1
資治通鑑第209巻
Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance, Volume 209
2
【唐紀二十五】起著雍涒灘，盡上章閹茂七月，凡二年有奇。
[Tang Records 25] From Zhuanyou Cuotan through the seventh month of Shangzhang Yanmao—slightly more than two years in all.
3
春，二月，庚寅，宮有言皇后衣笥裙上有五色雲起，上令圖以示百官。 韋巨源請布之天下； 從之，乃赦天下。
In spring, the second month, on gengyin, palace insiders reported that five-colored clouds had appeared on the empress's skirt in her wardrobe chest. The emperor had the scene painted and displayed to the entire court. Wei Juyuan asked that the omen be announced throughout the realm; the emperor agreed, and a general amnesty was proclaimed.
4
迦葉志忠奏：「昔神堯皇帝未受命，天下歌《桃李子》； 文武皇帝未受命，天下歌《秦王破陣樂》； 天皇大帝未受命，天下歌《堂堂》； 則天皇后未受命，天下歌《嫵媚娘》； 應天皇帝未受命，天下歌《英王石州》。 順天皇后未受命，天下歌《桑條韋》，蓋天意以爲順天皇后宜爲國母，主蠶桑之事。 謹上《桑韋歌》十二篇，請編之樂府，皇后祀先蠶則奏之。」 太常卿鄭愔又引而申之。 上悅，皆受厚賞。
Jaye Zhizhong submitted a memorial: "In former times, before Emperor Gaozu received the Mandate, the realm sang 'Peach and Plum'; before Emperor Taizong received the Mandate, the realm sang 'Prince of Qin Smashes the Battle Array'; before Emperor Gaozong received the Mandate, the realm sang 'Stately and Grand'; before Empress Wu Zetian received the Mandate, the realm sang 'Charming Lady'; before Emperor Ruizong received the Mandate, the realm sang 'Prince of Ying's Shizhou.' Before the empress received the Mandate, the realm sang 'Mulberry Branch and Wei'—Heaven's intent, it seems, was that she should be mother of the state and oversee sericulture. I respectfully present twelve pieces of the 'Mulberry and Wei Songs' and ask that they be entered in the Music Bureau and performed when the empress sacrifices to the Silkworm Ancestress." The Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, Zheng Yin, further cited and elaborated on the argument. The emperor was pleased, and all were richly rewarded.
5
右補闕趙延禧上言：「周、唐一統，符命同歸，故髙宗封陛下爲周王； 則天時，唐同泰獻《洛水圖》。 孔子曰：『其或繼周者，雖百代可知也。』 陛下繼則天，子孫當百代王天下。」 上悅，擢延禧爲諫議大夫。
Right Remonstrance Archivist Zhao Yanxi submitted: "Zhou and Tang were united under one rule, and their portents and mandates converged on the same end—therefore Emperor Gaozong enfeoffed Your Majesty as Prince of Zhou; in Empress Wu's time, Tang Tongtai presented the 'Chart of the Luo River.' Confucius said: 'Whoever may succeed Zhou—even a hundred generations hence may be known.' Your Majesty succeeds Empress Wu; your descendants should rule All-under-Heaven for a hundred generations." The emperor was pleased and promoted Yanxi to Remonstrance and Discussion Grand Master.
6
丁亥，蕭至忠上疎，以爲：「恩幸者止可富之金帛，食之梁肉，不可以公器爲私用。 今列位已廣，冗員倍之，干求未厭，日月增數。 陛下降不貲之澤，近戚有無涯之請，賣官利己，鬻法徇私。 台寺之内，朱紫盈滿，忽事則不存職務，恃勢則公違憲章，徒忝官曹，無益時政。」 上雖嘉其意，竟不能用。
On dinghai, Xiao Zhizhong submitted a memorial, stating: "Favored intimates should only be enriched with gold and silks and fed with fine grain and meat; public office must not be turned to private use. Now the roster of offices is already broad, and supernumeraries double it; importunate requests are never satisfied, and their number grows day by day. Your Majesty bestows inexhaustible bounty, while close kin have boundless petitions; offices are sold for private gain and laws peddled for personal favor. Within the censorial and ministerial halls, red and purple robes fill every seat; when nothing is afoot they neglect their duties, and when they rely on influence they openly violate the law— they merely disgrace their offices and do nothing for the governance of the day." Although the emperor approved of his intent, in the end he could not act on it.
7
三月，丙辰，朔方道大總管張仁願築三受降城於河上。
In the third month, on bingchen, Zhang Rengui, Grand General of the Shuofang Circuit, built three Cities to Receive Surrender on the Yellow River.
8
初，朔方軍與突厥以河爲境，河北有拂雲祠，突厥將入寇，必先詣祠祈禱，牧馬料兵而後度河。 時默啜悉衆西撃突騎施，仁願請乘虚奪取漠南地，於河北築三受降城，首尾相應，以絶其南寇之路。 太子少師唐休璟以爲：「兩漢以來皆北阻大河，今築城寇境，恐勞人費功，終爲虜有。」 仁願固請不已，上竟從之。
Initially, the Shuofang army and the Turks took the river as their border; north of the river stood the Fuyun Shrine. When the Turks were about to raid, they always first went to the shrine to pray, pastured their horses and mustered their troops, and only then crossed the river. At this time Mokchuo had led all his forces west to attack the Qarlugs; Rengui asked to seize the moment, take the lands south of the desert, and build three Cities to Receive Surrender north of the river, linked head to tail, to cut off their southern raiding route. Taizi Shaoshi Tang Xiujing argued: "Since the two Han dynasties, all have relied on the great river as a northern barrier; now to build cities in enemy territory will, I fear, weary the people and waste effort, and in the end they will fall to the barbarians." Rengui pressed his request without cease, and the emperor at last assented.
9
仁願表留歳滿鎭兵以助其功，咸陽兵二百餘人逃歸，仁願悉擒之，斬於城下，軍中股慄，六旬而成。 以拂雲祠爲中城，距東西兩城各四百餘里，皆據津要，拓地三百餘里。 於牛頭朝那山北，置烽候千八百所，以左玉鈐衞將軍論弓仁爲朔方軍前鋒游弈使，戍諾眞水爲邏衞。 自是突厥不敢度山畋牧，朔方無復寇掠，減鎭兵數萬人。
Rengui memorialized to retain troops whose garrison terms had expired to assist the work; more than two hundred soldiers from Xianyang fled home, and Rengui seized them all and beheaded them below the wall. The army trembled with fear, and the work was completed in sixty days. The Fuyun Shrine served as the middle city; the eastern and western cities lay more than four hundred li apart, each holding a strategic crossing, and the territory was extended more than three hundred li. North of Niutou Chaona Mountain, eighteen hundred beacon stations were set up; Lun Gongren, General of the Left Jade Bell Guard, was made Vanguard Patrol Commissioner of the Shuofang army and garrisoned at Nuozhen River as border guard. From this time the Turks did not dare cross the mountains to hunt or pasture; Shuofang knew no further raids, and several tens of thousands of garrison troops were reduced.
10
仁願建三城，不置壅門及備守之具。 或問之，仁願曰：「兵貴進取，不利退守。 寇至此，當並力出戰，回首望城者，猶應斬之，安用守備，生其退恧之心也！」 其後常元楷爲朔方軍總管，始築壅門。 人以是重仁願而輕元楷。
When Rengui built the three cities, he did not install barrier gates or defensive equipment. When someone questioned this, Rengui said: "Soldiers value advancing and taking the offensive; retreat and defense are not to their advantage. When the enemy comes here, we should unite our strength and go out to fight; even one who looks back toward the city should still be beheaded—what use are defenses that breed a mind of retreat and shame!" Later, when Chang Yuankai became Commander of the Shuofang army, he first built barrier gates. People therefore esteemed Rengui and looked down on Yuankai.
11
夏，四月，癸未，置修文館大學士四員，直學士八員，學士十二員，選公卿以下善爲文者李嶠等爲之。 毎游幸禁苑，或宗戚宴集，學士無不畢從，賦詩屬和，使上官昭容第其甲乙，優者賜金帛； 同預宴者，惟中書、門下及長參王公、親貴數人而已，至大宴，方召八座、九列、諸司五品以上預焉。 於是天下靡然，爭以文華相尚，儒學中讜之士莫得進矣。
In summer, the fourth month, on guiwei, four Grand Academicians of the Xiuxuan Hall, eight Direct Academicians, and twelve Academicians were appointed; Li Qiao and others, chosen from among dukes, ministers, and below who excelled in letters, were made such. Whenever the emperor toured the forbidden park or kinsmen gathered for banquets, the academicians all attended without exception, composing and matching poems; Shangguan Zhaorong ranked them in grades, and the superior received gold and silks; those who shared the banquet were only a few from the Secretariat and Chancellery, senior-attending princes and dukes, and close nobles; only at great banquets were the eight chief ministers, the nine ranks, and officials of the fifth grade and above from the various bureaus summoned. Thereupon all under Heaven turned to it, each vying to esteem literary ornament; upright scholars of Confucian learning could not advance.
12
秋，七月，癸巳，以左屯衞大將軍、朔方道大總管張仁願同中書門下三品。
In autumn, the seventh month, on guisi, Zhang Rengui, General-in-Chief of the Left Tunwei Guard and Grand General of the Shuofang Circuit, was made of equal rank with the three offices of the Secretariat and Chancellery.
13
甲午，淸源尉呂元泰上疎，以爲：「邊境未寧，鎭戍不息，士卒困苦，轉輸疲弊，而營建佛寺，月廣歳滋，勞人費財，無有窮極。 昔黃帝、堯、舜、禹、湯、文、武惟以儉約仁義立德垂名，晉、宋以降，塔廟競起，而喪亂相繼，由其好尚失所，奢靡相髙，人不堪命故也。 伏願回營造之資，充疆塲之費，使烽燧永息，群生富庶，則如來慈悲之施，平等之心，孰過於此？」 疎奏，不省。
On jiawu, Lü Yuantai, Commandant of Qingyuan, submitted a memorial, stating: "The borders are not yet tranquil, garrisons never cease, soldiers suffer hardship, and transport and supply are worn out—yet Buddhist temples are built, growing month by month and year by year, wearying the people and wasting wealth without limit. In former times Huangdi, Yao, Shun, Yu, Tang, Wen, and Wu established virtue and left their names solely through frugality, restraint, benevolence, and righteousness; from Jin and Song onward, pagodas and temples vied to rise, yet disorder and ruin followed in succession—because their cherished pursuits lost their proper place, extravagance vied in height, and the people could not bear the burden of command. I humbly wish that funds for construction be turned to expenses for the frontier, that beacon fires cease forever and the multitude grow rich—then what could surpass this as the Tathagata's compassionate gift and mind of equality?" The memorial was submitted, but the emperor took no notice.
14
安樂、長寧公主及皇后妹成國夫人、上官婕妤、婕妤母沛國夫人鄭氏、尚宮柴氏、賀婁氏、女巫第五英兒、隴西夫人趙氏，皆依勢用事，請謁受賕，雖屠沽臧獲，用錢三十萬，則別降墨敕除官，斜封付中書，時人謂之「斜封官」； 錢三萬則度爲僧尼。 其員外、同正、試、攝、檢校、判、知官凡數千人。 西京、東都各置兩吏部侍郎，爲四銓，選者歳數萬人。
Princesses Anle and Changning, the empress's younger sister the Lady of Chengguo, the Brilliant Consort Shangguan, the Brilliant Consort's mother the Lady of Pei, Zheng, the Palace Mistress Chai, Lady Helou, the witch Diwu Ying'er, and the Lady of Longxi, Zhao—all relied on their power to handle affairs and accepted bribes for petitions and audiences; even butchers, peddlers, and menials, with three hundred thousand cash, could receive a separate imperial rescript appointing them to office, sent slant-sealed to the Secretariat—people of the time called them 'slant-seal appointments'; with thirty thousand cash one could be tonsured as monk or nun. Their supernumerary, co-regular, probationary, acting, inspector, vice-, and acting-charge appointments numbered several thousand in all. Western Capital and Eastern Capital each had two Vice Directors of the Ministry of Personnel, making four selection boards, with tens of thousands chosen each year.
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上官婕妤及後宮多立外第，出入無節，朝士往往從之遊處，以求進達。 安樂公主尤驕橫，宰相以下多出其門。 與長樂公主競起第捨，以侈麗相髙，擬於宮掖，而精巧過之。 安樂公主請昆明池，上以百姓蒲魚所資，不許。 公主不悅，乃更奪民田作定昆池，延袤數里，累石像華山，引水象天津，欲以勝昆明，故名定昆。 安樂有織成裙，直錢一億，花卉鳥獸，皆如粟粒，正視旁視，日中影中，各爲一色。 上好撃毯，由是風俗相尚，駙馬武崇訓、楊愼交灑油以築毯塲。 愼交，恭仁曾孫也。
The Brilliant Consort Shangguan and many in the rear palace established outer mansions; their comings and goings knew no restraint, and court gentlemen often joined them in pleasure to seek advancement. Princess Anle was especially arrogant and overbearing; most men from chancellor down issued from her gate. She vied with Princess Changle in raising mansions, each striving to outdo the other in lavish splendor, rivaling the palace precincts—and surpassing them in refinement. Princess Anle requested Kunming Pond; the emperor said the common people relied on it for rushes and fish and would not permit it. The princess was displeased and instead seized commoners' fields to make the Dingkun Pond, extending several li; stones were piled to resemble Mount Hua, and water was drawn to imitate the Heavenly Ford, intending to surpass Kunming—hence the name Dingkun ('Fixed Kun'). Anle had a woven skirt worth a hundred million cash; flowers, birds, and beasts were all like millet grains—from straight view, side view, noon, or shadow, each showed a different color. The emperor loved to play cuju, and thereby the custom came to be admired; the imperial sons-in-law Wu Chongxun and Yang Shenjiao poured oil to build cuju grounds. Shenjiao was a great-great-grandson of Yang Gongren.
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上及皇后、公主多營佛寺。 左拾遺京兆辛替否上疎諫，略曰：「臣聞古之建官，員不必備，士有完行，家有廉節，朝廷有餘俸，百姓有餘食。 伏惟陛下百倍行賞，十倍增官，金銀不供其印，束帛不充於錫，遂使富商豪賈，居盡纓冕之流； 鬻伎行巫，或渉膏腴之地。」 又曰：「公主，陛下之愛女，然而用不合於古義，行不根於人心，將恐變愛成憎，翻福爲禍。 何者？ 竭人之力，費人之財，奪人之家； 愛數子而取三怨，使邊疆之士不盡力，朝廷之士不盡忠，人之散矣，獨持所愛，何所恃乎！ 君以人爲本，本固則邦寧，邦寧則陛下之夫婦母子長相保也。」 又曰：「若以造寺必爲理體，養人不足經邦，則殷、周已往皆暗亂，漢、魏已降皆聖明，殷、周已往爲不長，漢、魏已降爲不短矣。 陛下緩其所急，急其所緩，親未來而疎見在，失眞實而冀虚無，重俗人之爲，輕天子之業，雖以陰陽爲炭，萬物以銅，役不食之人，使不衣之士，猶尚不給，況資於天生地養，風動雨潤，而後得之乎！ 一旦風塵再擾，霜雹荐臻，沙彌不可操干戈，寺塔不足攘饑饉，臣竊惜之。」 疎奏，不省。
The emperor, empress, and princesses largely built Buddhist temples. Left Reminder Xintifou of Jingzhao submitted a remonstrance, in part: "I have heard that in antiquity when offices were established, posts need not all be filled; scholars had complete conduct, families had integrity, the court had surplus salaries, and the people had surplus food. I consider that Your Majesty bestows rewards a hundredfold and multiplies offices tenfold; gold and silver cannot supply their seals, silks cannot fill their gifts—so that great merchants and powerful traders now fill the ranks of capped and girdled officials; those who sold their arts or practiced witchcraft sometimes trod on rich and fertile lands." He also said: "The princess is Your Majesty's beloved daughter, yet her use does not accord with ancient principle and her conduct is not rooted in the people's hearts—I fear love may turn to hatred and blessing to calamity. Why? To exhaust people's strength, spend people's wealth, and seize people's homes; to love a few children yet incur three hatreds, to make frontier soldiers not exert their strength and court gentlemen not give their loyalty—when the people are scattered, what can you rely on if you hold only those you love! The ruler takes the people as his root; when the root is firm the state is tranquil, and when the state is tranquil Your Majesty's husband and wife, mother and sons may long preserve one another." He also said: "If building temples must be the principle of governance and nourishing the people is insufficient to rule the state, then Yin and Zhou and before were all benighted and chaotic, while Han, Wei, and after were all sage and bright—Yin and Zhou and before did not last long, Han and Wei and after did not fall short. Your Majesty is slow where you should be urgent and urgent where you should be slow; you are close to what has not yet come and distant from what is present; you lose what is real and hope for what is empty; you weight the deeds of vulgar men and slight the enterprise of the Son of Heaven—even if yin and yang were fuel and the myriad things copper, and you employed men who do not eat and made men who do not dress work, it would still not suffice—how much less when you rely on what Heaven generates and Earth nourishes, what wind stirs and rain moistens, and only then obtain it! Once dust and turmoil rise again and frost and hail come in succession, shramanas cannot wield weapons and temple towers cannot repel famine—I privately lament this." The memorial was submitted, but the emperor took no notice.
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時斜封官皆不由兩省而授，兩省莫敢執奏，即宣示所司。 吏部員外郎李朝隱前後執破一千四百餘人，怨謗紛然，朝隱一無所顧。
At this time slant-seal appointments were all conferred without passing through the two departments; the two departments did not dare to memorialize objections and simply announced them to the responsible offices. Li Chaoyin, Vice Director of the Ministry of Personnel, on repeated occasions blocked more than fourteen hundred such appointments; complaints and slanders swarmed, yet Chaoyin paid no heed.
18
冬，十月，己酉，修文館直學士、直居舍人武平一上表請抑損外戚權寵； 不敢斥言韋氏，但請抑損己家。 上優制不許。 平一名甄，以字行，載德之子也。
In winter, the tenth month, on jiyou, Wu Pingyi, Direct Academician of the Xiuxuan Hall and Direct Palace Scribe, submitted a memorial requesting curtailment of the power and favor of maternal kin; he did not dare name the Wei clan openly but only asked to curtail his own family. The emperor issued a gracious edict and did not permit it. Pingyi's given name was Zhen; he went by his style name and was a son of Wu Zaidé.
19
十一月，庚申，突騎施酋長娑葛自立爲可汗，殺唐使者御史中丞馮嘉賓，遣其弟遮努等帥衆犯塞。
In the eleventh month, on gengshen, Suoge, chieftain of the Qarlugs, declared himself qaghan, killed the Tang envoy, Vice Censor-in-Chief Feng Jiabin, and sent his younger brother Zhenu and others to lead troops in raiding the border.
20
初，娑葛既代烏質勒統衆，父時故將闕啜忠節不服，數相攻撃。 忠節衆弱不能支，金山道行軍總管郭元振奏追忠節入朝宿衞。 忠節行至播仙城，經略使、右威衞將軍周以悌説之曰：「國家不愛髙官顯爵以待君者，以君有部落之衆故也。 今脱身入朝，一老胡耳。 豈惟不保寵祿，死生亦制於人手。 方今宰相宗楚客、紀處訥用事，不若厚賂二公，請留不行，發安西兵及引吐蕃以撃娑葛，求阿史那獻爲可汗以招十姓，使郭虔瓘發拔汗那兵以自助； 既不失部落，又得報仇，比於入朝，豈可同日語哉！」 郭虔瓘者，歴城人，時爲西邊將。 忠節然其言，遣間使賂楚客、處訥，請如以悌之策。
Initially, after Suoge had succeeded Wuzhile in commanding the tribes, the former general Quechuo Zhongjie would not submit and they repeatedly attacked one another. Zhongjie's forces were weak and could not hold out; Guo Yuanzhen, Commander on Campaign of the Jinshan Circuit, memorialized to summon Zhongjie to court for palace guard duty. When Zhongjie reached Boxian City, the Commissioner for Pacification and General of the Right Weiwu Guard, Zhou Yiti, persuaded him: "The state does not withhold high office and splendid rank awaiting you because you command a tribal following. Now if you leave your following and enter court, you are but one old barbarian. Not only will you not preserve favor and salary—life and death will also be in another's hands. At present the chancellors Zong Chuke and Ji Chuna hold power—better to bribe the two lords richly, ask to stay and not go, dispatch Anxi troops and bring in Tibet to strike Suoge, seek Ashina Xian as qaghan to win over the Ten Surnames, and have Guo Qianzhen raise Ferghana troops to assist yourself; you will neither lose your tribes nor fail to gain revenge—how can this be spoken of in the same day as entering court!" Guo Qianzhen was a man of Licheng and at this time was a western frontier general. Zhongjie approved his words and sent secret envoys to bribe Chuke and Chuna, requesting according to Yiti's plan.
21
元振聞其謀，上疎，以爲：「往歳吐蕃所以犯邊，正爲求十姓、四鎭之地不獲故耳。 比者息兵請和，非能慕悅中國之禮義也，直以國多内難，人畜疫癘，恐中國乘其弊，故且屈志求自暱。 使其國小安，豈能忘取十姓、四鎭之地哉！ 今忠節不論國家大計，直欲爲吐蕃鄕導，恐四鎭危機，將從此始。 頃縁默啜憑陵，所應者多，兼四鎭兵疲弊，勢未能爲忠節經略，非憐突騎施也。 忠節不體國家中外之意而更求吐蕃； 吐蕃得志，則忠節在其掌握，豈得復事唐也！ 往年吐蕃無恩於中國，猶欲求十姓、四鎭之地； 今若破娑葛有功，請分于闐、疎勒，不知以何理抑之！ 又，其所部諸蠻及婆羅門等方不服，若借唐兵助討之，亦不知以何詞拒之！ 是以古之智者皆不願受夷狄之惠，蓋豫憂其求請無厭、終爲後患故也。 又，彼請阿史那獻者，豈非以獻爲可汗子孫，欲依之以招懷十姓乎？ 按獻父元慶，叔父僕羅，兄俀子及斛瑟羅、懷道等，皆可汗子孫也。 往者唐及吐蕃遍曾立之以爲可汗，欲以招撫十姓，皆不能致，尋自破滅。 何則？ 此屬非有過人之才，恩威不足以動衆，雖復可汗舊種，衆心終不親附，況獻又疎遠於其父兄乎？ 若使忠節兵力自能誘脅十姓，則不必求立可汗子孫也。 又，欲令郭虔瓘入拔汗都，發其兵。 虔瓘前此已嘗與忠書擅入拔汗那發兵，不能得其片甲匹馬，而拔汗那不勝侵擾，常引此番，奉俀子，還侵四鎭。 時拔汗那四旁無強寇爲援，虔瓘等恣爲侵掠，如獨行無人之境，猶引俀子爲患。 今北有娑葛，急則與之並力，内則諸胡堅壁拒守，外則突厥伺隙邀遮。 臣料虔瓘等此行，必不能如往年之得志； 内外受敵，自陷危亡，徒與虜結隙，令四鎭不安。 以臣愚揣之，實爲非計。」
Yuanzhen heard of the plot and submitted a memorial, stating: "In former years Tibet raided the border precisely because it could not obtain the lands of the Ten Surnames and the Four Garrisons. Recently it ceased arms and sought peace—not because it could admire China's rites and righteousness, but simply because the state had many internal troubles and men and livestock suffered pestilence; fearing China would seize its weakness, it therefore bent its will for the moment to seek closeness. If its state grows slightly secure, how could it forget to take the lands of the Ten Surnames and Four Garrisons! Now Zhongjie, heedless of the state's great plan, wishes directly to serve Tibet as a native guide—I fear the crisis of the Four Garrisons will begin from this. Recently, because Mokchuo pressed hard, there were many demands to answer, and the troops of the Four Garrisons were worn and exhausted—the situation could not undertake strategy for Zhongjie; it was not pity for the Qarlugs. Zhongjie does not grasp the court's intent at home and abroad yet seeks Tibet instead; if Tibet gains its wish, then Zhongjie will be in its grasp—how could he again serve Tang! In former years Tibet owed China no kindness, yet still sought the lands of the Ten Surnames and Four Garrisons; now if it breaks Suoge with merit and requests a share of Khotan and Shule, by what principle could we refuse! Moreover, the various barbarians under its command and the Brahmins and others are not yet submissive; if it borrows Tang troops to help chastise them, by what words could we refuse! Therefore the wise of antiquity were all unwilling to accept favors from the barbarians, because they foresaw that their requests would know no satiety and would in the end become later troubles. Moreover, in their request for Ashina Xian—is it not because Xian is a descendant of the qaghan and they wish to rely on him to win over and comfort the Ten Surnames? Consider the record: Xian's father Yuanking, his uncle Boklu, his elder brothers Kouzi, Huseluo, Huaidao, and others—all were descendants of the qaghan. In the past, both Tang and Tibet had repeatedly installed them as qaghan, hoping to win over and pacify the Ten Surnames—yet none succeeded, and each soon collapsed on his own. Why was this? Men of this stripe possessed no exceptional talent; their grace and severity were not enough to sway the tribes. Though they bore the old qaghan blood, the people never truly rallied to them—and Xian stands even farther from his father and brothers in lineage and standing. If Zhongjie's forces alone could lure and compel the Ten Surnames, there would be no need to install some qaghan's descendant at all. They also propose sending Guo Qianzhen into Ferghana to mobilize its forces. Qianzhen had already once, on Zhongjie's orders, entered Ferghana without authorization to raise troops and gained not a single suit of armor or horse—while Ferghana, unable to endure the raids, kept bringing in the Turgesh, enthroning Kouzi and turning back to harry the Four Garrisons. At the time, Ferghana had no powerful enemy nearby to turn to for help, and Qianzhen's men plundered at will as though crossing empty country—yet even then Kouzi was brought in and became a scourge. Now Suoge lies to the north and would join forces with them in an emergency; within, the frontier peoples would bar their gates and refuse to fight; without, the Turks would watch for weakness and cut off their retreat. I judge that on this expedition Qianzhen and his men cannot achieve what they did in years past; Beset from within and without, they will only court disaster, needlessly alienate the frontier tribes, and leave the Four Garrisons in turmoil. In my humble judgment, this is a misguided policy altogether."1
22
楚客等不從，建議：「遣馮嘉賓持節安撫忠節，侍御史呂守素處置四鎭，以將軍牛師獎爲安西副都護，發甘、涼以西兵，兼征吐蕃，以討娑葛。」 娑葛遣使娑臘獻馬在京師，聞其謀，馳還報娑葛。 於是娑葛發五千騎出安西，五千騎出撥換，五千騎出焉耆，五千騎出疎勒，入寇。 元振在疎勒，柵於河口，不敢出。 忠節逆嘉賓於計舒河口，娑葛遣兵襲入，生擒忠節，殺嘉賓，擒呂守素於僻城，縛於驛柱，冎而殺之。
Chuke and his faction rejected the memorial and proposed instead: "Dispatch Feng Jiabin with imperial credentials to pacify Zhongjie, attendant censor Lü Shousu to administer the Four Garrisons, and General Niu Shijiang as Vice Protector-General of Anxi; raise the armies west of Gan and Liang, and enlist Tibet as well, to campaign against Suoge." Suoge had sent his envoy Sola to the capital to present horses; when Sola learned of the plan, he raced back to warn Suoge. Suoge then sent five thousand horsemen from Anxi, five thousand from Boli, five thousand from Yanqi, and five thousand from Shule—all raiding the frontier. Yuanzhen was at Shule, entrenched at the river mouth, and dared not emerge. Zhongjie intercepted Jiabin at the mouth of the Jishu River; Suoge sent troops in a surprise attack, took Zhongjie alive, killed Jiabin, captured Lü Shousu in a remote town, bound him to a relay-post pillar, beheaded him, and killed him.
23
上以安樂公主將適左衞中郎將武延秀，遣使召太子賓客武攸緒於嵩山。 攸緒將至，上敕禮官於兩儀殿設別位，欲行問道之禮，聽以山服葛巾入見，不名不拜。 仗入，通事舍人引攸緒就位； 攸緒趨立辭見班中，再拜如常儀。 上愕然，竟不成所擬之禮。 上屢延之内殿，頻煩寵錫，皆謝不受； 親貴謁侯，寒温之外，不交一言。
As Princess Anle was to marry Left Guard Palace Attendant Wu Yanxiu, the emperor sent envoys to summon Crown Prince's Guest Wu Youxu from Mount Song. As Youxu was nearing the capital, the emperor ordered ritual officers to prepare a separate seat in the Hall of Two Appearances for a rite of inquiring after the Way, permitting him to attend in rustic mountain dress and hemp cap, without being addressed by name or required to bow. When the imperial guard entered, the protocol officer escorted Youxu to his place; Youxu hurried to take his place in the regular greeting formation and bowed twice according to ordinary court etiquette. The emperor was taken aback; the planned ceremony never took place. The emperor repeatedly summoned him to the inner palace and showered him with honors, but he declined them all; When kinsmen and high officials came to call, he spoke not a word beyond the customary greetings.
24
初，武崇訓之尚公主也，延秀數得侍宴。 延秀美姿儀，善歌舞，公主悅之。 及崇訓死，遂以延秀尚焉。
Earlier, when Wu Chongxun married the princess, Yanxiu had often been present at imperial banquets. Yanxiu was handsome and skilled in song and dance, and the princess took a liking to him. After Chongxun died, she married Yanxiu in his place.
25
己卯，成禮，假皇后仗，分禁兵以盛其儀衞，命安國相王障車。 庚辰，赦天下。 以延秀爲太常卿，兼右衞將軍。 辛巳，宴群臣於兩儀殿，命公主出拜公卿，公卿皆伏地稽首。
On jimao the wedding was completed; the empress's guard of honor was borrowed, palace troops were deployed to enlarge the ceremonial escort, and the Prince of An'guo was appointed to escort the bridal carriage. On gengchen the emperor proclaimed a general amnesty. Yanxiu was appointed Grand Master of Ceremonies and concurrently General of the Right Guard. On xinsi the emperor held a banquet for the court in the Hall of Two Appearances, had the princess come forward to bow to the ministers, and every minister prostrated himself in reply.
26
癸未，牛師獎與突騎施娑葛戰於火燒城，師獎兵敗沒。 娑葛遂陷安西，斷四鎭路，遣使上表，求宗楚客頭。 楚客又奏以周以悌代郭元振統衆，征元振入朝； 以阿史那獻爲十姓可汗，置軍焉耆以討娑葛。
On guiwei, Niu Shijiang battled Suoge of the Qarlugs at Fire-Burned City; Shijiang's army was annihilated in defeat. Suoge then seized Anxi, severed the routes to the Four Garrisons, and sent a memorial demanding Zong Chuke's head. Chuke again memorialized to replace Guo Yuanzhen with Zhou Yiti in command of the frontier armies and to recall Yuanzhen to court; Ashina Xian was installed as qaghan of the Ten Surnames, and troops were posted at Yanqi to campaign against Suoge.
27
娑葛遺元振書，稱：「我與唐初無惡，但仇闕啜。 宗尚書受闕啜金，欲枉破奴部落，馮中丞、牛都護相繼而來，奴豈得坐而待死！ 又聞史獻欲來，徒擾軍師，恐未有寧日。 乞大使商量處置。」 元振奏娑葛書。 楚客怒，奏言元振有異圖，召，將罪之。 元振使其子鴻間道具奏其狀，乞留定西土，不敢歸。 周以悌竟坐流白州，復以元振代以悌，赦娑葛罪，冊爲十四姓可汗。
Suoge wrote to Yuanzhen: "From the first I bore Tang no ill will; my enmity is for Queluo alone. Minister Zong took Queluo's gold and sought to destroy my tribes unjustly—Commissioner Feng and Protector Niu came one after another; am I to sit and wait for death? I also hear that Ashina Xian is to be sent—this will only throw the army and frontier into chaos, and I fear there will be no peace. I ask that the envoy discuss the matter and arrange a settlement." Yuanzhen submitted Suoge's letter to the throne. Chuke flew into a rage and memorialized that Yuanzhen harbored subversive intentions; Yuanzhen was summoned and about to be punished. Yuanzhen had his son Hong send a secret memorial outlining the situation, begging to remain on the western frontier and pleading not to be recalled. Zhou Yiti was ultimately exiled to Baizhou; Yuanzhen was reappointed in his place; Suoge was pardoned and invested as qaghan of the Fourteen Surnames.
28
以婕妤上官氏爲昭容。
Lady Shangguan, a Lady of Handsome Fairness, was appointed Brilliant Lady.
29
十二月，御史中丞姚廷筠奏稱：「比見諸司不遵律令格式，事無大小皆悉聞奏。 臣聞爲君者任臣，爲臣者奉法。 萬機叢委，不可遍覽，豈有修一水竇，伐一枯木，皆取斷宸衷！ 自今若軍國大事及條式無文者，聽奏取進止，自餘各准法處分。 其有故生疑滯，致有稽失，望令御史糾彈。」 從之。
In the twelfth month, Censor-in-Chief Yao Tingyun memorialized: "Of late I have seen offices ignore statutes and regulations and refer every matter, great or small, to the throne for decision. I have heard it said that a ruler entrusts affairs to his ministers, and ministers uphold the law. Affairs of state are innumerable and cannot all be reviewed—surely not every repair of a water channel or felling of a dead tree should await the emperor's personal judgment! Henceforth only major military and state affairs, and cases for which no regulation exists, should be brought to the throne; all others should be handled according to law. When officials deliberately raise doubts or cause delay and neglect, I ask that the censors be empowered to investigate and impeach them." The emperor approved.
30
丁巳晦，敕中書、門下與學士、諸王、駙馬入閣守歳，設庭燎，置酒，奏樂。 酒酣，上謂御史大夫竇從一曰：「聞卿久無伉儷，朕毎憂之。 今夕歳除，爲卿成禮。」 從一但唯唯拜謝。 俄而内侍引燭籠、歩障、金縷羅扇自西廊而上，扇後有人衣禮衣，花釵，令與從一對坐。 上命從一誦《卻扇詩》數首。 扇卻，去花易服而出，徐視之，乃皇后老乳母王氏，本蠻婢也。 上與侍臣大笑。 詔封莒國夫人，嫁爲從一妻。 俗謂乳母之婿曰：「阿沖」，從一毎謁見及進表狀，自稱「翊聖皇后阿沖」，時人謂之：「國沖」，從一欣然有自負之色。
On dingsi, the last day of the month, the emperor summoned the Secretariat, Chancellery, academicians, princes, and imperial sons-in-law to the pavilion for the New Year's vigil; torches were lit in the courtyard, wine was served, and music was played. As the wine flowed, the emperor said to Censor-in-Chief Dou Congyi: "I hear you have long been without a wife, and it has troubled me. Tonight, as the old year ends, I shall arrange your wedding." Congyi murmured assent and bowed his thanks, unable to do otherwise. Presently inner attendants escorted candle lanterns, screen curtains, and gilded gauze fans up from the west corridor; behind the fans stood a woman in bridal dress with flowered hairpins, who was seated facing Congyi. The emperor ordered Congyi to recite several verses of the "Fan Withdrawn" ode. When the fan was withdrawn, she removed her ornaments, changed clothes, and stepped forward; on closer look, she was the empress's aged wet nurse, Lady Wang—originally a barbarian serving girl. The emperor and his attending ministers burst into laughter. An edict enfeoffed her as Lady of Ju and gave her to Congyi in marriage. By custom a wet nurse's son-in-law was called "A-Chong"; whenever Congyi attended court or submitted memorials, he styled himself "A-Chong of the Empress of Assisting Sagacity." People called him "the Son-in-Law of the State," and Congyi wore a pleased, self-important air.
31
春，正月，丁卯，制廣東都聖善寺，居民失業者數十家。
In spring, the first month, on dingmao, the emperor ordered the enlargement of Shengshan Temple in the eastern capital, displacing several dozen households from their homes and livelihoods.
32
長寧、安樂諸公主多縱僮奴掠百姓子女爲奴婢，侍御史袁從之收繫獄，治之。 公主訴於上，上手制釋之。 從之奏稱：「陛下縱奴掠良人，何以理天下！」 上竟釋之。
The Princesses of Changning and Anle, among others, often let their servants abduct commoners' children as slaves; attendant censor Yuan Congzhi arrested the offenders and prosecuted them. The princesses appealed to the emperor, who issued a personal edict ordering their release. Congzhi memorialized: "If Your Majesty permits slaves to abduct free commoners, how can the realm be governed!" The emperor released them anyway.
33
二月，己丑，上幸玄武門，與近臣觀宮女拔河。 又命宮女爲市肆，公卿爲商旅，與之交易，因爲忿爭，言辭褻慢，上與後臨觀爲樂。 丙申，監察御史崔琬對仗彈宗楚客、紀處訥潛通戎狄，受其貨賂，致生邊患。 故事，大臣被彈，俯僂趨出，立於朝堂待罪。 至是，楚客更憤怒作色，自陳忠鯁，爲琬所誣。 上竟不窮問，命琬與楚客結爲兄弟以和解之，時人謂之「和事天子」。
In the second month, on jichou, the emperor went to the Xuanwu Gate with his close ministers to watch palace women compete at tug-of-war. He also had palace women run market stalls while ministers played traveling merchants and haggled with them; quarrels broke out in vulgar and disrespectful language, and the emperor and empress looked on with delight. On bingshen, supervising censor Cui Wan impeached Zong Chuke and Ji Chuna at formal audience for secretly colluding with frontier tribes, taking their bribes, and thereby provoking border unrest. By precedent, when a senior minister was impeached, he bowed low, hurried from the hall, and stood in the outer court awaiting judgment. On this occasion Chuke instead grew angry and flushed with rage, proclaiming his loyalty and declaring that Wan had slandered him. The emperor never pursued the matter and ordered Wan and Chuke to become sworn brothers to settle the dispute—people called him "the Peacemaking Emperor."
34
壬寅，以韋巨源爲左僕射，楊再思爲右僕射，並同中書門下三品。
On renyin, Wei Juyuan was appointed Left Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs and Yang Zaisi Right Vice Director, both with concurrent rank as Fellows of the Third Rank of the Secretariat and Chancellery.
35
上數與近臣學士宴集，令各效伎藝以爲樂。 工部尚書張錫舞《談容娘》，將作大匠宗晉卿舞《渾脱》，左衞將軍張洽舞《黃獐》，左金吾將軍杜元談誦《婆羅門咒》，中書舍人盧藏用效道士上章。 國子司業河東郭山惲獨曰：「臣無所解，請歌古詩。」 上許之。 山惲乃歌《鹿鳴》、《蟋蟀》。 明日，上賜山惲敕，嘉美其意，賜時服一襲。
The emperor frequently held banquets with close ministers and academicians, ordering each to perform his special skill for amusement. Minister of Works Zhang Xi danced "Tan Rongniang," Master Builder Zong Jinqing danced "Huntuo," General of the Left Guard Zhang Qia danced "Yellow Boar," General of the Left Golden Guard Du Yuanyan recited the Brahmin incantation, and Secretariat Drafting Officer Lu Zangyong mimicked a Daoist priest submitting a memorial to heaven. Vice Director of the Directorate of Education Guo Shanyun of Hedong alone said: "I have no talent to display; I ask instead to sing verses from the Classics." The emperor granted his request. Shanyun sang the "Deer Call" and "Cricket" odes from the Book of Songs. The next day the emperor issued an edict praising Shanyun's intent and granted him a suit of court dress.
36
上又嘗宴侍臣，使各爲《回波辭》。 衆皆爲諂語，或自求榮祿。 諫議大夫李景伯曰：「回波爾時酒-{巵}-。 微臣職在箴規。 侍宴既過三爵，喧嘩竊恐非儀。」 上不悅。 蕭至忠曰：「此眞諫官也。」
On another occasion the emperor feasted his ministers and had each compose a "Rippling Wave" verse. The others all wrote flattery, or used the occasion to seek rank and emolument for themselves. Remonstrance Counselor Li Jingbo said: "Rippling wave—in that hour, fill the wine cup. This humble official's duty is to admonish and counsel. After three rounds at a banquet, such noisy revelry, I fear, falls short of proper decorum." The emperor's face darkened. Xiao Zhizhong said: "Here is a true remonstrating official.2
37
三月，戊午，以宗楚客爲中書令，蕭至忠爲侍中，大府卿韋嗣立爲中書侍郎、同中書門下三品，中書侍郎崔湜、趙彦昭並同平章事。 崔湜通於上官昭容，故昭容引以爲相。 彦昭，張掖人也。
In the third month, on wuwu, Zong Chuke was appointed Grand Counselor of the Secretariat, Xiao Zhizhong Palace Attendant, Grand Provisioner Wei Sili Secretariat Vice Minister with concurrent rank as Fellow of the Third Rank, and Secretariat Vice Ministers Cui Shi and Zhao Yanzhao both as Equally Participating in Affairs. Cui Shi was intimate with Brilliant Lady Shangguan, and it was she who brought him into the chancellorship. Yanzhao was a native of Zhangye.
38
時政出多門，濫官充溢，人以爲三無坐處，謂宰相、御史及員外官也。 韋嗣立上疎，以爲：「比者造寺極多，務取崇麗，大則用錢百數十萬，小則三五萬，無慮所費千萬以上，人力勞弊，怨嗟盈路。 佛之爲數，要在降伏身心，豈雕畫土木，相誇壯麗！ 萬一水旱爲災，戎狄構患，雖龍象如雲，將何救哉！ 又，食封之家，其數甚衆，昨問戸部，雲用六十餘萬丁； 一丁絹兩匹，凡百二十餘萬匹。 臣頃在太府，毎歳庸絹，多不過百萬，少則六七十萬匹，比之封家，所入殊少。 夫有佐命之勳，始可分茅胙土。 國初，功臣食封者不過三二十家，今以恩澤食封者乃逾百數； 國家租賦，太半私門，私門有餘，徒益奢侈，公家不足，坐致憂危，制國之方，豈謂爲得！ 封戸之物，諸家自征，僮僕依勢，陵轢州縣，多索裹頭，轉行貿易，煩擾驅迫，不勝其苦。 不若悉計丁輸之太府，使封家於左藏受之，於事爲愈。 又，員外置官，數倍正闕，曹署典吏，困於祗承，府庫倉儲，竭於資奉。 又，刺史、縣令，近年以來，不存簡擇，京官有犯及聲望下者方遣刺州，吏部選人，衰耄無手筆者方補縣令。 以此理人，何由率化！ 望自今應除三省、兩台及五品以上淸望官，皆先於刺史、縣令中選用，則天下理矣。」 上弗聽。
At the time power issued from many hands, offices were bloated with appointees, and people joked that three groups had nowhere to sit—the chancellors, the censors, and the supplementary officials. Wei Sili submitted a memorial arguing: "Of late temple construction has proliferated, each striving for grandeur—large projects costing millions of cash, small ones thirty or fifty thousand; total expenditure surely exceeds ten million; laborers are exhausted, and grievances fill the roads. The essence of Buddhism is to subdue body and mind—what has that to do with gilded timber and stone built up to impress one another! Should flood or drought strike, or barbarians stir up trouble on the frontier, what good would all those temples full of monks do! Moreover, recipients of food-fiefs are exceedingly numerous; I recently asked the Ministry of Revenue, which reported that they consume the labor of more than six hundred thousand corvée men; At two bolts of silk per corvée man, that comes to more than 1.2 million bolts in all. When I served at the Grand Treasury, annual corvée silk rarely exceeded one million bolts and sometimes fell to six or seven hundred thousand—a fraction of what the fief-holders receive. Only those who aided in founding the dynasty should receive territorial fiefs. At the dynasty's founding, no more than twenty or thirty meritorious ministers held food-fiefs; now those granted fiefs through imperial favor exceed one hundred. More than half the state's tax revenue flows into private hands; the wealthy grow more extravagant while the treasury runs dry, inviting crisis—is this any way to govern a realm! Each fief-holding family collects its own tribute in person; their servants, abusing their masters' status, bully local officials, extort fees under every pretext, and engage in trade on the side—harassing and coercing the populace until the people can endure no more. Better to levy by head count, remit everything to the central treasury, and let fief holders draw their allotments from the imperial coffers—that would be far less disruptive. Supernumerary officials outnumber regular posts several times over; clerks in every bureau are exhausted keeping up with them, and the treasury and granaries are drained dry paying their salaries. In recent years no care has been taken in choosing prefects and county magistrates—disgraced or second-rate capital officials are dispatched to govern provinces, while the Ministry of Personnel fills county posts with senile men who can barely wield a brush. With such men administering the realm, how can good order ever take hold! Henceforth, when filling posts in the Three Departments, the Two Chancelleries, and other prestigious offices of fifth rank or higher, Your Majesty should first promote proven prefects and magistrates—that alone would set the realm aright." The emperor declined to listen.
39
戊寅，以禮部尚書韋温爲太子少保、同中書門下三品，太常卿鄭愔爲吏部尚書、同平章事。 温，皇后之兄也。
On wuyin, Minister of Rites Wei Wen was appointed Junior Tutor to the Heir Apparent with concurrent rank as Associate of the Secretariat-Chancellery of the Third Rank; Director of Ceremonies Zheng Yin was appointed Minister of Personnel and Grand Counselor. Wei Wen was the empress's elder brother.
40
太常博士唐紹以武氏昊陵、順陵置守戸五百，與昭陵數同，梁宣王、魯忠王墓守戸多於親王五倍，韋氏褒德廟衞兵多於太廟，上疎請量裁減； 不聽。 紹，臨之孫也。
Tang Shao, a Grand Master of Sacrifices, submitted that the Wu tombs at Haoling and Shunling each had five hundred guard households—the same allotment as Emperor Taizong's Zhaoling; the tombs of the Prince of Liang Xuan and the Prince of Lu Zhong had five times as many as any imperial prince; and the Wei clan's Baode Temple had more guard troops than the Grand Ancestral Temple itself. He urged the emperor to cut these allotments proportionally; The emperor refused. Tang Shao was the grandson of Tang Lin.
41
中書侍郎兼知吏部侍郎、同平章事崔湜、吏部侍郎同平章事鄭愔倶掌銓衡，傾附勢要，贓賄狼藉，數外留人，授擬不中，逆用三年闕，選法大壞。 湜父挹爲司業，受選人錢，湜不之知，長名放之。 其人訴曰：「公所親受某賂，奈何不與官？」 湜怒曰：「所親爲誰，當擒取杖殺之！」 其人曰：「公勿杖殺，將使公遭憂。」 湜大慚。 侍御史勒恆與監察御史李尚隱對仗彈之，上下湜等獄，命監察御史裴漼按之。 安樂公主諷漼寬其獄，漼復對仗彈之。 夏，五月，丙寅，愔免死，流吉州，湜貶江州司馬。 上官昭容密與安樂公主、武延秀曲爲申理，明日，以湜爲襄州刺史，愔爲江州司馬。
Cui Shi, Vice Director of the Secretariat who also served as acting Vice Minister of Personnel and Grand Counselor, and Zheng Yin, Vice Minister of Personnel and Grand Counselor, jointly controlled official appointments—favoring the powerful, taking bribes openly, holding back positions to sell, botching every recommendation, and recklessly drawing on three years' worth of vacancies. The civil service examination system was utterly corrupt. Shi's father Yi, serving as Vice Director of the Directorate of Education, had taken a bribe from an examinee; Shi, unaware of the transaction, approved the man's appointment on the final roster. The man protested: 'One of your intimates accepted a bribe from me—why won't you grant me a post?" Shi flew into a rage: 'Name this intimate of mine—I shall have him seized and beaten to death!" The man replied: 'Don't beat him to death, sir—you'll only bring trouble on yourself." Shi was deeply mortified. Attendant Censor Le Heng and Investigating Censor Li Shangyin impeached them before the throne; Cui Shi and his associates were imprisoned, and Investigating Censor Pei Hui was ordered to conduct the inquiry. Princess Anle pressured Pei Hui to leniently handle the case; he responded by impeaching the conspirators again before the throne. In summer, the fifth month, on bingyin, Zheng Yin was spared execution and exiled to Jizhou; Cui Shi was demoted to vice marshal of Jiangzhou. Shangguan Zhaorong secretly colluded with Princess Anle and Wu Yanxiu to plead their case; the very next day Cui Shi was appointed prefect of Xiangzhou and Zheng Yin was made vice marshal of Jiangzhou.
42
六月，右僕射、同中書門下三品楊再思薨。
In the sixth month, Right Vice Premier Yang Zaisi, concurrent Associate of the Secretariat-Chancellery of the Third Rank, died.
43
秋，七月，突騎施娑葛遣使請降； 庚辰，拜欽化可汗，賜名守忠。
In autumn, the seventh month, Soge of the Turgesh sent envoys to submit; On gengchen he was invested as Qinhua Qaghan and given the name Shouzhong.
44
八月，己酉，以李嶠同中書門下三品，韋安石爲侍中，蕭至忠爲中書令。
In the eighth month, on jiyou, Li Qiao was made Associate of the Secretariat-Chancellery of the Third Rank; Wei Anshi was appointed Palace Attendant; Xiao Zhizhong was made Director of the Secretariat.
45
至忠女適皇后舅子崔無諳，成昏日，上主蕭氏，後主崔氏，時人謂之「天子嫁女，皇后娶婦」。
Zhizhong's daughter married Cui Wuyin, the empress's nephew; at the wedding the emperor presided over the Xiao family's rites while the empress presided over the Cui family's. Contemporaries quipped that it was 'the Son of Heaven giving away a bride while the empress took one in.'
46
上將祀南郊，丁酉，國子祭酒祝欽明、國子司業郭山惲建言：「古者大祭祀，後裸獻以瑤爵。 皇后當助祭天地。」 太常博士唐紹、蔣欽緒駁之，以爲：「鄭玄注《周禮‧内司服》，惟有助祭先王先公，無助祭天地之文。 皇后不當助祭南郊。」 國子司業鹽官褚無量議。 以爲：「祭天惟以始祖爲主，不配以祖妣，故皇后不應預祭。」 韋巨源定儀注，請依欽明議。 上從之，以皇后爲亞獻，仍以宰相女爲齋娘，助執豆籩。 欽明又欲以安樂公主爲終獻，紹、欽緒固爭，乃止； 以巨源攝太尉爲終獻。 欽緒，膠水人也。
As the emperor prepared to sacrifice at the Southern Altar, on dingyou Libationer Zhu Qinming and Vice Director Guo Shanyun of the Directorate of Education proposed: 'In antiquity, at the great sacrifice the empress performed the unvested offering and presented libations with a jade cup. The empress should assist in sacrificing to Heaven and Earth." Grandees of Sacrifices Tang Shao and Jiang Qinxu objected, arguing: 'In Zheng Xuan's commentary on the Internal Minister of Attire in the Rites of Zhou, empresses assist only at sacrifices to royal ancestors—nowhere does the text mention assisting at sacrifices to Heaven and Earth. The empress has no place assisting at the Southern Altar sacrifice." Vice Director Chu Wuliang of Yanguan also weighed in. He argued: 'Heaven is worshipped with the founding ancestor alone, without pairing an ancestress—therefore the empress should not take part." Wei Juyuan drafted the ritual protocol and sided with Qinming's proposal. The emperor agreed, appointing the empress as secondary offerer and selecting daughters of chancellors as fasting maidens to assist in presenting the ritual vessels. Qinming then proposed making Princess Anle the final offerer; Shao and Qinxu strenuously objected, and the idea was dropped; Wei Juyuan, acting as Grand Marshal, performed the final offering instead. Jiang Qinxu was a native of Jiaoshui.
47
己巳，上幸定昆池，命從官賦詩。 黃門侍郎李日知詩曰：「所願暫思居者逸，勿使時稱作者勞。」 及睿宗即位，謂日知曰：「當是時，朕亦不敢言之。」
On jisi the emperor visited Dingkun Pool and ordered his courtiers to compose poems. Vice Director of the Yellow Gate Li Rizhi wrote: 'Let those at leisure enjoy their ease for a time—do not let the age praise poets for their labors.' When Emperor Ruizong later took the throne, he told Rizhi: 'Even I would not have dared say that at the time.'3
48
九月，戊辰，以蘇瑰爲右僕射、同中書門下三品。
In the ninth month, on wuchen, Su Gui was appointed Right Vice Premier with concurrent rank as Associate of the Secretariat-Chancellery of the Third Rank.
49
太平、安樂公主各樹朋黨，更相譖毀，上患之。 冬，十一月，癸亥，上謂修文館直學士武平一曰：「比聞内外親貴多不輯睦，以何法和之？」 平一以爲：「此由讒諂之人陰爲離間，宜深加誨諭，斥逐奸險。 若猶未已，伏願捨近圖遠，抑慈存嚴，示以知禁，無令積惡。」 上賜平一帛，而不能用其言。
Princess Taiping and Princess Anle each assembled rival factions and continually slandered one another; the emperor was deeply troubled. In winter, the eleventh month, on guihai, the emperor said to Direct Academician Wu Pingyi of the Xiuzhiwen Hall: 'I hear that the imperial kin and nobility, inside and outside the palace, are scarcely on speaking terms—what can be done to restore harmony?" Pingyi replied: 'Slanderers and flatterers are driving them apart from behind the scenes. Your Majesty should counsel them firmly and drive out the wicked and treacherous. If that fails, Your Majesty must look beyond family ties, temper mercy with severity, and make clear that certain lines must not be crossed—before the evil grows beyond remedy." The emperor rewarded him with silk but did nothing with his advice.
50
上召前修文館學士崔湜、鄭愔入陪大禮。 乙丑，上祀南郊，赦天下，並十惡鹹赦除之； 流人並放還； 齋娘有婿者，皆改官。
The emperor summoned former Xiuzhiwen Hall academicians Cui Shi and Zheng Yin to attend the great sacrificial rite. On yichou the emperor sacrificed at the Southern Altar, proclaimed a general amnesty—even the ten capital offenses were forgiven; exiles were recalled; and husbands of the fasting maidens were all given official appointments.
51
甲戌，開府儀同三司、平章軍國重事豆盧欽望薨。
On jiaxu, Doulu Qinwang, Grand General of the State with Preamble and Grand Counselor for Military and State Affairs, died.
52
乙亥，吐蕃贊普遣其大臣尚贊咄等千餘人逆金城公主。 河南道巡察使、監察御史宋務光，以「於時食實封者凡一百四十餘家，應出封戸者凡五十四州，皆割上腴之田，或一封分食數州； 而太平、安樂公主又取髙資多丁者，刻剝過苦，應充封戸者甚於征役； 滑州地出綾縑，人多趨射，尤受其弊，人多流亡； 請稍分封戸散配餘州。 又，征封使者煩擾公私，請附租庸，毎年送納。」 上弗聽。
On yihai the Tibetan king sent over a thousand men led by his minister Shang Zhanzhu to escort Princess Jincheng. Song Wuguang, Henan Circuit Touring Commissioner and Investigating Censor, submitted: 'More than one hundred forty households now hold substantive fiefs, drawing tribute from fifty-four prefectures—each staking claim to the richest land, some single fiefs feeding across several provinces; Princess Taiping and Princess Anle moreover seize the wealthiest districts with the largest populations, extracting tribute so ruthlessly that serving as fief households is worse than conscription; Huazhou, famed for its silks, draws crowds seeking fief allotments and suffers worst of all—its people flee in droves; I urge that fief households be distributed more evenly across the remaining prefectures. Furthermore, the envoys who collect fief tribute harass officials and commoners alike—I urge that fief payments be folded into the regular land tax and delivered annually." The emperor refused.
53
時流人皆放還，均州刺史譙王重福獨不得歸，乃上表自陳曰：「陛下焚柴展禮，郊祀上玄，蒼生並得赦除，赤子偏加擯棄，皇天平分之道，固若此乎！ 天下之人聞者爲臣流涕。 況陛下慈念，豈不愍臣棲遑！」 表奏，不報。
Though all exiles were recalled, Prince Qiao Zhongfu, prefect of Junzhou, alone was denied permission to return. He submitted a memorial: 'Your Majesty has burned the firewood and performed the suburban sacrifice to Heaven—all the common people have been pardoned, yet I alone am cast aside. Is this what Heaven's justice looks like! All who heard my plea wept for me. Surely Your Majesty's compassion cannot leave me wandering in despair!" No answer came.
54
前右僕射致仕唐休璟，年八十餘，進取彌鋭，娶賀婁尚宮養女爲其子婦。 十二月，壬辰，以休璟爲太子少師、同中書門下三品。
Tang Xiujing, the retired former Right Vice Premier, was past eighty yet as ambitious as ever—he arranged for his son to marry the foster daughter of Palace Lady Helou. In the twelfth month, on renchen, Tang Xiujing was appointed Junior Tutor to the Heir Apparent with concurrent rank as Associate of the Secretariat-Chancellery of the Third Rank.
55
甲午，上幸驪山温湯； 庚子，幸韋嗣立莊捨。 以嗣立與周髙士韋□同族，賜爵逍遙公。 嗣立，皇后之疎屬也。 由是顧賞尤重。 乙巳，還宮。
On jiawu the emperor visited the hot springs at Mount Li; on gengzi he visited the estate lodge of Wei Silie. Because Silie claimed kinship with the Zhou dynasty worthy Wei □, the emperor bestowed on him the title Duke of Free Roaming. Wei Silie was a distant relation of the empress. From that point the emperor showered him with especially lavish favor. On yisi the emperor returned to the palace.
56
是歳，關中饑，米斗百錢。 運山東、江、淮谷輸京師，牛死什八九。 群臣多請車駕復幸東都，韋後家本杜陵，不樂東遷，乃使巫覡彭君卿等説上云：「今歳不利東行。」 後復有言者，上怒曰：「豈有逐糧天子邪！」 乃止。
That year famine struck Guanzhong; rice cost a hundred cash per dou. Grain was shipped from Shandong and the Yangtze-Huai region to the capital; eight or nine out of every ten oxen died on the road. Many officials urged the emperor to relocate to the Eastern Capital; the empress, whose family hailed from Duling near Chang'an, resisted moving east and sent shamans including Peng Junqing to warn the emperor: 'This year is ill-omened for travel eastward." When others raised the subject again, the emperor raged: 'Am I an emperor who flees his capital for a sack of grain!" The proposal was dropped.
57
睿宗玄眞大聖大興孝皇帝上
Emperor Ruizong the Profound and True Great Sage, Great Promoter of Filial Piety — Part One
58
春，正月，丙寅夜，中宗與韋後微行觀燈於市裡，又縱宮女數千人出遊，多不歸者。
In spring, the first month, on the night of bingyin, Emperor Zhongzong and Empress Wei slipped out incognito to view the festival lanterns in the marketplace; he also released several thousand palace women to go sightseeing—many never returned.
59
上命紀處訥送金城公主適吐蕃，處訥辭； 又命趙彦昭，彦昭亦辭。 丁丑，命左驍衞大將軍楊矩送之。 己卯，上自送公主至始平； 二月，癸未，還宮。 公主至吐蕃，贊普爲之別築城以居之。
The emperor ordered Ji Chune to escort Princess Jincheng to Tibet for her marriage; Chune refused; he then ordered Zhao Yanzhao, who also refused. On dingchou he appointed Left Brave Guard General Yang Ju to escort her. On jimao the emperor personally escorted the princess as far as Shiping; in the second month, on guiwei, he returned to the palace. When the princess reached Tibet, the king built a separate city for her residence.
60
庚戌，上御梨園毯塲，命文武三品以上抛毯及分朋拔河。 韋巨源、唐休璟衰老，隨絲亙踣地，久之不能興； 上及皇后、妃、主臨觀，大笑。
On gengxu the emperor presided at the Pear Garden ball ground, ordering civil and military officials of third rank and above to play cuju and divide into teams for tug-of-war. Wei Juyuan and Tang Xiujing, both elderly and frail, joined the tug-of-war, grabbed the rope, and toppled to the ground—they lay there unable to rise for a long while; the emperor, empress, consorts, and princesses looked on and roared with laughter.
61
夏，四月，丙戌，上游芳林園，命公卿馬上摘櫻桃。
In summer, the fourth month, on bingxu, the emperor visited Fanglin Garden and ordered his chief ministers to pick cherries from horseback.
62
初，則天之世，長安城東隅民王純家井溢，浸成大池數十頃，號隆慶池。 相王子五王列第於其北，望氣者言：「常鬱鬱有帝王氣，比日尤甚。」 乙未，上幸隆慶池，結綵爲樓，宴侍臣，泛舟戲象以厭之。
Earlier, during Empress Wu's reign, a well in commoner Wang Chun's home at the eastern edge of Chang'an overflowed and spread into a lake of several dozen acres, called Longqing Pool. The five princes had built their mansions along its northern shore; geomancers warned: 'An imperial aura broods over those waters—lately it has grown stronger still." On yiwei the emperor visited Longqing Pool, erected a pavilion draped in colored silk, feasted his ministers, and launched boats with elephant performances to dispel the omen.
63
定州人郎岌上言：「韋後、宗楚客將爲逆亂。」 韋後白上，杖殺之。
Lang Ji of Dingzhou submitted: 'Empress Wei and Zong Chuke are plotting rebellion." Empress Wei told the emperor, and Lang Ji was beaten to death.
64
五月，丁卯，許州司兵參軍偃師燕欽融復上言：「皇后淫亂，干預國政，宗族強盛； 安樂公主、武延秀、宗楚客圖危宗社。」 上召欽融面詰之。 欽融頓首抗言，神色不撓； 上默然。 宗楚客矯制令飛騎撲殺之，投於殿庭石上，折頸而死，楚客大呼稱快。 上雖不窮問，意頗怏怏不悅； 由是韋後及其黨始憂懼。
In the fifth month, on dingmao, Yan Qinrong of Yanshi, Army Adjutant of Xuzhou, submitted again: 'The empress is corrupt and meddles in state affairs; her clan grows ever more powerful; Princess Anle, Wu Yanxiu, and Zong Chuke conspire against the dynasty itself." The emperor summoned Yan Qinrong and questioned him to his face. Yan Qinrong kowtowed but spoke without flinching, his face unmoved; the emperor fell silent. Zong Chuke forged an imperial order and had the Flying Cavalry beat him to death, hurling his body onto the courtyard stones and breaking his neck; Chuke shouted with delight. The emperor did not press the inquiry, but he was plainly displeased; From that point on, Empress Wei and her clique grew anxious and afraid.
65
己卯，上宴近臣，國子祭酒祝欽明自請作《八風舞》，搖頭轉目，備諸醜態； 上笑。 欽明素以儒學著名，吏部侍郎盧藏用私謂諸學士曰：「祝公《五經》，掃地盡矣！」
On jimao the emperor entertained his inner circle. Zhu Qinming, Director of the Directorate of Education, offered to perform the Dance of the Eight Winds, twisting his head and rolling his eyes in every grotesque pose imaginable; The emperor burst out laughing. Qinming had built his reputation on Confucian scholarship; Lu Cangyong, Vice Minister of Personnel, whispered to the academicians: "Master Zhu has swept his reputation for the Five Classics straight into the dustbin!"
66
散騎常侍馬秦客以醫術，光祿少卿楊均以善烹調，皆出入宮掖，得幸於韋後，恐事洩被誅； 安樂公主欲韋後臨朝，自爲皇太女； 乃相與合謀，於餅餤中進毒。 六月，壬午，中宗崩於神龍殿。
Ma Qinke, Attendant-in-Ordinary, owed his access to medical expertise; Yang Jun, Vice Director of the Imperial Clan, to his gift for cuisine. Both moved freely in the inner palace, had won Empress Wei's favor, and feared execution if the plot were exposed. Princess Anle wanted Empress Wei to rule from behind the curtain—and wanted to be named crown princess herself. Together they plotted to deliver poison hidden in pastries. In the sixth month, on renwu, Emperor Zhongzong collapsed and died in the Hall of Divine Dragon.
67
韋後秘不發喪，自總庶政。 癸未，召諸宰相入禁中，征諸府兵五萬人屯京城，使駙馬都尉韋捷、韋灌、衞尉卿韋璿、左千牛中郎將韋璿、長安令韋播、郎將髙嵩等分領之。 璿，温之族弟； 播，從子； 嵩； 其甥也。 中書舍人韋元徼巡六街。 又命左監門大將軍兼内侍薛思簡等，將兵五百人馳驛戍均州，以備譙王重福。 以刑部尚書裴談、工部尚書張錫並同中書門下三品，仍充東都留守。 吏部尚書張嘉福、中書侍郎岑羲、吏部侍郎崔湜並同平章事。 羲，長倩之子也。
Empress Wei concealed the emperor's death and assumed control of the government. On guiwei she called the chancellors into the inner palace, mobilized fifty thousand militiamen from outlying prefectures to occupy the capital, and divided command among her kin: Commandants-in-Chief of Horse Wei Jie and Wei Guan, Chamberlain Wei Xuan, Left Chief of the Thousand-Ox Mid-Ranking General Wei Xuan, Chang'an Magistrate Wei Bo, General Gao Song, and others. Xuan was a younger clansman of Wen. Bo was Wen's grand-nephew. Song— was his nephew. Secretariat Drafter Wei Yuanjiao was sent to patrol the Six Avenues. She also ordered Xue Sijian, Left Grand General of the Gate Guards who doubled as Inner Attendant, to rush five hundred men by post-horse to garrison Junzhou against Prince of Qiao Chongfu. Pei Tan, Minister of Justice, and Zhang Xi, Minister of Works, were both promoted to Fellows of the Third Rank and left in place as Eastern Capital regents. Zhang Jiafu, Minister of Personnel; Cen Xi, Secretariat Vice Minister; and Cui Shi, Vice Minister of Personnel—all were appointed Equally Participating in Affairs. Xi was the son of Cen Changqian.
68
太平公主與上官昭容謀草遺制，立温王重茂爲皇太子，皇后知政事，相王旦參謀政事。 宗楚客密謂韋温曰：「相王輔政，於理非宜； 且於皇后，嫂叔不通問，聽朝之際，何以爲禮？」 遂帥諸宰相表請皇后臨朝，罷相王政事。 蘇瑰曰：「遺詔豈可改邪！」 温、楚客怒，瑰懼而從之，乃以相王爲太子太師。
Princess Taiping and the Lady of Bright Attainment Shangguan plotted a deathbed decree naming Prince Wen Chongmao crown prince, putting the empress in charge of government while Prince of Xiang Dan would counsel on affairs of state. Zong Chuke whispered to Wei Wen: "For the Prince of Xiang to share power makes no sense; besides, as empress and brother-in-law they may not even greet each other—how could they share an audience without scandal?" He then rallied the chancellors to petition for the empress to rule from the throne and strip the Prince of Xiang of his political role. Su Gui protested: "You cannot rewrite a deathbed decree!" Wei Wen and Zong Chuke flew into a rage; frightened, Su Gui backed down, and Prince of Xiang was relegated to Grand Preceptor of the Heir Apparent.
69
甲申，梓宮遷御太極殿，集百官，發喪，皇后臨朝攝政，赦天下，改元唐隆。 進相王旦爲太尉，雍王守禮爲幽王，壽春王成器爲宋王，以從人望。 命韋温總知内外守捉兵馬事。
On jiashen the coffin was brought to the Hall of Supreme Ultimate. Officials assembled, mourning was declared, and the empress took the throne as regent. She declared a general amnesty and changed the era name to Tanglong. To satisfy public sentiment she elevated Prince of Xiang Dan to Grand Commandant, Prince of Yong Shouli to Prince of You, and Prince of Shouchun Chengqi to Prince of Song. She put Wei Wen in overall command of palace and capital military forces.
70
丁亥，殤帝即位，時年十六。 尊皇后爲皇太后； 立妃陸氏爲皇后。
On dinghai the young emperor Li Chongmao took the throne at sixteen. The empress was elevated to empress dowager; Consort Lu was crowned empress.
71
壬辰，命紀處訥持節巡撫關内道，岑羲河南道，張嘉福河北道。
On renchen Ji Chuna was dispatched with imperial credentials to inspect the Guannei Circuit, Cen Xi the Henan Circuit, and Zhang Jiafu the Hebei Circuit.
72
宗楚客與太常卿武延秀、司農卿趙履温、國子祭酒葉靜能及諸韋共勸韋後遵武後故事，南北衞軍、台閣要司皆以韋氏子弟領之，廣聚黨衆，中外連結。 楚客又密上書稱引圖讖，謂韋氏宜革唐命。 謀害殤帝，深忌相王及太平公主，密與韋温、安樂公主謀去之。
Zong Chuke, Wu Yanxiu, Zhao Lüwen, Ye Jingneng, and the Wei kin urged Empress Wei to replay Empress Wu's coup—placing Wei clansmen in the palace guards and every vital post, building a web of allies from court to capital. Chuke also sent a secret memorial citing prophetic texts, arguing that Heaven intended the Wei clan to seize the Tang throne. They conspired to kill the young emperor, eyed the Prince of Xiang and Princess Taiping with deep suspicion, and secretly joined Wei Wen and Princess Anle in plotting their elimination.
73
相王子臨淄王隆基，先罷潞州別駕，在京師，陰聚才勇之士，謀匡復社稷。 初，太宗選官戸及蕃口驍勇者，著虎文衣，跨豹文韉，從遊獵，於馬前射禽獸，謂之百騎； 則天時稍增爲千騎，隸左右羽林； 中宗謂之萬騎，置使以領之。 隆基皆厚結其豪傑。 兵部侍郎崔日用素附韋、武，與宗楚客善，知楚客謀，恐禍及己，遣寶昌寺僧普潤密詣隆基告之，勸其速發。 隆基乃與太平公主及公主子衞尉卿薛崇暕、苑總監贛人鐘紹京、尚衣奏御王崇曄、前朝邑尉劉幽求、利仁府折衝麻嗣宗謀先事誅之。 韋播、髙嵩數榜捶萬騎，欲以立威，萬騎皆怨。 果毅葛福順、陳玄禮見隆基訴之，隆基諷以誅諸韋，皆踴躍請以死自效。 萬騎果毅李仙鳧亦預其謀。 或謂隆基當啓相王，隆基曰：「我曹爲此以徇社稷，事成福歸於王，不成以身死之，不以累王也。 今啓而見從，則王預危事； 不從，將敗大計。」 遂不啓。
Prince of Xiang's son, Prince of Linzi Li Longji, had lately left his post as Vice Prefect of Luzhou and was in the capital secretly recruiting bold and capable men, planning to rescue the dynasty. In the beginning Taizong had chosen fierce fighters from registered households and tribal recruits, clothed them in tiger-striped garb and leopard-skinned saddles, and kept them at his side on hunts to shoot game from horseback—a corps known as the Hundred Riders; Under Empress Wu the corps grew to the Thousand Riders and was attached to the Left and Right Forest Army; Zhongzong expanded them into the Ten Thousand Riders and appointed overseers to lead them. Longji won over their leading men with generous patronage. Cui Riyong, Vice Minister of War, had long courted the Wei and Wu factions and was close to Zong Chuke. When he learned of the plot he feared he would be swept up in the purge and sent the monk Purun of Baochang Temple to warn Longji in secret, urging him to strike at once. Longji then joined Princess Taiping, her son Xue Chongjian of the Chamberlain's court, park director Zhong Shaojing, imperial wardrobe officer Wang Chongye, former Chaoyi magistrate Liu Youqiu, and Liren Colonel Ma Sizong in a plan to kill the conspirators before they could act. Wei Bo and Gao Song repeatedly flogged the Ten Thousand Riders to assert their authority, earning the corps's bitter hatred. Ge Fushun and Chen Xuanli, officers of the corps, came to Longji with their grievances. He hinted at a strike against the Wei clan, and they eagerly volunteered their lives for the cause. Li Xianfu, another corps officer of the Ten Thousand Riders, was in on the conspiracy as well. Some urged Longji to tell the Prince of Xiang first. He refused: "We undertake this for the realm alone. If we succeed, the credit belongs to my father; if we fail, we die ourselves and will not drag him down. If I tell him and he agrees, he becomes an accomplice in a perilous plot; if he refuses, the whole enterprise collapses." And so he kept silent.
74
庚子，晡時，隆基微服與幽求等入苑中，會鐘紹京廨捨； 紹京悔，欲拒之，其妻許氏曰：「忘身徇國，神必助之。 且同謀素定，今雖不行，庸得免乎！」 紹京乃趨出拜謁，隆基執其手與坐。 時羽林將士皆屯玄武門，逮夜，葛福順、李仙鳧皆至隆基所，請號而行。 向二鼓，天星散落如雪，劉幽求曰：「天意如此，時不可失！」 福順拔劍直入羽林營，斬韋璿、韋播、髙嵩以徇，曰：「韋後鴆殺先帝，謀危社稷。 今夕當共誅諸韋，馬鞭以上皆斬之！ 立相王以安天下。 敢有懷兩端助逆黨者，罪及三族！」 羽林之士皆欣然聽命。 乃送璿等首於隆基，隆基取火視之，遂與幽求等出苑南門，紹京帥丁匠二百餘人，執斧鋸以從。 使福順將左萬騎攻玄德門，仙鳧將右萬騎攻白獸門，約會於凌煙閣前，即大噪，福順等殺守門將，斬關而入。 隆基勒兵玄武門外，三鼓，聞聲，帥總監及羽林兵而入，諸衞兵在太極殿宿衞梓宮者，聞噪聲，皆被甲應之。 韋後惶惑走入飛騎營，有飛騎斬首獻於隆基。 安樂公主方照鏡畫眉，軍士斬之。 斬武延秀於肅章門外，斬内將軍賀婁氏於太極殿西。
On gengzi, in late afternoon, Longji slipped in disguised with Liu Youqiu and the others and rendezvoused at Zhong Shaojing's office in the imperial park. Shaojing wavered and tried to turn them away, but his wife Lady Xu said: "Sacrifice yourself for the dynasty and Heaven itself will lend a hand. You were party to this from the start—if you hang back now, do you truly think you can walk away?" Shaojing rushed out to salute them; Longji took his hand and seated him beside him. The Forest Army had massed at the Dark Warrior Gate. By nightfall Ge Fushun and Li Xianfu had joined Longji and asked for the word to move. Around the second watch the sky burst into a shower of falling stars. Liu Youqiu cried: "Heaven itself signals us—we must not hesitate!" Fushun drew his sword, marched straight into the Forest Army camp, and executed Wei Xuan, Wei Bo, and Gao Song as an example, proclaiming: "Empress Wei murdered the late emperor and plotted to topple the dynasty. Tonight we purge every Wei from horsewhip rank on up! Install the Prince of Xiang to restore order to the realm. Anyone who wavers or aids the traitors will face execution for three generations of kin!" The Forest Army men accepted their orders with enthusiasm. The heads were delivered to Longji, who held a torch to inspect them, then marched out the park's south gate with Youqiu and the rest. Shaojing followed with over two hundred craftsmen bearing axes and saws. Fushun was sent with the Left Ten Thousand Riders against the Gate of Hidden Virtue, Xianfu with the Right against the Gate of the White Beast. They were to rally at the Hall of Splendid Portraits, raise a great shout, and break through—Fushun's men killed the gate commanders and forced their way in. Longji held his force at the Dark Warrior Gate. At the third watch, hearing the uproar, he entered with Zhong Shaojing and the Forest Army. Palace guards stationed at the Hall of Supreme Ultimate to watch over the coffin heard the commotion, armored themselves, and joined in. Empress Wei fled in panic toward the Flying Cavalry camp, where one of the riders cut off her head and presented it to Longji. Princess Anle was applying makeup before her mirror when soldiers killed her. Wu Yanxiu was executed outside the Gate of Majestic Seal; Inner General Lady Helou was slain west of the Hall of Supreme Ultimate.
75
初，上官昭容引其從母之子王昱爲左拾遺，昱説昭容母鄭氏曰：「武氏，天之所廢，不可興也。 今婕妤附於三思，此滅族之道也，願姨思之！」 鄭氏以戒昭容，昭容弗聽。 及太子重俊起兵誅三思，索昭容，昭容始懼，思昱言； 自是心附帝室，與安樂公主各樹朋黨。 及中宗崩，昭容草遺制立温王，以相王輔政； 宗、韋改之。 及隆基入宮，昭容執燭帥宮入迎之，以制草示劉幽求。 幽求爲之言，隆基不許，斬於旗下。
Earlier, Shangguan Zhaorong had installed her cousin Wang Yu as Left Remonstrance Aide. Wang Yu warned Lady Zheng, the Lady of Bright Attainment's mother: "Heaven itself rejected the Wu clan—it must not rise again. Yet your daughter has tied herself to Sansi—that is the road to annihilation for the whole family. Please think on this, Aunt!" Lady Zheng passed the warning to her daughter, but Shangguan would not heed it. When Crown Prince Chongjun took up arms against Sansi and came hunting for Shangguan, she at last grew afraid and remembered Wang Yu's warning; thereafter she shifted her loyalty toward the throne and fell into rivalry with Princess Anle, each building a separate faction. When Zhongzong died, Shangguan drafted a deathbed decree naming Prince Wen heir and the Prince of Xiang as regent; Zong Chuke and the Wei faction rewrote it. When Longji entered the palace, Shangguan came forward with a candle, leading palace women to greet him, and showed Liu Youqiu the draft decree. Youqiu pleaded for her, but Longji refused and had her executed on the spot beneath his banner.
76
時少帝在太極殿，劉幽求曰：「衆約今夕共立相王，何不早定！」 隆基遽止之，捕索諸韋在宮中及守諸門，並素爲韋後所親信者皆斬之。 比曉，内外皆定。 辛巳，隆基出見相王，叩頭謝不先啓之罪。 相王抱之泣曰：「社稷宗廟不墜於地，汝之力也！」 遂迎相王入輔少帝。
The young emperor still sat in the Hall of Supreme Ultimate when Liu Youqiu said: "We all pledged tonight to raise the Prince of Xiang—why delay any longer?" Longji cut him off and ordered a hunt through the palace: every Wei still inside, every gate still held by Empress Wei's favorites—all were put to the sword. By daybreak the palace and capital were secure. On xinsi Longji went to his father and kowtowed, begging forgiveness for having acted without telling him first. The Prince of Xiang held him and wept: "You alone kept the dynasty from collapse!" He then brought the Prince of Xiang in to guide the young emperor.
77
閉宮門及京城門，分遣萬騎收捕諸韋親黨。 斬太子少保、同中書門下三品韋温於東市之北。 中書令宗楚客衣斬衰、乘靑驢逃出，至通化門，門者曰：「公，宗尚書也。」 去布帽，執而斬之，並斬其弟晉卿。 相王奉少帝御安福門，慰諭百姓。 初，趙履温傾國資以奉安樂公主，爲之起第捨，築台穿池無休已，擫紫衫，以項挽公主犢車。 公主死，履温馳詣安福樓下舞蹈稱萬歳； 聲未絶，相王命萬騎斬之。 百姓怨其勞役，爭割其肉，立盡。 秘書監汴王邕娶韋後妹崇國夫人，與御史大夫竇從一各手斬其妻首以獻。 邕，鳳之孫也。 左僕射、，同中書門下三品韋巨源聞亂，家人勸之逃匿，巨源曰：「吾位大臣，豈可聞難不赴！」 出至都街，爲亂兵所殺，時年八十。 於是梟馬秦客、楊均、葉靜能等首，屍韋後於市。 崔日用將兵誅諸韋於杜曲，襁褓兒無免者，諸杜濫死非一。
The palace and city gates were sealed shut while the Ten Thousand Riders fanned out to hunt down the Wei clan and their allies. Wei Wen, Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent and Fellow of the Third Rank, was executed north of the Eastern Market. Zong Chuke, Grand Counselor of the Secretariat, fled in coarse mourning robes on a gray donkey. At the Tonghua Gate the guard called out: "You're Minister Zong." They tore off his cloth cap, seized him, and cut off his head—along with his brother Jinqing's. The Prince of Xiang led the young emperor to the Gate of Settled Blessings to reassure the populace. Zhao Lüwen had squandered the treasury on Princess Anle, building her ever grander estates with terraces and ponds without end—even grabbing his own purple official robe to use his neck as a trace for her ox-drawn carriage. When the princess fell, Lüwen raced to the Tower of Settled Blessings and danced there shouting "Long live the emperor!" Before the shout had faded, the Prince of Xiang ordered the Ten Thousand Riders to cut him down. The people, furious at the forced labor he had imposed, tore his flesh apart on the spot until nothing remained. Prince of Bian Yong, Director of the Secretariat, had married Empress Wei's sister, the Lady of Chongguo; he and Censor-in-Chief Dou Congyi each personally beheaded his own wife and presented the heads. Yong was a grandson of Dou Feng. Wei Juyuan, Left Vice Director and Fellow of the Third Rank, heard of the uprising. His family begged him to hide, but he said: "I am a chief minister—how can I flee when the realm is in crisis?" He walked out into the main avenue and was cut down by the mutineers. He was eighty. The heads of Ma Qinke, Yang Jun, Ye Jingneng, and others were put on public display, and Empress Wei's body was paraded through the marketplace. Cui Riyong marched on Duqu to slaughter the Wei clan there; not even infants were spared, and many unrelated people surnamed Du died in the bloodletting.
78
是日，赦天下，云：「逆賊魁首已誅，自餘支黨一無所問。」 以臨淄王隆基爲平王，兼知内外閒廄，押左右廂萬騎。 薛崇暕賜爵立節王。 以鐘紹京守中書侍郎，劉幽求守中書舍人，並參知機務。 麻嗣宗行左金吾衞中郎將。 武氏宗屬，誅死流竄殆盡。 侍中紀處訥行至華州，吏部尚書、同平章事張嘉福行至懷州，皆收斬之。
That day a general amnesty was proclaimed: "The rebel leaders have been cut down; all lesser followers are absolved." Prince of Linzi Li Longji was ennobled as Prince of Ping, put in charge of the imperial stables, and given command of the Left and Right Ten Thousand Riders. Xue Chongxian was ennobled as Prince Who Establishes Integrity. Zhong Shaojing was made Vice Director of the Secretariat and Liu Youqiu Vice Chancellor, both joining in the daily management of government. Ma Sizong served as captain in the Left Golden Guard. Members of the Wu clan were executed or banished until almost none remained. Ji Chuna, Attendant-in-Ordinary, was caught at Hua Prefecture while fleeing; Zhang Jiafu, Minister of Personnel and Chief Minister, was caught at Huai Prefecture—both were executed.
79
壬寅，劉幽求在太極殿，有宮人與宦官令幽求作制書立太后，幽求曰：「國有大難，人情不安，山陵未畢，遽立太后，不可。」 平王隆基曰：「此勿輕言。」
On renyin Liu Youqiu was in the Hall of Supreme Ultimate when palace women and eunuchs pressed him to draft an edict elevating an empress dowager. He refused: "The realm is in crisis, the people are uneasy, and the late emperor's funeral is unfinished—to rush a regency now would be wrong." Prince of Ping Longji warned: "Do not bandy such talk."
80
遣十道使繼璽書宣撫，及詣均州宣慰譙王重福。 貶竇從一爲濠州司馬。 罷諸公主府官。
Ten circuit commissioners were sent out with successive imperial edicts to calm the provinces, and envoys were also dispatched to Jun Prefecture to reassure Prince of Qiao Zhongfu. Dou Congyi was demoted to adjutant of Hao Prefecture. All offices attached to princess households were abolished.
81
癸卯，太平公主傳少帝命，請讓位於相王，相王固辭。 以平王隆基爲殿中監、同中書門下三品，以宋王成器爲左衞大將軍，衡陽王成義爲右衞大將軍，巴陵王隆范爲左羽林大將軍，彭城王隆業爲右羽林大將軍，光祿少卿嗣道王微檢校右金吾衞大將軍。 微，元慶之孫也。 以黃門侍郎李日知、中書侍郎鐘紹京並同中書門下三品。 太平公主之子薛崇訓爲右千牛衞將軍。 隆基有二奴：王毛仲、李守德，皆趫勇善騎射，常侍衞左右。 隆基之入苑中也，毛仲避匿不從，事定數日方歸，隆基不之責，仍超拜將軍。 毛仲，本髙麗也。 汴王邕貶沁州刺史，左散騎常侍、駙馬都尉楊愼交貶巴州刺史，中書令蕭至忠貶許州刺史，兵部尚書、同中書門下三品韋嗣立貶宋州刺史，中書侍郎、同平章事趙彦昭貶絳州刺史，吏部侍郎、同平章事崔湜貶華州刺史。
On guimao Princess Taiping announced on the young emperor's behalf that he wished to abdicate in favor of the Prince of Xiang, who steadfastly refused. Prince of Ping Longji was appointed Director of the Palace Administration and Fellow of the Third Rank; Prince of Song Chengqi became General of the Left Guard; Prince of Hengyang Chengyi, General of the Right Guard; Prince of Baling Longfan, General of the Left Forest Guard; Prince of Pengcheng Longye, General of the Right Forest Guard; and Prince of Sidao Wei, Vice Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, acting General of the Right Golden Guard. Wei was a grandson of Yuanqing. Li Rizhi, Vice Director of the Imperial Secretariat, and Zhong Shaojing, Vice Director of the Secretariat, were both elevated to Fellows of the Third Rank. Princess Taiping's son Xue Chongxun was appointed General of the Right Thousand-Ox Guard. Longji kept two bondsmen, Wang Maochong and Li Shoude—both fleet, fierce, and expert horsemen—who were always at his side. When Longji marched into the park, Maochong went into hiding and did not join him; only days after the coup did he reappear. Longji did not reproach him and even promoted him to general. Maochong was a native of Goguryeo. Prince of Bian Yong was demoted to prefect of Qin; Yang Shenjiao, Left Regular Attendant and Commandant of Cavalry, to prefect of Ba; Xiao Zhizhong, Secretariat Director, to prefect of Xu; Wei Sili, Minister of War and Fellow of the Third Rank, to prefect of Song; Zhao Yanzhao, Vice Director of the Secretariat and Chief Minister, to prefect of Jiang; and Cui Shi, Vice Minister of Personnel and Chief Minister, to prefect of Hua.
82
劉幽求言於宋王成器、平王隆基曰：「相王疇昔已居宸極，群望所屬。 今人心未安，家國事重，相王豈得尚守小節，不早即位以鎭天下乎！」 隆基曰：「王性恬淡，不以代事嬰懷。 雖有天下，猶讓於人，況親兄之子，安肯代之乎！」 幽求曰：「衆心不可違，王雖欲髙居獨善，其如社稷何！」 成器、隆基入見相王，極言其事，相王乃許之。 甲辰，少帝在太極殿東隅西向，相王立於梓宮旁，太平公主曰：「皇帝欲以此位讓叔父，可乎？」 幽求跪曰：「國家多難，皇帝仁孝，追蹤堯、舜，誠合至公； 相王代之任重，慈愛尤厚矣。」 乃以少帝制傳位相王。 時少帝猶在御座，太平公主進曰：「天下之心已歸相王，此非兒座！」 遂提下之。 睿宗即位，御承天門，赦天下。 復以少帝爲温王。
Liu Youqiu urged Prince of Song Chengqi and Prince of Ping Longji: "Our father once held the throne himself, and all eyes are on him again. The people are still unsettled and the dynasty hangs in the balance—can he really keep clinging to modesty and refuse to take the throne and steady the realm!" Longji replied: "Father is by nature quiet and unambitious; the throne does not weigh on his mind. Even when he already held the empire he yielded it to another—how could he now supplant his own brother's son!" Youqiu pressed on: "The people's will cannot be ignored. However much he wishes to stand apart, what will become of the dynasty!" Chengqi and Longji went in together and pleaded at length until the Prince of Xiang at last agreed. On jiachen the young emperor sat in the eastern corner of the Hall of Supreme Ultimate facing west, while the Prince of Xiang stood beside the late emperor's coffin. Princess Taiping asked: "His Majesty wishes to yield the throne to his uncle—is that acceptable?" Youqiu knelt and answered: "The realm has suffered one crisis after another. In yielding the throne out of filial duty, His Majesty follows the example of Yao and Shun and acts with perfect fairness; for the Prince of Xiang to take his place is a weighty burden, yet his affection for the boy is all the deeper." An edict was then issued in the young emperor's name transferring the throne to the Prince of Xiang. The young emperor was still on the throne when Princess Taiping stepped forward: "All hearts already belong to the Prince of Xiang—this is no seat for a child!" She then pulled him from the throne. Ruizong took the throne, appeared at Chengtian Gate, and proclaimed a general amnesty. The young emperor was again enfeoffed as Prince of Wen.
83
以鐘紹京爲中書令。 鐘紹京少爲司農録事，既典朝政，縱情賞罰，衆皆惡之。 太常少卿薛稷勸其上表禮讓，紹京從之。 稷入言於上曰：「紹京雖有勳勞，素無才德，出自胥徒，一旦超居元宰，恐失聖朝具瞻之美。」 上以爲然。 丙午，改除戸部尚書，尋出爲蜀州刺史。
Zhong Shaojing was appointed Secretariat Director. Zhong Shaojing had begun his career as a low clerk in the Ministry of Revenue; once he controlled the government he handed out rewards and punishments as he pleased, and everyone despised him. Xue Ji, Vice Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, urged him to submit a memorial of polite refusal, and Shaojing agreed. Ji went in and told the emperor: "Shaojing may have earned merit in the coup, but he has never shown talent or character. A clerk risen overnight to chief minister will tarnish the dignity our dynasty expects of its highest office." The emperor agreed. On bingwu he was reassigned as Minister of the Household and soon afterward dispatched as prefect of Shu.
84
上將立太子，以宋王成器嫡長，而平王隆基有大功，疑不能決。 成器辭曰：「國家安則先嫡長，國家危則先有功； 苟違其宜，四海失望。 臣死不敢居平王之上。」 涕泣固請者累日。 大臣亦多言平王功大宜立。 劉幽求曰：「臣聞除天下之禍者，當享天下之福。 平王拯社稷之危，求君親之難，論功莫大，語德最賢，無可疑者。」 上從之。 丁未，立平王隆基爲太子。 隆基復表讓成器，不許。
When the emperor came to choose an heir, Prince of Song Chengqi was the eldest legitimate son, but Prince of Ping Longji had saved the dynasty, and he could not make up his mind. Chengqi declined, saying: "When the realm is secure, the eldest legitimate son comes first; when it is in peril, merit comes first; to choose wrongly would disappoint the whole empire. I would rather die than rank above Prince of Ping." For days he wept and pleaded until the emperor relented. The chief ministers likewise argued that Longji's service warranted the succession. Liu Youqiu said: "I have always heard that whoever lifts a curse from the realm deserves its blessing. Prince of Ping rescued the dynasty at its darkest hour and risked his life for emperor and father alike. In merit none surpasses him; in virtue none excels him. There can be no question." The emperor accepted the argument. On dingwei Prince of Ping Longji was named crown prince. Longji again petitioned to yield the place to Chengqi, but the emperor refused.
85
則天大聖皇后復舊號爲天後。 追謚雍王賢曰章懷太子。
Empress Wu Zetian the Great Sage Holy Empress was restored to her former title of Empress Tian. Prince of Yong Xian was posthumously honored as Crown Prince Zhanghuai.
86
戊申，以宋王成器爲雍州牧、揚州大都督、太子太師。
On wushen Prince of Song Chengqi was appointed Governor of Yong, Great Commander of Yangzhou, and Grand Preceptor of the Heir Apparent.
87
置温王重茂於内宅。
Prince of Wen Chongmao was lodged in the inner palace quarters.
88
以太常少卿薛稷爲黃門侍郎，參知機務。 稷以工書，事上於籓邸，其子伯陽尚仙源公主，故爲相。
Xue Ji, Vice Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, was made Vice Director of the Imperial Secretariat and joined in managing state affairs. Ji had served the emperor at his princely residence through his skill in calligraphy, and his son Boyang had married Princess Xianyuan—connections that now made him a chief minister.
89
追削武三思、武崇訓爵謚，斫棺暴屍，平其墳墓。
Wu Sansi and Wu Chongxun were posthumously stripped of rank and posthumous honors; their coffins were broken open, their corpses exposed, and their tombs razed.
90
以許州刺史姚元之爲兵部尚書、同中書門下三品，宋州刺史韋嗣立、許州刺史蕭至忠爲中書令，絳州刺史趙彦昭爲中書侍郎，華州刺史崔湜爲吏部侍郎，並同平章事。
Yao Yuanzhi, prefect of Xu, was made Minister of War and Fellow of the Third Rank; Wei Sili, prefect of Song, and Xiao Zhizhong, prefect of Xu, were appointed Secretariat Directors; Zhao Yanzhao, prefect of Jiang, Vice Director of the Secretariat; and Cui Shi, prefect of Hua, Vice Minister of Personnel—all as chief ministers.
91
越州長史宋之問，饒州刺史冉祖雍，坐諂附韋、武，皆流嶺表。
Song Zhiwen, prefectural secretary of Yue, and Ran Zuyong, prefect of Rao, for having fawned on the Wei and Wu factions, were both exiled beyond the Ling range.
92
己酉，立衡陽王成義爲申王，巴陵王隆范爲岐王，彭城王隆業爲薛王； 加太平公主實封滿萬戸。
On jiyou Prince of Hengyang Chengyi was enfeoffed as Prince of Shen, Prince of Baling Longfan as Prince of Qi, and Prince of Pengcheng Longye as Prince of Xue; Princess Taiping's personal fief was raised to the full ten thousand households.
93
太平公主沈敏多權略，武後以爲類己，故於諸子中獨愛幸，頗得預密謀，然尚畏武後之嚴，未敢招權勢； 及誅張易之，公主有力焉。 中宗之世，韋後、安樂公主皆畏之，又與太子共誅韋氏。 既屢立大功，益尊重，上常與之圖議大政，毎入奏事，坐語移時； 或時不朝謁，則宰相就第咨之。 毎宰相奏事，上輒問：「嘗與太平議否？」 又問：「與三郎議否？」 然後可之。 三郎，謂太子也。 公主所欲，上無不聽，自宰相以下，進退系其一言，其餘薦士驟歴淸顯者不可勝數，權傾人主，趨附其門者如市。 子薛崇行、崇敏、崇簡皆封王，田園遍於近甸，收市營遠諸器玩，遠至嶺、蜀，輸送者相屬於路，居處奉養，擬於宮掖。
Princess Taiping was shrewd, quick, and skilled in intrigue. Empress Wu saw herself in her and favored her above all her children, admitting her to secret counsel; yet she still feared the empress's severity and did not dare openly amass power; and when Zhang Yizhi was killed, she had played a decisive part. Under Emperor Zhongzong, Empress Wei and Princess Anle both feared her, and she later joined the crown prince in overthrowing the Wei faction. After repeated triumphs her standing only rose. The emperor often consulted her on major policy, and when she came to discuss affairs they would talk for hours; if she skipped court, the chief ministers would visit her house for guidance. Whenever a chief minister reported business, the emperor would ask: "Have you discussed this with Taiping?" Then: "And with Third Son?" Only after both questions were answered would he approve. "Third Son" was his nickname for the crown prince. Whatever she wanted, the emperor granted; from chief ministers down, careers rose or fell on her word. The men she recommended into high office were beyond counting. Her power overshadowed the throne itself, and suitors packed her gate like a marketplace. Her sons Xue Chongxing, Chongmin, and Chongjian were all made princes. Her estates filled the capital suburbs; she hoarded rare treasures from as far as Lingnan and Shu, with convoys crowding the roads. Her household lived in a style that rivaled the inner palace.
94
追贈郎岌、燕欽融諫議大夫。
Lang Ba and Yan Qinrong were posthumously honored as Remonstrance Grandees.
95
秋，七月，庚戌朔，贈韋月將宣州刺史。
In autumn, in the seventh month, on the first day, gengxu, Wei Yuejiang was posthumously honored as prefect of Xuan.
96
癸丑，以兵部侍郎崔日用爲黃門侍郎，參知機務。
On guichou Cui Riyong, Vice Minister of War, was made Vice Director of the Imperial Secretariat and joined in managing state affairs.
97
追復故太子重俊位號； 雪敬暉、桓彦范、崔玄□、張柬之、袁恕己、成王行裡、李多祚等罪，復其官爵。
The late crown prince Chongjun's rank and title were posthumously restored; the convictions of Jing Hui, Huan Yanfan, Cui Xuanwei, Zhang Jianzhi, Yuan Shuji, Prince of Cheng Xingli, Li Duozuo, and others were overturned and their offices and titles restored.
98
丁巳，以洛州長史宋璟檢校吏部尚書、同中書門下三品； 岑羲罷爲右散騎常侍，兼刑部尚書。 璟與姚元之協心革中宗弊政，進忠良，退不肖，賞罰盡公，請托不行，納紀修舉，當時翕然以爲復有貞觀、永徽之風。
On dingsi Song Jing, prefectural secretary of Luo, was made acting Minister of Personnel and Fellow of the Third Rank; Cen Xi was dismissed as chief minister and made Right Regular Attendant, concurrently Minister of Justice. Song Jing and Yao Yuanzhi worked in concert to purge the abuses of Zhongzong's reign: promoting the worthy, removing the corrupt, judging without favor, refusing private petitions, and restoring discipline. Many believed the upright spirit of the Zhenguan and Yonghui eras had returned.
99
壬戌，崔湜罷爲尚書左丞，張錫爲絳州刺史，蕭至忠爲晉州刺史，韋嗣立爲許州刺史，趙彦昭爲宋州刺史。 丙寅，姚元之兼中書令，兵部尚書、同中書門下三品李嶠貶懷州刺史。
On renxu Cui Shi was demoted to Left Assistant Director of the Imperial Secretariat; Zhang Xi was sent to Jiang as prefect; Xiao Zhizhong to Jin; Wei Sili to Xu; and Zhao Yanzhao to Song. On bingyin Yao Yuanzhi was also made Secretariat Director, while Li Qiao, Minister of War and Fellow of the Third Rank, was demoted to prefect of Huai.
100
丁卯，太子少師、同中書門下三品唐休璟致仕，右武衞大將軍、同中書門下三品張仁願罷爲左衞大將軍。
On dingmao Tang Xiujing, Junior Preceptor of the Heir Apparent and Fellow of the Third Rank, retired; Zhang Renyuan, General of the Right Martial Guard and Fellow of the Third Rank, was relieved and made General of the Left Guard.
101
黃門侍郎、參知機務崔日用與中書侍郎、參知機務薛稷爭於上前，稷曰：「日用傾側，向附武三思，非忠臣； 賣友邀功，非義士。」 日用曰：「臣往雖有過，今立大功。 稷外托國姻，内附張易之、宗楚客，非傾側而何！」 上由是兩罷之，戊辰，以日用爲雍州長史，稷爲左散騎常侍。
Cui Riyong and Xue Ji, both vice directors participating in state affairs, quarreled before the emperor. Ji accused him: "Riyong is a trimmer who once clung to Wu Sansi—no loyal minister; he betrayed friends to claim credit—no man of honor." Riyong retorted: "I may once have erred, but I have now rendered great service. Ji hides behind imperial marriage while serving Zhang Yizhi and Zong Chuke at heart—what is that if not trimming!" The emperor dismissed them both. On wuchen Riyong was made prefectural secretary of Yong, and Ji Left Regular Attendant.
102
己巳，赦天下，改元； 凡韋氏餘黨未施行者，鹹赦之。
On jisi the emperor proclaimed a general amnesty and changed the era name; all remaining members of the Wei faction whose sentences had not yet been executed were pardoned.
103
乙亥，廢武氏崇恩廟及昊陵、順陵，追廢韋後爲庶人，安樂公主爲悖逆庶人。
On yihai the Wu clan's Temple of Grateful Succession and the Hao and Shun imperial tombs were abolished; Empress Wei was posthumously reduced to commoner rank and Princess Anle to Rebellious Commoner.
104
韋後之臨朝也，吏部侍郎鄭愔貶江州司馬，潛過均州，與刺史譙王重福及洛陽人張靈均謀舉兵誅韋氏，未發而韋氏敗。 重福遷集州刺史，未行，靈均説重福曰：「大王地居嫡長，當爲天子。 相王雖有功，不當繼統。 東都士庶，皆願王來。 王若潛入洛陽，發左右屯營兵，襲殺留守。 據東都，如從天而下也。 然後西取陝州，東取河南北，天下指麾可定。」 重福從之。
While Empress Wei held power, Zheng Yin, Vice Minister of Personnel, was demoted to adjutant of Jiang. Passing secretly through Jun Prefecture, he joined Prince of Qiao Zhongfu, the prefect, and Zhang Lingjun of Luoyang in a plot to raise troops and destroy the Wei faction—but before they moved, the Wei clan had already fallen. Zhongfu was reassigned as prefect of Ji but had not yet left when Lingjun urged him: "Your Highness stands first among the legitimate sons—you should be emperor. The Prince of Xiang may have merit, but he has no right to the succession. The people of the Eastern Capital all long for Your Highness to come. If Your Highness slips into Luoyang, mobilize the Left and Right Garrison troops, and strike down the resident commissioner. once you hold the Eastern Capital, victory will fall upon you like heaven's decree. Then seize Shan to the west and Henan North to the east, and the empire will be yours at a wave of the hand." Zhongfu agreed.
105
靈均乃密與愔結謀，聚徒數十人。 時愔自秘書少監左遷沅州刺史，遲留洛陽以俟重福，爲重福草制，立重福爲帝，改元爲中元克復。 尊上爲皇季叔，以温王爲皇太弟，愔爲左丞相知内外文部尚書知吏部事。 重福與靈均詐乘驛詣東都，愔先供張駙馬都尉裴巽第以待重福。 洛陽縣官微聞其謀。
Lingjun then secretly allied with Yin and mustered several dozen men. Yin had been demoted from Vice Director of the Secretariat to prefect of Yuan but lingered in Luoyang awaiting Zhongfu. He drafted an enthronement edict for Zhongfu and a new era name, Zhongyuan Restoration. The edict honored the emperor as Imperial Junior Uncle, made Prince of Wen Grand Younger Brother of the Emperor, and appointed Yin Left Chief Minister with charge of both civil and personnel affairs. Zhongfu and Lingjun traveled to the Eastern Capital under false relay credentials while Yin prepared the mansion of Commandant of Cavalry Pei Xun to receive Zhongfu. A clerk in Luoyang county caught wind of the conspiracy.
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