under pressure, they all took their own lives. Their surname was changed to Hui, and their families and allies were put to death.”
37
以文昌左丞狄仁傑為豫州刺史。 時治越王貞黨與，當坐者六七百家，籍沒者五千口，司刑趣使行刑。 仁傑密奏：「彼皆詿誤，臣欲顯奏，似為逆人申理； 知而不言，恐乖陛下仁恤之旨。」 太后特原之，皆流豐州。 道過寧州，寧州父老迎勞之曰：「我狄使君活汝邪？」 相攜哭於德政碑下，設齋三日而後行。
Di Renjie, left assistant director of the Department of State Affairs, was made prefect of Yuzhou. The courts were then punishing Prince Zhen's followers: six or seven hundred families faced execution, and five thousand people were slated for confiscation of property. The minister of punishments pressed to carry out the sentences at once. Renjie sent a secret memorial: "These people were led astray. If I speak up openly, it will look as though I am defending rebels; Yet if I know the truth and say nothing, I fear I will fail Your Majesty's merciful purpose. The Empress Dowager specially spared them, and all were exiled to Feng Prefecture. On the road they passed through Ning Prefecture, where the local elders came out to greet them, saying, "Was it Prefect Di who saved your lives? They wept together at the Monument of Virtuous Governance, held three days of memorial offerings, and only then moved on."
38
時張光輔尚在豫州，將士恃功，多所求取，仁傑不之應。 光輔怒曰：「州將輕元帥邪？」 仁傑曰：「亂河南者，一越王貞耳，今一貞死，萬貞生！」 光輔詰其語，仁傑曰：「明公總兵三十萬，所誅者止於越王貞。 城中聞官軍至，逾城出降者四面成蹊，明公縱將士暴掠，殺已降以為功，流血丹野，非萬貞而何！ 恨不得尚方斬馬劍，加於明公之頸，雖死如歸耳！」 光輔不能詰，歸，奏仁傑不遜，左遷復州刺史。
Zhang Guangfu was still in Yuzhou, and his soldiers, flushed with victory, made endless demands. Renjie refused them. Guangfu flew into a rage. "Does the prefect look down on the commander? Renjie replied, "Only one Prince of Yue brought turmoil to the region south of the Yellow River. Kill one Zhen, and you create ten thousand Zhens. When Guangfu pressed him to explain, Renjie said, "You command three hundred thousand men, yet the only rebel you needed to kill was Prince Zhen of Yue. When the city heard your army was coming, people poured out over the walls to surrender until the roads were crowded. Yet your men were allowed to loot freely and to butcher the surrendered for credit. The land ran red with blood — what is that if not breeding ten thousand Zhens? I only wish I had the imperial executioner's sword to put to your neck. I would gladly die for it. Guangfu had no answer. After he returned to court, he reported Renjie for insubordination, and Renjie was demoted to prefect of Fu Prefecture."
39
丁卯，左肅政大夫騫味道、夏官侍郎王本立並同平章事。
On the dingmao day, Left Censorate Grand Counselor Qian Weidao and Summer Office Vice Minister Wang Benli were both appointed co-equal chancellors.
40
太后之召宗室朝明堂也，東莞公融密遣使問成均助教高子貢，子貢曰：「來必死。」 融乃稱疾不赴。 越王貞起兵，遣使約融，融倉猝不能應，為官屬所逼，執使者以聞，擢拜右贊善大夫。 未幾，為支黨所引，冬，十月，己亥，戮於市，籍沒其家。 高子貢亦坐誅。
When the Empress Dowager summoned the princes to attend at the Bright Hall, Duke Rong of Dongguan secretly sent to Gao Zigong, an assistant instructor at the Imperial Academy, to ask what awaited him. Zigong answered, "If you go, you will die. Rong thereupon pleaded illness and stayed away. When Prince Zhen of Yue rebelled, he sent a messenger to win Rong's support. Caught off guard, Rong was pressed by his staff to arrest the envoy and report the overture to the throne. He was rewarded with appointment as right admonisher of the heir apparent. Before long he was linked to the rebels by association. In the tenth month, on the jihai day, he was executed in public and his family property was confiscated. Gao Zigong was executed as well.
41
濟州刺史薛顗、顗弟緒、緒弟駙馬都尉紹，皆與琅邪王沖通謀。 顗聞衝起兵，作兵器，募人； 沖敗，殺錄事參軍高纂以滅口。
Xue Yan, prefect of Ji Prefecture, his younger brothers Xu and Shao the empress's son-in-law, had all been in secret contact with Prince Chong of Langye. When Yan heard that Chong had revolted, he began forging weapons and recruiting troops; After Chong's defeat, Yan killed his records officer Gao Zuan to silence him.
42
十一月，辛酉，顗、緒伏誅，紹以太平公主故，杖一百，餓死於獄。
In the eleventh month, on the xinyou day, Yan and Xu were beheaded. Because Shao was the husband of the Princess of Taiping, he was given a hundred blows with the staff and left to starve in prison.
43
十二月，乙酉，司徒、青州刺史霍王元軌坐與越王連謀，廢徙黔州，載以檻車，行至陳倉而死。 江都王緒、殿中監成公裴承先皆戮於市。 承先，寂之孫也。
In the twelfth month, on the yiyou day, Prince Yuan Gui of Huo, minister of education and prefect of Qing, was found to have plotted with Prince Zhen of Yue. He was stripped of rank, exiled to Qian Prefecture in a barred cart, and died at Chencang on the way. Prince Xu of Jiangdu and Director of the Palace Ateliers Duke Cheng Pei Chenxian were both executed in public. Chenxian was a grandson of Pei Ji.
44
命裴居道留守西京。
Pei Judao was ordered to remain as regent of the western capital.
45
左肅政大夫、同平章事騫味道素不禮於殿中侍御史周矩，屢言其不能了事。 會有羅告味道者，敕矩按之。 矩謂味道曰：「公常責矩不了事，今日為公了之。」 乙亥，味道及其子辭玉皆伏誅。
Qian Weidao, left censorate grand counselor and co-equal chancellor, had long snubbed Palace Censor Zhou Ju and often mocked him as incompetent. When someone denounced Weidao, the Empress Dowager ordered Ju to investigate. Ju told Weidao, "You always said I couldn't finish a case. Today I've finished yours. On the yihai day, Weidao and his son Ciyu were both beheaded.
46
己酉，太后拜洛受圖，皇帝、皇太子皆從，內外文武百官、蠻夷酋長各依方敘立，珍禽、奇獸、雜寶列於壇前，文物鹵簿之盛，唐興以來未之有也。
On the jiyou day the Empress Dowager performed the rite of receiving the Heavenly Mandate at Luoyang. The emperor and crown prince attended, civil and military officials and foreign chieftains stood in their assigned ranks, and rare birds, exotic animals, and treasures were displayed before the altar. The pomp of ritual regalia surpassed anything since the founding of Tang.
47
辛亥，明堂成，高二百九十四尺，方三百尺。 凡三層：下層法四時，各隨方色。 中層法十二辰； 上為圓蓋，九龍捧之。 上層法二十四氣； 亦為圓蓋，上施鐵鳳，高一丈，飾以黃金。 中有巨木十圍，上下通貫，栭櫨棤藉以為本。 下施鐵渠，為辟雍之象。 號曰萬象神宮。 宴賜君臣，赦天下，縱民入觀。 改河南為合宮縣。 又於明堂北起天堂五級以貯大像； 至三級，則俯視明堂矣。 僧懷義以功拜左威衛大將軍、梁國公。
On the xinhai day the Bright Hall was finished: two hundred ninety-four feet high and three hundred feet square. It had three levels. The lowest followed the four seasons, each side painted in its seasonal color. The middle level represented the twelve earthly branches; At the top was a round cap held aloft by nine dragons. The upper level symbolized the twenty-four solar terms; It too had a round cap, topped by an iron phoenix ten feet high, plated in gold. A trunk ten arm-spans thick ran straight through the structure, with bracket clusters layered as the foundation. An iron moat at the base evoked the ceremonial Pi-Yong. It was named the Palace of Myriad Forms and Spirits. She feasted her ministers, proclaimed a general amnesty, and opened the hall to the public. Henan Prefecture was renamed Hegong County. North of the Bright Hall they also built the five-story Heavenly Hall to house the great Buddha image; From the third story one could look down on the Bright Hall itself. The monk Huaiyi was made Left Weywei Grand General and duke of Liang for his service.
48
侍御史王求禮上書曰：「古之明堂，茅茨不剪，采椽不斫。 今者飾以珠玉，圖以丹青，鐵鷟入雲，金龍隱霧，昔殷辛瓊台，夏癸瑤室，無以加也。」 太后不報。 太后欲發梁、鳳、巴蜑，自雅州開山能道，出擊生羌，因襲吐蕃。 正字陳子昂上書，以為：「雅州邊羌，自國初以來未嘗為盜。 今一旦無罪戮之，其怨必甚； 且懼誅滅，必蜂起為盜。 西山盜起，則蜀之邊邑不得不連兵備守，兵久不解，臣愚以為西蜀之禍，自此結矣。 臣聞吐蕃愛蜀富饒，欲盜之久矣，徒以山川阻絕，障隘不通，勢不能動。 今國家乃亂邊羌，開隘道，使其收奔亡之種，為鄉導以攻邊，是借寇兵而為賊除道，舉全蜀以遺之也。 蜀者國家之寶庫，可以兼濟中國。 今執事者乃圖僥倖之利以事西羌，得其地不足以稼穡，財不足以富國，徒為糜費，無益聖德，況其成敗未可知哉！ 夫蜀之所恃者險也，人之所以安者無役也； 今國家乃開其險，役其人，險開則便寇，人役則傷財，臣恐未見羌戎，已有奸盜在其中矣。 且蜀人尪劣，不習兵戰，山川阻曠，去中夏遠，今無故生西羌、吐蕃之患，臣見其不及百年，蜀為戎矣。 國家近廢安北，拔單于，棄龜茲，放疏勒，天下翕然謂之盛德者，蓋以陛下務在養人，不在廣地也。 今山東饑，關、隴弊，而徇貪夫之議，謀動甲兵，興大役，自古國亡家敗，未嘗不由黷兵，願陛下熟計之。」 既而役不果興。
Attendant Censor Wang Qiuli submitted a memorial: "The Bright Halls of old were thatched and never trimmed, built with plain timber never dressed. Yours is studded with pearls and jade, painted in red and green, with iron owls piercing the clouds and gold dragons lost in mist. The Jade Terrace of King Zhou of Shang and the Jasper Chamber of King Jie of Xia had nothing on it. The Empress Dowager did not respond. The Empress Dowager planned to levy troops from the Liang, Feng, and Ba Dan peoples, cut a road through the mountains from Ya Prefecture, attack the Raw Qiang, and strike Tibet from there. Rectifier Chen Zi'ang submitted a memorial arguing that the frontier Qiang near Ya Prefecture had never raided the borders since the dynasty was founded. Slaughter them without cause now, and their hatred will be bitter; Fearing extermination, they will surely rise in rebellion like hornets. If banditry flares in the western hills, every border post in Shu will have to keep troops under arms. A war that never ends — I believe the disaster for western Shu will begin here. I hear that Tibet covets the riches of Shu and has long wanted to seize them, but rugged terrain and closed passes have kept it from moving. To stir up the frontier Qiang, open mountain passes, and let fleeing tribes rally as guides against our own borders is to lend the enemy soldiers and blaze a trail for invaders — it is to hand all of Shu over as a gift. Shu is the empire's storehouse, the region that feeds the heartland. Those in charge now chase a gambler's profit against the western Qiang. The land won will not feed armies, the treasure won will not enrich the state. It is waste without honor — and the outcome is far from certain. Shu rests on its natural defenses; its people rest on freedom from forced labor; Open the passes and you ease the enemy's road; draft the people and you drain the treasury. I fear that before we even meet the Qiang, bandits will already be at work within Shu. The people of Shu are frail and untrained in war. Their land is vast and remote from the heartland. Provoke Tibet and the Qiang without cause, and I see Shu becoming foreign territory within a hundred years. Your Majesty has lately withdrawn from the north — abolishing the Protectorate of the Peaceful North, abandoning Chanyu, giving up Kucha and Kashgar — and the empire praised this as great virtue because you sought to nurture people, not to seize land. Shandong is starving and the northwest is exhausted. To heed greedy counsels, mobilize armies, and launch grand public works — dynasties have fallen before from just such rash wars. I beg Your Majesty to weigh this with care. "In the end the campaign was never launched.
49
春，正月，乙卯朔，大饗萬象神宮，太后服袞冕，搢大圭，執鎮圭為初獻，皇帝為亞獻，太子為終獻。 先詣昊天上帝座，次高祖、太宗、高宗，次魏國先王，次五方帝座。 太后御則天門，赦天下，改元。 丁巳，太后御明堂，受朝賀。 戊午，布政於明堂，頒九條以訓百官。 己未，御明堂，饗群臣。
In spring, on the new moon of the first month, the yimao day, a great sacrifice was held at the Palace of Myriad Forms. The Empress Dowager wore full ceremonial dress, presented the great jade tablet, and performed the first offering with the territorial tablet; the emperor performed the second offering, and the crown prince the third. They first approached the throne of August Heaven, then those of Gaozu, Taizong, and Gaozong, then the ancestral kings of Wei, and finally the thrones of the Five Directional Emperors. The Empress Dowager took her seat at the Zetian Gate, proclaimed a general amnesty, and changed the reign title. On the dingsi day the Empress Dowager entered the Bright Hall and received the court's homage. On the wuwu day she proclaimed her policies in the Bright Hall and promulgated the Nine Articles as instruction for the bureaucracy. On the jiwei day she again entered the Bright Hall and entertained the officials.
50
二月，丁酉，尊魏忠孝王曰周忠孝太皇，妣曰忠孝太后，文水陵曰章德陵，咸陽陵曰明義陵。 置崇先府官。 戊戌，尊魯公曰太原靖王，北平王曰趙肅恭王，金城王曰魏義康王，太原王曰周安成王。
In the second month, on the dingyou day, Wu Zetian's father was posthumously honored as Grand Emperor Loyal and Filial of Zhou, his consort as Empress Dowager Loyal and Filial, the Wenshui tomb renamed Zhangde, and the Xianyang tomb Mingyi. An office was created to oversee the Glorify-Ancestors Prefecture. On the wuxu day her ancestors were further ennobled: the Duke of Lu as Prince Jing of Taiyuan, the Prince of Beiping as Prince Su and Gong of Zhao, the Prince of Jincheng as Prince Yi and Kang of Wei, and the Prince of Taiyuan as Prince An and Cheng of Zhou.
51
三月，甲子，張光輔守納言。
In the third month, on the jiazi day, Zhang Guangfu was appointed acting Speaker of the Secretariat.
52
壬申，太后問正字陳子昂當今為政之要。 子昂退，上疏，以為：「宜緩刑崇德，息兵革，省賦役，撫慰宗室，各使自安。」 辭婉意切，其論甚美，幾三千言。
On the renshen day the Empress Dowager asked Chen Zi'ang, a rectifier in the Palace Library, what mattered most in governing the realm. Chen Zi'ang withdrew and memorialized the throne, arguing that she should lighten punishments and exalt virtue, halt warfare, cut taxes and forced labor, and reassure the imperial clan so that each branch might live in peace. "His language was graceful and his counsel urgent; the essay was nearly three thousand characters long and altogether admirable."
53
癸酉，以天官尚書武承嗣為納言，張光輔守內史。
On the guiyou day Wu Chengsi was appointed Speaker, and Zhang Guangfu became acting Inner Administrator.
54
夏，四月，甲辰，殺辰州別駕汝南王煒、連州別駕鄱陽公諲等宗室十二人，徙其家於巂州。 煒，惲之子； 諲，元慶之子也。
In summer, the fourth month, on the jiachen day, twelve imperial clansmen were executed, among them Runan Prince Wei, vice prefect of Chen Prefecture, and Poyang Duke Shen, vice prefect of Lian Prefecture; their households were banished to Xi Prefecture. Wei was a son of Li Yun. Shen was a son of Li Yuanqing.
55
己酉，殺天官侍郎藍田鄧玄挺。 玄挺女為諲妻，又與煒善。 諲謀迎中宗於廬陵，以問玄挺，煒又嘗謂玄挺曰：「欲為急計，何如？」 玄挺皆不應。 故坐知反不告，同誅。
On the jiyou day Deng Xuanting of Lantian, vice minister of the Heavenly Office, was executed. Xuanting's daughter was married to Shen, and he was also close to Wei. Shen plotted to bring Emperor Zhongzong back from exile in Luling and consulted Xuanting; Wei too had once asked him, "If we mean to act at once, what do you say? Xuanting answered neither man. He was therefore condemned for knowing of treason and failing to report it, and was put to death with the rest.
56
五月，丙辰，命文昌右相韋待價為安息道行軍大總管，擊吐蕃。 浪穹州蠻酋傍時昔等二十五部，先附吐蕃，至是來降； 以傍時昔為浪穹州刺史，令統其眾。
In the fifth month, on the bingchen day, Wei Daibao, right chancellor of Literary Glory, was made grand campaign commander of the Anxi Circuit to attack Tibet. Twenty-five tribal groups under Bangshixi, chieftain of Langqiong, who had previously sided with Tibet, now submitted; Bangshixi was appointed governor of Langqiong and placed in command of his followers.
57
己巳，以僧懷義為新平軍大總管，北討突厥。 行至紫河，不見虜，於單于台刻石紀功而還。
On the jisi day the monk Huaiyi was appointed grand commander of the Xiping Army and sent north against the Turks. The army marched as far as the Zi River without finding the enemy, carved a stone monument to its achievement on the Chanyu Platform, and came home.
58
諸王之起兵也，貝州刺史紀王慎獨不預謀，亦坐繫獄； 秋，七月，丁巳，檻車徙巴州，更姓虺氏，行及蒲州而卒。 八男徐州刺史東平王續等，相繼被誅，家徙嶺南。
When the princes took up arms, Prince Ji Shen, governor of Bei Prefecture, had taken no part in the conspiracy, yet he too was thrown into prison; In autumn, the seventh month, on the dingsi day he was sent in a cage cart to Ba Prefecture and forced to take the surname Hui; he died on the road at Pu Prefecture. His eight sons, among them Prince Xu of Dongping, governor of Xu Prefecture, were executed in turn, and their families were exiled to the far south.
59
女東光縣主楚媛，幼以孝謹稱，適司議郎裴仲將，相敬如賓； 姑有疾，親嘗藥膳； 接遇娣姒，皆得歡心。 時宗室諸女皆以驕奢相尚，誚楚媛獨儉素，曰：「所貴於富貴者，得適志也； 今獨守勤苦，將以何求？」 楚媛曰：「幼而好禮，今而行之，非適志歟！ 觀自古女子，皆以恭儉為美，縱侈為惡。 辱親是懼，何所求乎； 富貴倘來之物，何足驕人！」 眾皆慚服。 及慎凶問至，楚媛號慟，嘔血數升； 免喪，不御膏沐者垂二十年。
His daughter Chuyuan, commandery lady of Dongguang, was famed from childhood for filial devotion and modesty. Married to Pei Zhongjiang, a secretariat discussion officer, the couple treated each other with the courtesy of honored guests; when her mother-in-law was ill she tasted every medicine and dish herself; and in her dealings with her sisters-in-law she won every heart in the household. The women of the imperial clan vied in pride and extravagance, and they mocked Chuyuan for living simply. "The whole point of rank and riches," they said, "is to do as one pleases; yet you alone cling to toil and hardship. What are you after? Chuyuan replied, "I have loved propriety since I was a child, and now I live by it. Is that not doing as I please? Look at women through the ages: respectful thrift is held beautiful, wanton luxury is held shameful. I fear only disgracing my family. What else could I want? Wealth and rank are gifts that may vanish overnight. What pride is there in them? The others were abashed and fell silent. When word came of Shen's death, Chuyuan wailed until she vomited blood by the quart; and for nearly twenty years after mourning ended she refused oils and bathing."
60
韋待價軍至寅識迦河，與吐蕃戰，大敗。 會大雪，糧運不繼。 待價既無將領之才，狼狽失據，士卒凍餒，死亡甚眾，乃引軍還。 太后大怒，丙子，待價除名，流繡州，斬副大總管安西大都護閻溫古。 安西副都護唐休璟收其餘眾，撫安西土，太后以休璟為西州都督。
Wei Daibao's army reached the Yinshijia River, met the Tibetans in battle, and was routed. Heavy snow cut off the supply lines. Daibao proved no general. His force fell apart, men froze and starved, casualties mounted, and he retreated. The Empress Dowager was furious. On the bingzi day Daibao was stripped of rank and banished to Xiuzhou, and Yan Wengu, deputy commander and protector-general of Anxi, was executed. Tang Xiujing, vice protector of Anxi, rallied the survivors and restored order in the west; the Empress Dowager appointed him governor of Xizhou.
61
戊寅，以王本立同鳳閣鸞台三品。
On the wuyin day Wang Benli was appointed a third-rank co-equal with the Phoenix Pavilion and Crane Terrace.
62
徐敬業之敗也，弟敬真流繡州，逃歸，將奔突厥，過洛陽，洛州司馬弓嗣業、洛陽令張嗣明資遣之； 至定州，為吏所獲，嗣業縊死。 嗣明、敬真多引海內知識，雲有異圖，冀以免死； 於是朝野之士為所連引坐死者甚眾。 嗣明誣內史張光輔，云「征豫州日，私論圖讖、天文，陰懷兩端。」 八月，甲申，光輔與敬真、嗣明等同誅，籍沒其家。
After Xu Jingye's defeat his brother Jingzhen, banished to Xiuzhou, escaped and headed for the Turks. Passing through Luoyang, Lu Prefecture marshal Gong Siye and Luoyang magistrate Zhang Siming gave him money and sent him on; At Ding Prefecture he was captured by the authorities, and Siye hanged himself. Siming and Jingzhen implicated scores of acquaintances across the empire, alleging conspiracies in the hope of saving their own lives; and a great many officials and private citizens died by implication. Siming falsely accused Inner Administrator Zhang Guangfu, declaring that during the campaign against Yuzhou he had privately discussed omens and astronomy and secretly wavered in his loyalty. "In the eighth month, on the jiashen day, Guangfu was executed along with Jingzhen, Siming, and the others, and their property was seized."
63
乙未，秋官尚書太原張楚金、陝州刺史郭正一、鳳閣侍郎元萬頃、洛陽令魏元忠，並免死流嶺南。 楚金等皆為敬直所引，雲與敬業通謀。 臨刑，太后使鳳閣舍人王隱客馳騎傳聲赦之。 聲達於市，當刑者皆喜躍歡呼，宛轉不已； 元忠獨安坐自如，或使之起，元忠曰：「虛實未知。」 隱客至，又使起，元忠曰：「俟宣敕已。」 既宣敕，乃徐起，舞蹈再拜，竟無憂喜之色。 是日，陰雲四塞，既釋楚金等，天氣晴霽。
On the yiwei day Zhang Chujin of Taiyuan, minister of the Autumn Office; Guo Zhengyi, governor of Shaan Prefecture; Yuan Wanqing, vice minister of the Phoenix Pavilion; and Wei Yuanzhong, magistrate of Luoyang, were all spared execution and banished to Lingnan. Each had been named by Jingzhen as a co-conspirator of Jingye. At the scaffold the Empress Dowager sent Wang Yinku, an attendant of the Phoenix Pavilion, galloping with a reprieve. When the shout reached the marketplace the condemned leapt and cheered, weeping and shouting without pause; only Yuanzhong remained seated as calmly as before. When told to rise he said, "We do not yet know whether this is real. When Yinku arrived and again bade him stand, Yuanzhong said, "Wait until the edict is read in full. Only after the proclamation did he rise slowly, perform the ritual bow, and show neither relief nor exultation. That day the sky had been overcast on every side; once Chujin and the others were freed, it broke into clear weather.
64
九月，壬子，以僧懷義為新平道行軍大總管，將兵二十萬以討突厥骨篤祿。
In the ninth month, on the renzi day, the monk Huaiyi was appointed grand campaign commander of the Xiping Circuit with two hundred thousand men to subdue the Turk Gulou.
65
初，高宗之世，周興以河陽令召見，上欲加擢用，或奏以非清流，罷之。 興不知，數於明堂俟命。 諸相皆無言，地官尚書、檢校納言魏玄同，時同平章事，謂之曰：「周明府可去矣。」 興以為玄同沮己，銜之。 玄同素與裴炎善，時人以其終始不渝，謂之耐久朋。 周興奏誣玄同言：「太后老矣，不若奉嗣君為耐久。」 太后怒，閏月，甲午，賜死於家。 監刑御史房濟謂玄同曰：「丈人何不告密，冀得召見，可以自直！」 玄同歎曰：「人殺鬼殺，亦復何殊，豈能作告密人邪！」 乃就死。 又殺夏官侍郎崔察於隱處。 自餘內外大臣坐死及流貶甚眾。
In Gaozong's day Zhou Xing had been summoned from his magistracy at Heyang for an audience. The emperor meant to promote him, but a memorial argued that he was not of reputable birth, and the appointment was dropped. Xing knew nothing of this and kept waiting at the Bright Hall for his summons. The chancellors said nothing. Wei Xuantong, minister of the Earth Office, acting Speaker, and co-equal chancellor, finally told him, "Magistrate Zhou, you may go home. Xing took this as deliberate obstruction and nursed a grudge. Xuantong had long been close to Pei Yan, and contemporaries, admiring his constancy, called him a friend who endures. Zhou Xing then falsely reported that Xuantong had said, "The Empress Dowager is old. Better to cleave to the heir — that is the friendship that lasts. The Empress Dowager was enraged. In the intercalary month, on the jiawu day, he was ordered to take his own life at home. The supervising censor Fang Ji urged him, "Sir, why not inform on others? You might be summoned and clear your name! Xuantong sighed. "Death at men's hands or death at ghosts' — what is the difference? How could I become an informer! And he went to his death. Summer Office Vice Minister Cui Cha was also executed in secret. Many other ministers within and without the court were executed or banished besides.
66
彭州長史劉易從亦為徐敬真所引； 戊申，就州誅之。 易從為人，仁孝忠謹，將刑於市，吏民憐其無辜，遠近奔赴，競解衣投地曰：「為長史求冥福。」 有司平准，直十餘萬。
Liu Yicong, chief assistant of Peng Prefecture, was also named by Xu Jingzhen; and on the wushen day he was executed in his own province. Yicong was known for kindness, filial piety, loyalty, and restraint. As he was led to the marketplace, officials and commoners alike mourned his innocence. People came from far and near, stripping off garments and casting them on the ground, crying, "We offer this for the chief assistant's peace in the next world. The authorities appraised the gifts at more than one hundred thousand cash.
67
周興等誣右武衛大將軍燕公黑齒常之謀反，征下獄。 冬，十月，戊午，常之縊死。
Zhou Xing and his allies falsely accused Heichi Changzhi, grand general of the Right Martial Guard and Duke of Yan, of treason; he was summoned and thrown into prison. In winter, the tenth month, on the wuwu day, Changzhi hanged himself.
68
己未，殺宗室鄂州剌史嗣鄭王璥等六人。 庚申，嗣滕王修琦等六人免死，流嶺南。
On the jiwei day six imperial clansmen were executed, among them Prince Jin of Zheng, governor of E Prefecture. On the gengshen day six others, including Prince Xiu of Teng, were spared execution and banished to Lingnan.
69
丁卯，春官尚書范履冰、鳳閣侍郎邢文偉並同平章事。
On the dingmao day Fan Lubing, minister of the Spring Office, and Xing Wenwei, vice minister of the Phoenix Pavilion, were both appointed co-equal chancellors.
70
己卯，詔太穆神皇后、文德聖皇后宜配皇地示氏，忠孝太后從配。
On the jimao day an edict ordered Empress Taizu Shen and Empress Wende the Sage paired in sacrifice with the Earth Spirit, with the Loyal and Filial Empress Dowager accorded secondary place.
71
右衛冑曹參軍陳子昂上疏，以為：「周頌成、康，漢稱文、景，皆以能措刑故也。 今陛下之政，雖盡善矣，然太平之朝，上下樂化，不宜有亂臣賊子，日犯天誅。 比者大獄增多，逆徒滋廣，愚臣頑昧，初謂皆實，乃去月十五日，陛下特察系囚李珍等無罪，百僚慶悅，皆賀聖明，臣乃知亦有無罪之人掛於疏網者。 陛下務在寬典，獄官務在急刑，以傷陛下之仁，以誣太平之政，臣竊恨之。 又，九月二十一日敕免楚金等死，初有風雨，變為景雲。 臣聞陰慘者刑也，陽舒者德也； 聖人法天，天亦助聖。 天意如此，陛下豈可不承順之哉！ 今又陰雨，臣恐過在獄官。 凡繫獄之囚，多在極法，道路之議，或是或非，陛下何不悉召見之，自詰其罪。 罪有實者顯示明刑，濫者嚴懲獄吏，使天下鹹服，人知政刑，豈非至德克明哉！」
Chen Zi'ang, an officer of the Right Guard armor bureau, memorialized the throne: "The Zhou praised King Cheng and King Kang; the Han praised Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing — all because they knew when to stay the hand of punishment. Your rule is already excellent, yet in a peaceful age, when court and country rejoice in your transforming influence, traitors ought not to be falling to the executioner's blade day after day. Lately the great prosecutions have multiplied and the roll of 'rebels' grown ever longer. I, dull as I am, at first believed every charge. Then on the fifteenth of last month Your Majesty personally reviewed the cases of Li Zhen and others and found them innocent. The whole court rejoiced and praised your wisdom — and I realized that innocent men can indeed be snared in a slack net. Your Majesty seeks clemency, yet the prison officials rush toward harsh sentences. This wounds your benevolence and makes a mockery of an age of peace. I must grieve over it. Again, when the edict of the twenty-first of the ninth month spared Chujin and the others, storm clouds at first gave way to bright sky. I have read that gloom belongs to punishment and clear weather to virtue; the sage takes Heaven as his model, and Heaven in turn aids the sage. When Heaven speaks so plainly, how can Your Majesty fail to heed it! Now the skies are dark again, and I fear the fault lies with the prison officials. Most of those in custody face the death penalty, and rumor in the streets cannot tell guilt from innocence. Why not summon every prisoner before you and question each case yourself? Where guilt is proved, let the law be seen to strike; where charges are false, let the jailers be punished in turn. Then the empire will trust your justice, and all will understand both your mercy and your severity. Would that not be the highest expression of enlightened rule?"
72
十一月，庚辰朔，日南至。 太后享萬象神宮，赦天下。 始用周正，改永昌元年十一月為載初元年正月，以十二月為臘月，夏正月為一月。 以周、漢之後為二王后，舜、禹、成湯之後為三恪，周、隋之嗣同列國。
In the eleventh month, on the new moon of the gengchen day, the winter solstice arrived. The Empress Dowager sacrificed at the Palace of Myriad Forms and proclaimed a general amnesty. The court adopted the Zhou calendar. The eleventh month of Yongchang 1 became the first month of Zaichu 1; the twelfth month was treated as the month of the winter sacrifice, and the old first month of the year was renumbered as the first month under the new reckoning. Descendants of the Zhou and Han houses were installed as the Two Kings; descendants of Shun, Yu, and King Tang of Shang as the Three Reverent Ones; and the surviving lines of the Zhou and Sui royal houses were ranked alongside the feudal states.
73
鳳閣侍郎河東宗秦客，改造「天」「地」等十二字以獻，丁亥，行之。 太后自名「曌」，改詔曰制。 秦客，太后從父姊之子也。
Zong Qinke of Hedong, Vice Minister of the Phoenix Pavilion, devised new forms for twelve characters including Heaven and Earth and presented them to the throne; on the dinghai day the new characters were adopted. The Empress Dowager's personal name was Zhao; she replaced the term edict with decree for imperial pronouncements. "Qinke was the son of the Empress Dowager's aunt on her father's side."
74
乙未，司刑少卿周興奏除唐親屬籍。
On yiwei, Zhou Xing, Vice Director of the Ministry of Punishments, memorialized that the Tang imperial clan be struck from the official register.
75
臘月，辛未，以僧懷義為右衛大將軍，賜爵鄂國公。
In the twelfth month, on xinwei, the monk Huaiyi was appointed Grand General of the Right Guard and enfeoffed as Duke of E.
76
春，一月，戊子，武承嗣遷文昌左相，岑長倩遷文昌右相、同鳳閣鸞台三品，鳳閣侍郎武攸寧為納言，邢文偉守內史，左肅政大夫、同鳳閣鸞台三品王本立罷為地官尚書。 攸寧，士擭之兄孫也。
In spring, the first month, on wuzi, Wu Chengsi became Left Chancellor of the Wenchang Palace; Cen Changqian became Right Chancellor of the Wenchang Palace and Co-equal with the Third Rank of the Phoenix Pavilion and Crane Terrace; Wu Youning, Vice Minister of the Phoenix Pavilion, was made Master of Appeals; Xing Wenwei remained Interior Secretary; and Wang Benli, Left Director of the Bureau for Scrutiny and Co-equal with the Third Rank of the Phoenix Pavilion and Crane Terrace, was dismissed and made Minister of Territorial Administration. Youning was a grandson of Shi Kuo's elder brother.
77
時武承嗣、三思用事，宰相皆下之。 地官尚書、同鳳閣鸞台三品韋方質有疾，承嗣、三思往問之，方質據床不為禮。 或諫之，方質曰：「死生有命，大丈夫安能曲事近戚以求苟免乎！」 尋為周興等所構，甲午，流儋州，籍沒其家。
At that time Wu Chengsi and Wu Sansi held the reins of power, and every chancellor stood beneath them. Wei Fangzhi, Minister of Territorial Administration and Co-equal with the Third Rank of the Phoenix Pavilion and Crane Terrace, was ill; Chengsi and Sansi came to call on him, but Fangzhi sat up in bed and refused them the usual courtesies. When others warned him, Fangzhi said, "Life and death are Heaven's decree — how could a true man grovel before the Empress Dowager's kin just to save his own skin!" Soon Zhou Xing and others framed him; on jiawu he was exiled to Danzhou, and his family's property was confiscated.
78
二月，辛酉，太后策貢士於洛城殿。 貢士殿試自此始。
In the second month, on xinyou, the Empress Dowager personally examined presented scholars in the Hall of Luocheng. The palace examination of degree candidates began from this occasion.
79
丁卯，地官尚書王本立薨。
On dingmao, Wang Benli, Minister of Territorial Administration, died.
80
三月，丁亥，特進、同鳳閣鸞台三品蘇良嗣薨。
In the third month, on dinghai, Su Liangsi, Special Advanced and Co-equal with the Third Rank of the Phoenix Pavilion and Crane Terrace, died.
81
夏，四月，丁巳，春官尚書、同平章事范履冰坐嘗舉犯逆者，下獄死。
In summer, the fourth month, on dingsi, Fan Lübing, Minister of Rites and Co-equal Chancellor, was accused of having once recommended a man later convicted of treason; he was imprisoned and died in custody.
82
醴泉人侯思止，始以賣餅為業，後事游擊將軍高元禮為僕，素詭譎無賴。 恆州刺史裴貞杖一判司，判司使思止告貞與舒王元名謀反，秋，七月，辛巳，元名坐廢，徙和州，壬午，殺其子豫章王但； 貞亦族滅。 擢思止為游擊將軍。 時告密者往往得五品，思止求為御史，太后曰：「卿不識字，豈堪御史！」 對曰：「獬豸何嘗識字？ 但能觸邪耳。」 太后悅，即以為朝散大夫、侍御史。 他日，太后以先所籍沒宅賜之，思止不受，曰：「臣惡反逆之人，不願居其宅。」 太后益賞之。
Hou Sizhi of Liquan had first earned his bread selling cakes; later he entered the household of the mobile corps general Gao Yuanli as a servant. He was by nature cunning and utterly without scruple. Pei Zhen, prefect of Heng Prefecture, beat a judicial aide; the aide had Sizhi accuse Zhen of plotting rebellion with Prince Shu Yuanming. In autumn, the seventh month, on xinsi Yuanming was deposed and exiled to Hezhou; on renwu his son Dan, Prince of Yuzhang, was executed; Pei Zhen's entire clan was exterminated as well. Sizhi was promoted to mobile corps general. Informers at the time often received fifth rank; Sizhi asked to be made a censor. The Empress Dowager said, "You cannot read — how could you serve as censor!" He replied, "Did the xiezhi ever know how to read? It only had to touch the wicked." The Empress Dowager was delighted and appointed him Gentlemen for Court Discussion and Attending Censor. On another occasion the Empress Dowager gave him a house that had earlier been confiscated; Sizhi refused it, saying, "I loathe traitors and will not live in their dwelling." The Empress Dowager admired him all the more.
83
衡水人王弘義，素無行，嘗從鄰舍乞瓜，不與，乃告縣官瓜田中有白兔。 縣官使人搜捕，蹂踐瓜田立盡。 又游趙、貝，見閭裡耆老作邑齋，遂告以謀反，殺二百餘人，擢授游擊將軍，俄遷殿中侍御史。 或告勝州都督王安仁謀反，敕弘義按之。 安仁不服，弘義即於枷上刎其首； 又捕其子，適至，亦刎其首，函之以歸。 道過汾州，司馬毛公與之對食，須臾，叱毛公下階，斬之，槍揭其首入洛，見者無不震慄。 時置制獄於麗景門內，入是獄者，非死不出，弘義戲呼為「例竟門」。 朝士人人自危，相見莫敢交言，道路以目。 或因入朝密遭掩捕，每朝，輒與家人訣曰：「未知復相見否？」
Wang Hongyi of Hengshui was a man of bad character. Once he begged melons from a neighbor; when the neighbor refused, he reported to the county magistrate that a white rabbit had appeared in the melon patch. The magistrate sent men to hunt for it, and they trampled the melon field until not a plant was left standing. Traveling through Zhao and Bei, he saw village elders holding a communal feast and reported them for plotting rebellion; more than two hundred people were killed. He was promoted to mobile corps general and soon made a palace censor. When someone reported that Wang Anren, Commandant of Sheng Prefecture, was plotting rebellion, Hongyi was ordered to investigate the case. Anren denied the charge; Hongyi immediately cut his throat while he stood in the cangue; He also seized Anren's son, who had just arrived; he cut off his head as well, boxed both heads, and returned home. On the road he passed through Fenzhou and was sharing a meal with Assistant Commander Mao; in a moment he shouted Mao down the steps and beheaded him, then speared the head and carried it into Luoyang. All who saw it were shaken with terror. Special prisons had been set up inside Lizijing Gate; whoever entered them left only in death. Hongyi mockingly called it the "Gate Where Cases Are Closed." Every court gentleman lived in dread; when they met one another none dared speak aloud, and in the streets they communicated only with their eyes. Some were secretly seized on their way to court; before each session they would take leave of their families, saying, "Who knows whether we shall ever meet again?"
84
時法官競為深酷，唯司刑丞徐有功、杜景儉獨存平恕，被告者皆曰：「遇來、侯必死，遇徐、杜必生。」
Judges at the time vied in cruelty; only Vice Directors of the Ministry of Punishments Xu Yougong and Du Jingjian held to fairness and mercy. The accused all said, "Meet Lai or Hou and you die; meet Xu or Du and you live."
85
有功，文遠之孫也，名弘敏，以字行。 初為蒲州司法，以寬為治，不施敲樸，吏相約有犯徐司法杖者，眾共斥之。 迨官滿，不杖一人，職事亦修。 累遷司刑丞，酷吏所誣構者，有功皆為直之，前後所活數十百家。 嘗廷爭獄事，太后厲色詰之，左右為戰慄，有功神色不撓，爭之彌切。 太后雖好殺，知有功正直，甚敬憚之。 景儉，武邑人也。
Yougong was a grandson of Wen Yuan; his given name was Hongmin, but he was known by his courtesy name. He first served as judicial officer of Pu Prefecture, governing with leniency and never applying the beating staff. The clerks agreed among themselves that whoever forced Judicial Officer Xu to raise the staff would be rebuked by the whole office. When his term ended he had beaten not a single person, yet his official duties were fully discharged. Promoted in succession to Vice Director of the Ministry of Punishments, he overturned every case the harsh officials had fabricated, saving several tens of families in all. Once he disputed a prison case in open court; the Empress Dowager questioned him with a fierce countenance, and those beside her trembled, yet Yougong's expression never changed and he argued all the more urgently. Though the Empress Dowager loved bloodshed, knowing Yougong's integrity she deeply respected and feared him. Jingjian was a native of Wuyi.
86
司刑丞滎陽李日知亦尚平恕。 少卿胡元禮欲殺一囚，日知以為不可，往複數日，元禮怒曰：「元禮不離刑曹，此囚終無生理！」 日知曰：「日知不離刑曹，此囚終無死法！」 竟以兩狀列上，日知果直。 東魏國寺僧法明等撰《大雲經》四卷，表上之，言太后乃彌勒佛下生，當代唐為閻浮提主； 制頒於天下。
Li Rizhi of Xingyang, also a Vice Director of the Ministry of Punishments, likewise prized fairness and clemency. Assistant Director Hu Yuanli wanted to execute a prisoner; Rizhi held that it could not be done. They argued back and forth for days until Yuanli burst out, "So long as Yuanli remains in the punishment office, this man will never leave it alive!" Rizhi replied, "So long as Rizhi remains in the punishment office, this man will never be put to death!" In the end they submitted two separate memorials to the throne; Rizhi was vindicated. The monks Faming and others of the Eastern Wei Kingdom Temple compiled four scrolls of the Dayun Sutra and presented them to the throne, declaring that the Empress Dowager was Maitreya Buddha incarnate, destined to replace the Tang and rule Jambudvipa; An imperial decree promulgated it throughout the realm.
87
武承嗣使周興羅告隋州刺史澤王上金、舒州刺史許王素節謀反，征詣行在。 素節發舒州，聞遭喪哭者，歎曰：「病死何可得，乃更哭邪！」 丁亥，至龍門，縊殺之。 上金自殺。 悉誅其諸子及支黨。
Wu Chengsi had Zhou Xing fabricate charges that Ze Wang Shangjin, prefect of Sui Prefecture, and Xu Wang Sujie, prefect of Shu Prefecture, were plotting rebellion; both were summoned to the imperial camp. Sujie set out from Shu Prefecture; hearing mourners wailing along the road, he sighed, "Who can hope to die of illness these days — and yet you still weep!" On dinghai, when he reached Longmen, he was strangled to death. Shangjin took his own life. All their sons and followers were executed.
88
太后欲以太平公主妻其伯父士讓之孫攸暨，攸暨時為右衛中郎將，太后潛使人殺其妻而妻之。 公主方額廣頤，多權略，太后以為類己，寵愛特厚，常與密議天下事。 舊制，食邑，諸王不過千戶，公主不過三百五十戶； 太平食邑獨累加至三千戶。
The Empress Dowager wished to marry Princess Taiping to Wu Youji, grandson of her uncle Shi Rang. Youji was then a middle commander of the Right Guard; the Empress Dowager secretly had his wife killed and gave him the princess in marriage. The princess had a broad forehead and full cheeks and was skilled in intrigue; the Empress Dowager saw her own likeness in her, favored her above all others, and often consulted with her in secret on affairs of state. Under the old system of fief households, princes received no more than a thousand households and princesses no more than three hundred and fifty; Princess Taiping's fief alone was repeatedly increased until it reached three thousand households.
89
八月，甲寅，殺太子少保、納言裴居道； 癸亥，殺尚書左丞張行廉。 辛未，殺南安王穎等宗室十二人，又鞭殺故太子賢二子，唐之宗室於是殆盡矣，其幼弱存者亦流嶺南，又誅其親黨數百家。 惟千金長公主以巧媚得全，自請為太后女，仍改姓武氏； 太后愛之，更號延安大長公主。
In the eighth month, on jiayin, Pei Judao, Grand Mentor of the Crown Prince and Master of Appeals, was executed; On guihai, Zhang Xinglian, Left Assistant Director of the Secretariat, was executed. On xinwei, twelve members of the imperial clan including Prince Nan'an Ying were killed, and the two sons of the former Crown Prince Xian were flogged to death. The Tang imperial house was now all but wiped out; those young and weak who survived were exiled to Lingnan, and several hundred of their kin and partisans were put to death. Only Princess Qianjin survived, saved by artful flattery; she asked to be adopted as the Empress Dowager's daughter and took the surname Wu; The Empress Dowager doted on her and gave her the new title Grand Princess of Yan'an.
90
九月，丙子，侍御史汲人傅遊藝帥關中百姓九百餘人詣闕上表，請改國號曰周，賜皇帝姓武氏，太后不許； 擢遊藝為給事中。 於是百官及帝室宗戚、遠近百姓、四夷酋長、沙門、道士合六萬餘人，俱上表如遊藝所請，皇帝亦上表自請賜姓武氏。 戊寅，群臣上言：「有鳳皇自明堂飛入上陽宮，還集左台梧桐之上，久之，飛東南去； 及赤雀數萬集朝堂。
In the ninth month, on bingzi, Fu Youyi of Ji, an Attending Censor, led more than nine hundred commoners from Guanzhong to the palace gate with a memorial asking that the dynastic name be changed to Zhou and the emperor be given the surname Wu; the Empress Dowager refused; Youyi was promoted to Attendant Gentleman of the Secretariat. Thereupon officials, imperial clansmen, commoners from near and far, barbarian chieftains, monks, and Taoists — more than sixty thousand in all — submitted memorials making the same request; the emperor too memorialized, asking to be given the surname Wu. On wuyin the assembled ministers reported, "A phoenix flew from the Bright Hall into Shangyang Palace, then alighted on the phoenix tree of the Left Terrace; after a long while it flew away toward the southeast; and tens of thousands of red sparrows gathered in the audience hall.
91
庚辰，太后可皇帝及群臣之請。 壬午，御則天數，赦天下，以唐為周，改元。 乙酉，上尊號曰聖神皇帝，以皇帝為皇嗣，賜姓武氏； 以皇太子為皇孫。
On gengchen the Empress Dowager accepted the petition of the emperor and the assembled ministers. On renwu she took the throne under the Zetian numeral system, proclaimed a general amnesty, replaced Tang with Zhou, and changed the reign title. On yiyou she was honored as Holy Divine Emperor; the emperor was made imperial heir and given the surname Wu; The crown prince was demoted to imperial grandson.
92
丙戌，立武氏七廟於神都，追尊周文王曰始祖文皇帝，妣姒氏曰文定皇后，平王少子武曰睿祖康皇帝，妣姜氏曰康惠皇后； 太原靖王曰嚴祖成皇帝，妣曰成莊皇后； 趙肅恭王曰肅祖章敬皇帝，魏義康王曰烈祖昭安皇帝，周安成王曰顯祖文穆皇帝，忠孝太皇曰太祖孝明高皇帝，妣皆如考謚，稱皇后。 立武承嗣為魏王，三思為梁王，攸寧為建昌王，士擭兄孫攸歸、重規、載德、攸暨、懿宗、嗣宗、攸宜、攸望、攸緒、攸止皆為郡王，諸姑姊皆為長公主。
On bingxu the seven temples of the Wu clan were established in the Divine Capital; King Wen of Zhou was posthumously honored as Founding Ancestor Literary Emperor and his consort of the Si clan as Literary Fixed Empress; Wu, youngest son of King Ping, as Sagacious Ancestor Kang Emperor and his consort of the Jiang clan as Kang Kind Empress; the Prince of Taiyuan Jing was posthumously titled Stern Ancestor Cheng Emperor and his consort Cheng Solemn Empress; the Su Gong, Prince of Zhao was titled Reverent Ancestor Zhangjing Emperor; the Prince of Wei Yi Kang, Fierce Ancestor Zhao'an Emperor; the Prince of Zhou An Cheng, Illustrious Ancestor Wenmu Emperor; and the Filial and Loyal Grand Emperor, Great Ancestor Xiaoming Gao Emperor — each consort receiving a posthumous title to match her husband and being styled empress. Wu Chengsi was enfeoffed as Prince of Wei, Wu Sansi as Prince of Liang, and Wu Youning as Prince of Jianchang; Yougui, Chonggui, Zaide, Youji, Yizong, Sizong, Youyi, Youwang, Youxu, and Youzhi — grandsons of Shi Kuo's elder brother — were all made commandery princes; and every paternal aunt and elder sister of the Wu clan was made a grand princess.
93
又以司賓卿溧陽史務滋為納言，鳳閣侍郎宗秦客檢校內史，給事中傅遊藝為鸞台侍郎、平章事。 遊藝與岑長倩、右玉鈐衛大將軍張虔勖、左金吾大將軍丘神勣、侍御史來子珣等並賜姓武。 秦客潛勸太后革命，故首為內史。 遊藝期年之中歷衣青、綠、朱、紫，時人謂之四時仕宦。
Shi Wuzi of Liyang, Director of the Ministry of Guests, was made Master of Appeals; Zong Qinke, Vice Minister of the Phoenix Pavilion, was made Acting Interior Secretary; and Fu Youyi, Attendant Gentleman of the Secretariat, was made Crane Terrace Vice Minister and Co-equal Chancellor. Youyi, together with Cen Changqian, Zhang Qianxu, Grand General of the Right Jade Talisman Guard, Qiu Shenji, Grand General of the Left Golden Crow Guard, Lai Zixun, Attending Censor, and others, were all granted the surname Wu. Qinke had secretly urged the Empress Dowager to seize the throne, and for that reason was the first appointed Interior Secretary. Within a single year Youyi passed through every rank of official robe — green, green-red, red, and purple — and people called it a career in all four seasons.
94
敕改州為郡； 或謂太后曰：「陛下始革命而廢州，不祥。」 太后遽追止之。 命史務滋等十人存撫諸道。 癸卯，太后立兄孫延基等六人為郡王。
An edict ordered that prefectures be renamed commanderies; Someone told the Empress Dowager, "Your Majesty has just changed the dynasty, yet now abolishes prefectures — this is an ill omen." The Empress Dowager immediately revoked the order. She dispatched Shi Wuzi and nine others to tour the circuits and reassure the people. On guimao the Empress Dowager enfeoffed six of her brother's grandsons, including Yanji, as commandery princes.
95
冬，十月，甲子，檢校內史宗秦客坐贓貶遵化尉，弟楚客、晉卿亦以奸贓流嶺外。
In winter, the tenth month, on jiazi, Zong Qinke, Acting Interior Secretary, was demoted to Commandant of Dunhua on charges of corruption; his younger brothers Chu Ke and Jin Qing were also exiled beyond the mountains for graft.
96
丁卯，殺流人韋方質。
On dingmao the exiled Wei Fangzhi was executed.
97
辛未，內史邢文偉坐附會宗秦客貶珍州刺史。 頃之，有制使至州，文偉以為誅己，遽自縊死。
On xinwei Xing Wenwei, Interior Secretary, was demoted to prefect of Zhen Prefecture for having sided with Zong Qinke. Before long an imperial commissioner arrived at the prefecture; Wenwei took it as a death warrant and immediately hanged himself.
98
壬申，敕兩京諸州各置大雲寺一區，藏《大雲經》，使僧升高座講解，其撰疏僧雲宣等九人皆賜爵縣公，仍賜紫袈裟、銀龜袋。
On renshen an edict ordered that every prefecture in the two capitals establish a Dayun Temple housing the Dayun Sutra, with monks appointed to the high seat to expound it; the nine monks who had written commentaries, including Yun Xuan, were all enfeoffed as county dukes and given purple kasayas and silver tortoise pouches.
99
制天下武氏鹹蠲課役。
A decree wholly exempted everyone bearing the surname Wu from taxes and corvee labor.
100
西突厥十姓，自垂拱以來，為東突厥所侵掠，散亡略盡。 濛池都護繼往絕可汗斛瑟羅收其餘眾六七萬人入居內地，拜左衛大將軍，改號竭忠事主可汗。
The ten tribes of the Western Turks, since the Chuigong era, had been raided by the Eastern Turks until they were scattered and all but destroyed. Qibi Heluo, Khan Jiwangjue and Protector of Mengchi, gathered the sixty or seventy thousand survivors and settled them within the empire; he was appointed Grand General of the Left Guard and given the new title Khan Who Exhausts Loyalty in Serving the Lord.
101
道州刺史李行褒兄弟為酷吏所陷，當族，秋官郎中徐有功固爭不能得。 秋官侍郎周興奏有功故出反囚，當斬，太后雖不許，亦免有功官； 然太后雅重有功，久之，復起為侍御史。 有功伏地流涕固辭曰：「臣聞鹿走山林而命懸包廚，勢使之然也。 陛下以臣為法官，臣不敢枉陛下法，必死是官矣。」 太后固授之，遠近聞者相賀。
Li Xing'ao and his brothers of Daozhou were framed by harsh officials and sentenced to clan extermination; Xu Yougong, Bureau Director of the Autumn Office, argued fiercely on their behalf but could not prevail. Zhou Xing, Vice Director of the Autumn Office, memorialized that Yougong had deliberately released rebel prisoners and deserved execution; though the Empress Dowager did not consent to his death, she still stripped Yougong of office; The Empress Dowager nevertheless held Yougong in high regard, and after some time restored him to office as Attending Censor. Yougong prostrated himself in tears and firmly declined, saying, "I have heard that when a deer runs free in the hills and forests, its life still hangs over the butcher's block — that is what circumstance does. Your Majesty has made me a judge; I dare not bend your law, and I am sure to die in this office." The Empress Dowager insisted on appointing him anyway, and all who heard the news, near and far, rejoiced for him.
102
是歲，以右衛大將軍泉獻誠為左衛大將軍。 太后出金寶，命選南北牙善射者五人賭之，獻誠第一，以讓右玉鈐衛大將軍薛咄摩，咄摩復讓獻誠。 獻誠乃奏言：「陛下令選善射者，今多非漢官，竊恐四夷輕漢，請停此射。」 太后善而從之。
That year Quan Xiancheng, Grand General of the Right Guard, was appointed Grand General of the Left Guard. The Empress Dowager brought out gold and jewels and ordered a contest among five skilled archers chosen from the northern and southern guards. Xiancheng took first place and yielded the prize to Xue Duomo, Grand General of the Right Jade Talisman Guard, who in turn yielded it back to Xiancheng. Xiancheng then memorialized, "Your Majesty ordered skilled archers to be chosen, but many of those selected are not Han officials. I fear the four barbarians will look down on the Han — I beg that this contest be stopped." The Empress Dowager approved and followed his advice.
103
正月，癸酉朔，太后始受尊號於萬象神宮，旗幟尚赤。 甲戌，改置社稷於神都。 辛巳，納武氏神主於太廟； 唐太廟之在長安者，更命曰享德廟。 四時唯享高祖已下三廟，餘四室皆閉不享。 又改長安崇先廟為崇尊廟。 乙酉，日南至，大享明堂，祀昊天上帝，百神從祀，武氏祖宗配享，唐三帝亦同配。
In the first month, on the new moon of the guiyou day, the Empress Dowager first received her honorific title at the Palace of Myriad Forms, with banners and flags in red. On jiaxu the altars of soil and grain were reestablished in the Divine Capital. On xinsi the spirit tablets of the Wu clan were installed in the Imperial Ancestral Temple; the Tang ancestral temple in Chang'an was renamed the Temple of Honored Virtue. Through the four seasons only the three temples from the High Ancestor downward received offerings; the remaining four chambers were closed and left unhonored. The Chongxian Temple in Chang'an was likewise renamed the Chongzun Temple. On yiyou, the winter solstice, a great sacrifice was held in the Bright Hall to the August Heaven God, with the hundred spirits in attendance. The Wu clan ancestors were paired in the rite, and the three Tang emperors were paired as well.
104
御史中丞知大夫事李嗣真以酷吏縱橫，上疏，以為：「今告事紛紜，虛多實少，恐有凶慝陰謀離間陛下君臣。 古者獄成，公卿參聽，王必三宥，然後行刑。 比日獄官單車奉使，推鞫既定，法家依斷，不令重推； 或臨時專決，不復聞奏。 如此，則權由臣下，非審慎之法，倘有冤濫，何由可知！ 況以九品之官專命推覆，操殺生之柄，竊人主之威，按覆既不在秋官，省審復不由門下，國之利器，輕以假人，恐為社稷之禍。」 太后不聽。
Li Sizhen, Censor-in-Chief acting as Grand Censor, submitted a memorial against the rampant harsh officials, saying, "Reports of offenses now flood in — false ones far outnumber true ones. I fear wicked men are plotting in secret to drive a wedge between Your Majesty and your ministers. In antiquity, when a case was complete the high ministers jointly heard it, and the king had to pardon three times before punishment could be carried out. Nowadays prison officials go out alone on commission; once interrogation is finished the legalists decide the case and allow no re-examination; sometimes they decide on the spot by special authority without reporting to the throne. If this is allowed, power rests with subordinates — this is no method of careful justice. If innocents are condemned, how will anyone know! Moreover, to let officials of the ninth rank have sole commission to investigate cases, wielding the power of life and death and usurping the sovereign's authority — with investigation no longer in the Autumn Office and review no longer through the Gate Department — is to lend the state's sharp instruments lightly to others. I fear this will bring calamity upon the realm." The Empress Dowager did not heed him.
105
饒阻尉姚貞亮等數百人表請上尊號曰上聖大神皇帝，不許。
Yao Zhenliang, Commandant of Raozu, and several hundred others submitted a memorial asking that the honorific title Supreme Sage Great Spirit Emperor be granted; the request was refused.
106
侍御史來子珣誣尚衣奉御劉行感兄弟謀反，皆坐誅。 春，一月，地官尚書武思文及朝集使二千八百人表請封中岳。
Lai Zixun, Attending Censor, falsely accused Liu Xinggan, Palace Wardrobe Attendant, and his brothers of plotting rebellion; all were executed. In spring, the first month, Wu Siwen, Minister of Territorial Administration, and twenty-eight hundred court assembly envoys submitted a memorial asking to perform the feng sacrifice on Mount Song.
107
己亥，廢唐興寧、永康、隱陵署官，唯量置守戶。
On jihai the offices of the Tang tombs Xingning, Yongkang, and Yinling were abolished, and only tomb-keeper households were allotted as needed.
108
左金吾大將軍丘神勣以罪誅。
Qiu Shenji, Grand General of the Left Golden Crow Guard, was executed for his crimes.
109
納言史務滋與來俊臣同鞫劉行感獄，俊臣奏務滋與行感親密，意欲寢其反狀。 太后命俊臣並推之，庚子，務滋恐懼自殺。
Shi Wuzi, Master of Appeals, jointly interrogated the Liu Xinggan case with Lai Jun Chen. Jun Chen memorialized that Wuzi was intimate with Xinggan and intended to suppress evidence of treason. The Empress Dowager ordered Jun Chen to investigate Wuzi as well. On gengzi Wuzi, in terror, took his own life.
110
或告文昌右丞周興與丘神勣通謀，太后命來俊臣鞫之，俊臣與興方推事對食，謂興曰：「囚多不承，當為何法？」 興曰：「此甚易取。 取大甕，以炭四周炙之，令囚入中，何事不承！」 俊臣乃索大甕，火圍如興法，因起謂興曰：「有內狀推史，請兄入此甕。」 興惶恐，叩頭服罪。 法當死，太后原之。 二月，流行嶺南，在道，為仇家所殺。
Someone reported that Zhou Xing, Right Assistant Director of the Wenchang Palace, was in conspiracy with Qiu Shenji. The Empress Dowager ordered Lai Jun Chen to interrogate him. Jun Chen and Xing were investigating cases over a shared meal when Jun Chen asked Xing, "Prisoners often refuse to confess — what method should be used?" Xing said, "That is very easily done. Take a large jar, heat it all around with charcoal, and put the prisoner inside — what would he not confess!" Jun Chen then sent for a large jar and surrounded it with fire exactly as Xing had described; then he rose and said to Xing, "There is an imperial order to investigate the censor — please, elder brother, enter this jar." Xing, in terror, kowtowed and confessed. By law he deserved death, but the Empress Dowager pardoned him. In the second month he was exiled to Lingnan and was killed on the road by an enemy of his family.
111
興與索元禮、來俊臣競為暴刻，興、元禮所殺各數千人，俊臣所破千餘家。 元禮殘酷尤甚，太后亦殺之以慰人望。
Xing, Suo Yuanli, and Lai Jun Chen vied in cruelty. Xing and Yuanli each killed several thousand people, and Jun Chen destroyed more than a thousand households. Yuanli was especially cruel, and the Empress Dowager had him killed as well to satisfy public expectation.
112
徙左衛大將軍千乘王武攸暨為定王。
Wu Youji, Grand General of the Left Guard and Prince of Qiansheng, was transferred to be Prince of Ding.
113
立故太子賢之子光順為義豐王。
Guangshun, son of the former Crown Prince Xian, was enfeoffed as Prince of Yifeng.
114
甲子，太后命始祖墓曰德陵，睿祖墓曰喬陵，嚴祖墓曰節陵，肅祖墓曰簡陵，烈祖墓曰靖陵，顯祖墓曰永陵，改章德陵為昊陵，顯義陵為順陵。
On jiazi the Empress Dowager named the Founding Ancestor's tomb Deling, the Sagacious Ancestor's Qiaoling, the Stern Ancestor's Jieling, the Reverent Ancestor's Jianling, the Fierce Ancestor's Jingling, and the Illustrious Ancestor's Yongling; Zhang Deling was renamed Haoling and Xian Yiling was renamed Shunling.
115
追復李君羨官爵。
The offices and rank of Li Junxian were posthumously restored.
116
夏，四月，壬寅朔，日有食之。
In summer, the fourth month, on the new moon of the renyin day, there was a solar eclipse.
117
癸卯，制以釋教開革命之階，升於道教之上。
On guimao a decree placed Buddhism — which had opened the path to dynastic change — above Daoism.
118
命建安王攸宜留守長安。
Prince of Jian'an Youyi was ordered to remain at Chang'an as regent.
119
丙辰，鑄大鐘，置北闕。
On bingchen a great bell was cast and placed at the northern gate-tower.
120
五月，以岑長倩為武威道行軍大總管，擊吐蕃，中道召還，軍竟不出。
In the fifth month Cen Changqian was appointed grand commander of the campaign army on the Wuwei Circuit to attack the Tibetans, but he was recalled midway and the army never marched.
121
六月，以左肅政大夫格輔元為地官尚書，與鸞台侍郎樂思晦、鳳閣侍郎任知古並同平章事。 思晦，彥□之子也。
In the sixth month Ge Fuyuan, Left Director of the Bureau for Scrutiny, was made Minister of Territorial Administration; Yue Sihui, Vice Minister of the Crane Terrace, and Ren Zhigu, Vice Minister of the Phoenix Pavilion, were all made Co-equal Chancellors as well. Sihui was the son of Yan [character missing in the source].
122
秋，七月，徙關內戶數十萬以實洛陽。
In autumn, the seventh month, several hundred thousand households from Guannei were relocated to populate Luoyang.
123
八月，戊申，納言武攸寧罷為左羽林大將軍； 夏官尚書歐陽通為司禮卿兼判納言事。
In the eighth month, on wushen, Wu Youning, Master of Appeals, was dismissed and made Grand General of the Left Feathered Forest Guard; Ouyang Tong, Minister of the Summer Office, was made Director of the Ministry of Rites and concurrently acting Master of Appeals.
124
庚申，殺玉鈐衛大將軍張虔勖。 來俊臣鞫虔勖獄，虔勖自訟於徐有功； 俊臣怒，命衛士以刀亂斫殺之，梟首於市。
On gengshen Zhang Qianxu, Grand General of the Jade Talisman Guard, was executed. Lai Jun Chen interrogated the Zhang Qianxu case, and Qianxu pleaded his case before Xu Yougong; Jun Chen, enraged, ordered guards to hack him to death and displayed his head in the market.
125
義豐王光順、嗣雍王守禮、永安王守義、長信縣主等皆賜姓武氏，與睿宗諸子皆幽閉宮中，不出門庭者十餘年。 守禮、守義，光順之弟也。 或告地官尚書武思文初與徐敬業通謀； 甲子，流思文於嶺南，複姓徐氏。
Guangshun, Prince of Yifeng, Shouli, Prince of Siyong, Shouyi, Prince of Yong'an, the Princess of Changxin, and others were all granted the surname Wu. Together with the sons of Emperor Ruizong they were confined within the palace and did not cross the gate or courtyard for more than ten years. Shouli and Shouyi were Guangshun's younger brothers. Someone reported that Wu Siwen, Minister of Territorial Administration, had at first conspired with Xu Jingye; On jiazi Siwen was exiled to Lingnan and his surname was restored to Xu.
126
九月，乙亥，殺岐州刺史雲弘嗣。 來俊臣鞫之，不問一款，先斷其首，乃偽立案奏之。 其殺張虔勖亦然。 敕旨皆依，海內鉗口。
In the ninth month, on yihai, Yun Hongsi, prefect of Qi Prefecture, was executed. Lai Jun Chen interrogated him; without a single question he first cut off his head, then fabricated a case and memorialized it to the throne. He had done the same in killing Zhang Qianxu. Imperial orders approved every report, and throughout the realm people clamped their mouths shut.
127
鸞台侍郎、同平章事傅遊藝夢登湛露殿，以語所親，所親告之； 壬辰，下獄，自殺。
Fu Youyi, Crane Terrace Vice Minister and Co-equal Chancellor, dreamed that he ascended the Zhanlu Hall and told those close to him, who reported it; On renchen he was imprisoned and took his own life.
128
癸巳，以左羽林衛大將軍建昌王武攸寧為納言，洛州司馬狄仁傑為地官侍郎，與冬官侍郎裴行本並同平章事。 太后謂仁傑曰：「卿在汝南，甚有善政，卿欲知譖卿者名乎！」 仁傑謝曰：「陛下以臣為過，臣請改之； 知臣無過，臣之幸也，不願知譖者名。」 太后深歎美之。
On guisi Wu Youning, Grand General of the Left Feathered Forest Guard and Prince of Jianchang, was made Master of Appeals; Di Renjie, Assistant Commander of Luozhou, was made Vice Minister of Territorial Administration; and Pei Xingben, Vice Minister of the Winter Office, was also made Co-equal Chancellor. The Empress Dowager said to Renjie, "When you were in Runan you governed very well. Would you like to know the name of the one who slandered you?" Renjie replied, "If Your Majesty finds fault in me, I ask to reform; if Your Majesty knows I am without fault, that is my good fortune — I do not wish to know the slander's name." The Empress Dowager sighed deeply in admiration.
129
先是，鳳閣舍人修武張嘉福使洛陽人王慶之等數百人上表，請立武承嗣為皇太子。 文昌右相、同鳳閣鸞台三品岑長倩以皇嗣在東宮，不宜有此議，奏請切責上書者，告示令散。 太后又問地官尚書、同平章事格輔元，輔元固稱不可。 由是大忤諸武意，故斥長倩令西征吐蕃，未至，征還，下制獄。 承嗣又譖輔元。 來俊臣又脅長倩子靈原，令引司禮卿兼判納言事歐陽通等數十人，皆雲同反。 通為俊臣所訊，五毒備至，終無異詞，俊臣乃詐為通款。 冬，十月，己酉，長倩、輔元、通等皆坐誅。
Earlier, Zhang Jiafu of Xiuwu, Attendant of the Phoenix Pavilion, had several hundred men of Luoyang including Wang Qingzhi submit a memorial asking that Wu Chengsi be made Crown Prince. Cen Changqian, Right Chancellor of the Wenchang Palace and Co-equal with the Third Rank of the Phoenix Pavilion and Crane Terrace, held that with the imperial heir already in the Eastern Palace such a proposal was improper; he memorialized asking that the petitioners be sternly rebuked and ordered to disperse. The Empress Dowager also asked Ge Fuyuan, Minister of Territorial Administration and Co-equal Chancellor; Fuyuan firmly said it could not be done. This greatly offended the Wu faction. Changqian was therefore sent to campaign west against the Tibetans, recalled before he arrived, and thrown into the special prison. Chengsi also brought false charges against Fuyuan. Lai Jun Chen also coerced Changqian's son Lingyuan into implicating Ouyang Tong, Director of the Ministry of Rites and concurrently acting Master of Appeals, and several dozen others, all as co-conspirators in rebellion. Tong was interrogated by Jun Chen; every torture was applied, yet he never changed his testimony. Jun Chen then forged a confession in Tong's name. In winter, the tenth month, on jiyou Changqian, Fuyuan, Tong, and the others were all executed.
130
王慶之見太后，太后曰：「皇嗣我子，奈何廢之？」 對曰：「『神不歆非類，民不祀非族。』 今誰有天下，而以李氏為嗣乎！」 太后諭遣之。 慶之伏地，以死泣請，不去。 太后乃以印紙遺之曰：「欲見我，以此示門者。」 自是慶之屢求見，太后頗怒之，命鳳閣侍郎李昭德賜慶之杖。 昭德引出光政門外，以示朝士曰：「此賊欲廢我皇嗣，立武承嗣！」 命撲之，耳目皆血出，然後杖殺之，其黨乃散。
When Wang Qingzhi saw the Empress Dowager, she said, "The imperial heir is my son — how could I depose him?" He replied, "'Spirits do not accept offerings from those not of their kind; the people do not sacrifice to those not of their clan. Who now holds all under Heaven, yet would make the Li clan the heirs!" The Empress Dowager instructed him and sent him away. Qingzhi prostrated himself and, weeping as if for his life, begged to stay and would not leave. The Empress Dowager then gave him a stamped pass and said, "If you wish to see me, show this to the gatekeepers." From then on Qingzhi repeatedly asked to see her. The Empress Dowager grew angry and ordered Li Zhaode, Vice Minister of the Phoenix Pavilion, to beat Qingzhi with the staff. Zhaode led him out beyond the Guangzheng Gate and showed him to the court gentlemen, saying, "This villain wishes to depose our imperial heir and establish Wu Chengsi!" He ordered him beaten until blood poured from his ears and eyes, then beaten to death with the staff; only then did his faction disperse.
131
昭德因言於太后曰：「天皇，陛下之夫； 皇嗣，陛下之子。 陛下身有天下，當傳之子孫為萬代業，豈得以侄為嗣乎！ 自古未聞侄為天子而為姑立廟者也！ 且陛下受天皇顧托，若以天下與承嗣，則天皇不血食矣。」 太后亦以為然。 昭德，乾祐之子也。
Zhaode then said to the Empress Dowager, "The Heavenly Emperor was your husband; the imperial heir is your son. You personally hold all under Heaven — you should transmit it to sons and grandsons as an enterprise for ten thousand generations. How could you take a nephew as heir! From antiquity one has never heard of a nephew becoming emperor yet erecting a temple for his aunt! Moreover, you received the Heavenly Emperor's deathbed entrustment — if you give the realm to Chengsi, the Heavenly Emperor will receive no blood offerings. The Empress Dowager agreed. Zhaode was the son of Qianyou.
132
壬辰，殺鸞台侍郎、同平章事樂思晦、右衛將軍李安靜。 安靜，綱之孫也。 太后將革命，王公百官皆上表勸進，安靜獨正色拒之。 及下制獄，來俊臣詰其反狀，安靜曰：「以我唐家老臣，須殺即殺！ 若問謀反，實無可對！」 俊臣竟殺之。
On renchen Yue Sihui, Crane Terrace Vice Minister and Co-equal Chancellor, and Li Anjing, General of the Right Guard, were executed. Anjing was the grandson of Gang. When the Empress Dowager was about to seize the throne, princes, dukes, and all the officials submitted memorials urging her accession; Anjing alone, with stern countenance, refused. When he was thrown into the special prison, Lai Jun Chen questioned him about treason. Anjing said, "As an old minister of the Tang house, if you must kill me, then kill! If you ask about plotting rebellion, I have nothing to answer!" Jun Chen killed him in the end.
133
太學生王循之上表，乞假還鄉，太后許之。 狄仁傑曰：「臣聞君人者唯殺生之柄不假人，自餘皆歸之有司。 故左、右丞，徒以下不句； 左、右相，流以上乃判，為其漸貴故也。 彼學生求假，丞、簿事耳，若天子為之發敕，則天下之事幾敕可盡乎！ 必欲不違其願，請普為立制而已。」 太后善之。」
Wang Xunzhi, a student at the Imperial University, petitioned for leave to visit his home village, and the Empress Dowager approved. Di Renjie said, "A ruler, I have heard, should keep the power of life and death in his own hands alone. Everything else belongs to the proper offices of government. That is why the left and right assistant commissioners do not decide cases punishable by penal servitude or less. The left and right chancellors judge only exile and heavier penalties, for the gravity of the office rises step by step. A student's leave is business for a registrar or assistant commissioner. If the Son of Heaven must issue an edict for every such thing, how many edicts would it take to govern the world! If you wish to honor his request without exception, establish a general rule for everyone and be done with it." The Empress Dowager thought well of his advice.”