1
資治通鑑第219卷
Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance, Volume 219
2
卷第二百一十九
Volume 219
3
【唐紀三十五】起柔兆涒灘十月，盡強圉作噩閏月，不滿一年。
[Tang Records 35] From the tenth month of the Rouzhao Youtan cycle year through the intercalary month of the Qiangyu Zuoe cycle year—less than one year in all.
4
肅宗文明武德大聖大宣孝皇帝中之上至德元年（ 丙申，公元七五六年）
The first part of the middle reign of Emperor Suzong—first year of Zhide ( bingchen, AD 756)
5
冬，十月，辛巳朔，日有食之，既。
In winter, the tenth month, on the xinsi new moon, a total solar eclipse occurred.
6
上發順化，癸未，至彭原。
The emperor left Shunhua; on guiwei he reached Pengyuan.
7
初，李林甫為相，諫官言事皆先白宰相，退則又以所言白之； 御史言事須大夫同署。 至是，敕盡革其弊，開諫諍之塗。 又令宰相分直政事筆、承旨，旬日而更，懲林甫及楊國忠之專權故也。
Earlier, while Li Linfu served as chancellor, remonstrating officials had to brief the chief minister before speaking at court, and afterward report what they had said to him again; and censors could not submit memorials unless the censor-in-chief co-signed them. Now an edict swept those abuses away and reopened the path for candid remonstrance. He also required the chancellors to rotate every ten days in holding the policy brush and drafting imperial rescripts, as a check on the kind of monopoly Li Linfu and Yang Guozhong had exercised.
8
第五琦見上於彭原，請以江、淮租庸市輕貨，溯江、漢而上至洋川，令漢中王瑀陸運至扶風以助軍； 上從之。 尋加琦山南等五道度支使。 琦作榷鹽法，用以饒。
Di Wuqi presented himself to the emperor at Pengyuan and proposed using Jiang-Huai tax revenues to buy portable goods, shipping them up the Yangzi and Han as far as Yangchuan, then having Prince Yu of Hanzhong haul them overland to Fufeng for the army; The emperor agreed. Di Wuqi was soon made fiscal commissioner for Shannan and four other circuits as well. He instituted a government salt monopoly to swell the revenues.
9
房琯喜賓客，好談論，多引拔知名之士，而輕鄙庸俗，人多怨之。 北海太守賀蘭進明詣行在，上命琯以為南海太守，兼御史大夫，充嶺南節度使； 琯以為攝御史大夫。 進明入謝，上怪之，進明因言與琯有隙，且曰：「晉用王衍為三公，祖尚浮虛，致中原板蕩。 今房琯專為迂闊大言以立虛名，所引用皆浮華之黨，真王衍之比也！ 陛下用為宰相，恐非社稷之福。 且琯在南朝佐上皇，使陛下與諸王分領諸道節制，仍置陛下於沙塞空虛之地，又布私黨於諸道，使統大權。 其意以為上皇一子得天下，則己不失富貴，此忠臣所為乎？」 上由是疏之。
Fang Guan loved to host guests and debate ideas, elevating famous scholars while looking down on ordinary men—a habit that earned him many enemies. Helan Jinming, prefect of Beihai, arrived at the mobile court; the emperor told Fang Guan to appoint him prefect of Nanhai, censor-in-chief, and military commissioner of Lingnan; but Fang Guan named him only acting censor-in-chief. When Jinming came to thank the court, the emperor was puzzled; Jinming said he bore a grudge against Fang Guan and added, "The Jin made Wang Yan one of the Three Excellencies—he exalted hollow talk and the heartland fell into chaos. Fang Guan now trades in lofty, impractical rhetoric to win an empty reputation and surrounds himself with flashy men—he is Wang Yan all over again! If Your Majesty keeps him as chancellor, I fear the realm will not prosper. Moreover, in the south Fang Guan helped the retired emperor parcel out military commands among Your Majesty and the princes, yet posted you to an empty frontier post while planting his own men in the circuits to hold real power. His aim was that so long as one of the retired emperor's sons held the throne, he would keep his fortune—is that the conduct of a loyal minister?" From that time the emperor kept his distance from Fang Guan.
10
房琯上疏，請自將兵復兩京； 上許之，加持節、招討西京兼防禦蒲、潼兩關兵馬、節度等使。 琯請自選參佐，以御史中丞鄧景山為副，戶部侍郎李揖為行軍司馬，給事中劉秩為參謀。 既行，又令兵部尚書王思禮副之。 琯悉以戎務委李揖、劉秩，二人皆書生，不閒軍旅。 琯謂人曰：「賊曳落河雖多，安能敵我劉秩！」 琯分為三軍：使裨將楊希文將南軍，自宜壽入； 劉貴哲將中軍，自武功入； 李光進將北軍，自奉天入。 光進，光弼之弟也。
Fang Guan memorialized the throne, asking to lead an army himself to retake the two capitals; the emperor agreed and gave him the staff of plenipotentiary commissioner to recover the western capital and defend the Pu and Tong passes. He chose his own staff: Deng Jingshan as deputy, Li Yi of the Revenue Ministry as army marshal, and Liu Zhi as strategist. After he marched, the emperor also sent Minister of War Wang Silu as his second-in-command. Fang Guan left all military matters to Li Yi and Liu Zhi—both bookish men with no experience of war. Fang Guan told others, "However many rebel rank-and-file they field, how can they match our Liu Zhi!" He split his force into three armies: Lieutenant General Yang Xiwen led the southern wing in from Yishou; Liu Guizhe the center from Wugong; and Li Guangjin the northern wing from Fengtian. Li Guangjin was Li Guangbi's younger brother.
11
以賀蘭進明為河南節度使。
Helan Jinming was made military commissioner of Henan.
12
穎王璬之至成都也，崔圓迎謁，拜於馬首，璬不之止； 圓恨之。 璬視事兩月，吏民安之。 圓奏罷璬，使歸內宅； 以武部侍郎李峘為劍南節度使，代之。 峘，峴之兄也。 上皇尋命璬與陳王珪詣上宣慰，至是，見上於彭原。 延王玢從上皇入蜀，追車駕不及； 上皇怒，欲誅之，漢中王瑀救之，乃命玢亦詣上所。
When Prince Li Lin of Ying reached Chengdu, Cui Yuan met him and bowed at the horse's head; the prince did not stop him; Cui Yuan took offense. For two months Li Lin governed well, and officials and commoners were content. Cui Yuan memorialized to remove him and send him back to the inner quarters; Li Xian of the War Ministry was appointed military commissioner of Jiannan in his place. The elder Li Xian was brother to the younger Li Xian. The retired emperor soon sent Li Lin and Prince Li Gui of Chen to comfort the emperor; they now met him at Pengyuan. Prince Li Bin of Yan had followed the retired emperor into Shu but failed to catch up with the imperial train; the retired emperor was furious and meant to put him to death; Prince Yu of Hanzhong interceded, and Li Bin was then ordered to join the emperor as well.
13
甲申，令狐潮、王福德復將步騎萬餘攻雍丘。 張巡出擊，大破之，斬首數千級，賊遁去。
On jiashen, Linghu Chao and Wang Fude again led over ten thousand foot and horse to assault Yongqiu. Zhang Xun counterattacked and crushed them, taking several thousand heads; the rebels withdrew.
14
房琯以中軍、北軍為前鋒，庚子，至便橋。 辛丑，二軍遇賊將安守忠於咸陽之陳濤斜。 琯效古法，用車戰，以牛車二千乘，馬步夾之； 賊順風鼓噪，牛皆震駭。 賊縱火焚之，人畜大亂，官軍死傷者四萬餘人，存者數千而已。 癸卯，琯自以南軍戰，又敗，楊希文、劉貴哲皆降於賊。 上聞琯敗，大怒。 李泌為之營救，上乃宥之，待琯如初。 以薛景仙為關內節度副使。
Fang Guan sent the central and northern wings ahead as his vanguard; on gengzi they reached Bianqiao. On xinchou both wings met the rebel general An Shouzhong at Chentaoxie near Xianyang. Fang Guan revived ancient chariot warfare, lining up two thousand ox-carts with infantry and cavalry on either side; the rebels yelled with the wind at their backs, and the oxen panicked. The rebels torched the carts; men and animals broke in chaos; more than forty thousand government troops were killed or wounded, and only a few thousand survived. On guimao Fang Guan led the southern wing himself and lost again; Yang Xiwen and Liu Guizhe both went over to the rebels. When the emperor learned of the defeat he was furious. Li Bi pleaded for him; the emperor forgave Fang Guan and treated him as before. Xue Jingxian was made deputy military commissioner of Guannei.
15
敦煌王承寀至回紇牙帳，回紇可汗以女妻之，遣其貴臣與承寀及僕固懷恩偕來，見上於彭原。 上厚禮其使者而歸之，賜回紇女號毘伽公主。
Prince Li Chengcai of Dunhuang reached the Uyghur royal camp; the qaghan gave him a daughter in marriage and sent a senior noble with Chengcai and Pugu Huai'en to meet the emperor at Pengyuan. The emperor honored the envoys and sent them home, granting the Uyghur bride the title Princess Pijia.
16
尹子奇圍河間，四十餘日不下。 史思明引兵會之。 顏真卿遣其將和琳將萬二千人救河間，思明逆擊，擒之，遂陷河間； 執李奐送洛陽，殺之。 又陷景城，太守李暐赴湛水死。 思明使兩騎繼尺書以招樂安，即時舉郡降。 又使其將康沒野波將先鋒攻平原，兵未至，顏真卿知力不敵，壬寅，棄郡度河南走。 思明即以平原兵攻清河、博平，皆陷之。 思明引兵圍烏承恩於信都，承恩以城降，親導思明入城，交兵馬、倉庫，馬三千匹、兵五萬人，思明送承恩詣洛陽，祿山復其官爵。
Yin Ziqi besieged Hejian for more than forty days without success. Shi Siming marched to reinforce him. Yan Zhenqing sent General He Lin with twelve thousand men to relieve the city; Shi Siming intercepted, captured him, and took Hejian; seized Li Huan, sent him to Luoyang, and had him killed. He also captured Jingcheng, where Prefect Li Wei drowned himself in the Zhan River. Shi Siming sent two riders with a short letter summoning Le'an, and the whole commandery submitted at once. He sent General Kang Moyabo ahead against Pingyuan; before the rebels arrived Yan Zhenqing saw he could not hold, and on renyin he abandoned the commandery and fled south across the Yellow River. Shi Siming then turned the Pingyuan forces against Qinghe and Boping and captured both. Shi Siming besieged Wu Cheng'en at Xindu; Cheng'en surrendered, personally escorted him into the city, and turned over three thousand horses, fifty thousand troops, and the stores; Shi Siming sent him to Luoyang, and An Lushan restored his titles.
17
饒陽裨將束鹿張興，力舉千鈞，性復明辯，賊攻饒陽，彌年不能下。 及諸郡皆陷，思明並力圍之，外救俱絕，太守李系窘迫，赴火死，城遂陷。 思明擒興，立於馬前，謂曰：「將軍真壯士，能與我共富貴乎？」 興曰：「興，唐之忠臣，固無降理，今數刻之人耳，願一言而死。」 思明曰：「試言之。」 興曰：「主上待祿山，恩如父子，群臣莫及，不知報德，乃興兵指闕，塗炭生人，大丈夫不能剪除凶逆，乃北面為之臣乎！ 僕有短策，足下能聽之乎？ 足下所以從賊，求富貴耳，譬如燕巢於幕，豈能久安！ 何如乘間取賊，轉禍為福，長享富貴，不亦美乎！」 思明怒，命張於木上，鋸殺之，詈不絕口，以至於死。
Zhang Xing of Shulu, a Raoyang lieutenant, could lift a thousand jun and spoke with force and clarity; the rebels besieged Raoyang for a year without breaching it. Once the other commanderies had fallen, Shi Siming concentrated every force on the city; relief was cut off; Prefect Li Xi, trapped, threw himself into the flames; the city fell. Shi Siming seized Zhang Xing, had him stand before his horse, and said, "You are a true warrior—will you share fortune with me?" Zhang Xing replied, "I am a loyal subject of Tang; I will not surrender. I have only moments left—let me speak once before I die." Shi Siming said, "Speak, then." Zhang Xing said, "The emperor treated An Lushan like a son—no minister was favored more—and he repaid that grace by marching on the throne and burning the land. Can a real man not strike down such a villain, yet bow north and serve him? I have a short counsel—will you hear it? You follow the rebels only for rank and riches—like a swallow nesting on a curtain, how long can that last? Why not seize your chance, kill the rebel leader, turn disaster into blessing, and keep your fortune forever—would that not be better?" Shi Siming flew into a rage, had him bound to a plank, and sawed him apart; Zhang Xing cursed without stop until he died.
18
賊每破一城，城中人衣服、財賄、婦人皆為所掠。 男子，壯者使之負擔，羸、病、老、幼皆以刀槊戲殺之。 祿山初以卒三千人授思明，使定河北，至是，河北皆下之，郡置防兵三千，雜以胡兵鎮之； 思明還博陵。
Whenever the rebels captured a city they looted clothing, goods, and women alike. Strong men were forced to bear loads; the weak, sick, old, and young were butchered for sport with blade and spear. An Lushan had first given Shi Siming three thousand men to secure Hebei; now the whole region had fallen, and each commandery held three thousand garrison troops mixed with non-Han auxiliaries; Shi Siming returned to Boling.
19
尹子奇將五千騎度河，略北海，欲南取江、淮。 會回紇可汗遣其臣葛邏支將兵入援，先以二千騎奄至范陽城下，子奇聞之，遽引兵歸。
Yin Ziqi led five thousand horse across the river, raided Beihai, and aimed to drive south for the Jiang-Huai. But the Uyghur qaghan had sent his minister Geluozhi with reinforcements; two thousand horsemen suddenly appeared before Fanyang, and Yin Ziqi hurriedly retreated.
20
十一月，戊午，回紇至帶汗谷，與郭子儀軍合； 辛酉，與同羅及叛胡戰於榆林河北，大破之，斬首三萬，捕虜一萬，河曲皆平。 子儀還軍洛交。
In the eleventh month, on wuwu, the Uyghurs reached Daihan Valley and joined forces with Guo Ziyi; on xinyou they smashed the Tongluo and rebel tribes north of the Yulin River, taking thirty thousand heads and ten thousand prisoners; the whole bend of the Yellow River was pacified. Guo Ziyi withdrew his army to Luojiao.
21
上命崔渙宣慰江南，兼知選舉。
The emperor sent Cui Huan to reassure Jiangnan and placed him in charge of the examinations as well.
22
令狐潮帥眾萬餘營雍丘城北，張巡邀擊，大破之，賊遂走。
Linghu Chao camped north of Yongqiu with more than ten thousand men; Zhang Xun ambushed and crushed them, and the rebels fled.
23
永王璘，幼失母，為上所鞠養，常抱之以眠； 從上皇入蜀。 上皇命諸子分總天下節制，諫議大夫高適諫，以為不可； 上皇不聽。 璘領四道節度都使，鎮江陵。 時江、淮租賦山積於江陵，璘召募勇士數萬人，日費巨萬。 璘生長深宮，不更人事，子襄城王瑒，有勇力，好兵，有薛鏐等為之謀主，以為今天下大亂，惟南方完富，璘握四道兵，封疆數千里，宜據金陵，保有江表，如東晉故事。 上聞之，敕璘歸覲於蜀； 璘不從。 江陵長史李峴辭疾赴行在，上召高適與之謀。 適陳江東利害，且言璘必敗之狀。 十二月，置淮南節度使，領廣陵等十二郡，以適為之； 置淮南西道節度使，領汝南等五郡，以來瞋為之； 使與江東節度使韋陟共圖璘。
Prince Li Lin of Yong lost his mother young; the emperor raised him himself and often slept with the boy in his arms; he followed the retired emperor into Shu. The retired emperor ordered his sons to divide command of the empire's military commissions; Remonstrance Counselor Gao Shi argued against it; the retired emperor would not listen. Li Lin was made overall commissioner of four circuits and posted at Jiangling. Jiang-Huai revenues were piled high at Jiangling; Li Lin raised tens of thousands of fighting men and spent fortunes every day. Li Lin had grown up in the inner palace and knew nothing of the world; his son Prince Li Chang of Xiangcheng was bold and loved arms; Xue Liu and others advised him that in the present chaos only the south remained rich and intact, that with four circuits and thousands of li under his hand he should seize Jinling, hold the lower Yangzi, and repeat the Eastern Jin precedent. When the emperor heard of this he ordered Li Lin to return to court in Shu; Li Lin refused. Li Xian, chief administrator of Jiangling, pleaded illness and came to the mobile court; the emperor summoned Gao Shi to counsel with him. Gao Shi laid out the stakes east of the river and explained why Li Lin was bound to fail. In the twelfth month the court created the Huainan military commission over twelve commanderies including Guangling and appointed Gao Shi to it; and created the Western Huainan commission over five commanderies including Runan, with Lai Chen in command; They were ordered to cooperate with Jiangdong military governor Wei Zhi in a plan against Li Lin.
24
安祿山遣兵攻穎川。 城中兵少，無蓄積，太守薛願、長史龐堅悉力拒守，繞城百里廬舍、林木皆盡。 期年，救兵不至，祿山使阿史那承慶益兵攻之，晝夜死鬥十五日，城陷，執願、堅送洛陽，祿山縛於洛濱木上，凍殺之。
An Lushan sent troops to attack Yingchuan. The city had few defenders and no stockpiles; Prefect Xue Yuan and Chief Administrator Pang Jian defended with all their strength, stripping every building and tree for a hundred li around the walls. A year passed with no relief; Lushan sent Ashina Chengqing with reinforcements, and after fifteen days of savage fighting day and night the city fell. Yuan and Jian were captured and sent to Luoyang, where Lushan had them tied to trees on the banks of the Luo and left to freeze to death.
25
上問李泌曰：「今敵強如此，何時可定？」 對曰：「臣觀賊所獲子女金帛，皆輸之范陽，此豈有雄據四海之志邪！ 今獨虜將或為之用，中國之人惟高尚等數人，自餘皆脅從耳。 以臣料之，不過二年，天下無寇矣。」 上曰：「何故？」 對曰：「賊之驍將，不過史思明、安守忠、田乾真、張忠志、阿史那承慶等數人而已。 今若令李光弼自太原出井陘，郭子儀自馮翊入河東，則思明、忠志不敢離范陽、常山，守忠、乾真不敢離長安，是以兩軍縶其四將也，從祿山者，獨承慶耳。 願敕子儀勿取華陰，使兩京之道常通，陛下以所征之兵軍於扶風，與子儀、光弼互出擊之，彼救首則擊其尾，救尾則擊其首，使賊往來數千里，疲於奔命，我常以逸待勞，賊至則避其鋒，去則乘其弊，不攻城，不遏路。 來春覆命建寧為范陽節度大使，並塞北出，與光弼南北掎角以取范陽，覆其巢穴。 賊退則無所歸，留則不獲安，然後大軍四合而攻之，必成擒矣。」 上悅。
The emperor asked Li Bi, "The enemy is this strong—when can we finally put them down? Li Bi answered, "Everything the rebels capture—people, gold, silk—goes to Fanyang. That's hardly the mind of someone who means to rule the empire! Only a few foreign commanders are really trusted; of Chinese subjects barely a handful like Gao Shang are willing partners—the rest are forced along. In my estimate, within two years there will be no rebels left in the land. The emperor asked, "Why? Li Bi answered, "Their best fighters are only a handful—Shi Siming, An Shouzhong, Tian Ganzen, Zhang Zhongzhi, Ashina Chengqing, and the like. If Li Guangbi advances from Taiyuan through Jingxing and Guo Ziyi enters Hedong from Fenyang, Siming and Zhongzhi cannot leave Fanyang and Changshan, and Shouzhong and Ganzen cannot leave Chang'an—two armies pinning four of their best commanders, leaving only Chengqing with Lushan. Order Guo Ziyi not to take Huayin; keep the route between the two capitals open; station your mobilized troops at Fufeng and let them and Li Guangbi strike in rotation—hit the tail when the enemy saves the head, hit the head when they save the tail—forcing the rebels to race thousands of li until they collapse from exhaustion. We stay fresh; when they come, we sidestep their thrust; when they leave, we strike their weakness. Do not besiege cities; do not cut roads. Next spring, appoint the Prince of Jianning great military commissioner of Fanyang and send him out from the northern frontier to join Li Guangbi in a north-south pincer on Fanyang and destroy their base. If they retreat they have nowhere to go; if they stay they cannot rest—then our armies can close in from every side and take them for certain. The emperor was pleased."
26
時張良娣與李輔國相表裡，皆惡泌。 建寧王倓謂泌曰：「先生舉倓於上，得展臣子之效，無以報德，請為先生除害。」 泌曰：「何也？」 倓以良娣為言。 泌曰：「此非人子所言，願王姑置之，勿以為先。」 倓不從。
Consort Zhang Liangdi and Li Fuguo were in league, and both hated Li Bi. Prince Li Tan of Jianning said to Li Bi, "You put in a word for me with the emperor and let me serve as a subject should. I cannot repay that debt—but I can remove your enemies for you. Li Bi asked, "What do you mean? Tan named Consort Liangdi. Li Bi said, "That is not what a son should say. Set it aside for now, Your Highness, and do not make it your first concern. Tan refused.
27
甲辰，永王璘擅引舟師東巡，沿江而下，軍容甚盛，然猶未露割據之謀。 吳郡太守兼江南東路採訪使李希言平牒璘，詰其擅引兵東下之意。 璘怒，分兵遣其將渾惟明襲希言於吳郡，季廣琛襲廣陵長史、淮南採訪使李成式於廣陵。 璘進至當塗，希言遣其將元景曜及丹徒太守閻敬之將兵拒之，李成式亦遣其將李承慶拒之。 璘擊斬敬之以殉，景曜、承慶皆降於璘，江、淮大震。 高適與來瑱、韋陟會於安陸，結盟誓眾以討之。
On jiachen, Prince Li Lin of Yong took his fleet on an unauthorized eastern tour down the river in great martial array, though he had not yet openly declared a scheme to carve out territory. Li Xiyan, prefect of Wu and investigative commissioner for eastern Jiangnan, sent Li Lin an official dispatch demanding to know why he had moved troops east without authority. Enraged, Li Lin split his forces: Hun Weiming struck Li Xiyan at Wu, and Ji Guangchen struck Li Chengshi, chief administrator of Guangling and Huainan investigative commissioner, at Guangling. Li Lin pushed on to Dangtu; Li Xiyan sent Yuan Jingyao and Yan Jingzhi, prefect of Dantu, to block him, and Li Chengshi sent Li Chengqing to do the same. Li Lin killed Yan Jingzhi and displayed his head; Jingyao and Chengqing both surrendered, and the Jiang-Huai region was thrown into uproar. Gao Shi joined Lai Tian and Wei Zhi at Anlu, took oaths before their troops, and pledged to suppress Li Lin.
28
于闐王勝聞安祿山反，命其弟曜攝國事，自將兵五千入援。 上嘉之，拜特進，兼殿中監。
When King Sheng of Khotan heard of An Lushan's rebellion, he left his brother Yao in charge of the kingdom and marched five thousand men to the empire's aid. The emperor commended him and named him supernumerary grand master and concurrent director of the Palace Secretariat.
29
令狐潮、李庭望攻雍丘，數月不下，乃置杞州，築城於雍丘之北以絕其糧援。 賊常數萬人，而張巡眾才千餘，每戰輒克。 河南節度使虢王巨屯彭城，假巡先鋒使。 是月，魯、東平、濟陰陷於賊。 賊將楊朝宗帥馬步二萬，將襲寧陵，斷巡後。 巡遂拔雍丘，東守寧陵以待之，始與睢陽太守許遠相見。 是日，楊朝宗至寧陵城西北，巡、遠與戰，晝夜數十合，大破之，斬首萬餘級，流屍塞汴而下，賊收兵夜遁。 敕以巡為河南節度副使。 巡以將士有功，遣使詣虢王巨請空名告身及賜物，巨唯與折衝、果毅告身三十通，不與賜物。 巡移書責巨，巨竟不應。
Linghu Chao and Li Tingwang besieged Yongqiu for months without success, then created Qi Prefecture and walled a garrison north of the city to cut its supplies. Rebel forces often numbered in the tens of thousands, yet Zhang Xun had barely a thousand men—and won every fight. Prince Ju of Guo, military commissioner of Henan, was at Pengcheng and made Zhang Xun provisional vanguard commissioner. That month Lu, Dongping, and Jiyin fell to the rebels. Rebel general Yang Chaozong led twenty thousand infantry and cavalry toward Ningling, intending to cut Zhang Xun off from behind. Zhang Xun abandoned Yongqiu, moved east to defend Ningling, and met Suiyang prefect Xu Yuan for the first time. That day Yang Chaozong reached the northwest of Ningling; Zhang Xun and Xu Yuan fought him through dozens of clashes over day and night, smashed his army, and took more than ten thousand heads—the Bian River ran choked with bodies downstream before the rebels broke off and fled by night. The court appointed Zhang Xun deputy military commissioner of Henan. Zhang Xun sent an envoy to Prince Ju requesting blank commissions and prizes for his men; Ju provided only thirty blank commissions for strike-crossing and resolute ranks—and no gifts. Zhang Xun wrote to rebuke him; Ju never replied.
30
是歲，置北海節度使，領北海等四郡； 上黨節度使，領上黨等三郡； 興平節度使，領上洛等四郡。
That year the court created the Beihai military commission over four commanderies including Beihai; the Shangdang commission over three commanderies including Shangdang; and the Xingping commission over four commanderies including Shangluo.
31
吐蕃陷威戎、神威、定戎、宣威、制勝、金天、天成等軍，石堡城、百谷城、雕窠城。
Tibet seized the garrisons of Weirong, Shenwei, Dingrong, Xuanwei, Zhisheng, Jintian, and Tiancheng, along with Stone Fortress, Hundred Valleys Fortress, and Eagle Nest Fortress.
32
初，林邑王范真龍為其臣摩訶漫多伽獨所殺，盡滅范氏。 國人立其王頭黎之女為王，女不能治國，更立頭黎之姑子諸葛地，謂之環王，妻以女王。
Earlier, King Fan Zhenlong of Linyi was killed by his minister Moheduojia Du, who wiped out the entire Fan clan. The people made Touli's daughter queen, but she could not rule; they then enthroned Touli's nephew by marriage, Zhugedi, as King Huan and married him to the queen.
33
肅宗文明武德大聖大宣孝皇帝中之上至德二年（ 丁酉，公元七五七年）
The first part of the middle reign of Emperor Suzong—second year of Zhide ( dingyou, 757 CE)
34
春，正月，上皇下誥，以憲部尚書李麟同平章事，總行百司，命崔圓奉誥赴彭原。 麟，懿祖之後也。
In the first month of spring the retired emperor issued an edict naming Minister of Justice Li Lin co-manager of affairs to oversee all offices, and sent Cui Yuan to deliver it to Pengyuan. Li Lin was a descendant of Emperor Yizu.
35
安祿山自起兵以來，目漸昏，至是不復睹物； 又病疽，性益躁暴，左右使令，小不如意，動加棰撻，或時殺之。 既稱帝，深居禁中，大將希得見其面，皆因嚴莊白事。 莊雖貴用事，亦不免棰撻，閹豎李豬兒被撻尤多，左右人不自保。 祿山嬖妾段氏，生子慶恩，欲以代慶緒為後。 慶緒常懼死，不知所出。 莊謂慶緒曰：「事有不得已者，時不可失。」 慶緒曰：「兄有所為，敢不敬從。」 又謂豬兒曰：「汝前後受撻，寧有數乎！ 不行大事，死無日矣！」 豬兒亦許諾。 莊與慶緒夜持兵立帳外，豬兒執刀直入帳中，斫祿山腹。 左右懼，不敢動。 祿山捫枕旁刀，不獲，撼帳竿，曰：「必家賊也。」 腹已流血數鬥，遂死。 掘床下深數尺，以氈裹其屍埋之，誡宮中不得洩。 乙卯旦，莊宣言於外，雲祿山疾亟。 立晉王慶緒為太子，尋即帝位，尊祿山為太上皇，然後發喪。 慶緒性昏懦，言辭無序，莊恐眾不服，不令見人。 慶緒日縱酒為樂，兄事莊，以為御史大夫、馮翊王，事無大小，皆取決焉； 厚加諸將官爵以悅其心。
Since raising his rebellion An Lushan's sight had failed; by now he could see nothing at all; he was also afflicted with carbuncles and grew ever more violent; the slightest slip by those around him brought a beating, and sometimes death. After proclaiming himself emperor he shut himself in the inner palace; his top commanders rarely saw him, and everything went through Yan Zhuang. Even Zhuang, for all his power, was not spared the lash; the eunuch attendant Li Zhuer was beaten more than anyone, and no one at court felt safe. Lushan favored his concubine Lady Duan, who bore him a son, Qing'en, and he meant to make the boy heir instead of Qingxu. Qingxu lived in constant fear of death and saw no way out. Zhuang told Qingxu, "When there is no other choice, you cannot miss the moment. Qingxu said, "Whatever you plan, elder brother, I will follow. He also told Zhuer, "The beatings you have taken—who could count them! If we do not act now, you will not live to see another day! Zhuer agreed as well. That night Zhuang and Qingxu waited armed outside the tent while Zhuer went in with a knife and hacked at Lushan's belly. Those around him were too terrified to move. Lushan groped for the knife by his pillow but missed it, shook the tent pole, and cried, "It must be someone inside the house! Blood poured from his belly by the dou; then he died. They dug several feet under the bed, wrapped the body in felt, buried it, and ordered the palace to keep silent. At dawn on yimao Zhuang announced outside that Lushan was gravely ill. Prince Qingxu of Jin was made heir apparent, then immediately took the throne, declared Lushan retired emperor, and only afterward announced his death. Qingxu was dull and timid and spoke incoherently; Zhuang, fearing the court would not accept him, kept him from public view. Qingxu drank all day for amusement, treated Zhuang like an elder brother, made him censor-in-chief and Prince of Fenyang, and left every decision, large or small, to him; and lavished titles and ranks on the generals to keep them loyal."
36
上從容謂李泌曰：「廣平為元帥逾年，今欲命建寧專征，又恐勢分。 立廣平為太子，何如？」 對曰：「臣固嘗言之矣，戎事交切，須即區處，至於家事，當俟上皇。 不然，後代何以辨陛下靈武即位之意邪！ 此必有人欲令臣與廣平有隙耳； 臣請以語廣平，廣平亦必未敢當。」 泌出，以告廣平王俶，俶曰：「此先生深知其心，欲曲成其美也。」 乃入，固辭，曰：「陛下猶未奉晨昏，臣何心敢當儲副！ 願俟上皇還宮，臣之幸也。」 上賞慰之。 李輔國本飛龍小兒，粗閒書計，給事太子宮，上委信之。 輔國外恭謹寡言而內狡險，見張良娣有寵，陰附會之，與相表裡。 建寧王倓數於上前詆訐二人罪惡，二人譖之於上曰：「倓恨不得為元帥，謀害廣平王。」 上怒，賜倓死。 於是廣平王俶及李泌皆內懼。 倓謀去輔國及良娣，泌曰：「不可，王不見建寧之禍乎？」 俶曰：「竊為先生憂之。」 泌曰：「泌與主上有約矣。 俟平京師，則去還山，庶免於患。」 俶曰：「先生去，則俶益危矣。」 泌曰：「王但盡人子之孝，良娣婦人，王委曲順之，亦何能為！」
The emperor said casually to Li Bi, "Prince Guangping has been supreme commander for more than a year. I want to give Jianning an independent command, but I fear splitting our strength. What if I made Guangping crown prince? Li Bi answered, "I have said this before: military matters are urgent and must be decided now, but family affairs should wait for the retired emperor. Otherwise how will later ages understand why you took the throne at Lingwu! Someone clearly wants to drive a wedge between Guangping and me; let me speak to Guangping—he will surely refuse as well. Li Bi left and told Prince Li Chu of Guangping. Chu said, "He knows exactly what you mean and is trying to help you do the right thing. He went in and firmly declined. "Your Majesty has not yet been able to attend the retired emperor morning and evening—how could I accept the position of heir! I ask only to wait until the retired emperor returns to the palace—that would be fortune enough for me. The emperor praised and reassured him. Li Fuguo had started as a boy in the Flying Dragon Bureau, knew a little reading and reckoning, and served in the crown prince's household; the emperor trusted him deeply. Outwardly deferential and quiet, he was inwardly cunning; seeing Consort Zhang Liangdi in favor, he secretly allied with her, and the two worked in concert. Prince Li Tan of Jianning repeatedly denounced the pair before the emperor; they slandered him in turn, saying, "Tan resents not being supreme commander and plots against Prince Guangping. The emperor was furious and ordered Tan to take his own life. Prince Li Chu of Guangping and Li Bi were both inwardly terrified. When Tan had plotted to remove Fuguo and Liangdi, Li Bi said, "You cannot. Have you not seen what happened to Jianning? Chu said, "I worry for you, sir. Li Bi said, "I have an agreement with the emperor. Once the capital is recovered I will leave and return to the mountains—that is how I hope to escape trouble. Chu said, "If you leave, sir, I will be in even greater danger. Li Bi said, "Your Highness need only fulfill your filial duty as a son. Liangdi is a woman—yield to her gracefully, and what can she do?"
37
上謂泌曰：「今郭子儀、李光弼已為宰相，若克兩京，平四海，則無官以賞之，奈何？」 對曰：「古者官以任能，爵以酬功。 漢、魏以來，雖以郡縣治民，然有功則錫以茅土，傳之子孫，至於周、隋皆然。 唐初，未得關東，故封爵皆設虛名，其食實封者，給繒布而已。 貞觀中，太宗欲復古制，大臣議論不同而止。 由是賞功者多以官。 夫以官賞功有二害，非才則廢事，權重則難制。 是以功臣居大官者，皆不為子孫之遠圖，務乘一時之權以邀利，無所不為。 向使祿山有百里之國，則亦惜之以傳子孫，不反矣。 為今之計，俟天下既平，莫若疏爵土以賞功臣，則雖大國，不過二三百里，可比今之小郡，豈難制哉！ 於人臣乃萬世之利也。」 上曰：「善！」
The emperor said to Li Bi, "Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi are already chancellors. If they recover the two capitals and pacify the realm, what offices remain with which to reward them? Li Bi answered, "In antiquity offices were for assigning talent; enfeoffments were for rewarding merit. From Han and Wei onward, though the empire was ruled through commanderies and counties, merit was rewarded with fiefs passed down to sons and grandsons—through Zhou and Sui alike. Early in Tang, before the east of the Pass was recovered, titles of nobility were mostly nominal; even those with substantive fiefs received only bolts of silk. In the Zhenguan era Emperor Taizong wanted to restore the old system, but abandoned the idea when his ministers disagreed. Since then merit has mostly been rewarded with offices. Rewarding merit with offices has two evils: the unfit neglect their duties, and the powerful become hard to control. That is why great ministers who rose by merit rarely plan for their descendants; they seize whatever power they have at the moment for profit and stop at nothing. If Lushan had held even a modest fief of his own, he would have hoarded it for his heirs instead of rising in rebellion. The better course now is this: once the realm is pacified, reward your great captains with scattered fiefs rather than offices. Even the largest grant need be no more than two or three hundred li—about the size of a small commandery today. Such holdings are easily kept in hand. For a subject, that would be a blessing lasting generations. The emperor said, "Excellent!"
38
上聞安西、北庭及拔汗那、大食諸國兵至涼、鄯，甲子，幸保定。
When word came that armies from Anxi, Beiting, Bahanna, and Dashi had reached Liang and Shan, the emperor on jiazi moved to Baoding.
39
丙寅，劍南兵賈秀等五千人謀反，將軍席元慶、臨邛太守柳奕討誅之。
On bingyin, five thousand Jiannan troops under Jia Xiu and others mutinied; General Xi Yuanqing and Linqi prefect Liu Yi put down the plot and executed the ringleaders.
40
河西兵馬使蓋庭倫與武威九姓商胡安門物等，殺節度使周泌，聚眾六萬。 武威大城之中，小城有七，胡據其五，二城堅守。 支度判官崔稱與中使劉日新以二城兵攻之，旬有七日，平之。
In Hexi, Gai Tinglun, the army horse commissioner, joined with An Menwu and other Wuwei merchant allies of the Nine Surnames to murder Military Commissioner Zhou Bi and raise a host of sixty thousand. Within greater Wuwei stood seven walled towns; the rebels held five, while two remained loyal and shut their gates. Supply commissioner Cui Cheng and palace envoy Liu Rixin marched the loyal garrisons against them and, after seventeen days, restored order.
41
史思明自博陵，蔡希德自太行，高秀巖自大同，牛廷介自范陽，引兵共十萬，寇太原。 李光弼麾下精兵皆赴朔方，餘團練烏合之眾不滿萬人。 思明以為太原指掌可取，既得之，當遂長驅取朔方、河、隴。 太原諸將皆懼，議修城以待之，光弼曰：「太原城週四十里，賊垂至而興役，是未見敵先自困也。」 乃帥士卒及民於城外鑿壕以自固。 作墼數十萬，眾莫知所用； 及賊攻城於外，光弼用之增壘於內，壞輒補之。 思明使人取攻具於山東，以胡兵三千衛送之，至廣陽，別將慕容溢、張奉璋邀擊，盡殺之。
Shi Siming marched from Boling, Cai Xide from the Taihang range, Gao Xiuyan from Datong, and Niu Tingjie from Fanyang, bringing a combined force of one hundred thousand against Taiyuan. Li Guangbi's best troops had all been sent to Shuofang; those left behind were raw militia and a scratch force of fewer than ten thousand. Siming deemed Taiyuan easy prey; once it fell, he meant to drive on through Shuofang and the He-Long corridor. Taiyuan's officers were terrified and wanted to repair the walls and wait. Li Guangbi said, "Taiyuan's walls stretch forty li around. Starting major works with the enemy almost upon us is to exhaust ourselves before a blow is struck. Instead he led soldiers and townspeople outside the walls to dig defensive ditches. He had hundreds of thousands of bricks made, and no one in the army knew why; When the rebels assaulted the walls, Guangbi used those bricks to build inner ramparts, repairing every breach as it appeared. Siming sent to Shandong for siege equipment, guarded by three thousand barbarian troops; at Guangyang, Li Guangbi's lieutenants Murong Yi and Zhang Fengzhang ambushed the convoy and wiped it out.
42
思明圍太原，月餘不下，乃選驍銳為遊兵，戒之曰：「我攻其北則汝潛趣其南，攻東則趣西，有隙則乘之。」 而光弼軍令嚴整，雖寇所不至，警邏未嘗少懈，賊不得入。 光弼購募軍中，苟有小技，皆取之，隨能使之，人盡其用，得安邊軍錢工三，善穿地道。 賊於城下仰而侮詈，光弼遣人從地道中曳其足而入，臨城斬之。 自是賊行皆視地。 賊為梯沖、土山以攻城，光弼為地道以迎之，近城輒陷。 賊初逼城急，光弼作大砲，飛巨石，一發輒斃二十餘人，賊死者什二三，乃退營於數十步外，圍守益固。 光弼遣人詐與賊約，刻日出降； 賊喜，不為備。 光弼使穿地道周賊營中，搘之以木。 至期，光弼勒兵在城上，遣裨將將數千人出，如降狀，賊皆屬目。 俄而營中地陷，死者千餘人，賊眾驚亂，官軍鼓噪乘之，俘斬萬計。 會安祿山死，慶緒使思明歸守范陽，留蔡希德等圍太原。
After more than a month without reducing Taiyuan, Siming picked his best troops for mobile raiding parties and told them, "When I strike the north wall, you slip around to the south; when I hit the east, you probe the west—wherever a gap opens, drive through it. But Guangbi kept iron discipline; even at points the rebels never threatened, his pickets never relaxed, and no raider broke through. Guangbi scoured the ranks for anyone with a useful knack and put each to work. Among them were three pay clerks of the Anbian Army who excelled at tunneling. Rebels jeered up at the defenders from below; Guangbi's men pulled their legs through a tunnel, hauled them inside, and beheaded them in full view of the wall. After that the rebels never marched without watching the ground beneath their feet. The rebels built towers, battering rams, and earthen assault mounds; Guangbi countered with tunnels, and every approach to the wall sank into the earth. When the rebels pressed close, Guangbi deployed heavy trebuchets that launched boulders, killing twenty or more with each cast and slaying perhaps a fifth of the assault force. The enemy then pulled back their camps by several dozen paces and settled into a tighter blockade. Guangbi sent envoys pretending to negotiate a surrender on a fixed day; the rebels were delighted and let down their guard. Guangbi had tunnels dug beneath the enemy camps, shored up with timber. On the appointed day Guangbi stood his men on the walls and sent lieutenants with several thousand troops out in feigned surrender; every rebel eye turned toward them. Suddenly the earth opened under the rebel camps; more than a thousand perished in the collapse. In the uproar the imperial troops surged forward with drums and war cries, taking and killing beyond count. About then An Lushan died. An Qingxu recalled Siming to hold Fanyang and left Cai Xide and others to maintain the siege of Taiyuan.
43
慶緒以尹子奇為汴州刺史、河南節度使。 甲戌，子奇以歸、檀及同羅、奚兵十三萬趣睢陽。 許遠告急於張巡，巡自寧陵引兵入睢陽。 巡有兵三千人，與遠兵合六千八百人。 賊悉眾逼城，巡督勵將士，晝夜苦戰，或一日至二十合； 凡十六日，擒賊將六十餘人，殺士卒二萬餘，眾氣自倍。 遠謂巡曰：「遠懦，不習兵，公智勇兼濟，遠請為公守，請公為遠戰。」 自是之後，遠但調軍糧，修戰具，居中應接而已，戰鬥籌畫一出於巡。 賊遂夜遁。 郭子儀以河東居兩京之間，扼賊要衝，得河東則兩京可圖。 時賊將崔乾祐守河東，丁丑，子儀潛遣人入河東，與唐官陷賊者謀，俟官軍至，為內應。
An Qingxu made Yin Ziqi prefect of Bianzhou and military commissioner of Henan. On jiaxu Yin Ziqi marched one hundred thirty thousand men—including Gui and Tan regiments and Tongluo and Xi auxiliaries—against Suiyang. Xu Yuan appealed desperately to Zhang Xun, who marched from Ningling into Suiyang with his troops. Zhang Xun brought three thousand men; together with Xu Yuan's force they numbered sixty-eight hundred. The rebels brought their full strength against the walls. Zhang Xun heartened his officers and men and fought around the clock, sometimes twenty engagements in a single day; In sixteen days they captured more than sixty enemy officers and killed twenty thousand soldiers; the defenders' spirits doubled of their own accord. Xu Yuan said to Zhang Xun, "I am no soldier—only a timid administrator. You have both wit and courage. Let me manage the city's defenses while you lead the fighting. Henceforth Xu Yuan handled supplies and weapons and stayed at headquarters to coordinate; every plan of battle came from Zhang Xun alone. The rebels broke camp and slipped away by night. Guo Ziyi saw that Hedong stood between the two capitals on the rebels' main artery; seize it, and Chang'an and Luoyang could be retaken. The rebel general Cui Qianyou held Hedong. On dingchou Guo Ziyi secretly sent agents to conspire with Tang loyalists trapped inside the city to rise when the imperial army arrived.
44
初，平盧節度使劉正臣自范陽敗歸，安東都護王玄志鴆殺之。 祿山以其黨徐歸道為平盧節度使，玄志復與平盧將侯希逸襲殺之； 又遣兵馬使董秦將兵以葦筏度海，與大將田神功擊平原、樂安，下之。 防河招討使李銑承製以秦為平原太守。
Earlier, Liu Zhengchen, military commissioner of Pinglu, had fled south after defeat near Fanyang; Wang Xuanzhi, protector-general of Andong, poisoned him. Lushan installed his follower Xu Guidao as military commissioner of Pinglu; Xuanzhi then joined Pinglu general Hou Xiyi in a surprise raid that killed Xu Guidao; Dong Qin, an army horse commissioner, then crossed the sea on reed rafts with Tian Shenggong's forces, seized Pingyuan and Le'an, and brought them over. Li Xian, the river-defense pacification commissioner, appointed Dong Qin prefect of Pingyuan by imperial order.
45
二月，戊子，上至鳳翔。
In the second month, on wuzi, the emperor reached Fengxiang.
46
郭子儀自洛交引兵趣河東，分兵取馮翊。 己丑夜，河東司戶韓旻等翻河東城迎官軍，殺賊近千人。 崔乾祐逾城得免，發城北兵攻城，且拒官軍，子儀擊破之。 乾祐走，子儀追擊之，斬首四千級，捕虜五千人，乾祐至安邑，安邑人開門納之，半入，閉門擊之，盡殪。 乾佑未入，自白逕嶺亡去。 遂平河東。
Guo Ziyi marched from Luojiao toward Hedong and sent a detachment to seize Fengyi. On the night of jichou, Han Min, a Hedong revenue clerk, and others opened the city gates to the imperial army and killed nearly a thousand rebels. Cui Qianyou escaped over the wall, rallied the northern garrison to retake the city, and tried to block the imperial advance; Guo Ziyi routed him. Qianyou fled. Guo Ziyi pursued, slaying four thousand and taking five thousand prisoners. At Anyi the townspeople feigned welcome, let half his force through the gates, then shut them and slaughtered every man inside. Qianyou himself had not yet entered and fled away through Baijing Ridge. Hedong was pacified.
47
上至鳳翔旬日，隴右、河西、安西、西域之兵皆會，江、淮庸調亦至洋川、漢中，上自散關通表成都，信使駱驛。 長安人聞車駕至，從賊中自拔而來者日夜不絕。 西師憩息既定，李泌請遣安西及西域之眾，如前策並塞東北，自歸、檀南取范陽。 上曰：「今大眾已集，庸調亦至，當乘兵鋒搗其腹心，而更引兵東北數千里，先取范陽，不亦迂乎？」 對曰：「今以此眾直取兩京，必得之。 然賊必再強，我必又困，非久安之策。」 上曰：「何也？」 對曰：「今所恃者，皆西北守塞及諸胡之兵，性耐寒而畏暑，若乘其新至之銳，攻祿山已老之師，其勢必克。 兩京春氣已深，賊收其餘眾，遁歸巢穴，關東地熱，官軍必困而思歸，不可留也。 賊休兵秣馬，伺官軍之去，必復南來，然則征戰之勢未有涯也。 不若先用之於寒鄉，除其巢穴，則賊無所歸，根本永絕矣。」 上曰：「朕切於晨昏之戀，不能待此決矣。」
Ten days after reaching Fengxiang, the emperor's camp had mustered armies from Longyou, Hexi, Anxi, and the Western Regions, while Jiang-Huai levies were flowing into Yangchuan and Hanzhong. Memorials passed from Chengdu through San'guan, and messengers arrived in an unbroken stream. When word spread in Chang'an that the emperor had reached Fengxiang, deserters from the rebel ranks poured in day and night. Once the western armies had rested, Li Bi again urged sending the Anxi and Western Region troops along his earlier plan: seal the northeast, then strike south from the Gui and Tan routes to take Fanyang. The emperor said, "Our armies are massed and supplies are in hand. We should strike at the rebel heartland while our edge is sharp—not march thousands of li northeast to Fanyang first. Isn't that a roundabout course? Li Bi answered, "March this army straight on the two capitals and you will surely take them. But the rebels will regroup, and we will be exhausted again. That is no lasting victory. The emperor asked, "Why? Because our strength now lies in northwest frontier troops and allied barbarian cavalry—hardy in cold, sickly in heat. Use their fresh edge against Lushan's aging regiments and the fight will go our way. By the time we reach the capitals, spring will be far advanced. The rebels will melt back to their northern strongholds. The heat of the east will break our frontier troops—they will sicken and long for home, and you will not keep them. The rebels will rest, remount, and the moment our armies withdraw they will drive south again. The war would never end. Better strike while they are still strong in the cold north, destroy the rebel nest, and leave them nowhere to run. Cut the root and the rebellion dies. The emperor said, "I burn to recover the capitals—I cannot wait that long."
48
關內節度使王思禮軍武功，兵馬使郭英乂軍東原，王難得軍西原。 丁酉，安守忠等寇武功，郭英乂戰不利，矢貫其頤而走； 王難得望之不救，亦走； 思禮退軍扶風。 賊遊兵至大和關，去鳳翔五十里，鳳翔大駭，戒嚴。
Wang Sili, military commissioner of Guannei, held Wugong; Guo Yingyi, army horse commissioner, held Dongyuan; Wang Nande held Xiyuan. On dingyou An Shouzhong attacked Wugong. Guo Yingyi was driven back, an arrow through his jaw, and fled; Wang Nande saw him fall back and did not intervene—he too fled; Sili pulled back to Fufeng. Rebel raiders reached Dahe Pass, fifty li from Fengxiang. The city was thrown into panic and placed under martial law.
49
李光弼將敢死士出擊蔡希德，大破之，斬首七萬餘級； 希德遁去。
Li Guangbi led his suicide squads out against Cai Xide and shattered him, claiming more than seventy thousand heads; Cai Xide fled.
50
安慶緒以史思明為范陽節度使，兼領恆陽軍事，封媯川王； 以牛廷介領安陽軍事； 張忠志為常山太守兼團練使，鎮井陘口； 餘各令歸舊任，募兵以御官軍。 先是安祿山得兩京珍貨，悉輸范陽。 思明擁強兵，據富資，益驕橫，浸不用慶緒之命； 慶緒不能制。
An Qingxu made Shi Siming military commissioner of Fanyang, put him in charge of Hengyang as well, and enfeoffed him as Prince of Guichuan; Niu Tingjie was given Anyang; Zhang Zhongzhi became prefect of Changshan and regimentation commissioner, holding Jingxing Pass; the others were sent back to their old commands to raise troops against the court. When An Lushan looted the two capitals, he shipped the plunder north to Fanyang. Siming commanded a powerful army and sat atop that hoard; he grew swaggering and increasingly ignored Qingxu's orders; Qingxu could not control him.
51
戊戌，永王璘敗死，其黨薛鏐等皆伏誅。
On wuxu Prince Li Lin of Yong was defeated and killed; his followers, including Xue Liu, were put to death.
52
時李成式與河北招討判官李銑合兵討璘，銑兵數千，軍於揚子； 成式使判官裴茂將兵三千，軍於瓜步，廣張旗幟，列於江津。 璘與其子瑒登城望之，始有懼色。 季廣琛召諸將謂曰：「吾屬從王至此，天命未集，人謀已隳，不如及兵鋒未交，早圖去就。 不然，死於鋒鏑，永為逆臣矣。」 諸將皆然之。 於是廣琛以麾下奔廣陵，渾惟明奔江寧，馮季康奔白沙。 璘憂懼，不知所出。 其夕，江北之軍多列炬火，光照水中，一皆為兩，璘軍又以火應之。 璘以為官軍已濟江，遽挈家屬與麾下潛遁； 及明，不見濟者，乃復入城收兵，具舟楫而去。 成式將趙侃等濟江至新豐，璘使瑒及其將高仙琦將兵擊之； 侃等逆戰，射瑒中肩，璘兵遂潰。 璘與仙琦收餘眾，南奔鄱陽，收庫物甲兵，欲南奔嶺表，江西採訪使皇甫侁遣兵追討，擒之，潛殺之於傳捨； 瑒亦死於亂兵。
Li Chengshi and Li Xian, a Hebei pacification staff officer, joined forces against Li Lin. Xian camped at Yangzi with several thousand men; Chengshi sent his aide Pei Mao with three thousand troops to Guabu, where they unfurled a forest of banners along the river crossing. Li Lin and his son Yang climbed the walls to look and, for the first time, showed fear. Ji Guangchen called the commanders together and said, "We followed the prince this far, but Heaven has not smiled on him and our cause is already broken. Better decide our fate now, before the armies clash. Otherwise we die under the swords and are remembered forever as traitors. The commanders agreed. Guangchen then bolted for Guangling with his troops; Hun Weiming for Jiangning; Feng Jikang for Baisha. Li Lin panicked, with no plan left. That night the northern army lit countless torches; their reflections doubled every flame on the water. Li Lin's camp answered with fires of its own. Li Lin thought the imperial army had already crossed. He gathered his family and troops and fled in secret; At dawn, seeing no crossing had taken place, he re-entered the city, rallied his men, fitted out boats, and sailed away. Zhao Kan and other Chengshi lieutenants crossed to Xinfeng. Li Lin sent Yang and Gao Xianqi against them; Zhao Kan met them head-on and shot Yang in the shoulder. Li Lin's army broke. Li Lin and Gao Xianqi rallied the remnants and fled south to Poyang, seizing treasury arms for a dash toward Lingnan. Huangfu Shen, Jiangxi surveillance commissioner, sent pursuers, captured Li Lin, and secretly killed him at a relay post; Yang died in the rout."
53
侁使人送璘家屬還蜀，上曰：「侁既生得吾弟，何不送之於蜀而擅殺之邪！」 遂廢侁不用。
Huangfu Shen sent Li Lin's family back to Shu. The emperor said, "Shen took my brother alive—why did he murder him instead of sending him to Shu! Shen was dismissed and never again employed.
54
庚子，郭子儀遣其子旰及兵馬使李韶光、大將軍王祚濟河擊潼關，破之，斬首五百級。 安慶緒遣兵救潼關，郭旰等大敗，死者萬餘人。 李韶光、王祚戰死，僕固懷恩抱馬首浮渡渭水，退保河東。
On gengzi Guo Ziyi sent his son Guo Gao, Li Shaoguang, and Wang Zuo across the river against Tong Pass. They broke through and took five hundred heads. An Qingxu sent reinforcements to Tong Pass. Guo Gao's force was smashed, with more than ten thousand dead. Li Shaoguang and Wang Zuo were killed in action. Pugu Huai'en caught his horse by the head and swam the Wei River, then fell back to defend Hedong.
55
三月，辛酉，以左相韋見素為左僕射，中書侍郎、同平章事裴冕為右僕射，並罷政事。
In the third month, on xinyou, Wei Jiansu was promoted from left chancellor to left vice director of the chancellery, and Pei Mian—from vice censor-in-chief and co-manager of affairs—to right vice director; both men were dismissed from the active chancellorship.
56
初，楊國忠惡憲部尚書苗晉卿，安祿山之反也，請出晉卿為陝郡太守，兼陝、弘農防禦使。 晉卿固辭老病，上皇不悅，使之致仕。 及長安失守，晉卿潛竄山谷； 上至鳳翔，手敕征之為左相，軍國大務悉咨之。
Yang Guozhong had long hated Minister of Justice Miao Jinqing. When An Lushan rose in rebellion, Guozhong arranged to post Jinqing as prefect of Shaan commandery and commissioner for the defenses of Shaan and Hongnong. Jinqing pleaded old age and illness; the retired emperor took offense and forced him into retirement. When Chang'an was lost, Jinqing went into hiding in the hills; Once the emperor reached Fengxiang, he issued a personal summons naming Jinqing left chancellor and sought his counsel on every major military and civil question.
57
上皇思張九齡之先見，為之流涕，遣中使至曲江祭之，厚恤其家。
The retired emperor remembered Zhang Jiuling's prescience, wept, sent a palace envoy to offer sacrifice at Qujiang, and gave his family generous relief.
58
尹子奇復引大兵攻睢陽。 張巡謂將士曰：「吾受國恩，所守，正死耳。 但念諸君捐軀命，膏草野，而賞不酬勳，以此痛心耳！」 將士皆激勵請奮。 巡遂椎牛，大饗士卒，盡軍出戰。 賊望見兵少，笑之。 巡執旗，帥諸將直衝賊陣。 賊乃大潰，斬將三十餘人，殺士卒三千餘人，逐之數十里。 明日，賊又合軍至城下，巡出戰，晝夜數十合，屢摧其鋒，而賊攻圍不輟。
Yin Ziqi once more marched a large force against Suiyang. Zhang Xun told his men, "The state has been good to me. This city is worth no less than my life. Yet you stake your lives on these walls and fill the fields with the dead, while merit goes unrewarded—that is what breaks my heart!" His officers and men were roused and begged to be sent into battle. Xun had an ox slaughtered, held a great feast for the troops, and marched out with every man he had. The rebels, seeing how small the force was, laughed. Xun seized the battle standard and led his generals straight into the enemy ranks. The enemy collapsed. More than thirty of their officers were killed, more than three thousand soldiers slain, and the pursuit ran for miles. The next day the rebels regrouped beneath the walls. Xun fought them in scores of clashes through day and night, blunting charge after charge—but the siege never let up.
59
辛未，安守忠將騎二萬寇河東，郭子儀擊走之，斬首八千級，捕虜五千人。
On xinwei, An Shouzhong struck Hedong with twenty thousand horsemen. Guo Ziyi routed him, taking eight thousand heads and five thousand prisoners.
60
夏，四月，顏真卿自荊、襄北詣鳳翔，上以為憲部尚書。
In the fourth month of summer, Yan Zhenqing traveled north from Jing and Xiang to Fengxiang, where the emperor named him minister of justice.
61
上以郭子儀為司空、天下兵馬副元帥，使將兵赴鳳翔。 庚寅，李歸仁以鐵騎五千邀之於三原北，子儀使其將僕固懷恩、王仲升、渾釋之、李若幽等伏兵擊之於白渠留運橋，殺傷略盡，歸仁游水而逸。 若幽，神通之玄孫也。
The emperor appointed Guo Ziyi minister of works and deputy commander-in-chief of all imperial forces, and ordered him to march for Fengxiang. On gengyin, Li Guiren blocked him north of Sanyuan with five thousand armored horsemen. Guo Ziyi sent Pugu Huai'en, Wang Zhongsheng, Hun Shizhi, Li Ruoyou, and others to ambush him at Liuyun Bridge on the White Canal; the rebel force was nearly annihilated, and Guiren swam to safety. Li Ruoyou was the great-great-grandson of Li Shentong.
62
子儀與王思禮軍合於西渭橋，進屯潏西。 安守忠、李歸仁軍於京城西清渠。 相守七日，官軍不進。 五月，癸丑，守忠偽遁，子儀悉師逐之。 賊以驍騎九千為長蛇陣，官軍擊之，首尾為兩翼，夾擊官軍，官軍大潰。 判官韓液、監軍孫知古皆為賊所擒，軍資器械盡棄之。 子儀退保武功，中外戒嚴。
Guo Ziyi joined Wang Sili at the Western Wei Bridge and pushed forward to camp west of the Yu River. An Shouzhong and Li Guiren took position along the Qing Canal west of the capital. For seven days the armies stood face to face, and the imperial force did not move. In the fifth month, on guichou, Shouzhong faked a withdrawal, and Guo Ziyi pursued with his entire army. The rebels deployed nine thousand crack horsemen in a serpent formation. When the imperial army struck, the head and tail of the line folded into wings and closed on both flanks; the government force was shattered. Staff officer Han Ye and army supervisor Sun Zhigu were taken prisoner, and the army abandoned all its stores and equipment. Guo Ziyi fell back to Wugong, and martial law was declared throughout the realm.
63
是時府庫無蓄積，朝廷專以官爵賞功，諸將出征，皆給空名告身，自開府、特進、列卿、大將軍，下至中郎、郎將，聽臨事注名。 其後又聽以信牒授人官爵，有至異姓王者。 諸軍但以職任相統攝，不復計官爵高下。 及清渠之敗，復以官爵收散卒。 由是官爵輕而貨重，大將軍告身一通，才易一醉。 凡應募入軍者，一切衣金紫，至有朝士僮僕衣金紫，稱大官，而執賤役者，名器之濫，至是而極焉。
The treasury was empty, and the court could reward merit only with rank. Every general on campaign received blank commissions—from grand general, special advancement, and cabinet minister down to middle and gentleman generals—to fill in names as needed. Later the court also began granting rank by informal letters of appointment, elevating some men even to non-imperial kingship. Armies were held together by assignment alone; no one much cared who outranked whom. After the disaster at the Qing Canal, the court once again used commissions to round up scattered troops. Rank grew cheap and goods dear—a blank commission for grand general traded for little more than a night's drinking. Every recruit wore gold and purple. Court lackeys decked themselves in the colors of high office, styled themselves grand officials, and still scrubbed floors—the debasement of imperial honors had never gone further.
64
房琯性高簡，時國家多難，而琯多稱病不朝謁，不以職事為意，日與庶子劉秩、諫議大夫李揖高談釋、老，或聽門客董庭蘭鼓琴，庭蘭以是大招權利。 御史奏庭蘭贓賄，丁巳，罷琯為太子少師。 以諫議大夫張鎬為中書侍郎、同平章事。 上常使僧數百人為道場於內，晨夜誦佛。 鎬諫曰：「帝王當修德以弭亂安人，未聞飯僧可致太平也！」 上然之。
Fang Guan was proud and withdrawn. While the realm reeled from disaster, he often pleaded illness and skipped court, paying little heed to his duties. He spent his days debating Buddhism and Daoism with Liu Zhi and Li Yi, or listening to his retainer Dong Tinglan play the zither—and Tinglan parlayed that access into money and influence. The censors impeached Tinglan for corruption; on disi Fang Guan was demoted to junior mentor of the heir apparent. Remonstrance Counselor Zhang Hao was appointed vice censor-in-chief and co-manager of affairs. The emperor kept several hundred monks in the palace performing Buddhist rites day and night. Hao remonstrated: "A ruler should restore order by cultivating virtue—not by feeding monks. I have never heard that alms to the clergy brought a realm to peace!" The emperor agreed.
65
庚申，上皇追冊上母楊妃為元獻皇后。
On gengshen the retired emperor posthumously ennobled the emperor's mother, Lady Yang, as Empress Yuanxian.
66
山南東道節度使魯炅守南陽，賊將武令珣、田承嗣相繼攻之。 城中食盡，一鼠直錢數百，餓死者相枕藉。 上遣宦官將軍曹日昇往宣慰，圍急，不得入。 日昇請單騎入致命，襄陽太守魏仲犀不許。 會顏真卿自河北至，曰：「曹將軍不顧萬死，以致帝命，何為沮之！ 借使不達，不過亡一使者； 達，則一城之心固矣。」 日昇與十騎偕往，賊畏其銳，不敢逼。 城中自謂望絕，及見日昇，大喜。 日昇復為之至襄陽取糧，以千人運糧而入，賊不能遏。 炅在圍中凡週歲，晝夜苦戰，力竭不能支，壬戌夜，開城，帥餘兵數千突圍而出，奔襄陽，承嗣追之，轉戰二日，不能克而還。 時賊欲南侵江、漢，賴炅扼其衝要，南夏得全。
Lu Jiong, military commissioner of the Shanan East Circuit, held Nanyang against successive assaults by the rebel generals Wu Lingxun and Tian Chengsi. Provisions ran out; a rat sold for hundreds of coins, and the dead from hunger lay stacked in heaps. The emperor sent the eunuch general Cao Risheng with words of encouragement, but the siege was too tight for him to get through. Risheng asked to ride in alone and deliver the imperial message; Xiangyang prefect Wei Zhongxi refused. Yan Zhenqing arrived from Hebei and said, "General Cao is risking his life to bring the emperor's word—why stop him? If he fails, you lose one messenger; if he succeeds, the whole city's resolve will be made firm." Risheng rode in with ten horsemen. The rebels feared their boldness and did not close on them. The city had given up hope—until Risheng appeared, and joy swept the walls. Risheng went again to Xiangyang for grain and led a thousand porters back through the lines; the rebels could not halt them. Jiong had been besieged for a full year, fighting day and night until his strength failed. On the night of renxu he opened the gates, broke out with several thousand survivors, and fled to Xiangyang. Chengsi pursued them for two days of hard fighting but could not finish them and turned back. The rebels had meant to push south into the Yangzi and Han river country; Jiong's stand at the vital choke point preserved the south.
67
司空郭子儀詣闕請自貶； 甲子，以子儀為左僕射。
Guo Ziyi, minister of works, came to court and asked to be demoted; on jiazi the emperor named him left vice director of the chancellery.
68
尹子奇益兵圍睢陽益急，張巡於城中夜鳴鼓嚴隊，若將出擊者； 賊聞之，達旦儆備。 既明，巡乃寢兵絕鼓。 賊以飛樓瞰城中，無所見，遂解甲休息。 巡與將軍南霽雲、郎將雷萬春等十餘將各將五十騎開門突出，直衝賊營，至子奇麾下，營中大亂，斬賊將五十餘人，殺士卒五千餘人。 巡欲射子奇而不識，乃剡蒿為矢，中者喜，謂巡矢盡，走白子奇，乃得其狀，使霽雲射之，喪其左目，幾獲之。 子奇乃收軍退還。
Yin Ziqi reinforced the siege of Suiyang. Zhang Xun had drums sounded at night and ranks marshaled as if preparing a sortie; the rebels heard it and stayed on alert until dawn. At daybreak Xun silenced the drums and stood his men down. The rebels scanned the city from siege towers, saw nothing, and laid down their arms to rest. Xun, Nan Jiyun, Lei Wanchun, and more than ten other officers each led fifty horsemen through the gates in a sudden charge straight into the rebel camp and up to Ziqi's headquarters. The camp erupted in chaos: more than fifty rebel officers were killed and more than five thousand soldiers slain. Xun wanted to shoot Ziqi but did not know him by sight. He carved artemisia stalks into arrow shafts; men struck by them rejoiced, thinking his quiver was empty, and ran to tell Ziqi. Once they knew Ziqi's face, Xun had Jiyun shoot—and Ziqi lost his left eye, nearly captured. Ziqi then pulled his army back.
69
六月，癸未，田乾真圍安邑。 會陝郡賊將楊務欽密謀歸國，河東太守馬承光以兵應之，務欽殺城中諸將不同己者，翻城來降。 乾真解安邑，遁去。
In the sixth month, on guiwei, Tian Ganzen besieged Anyi. Rebel general Yang Wuqin in Shaan commandery secretly plotted to defect. Hedong prefect Ma Chengguang moved to support him; Wuqin killed the officers in the city who opposed him and surrendered the city. Ganzen abandoned the siege of Anyi and withdrew.
70
將軍王去榮以私怨殺本縣令，當死。 上以其善用砲，壬辰，敕免死，以白衣於陝郡效力。 中書舍人賈至不即行下，上表，以為：「去榮無狀，殺本縣之君。 《易》曰：『臣弒其君，子弒其父，非一朝一夕之故，其所由來者漸矣。』 若縱去榮，可謂生漸矣。 議者謂陝郡初復，非其人不可守。 然則它無去榮者，何以亦能堅守乎？ 陛下若以砲石一能即免殊死，今諸軍技藝絕倫者，其徒實繁。 必恃其能，所在犯上，復何以止之！ 若止捨去榮而誅其餘者，則是法令不一而誘人觸罪也。 今惜一去榮之材而不殺，必殺十如去榮之材者，不亦其傷益多乎！ 夫去榮，逆亂之人也，焉有逆於此而順於彼，亂於富平而治於陝郡，悖於縣君而不悖於大君歟！ 伏惟明主全其遠者、大者，則禍亂不日而定矣。」 上下其事，令百官議之。 太子太師韋見素等議，以為：「法者天地大典，帝王猶不敢擅殺，而小人得擅殺，是臣下之權過於人主也。 去榮既殺人不死，則軍中凡有技能者，亦自謂無憂，所在暴橫。 為郡縣者，不亦難乎！ 陛下為天下主，愛無親疏，得一去榮而失萬姓，何利之有！ 於律，殺本縣令，列於十惡。 而陛下寬之，王法不行，人倫道屈，臣等奉詔，不知所從。 夫國以法理，軍以法勝； 有恩無威，慈母不能使其子，陛下厚養戰士而每戰少利，豈非無法邪！ 今陝郡雖要，不急於法也。 有法則海內無憂不克，況陝郡乎！ 無法則陝郡亦不可守，得之何益！ 而去榮末技，陝郡不以之存亡； 王法有無，國家乃為之輕重。 此臣等所以區區願陛下守貞觀之法。」 上竟捨之。 至，曾之子也。
General Wang Qurong killed his home county magistrate in a private vendetta—a capital offense. Because he was expert with catapults, the emperor on renchen spared his life and ordered him to serve in Shaan commandery as a man without rank. Secretariat drafter Jia Zhi did not issue the edict at once but memorialized the throne: "Qurong is a worthless man who murdered his own county magistrate. The Book of Changes says, 'When a minister slays his ruler or a son his father, the deed does not come in a day—it grows by degrees.' To pardon Qurong is to nourish that very gradual growth. Some argued that Shaan commandery, newly recovered, could be held only by the right man. If that were so, how have others without Qurong held the city just as firmly? If Your Majesty spares a capital sentence for skill with catapults alone, the armies hold no shortage of men with extraordinary talents. They will trust in those talents and defy authority wherever they go—how will you stop them? Spare Qurong alone while executing others, and the law becomes unequal—a lure to crime. Cling to one Qurong and you will have to kill ten men like him—is not the cost greater still? Qurong is a rebel at heart. How can he be treacherous in one place and loyal in another, unruly at Fuping yet orderly in Shaan, insubordinate to a county magistrate yet faithful to the throne? If a wise ruler upholds the larger, longer view, rebellion will be quelled almost at once." The emperor referred the matter to the officials for deliberation. Wei Jiansu, junior mentor to the heir apparent, and others argued: "Law is Heaven and Earth's great canon. Even emperors dare not kill at whim—yet petty men may murder at will. That puts subjects above their ruler. If Qurong kills and lives, every skilled soldier in the ranks will assume himself safe and rampage at will. What prefect or magistrate could govern under such conditions? Your Majesty rules all the realm and owes equal concern to every subject. What profit is there in keeping one Qurong and losing the people's trust? By statute, killing one's county magistrate ranks among the Ten Abominations. Yet Your Majesty would spare him. Royal law fails, human decency bends, and we who receive your orders no longer know what we are to enforce. A state rests on law; an army wins by law; Favor without discipline—even a loving mother cannot control her son. Your Majesty feeds the army well yet wins little in battle—is that not the price of lawlessness? Shaan commandery may be vital, but law is more vital still. Where law holds, the realm cannot fail to be won—let alone one commandery! Without law, Shaan itself cannot be held. Of what use is taking it? Qurong's little skill does not decide whether Shaan stands or falls; Whether royal law stands or falls—that is what weighs upon the state. That is why we earnestly beg Your Majesty to uphold the law of the Zhenguan reign." In the end the emperor ignored them. Jia Zhi was the son of Jia Zeng.
71
南充土豪何滔作亂，執本郡防禦使楊齊魯； 劍南節度使盧元裕發兵討平之。
He Tao, a local magnate of Nanchong, rebelled and seized the commandery defense commissioner Yang Qilu; Jiannan military commissioner Lu Yuanyu sent troops, defeated the uprising, and restored order.
72
秋，七月，河南節度使駕蘭進明克高密、琅邪、殺賊二萬餘人。
In the seventh month of autumn, Helan Jinming, military commissioner of Henan, captured Gaomi and Langya and killed more than twenty thousand rebels.
73
戊申夜，蜀郡兵郭千仞等反，六軍兵馬使陳玄禮、劍南節度使李峘討誅之。
On the night of wushen, troops of Shu commandery under Guo Qianren mutinied; Chen Xuanli, commissioner of the Six Armies, and Jiannan military commissioner Li Huan put down the revolt and executed the ringleaders.
74
壬子，尹子奇復徵兵數萬，攻睢陽。 先是，許遠於城中積糧至六萬石，虢王巨以其半給濮陽、濟陰二郡，遠固爭之，不能得； 既而濟陰得糧，遂以城叛，而睢陽城至是食盡。 將士人廩米日一合，雜以茶紙、樹皮為食，而賊糧運通，兵敗復征。 睢陽將士死不加益，諸軍饋救不至，士卒消耗至一千六百人，皆饑病不堪鬥，遂為賊所圍，張巡乃修守具以拒之。 賊為雲梯，勢如半虹，置精卒二百於其上，推之臨城，欲令騰入。 巡預於城潛鑿三穴，候梯將至，於一穴中出大木，末置鐵鉤，鉤之使不得退； 一穴中出一木，拄之使不得進； 一穴中出一木，木末置鐵籠，盛火焚之，其梯中折，梯上卒盡燒死。 賊又以鉤車鉤城上棚閣，鉤之所及，莫不崩陷。 巡以大木，末置連鎖，鎖末置大鐶，搨其鉤頭，以革車拔之入城，截其鉤頭而縱車令去。 賊又造木驢攻城，巡熔金汁灌之，應投銷鑠。 賊又於城西北隅以土囊積柴為磴道，欲登城。 巡不與爭利，每夜，潛以松明、干蒿投之於中，積十餘日，賊不之覺，因出軍大戰，使人順風持火焚之，賊不能救，經二十餘日，火方滅。 巡之所為，皆應機立辦，賊伏其智，不敢復攻，遂於城外穿三重壕，立木柵以守巡，巡亦於其內作壕以拒之。
On renzi Yin Ziqi raised another army of tens of thousands and assailed Suiyang again. Earlier Xu Yuan had stockpiled sixty thousand shi of grain in the city; Prince Ju of Guo took half for Puyang and Jiyin; Xu Yuan protested in vain; Jiyin soon had the grain and rebelled, while Suiyang's stores were gone. The garrison lived on a he of grain a day, with tea, paper, and bark mixed in; rebel supply lines stayed open, and they raised fresh troops after every setback. Deaths brought no replacements; no relief army arrived; only sixteen hundred sick, starving men remained, unable to fight; the rebels closed the ring, and Zhang Xun strengthened the defenses. The rebels built cloud ladders like half-rainbows, manned each with two hundred elite troops, and rolled them to the wall for an assault. Zhang Xun had bored three holes in the wall; as the ladder approached, from one he thrust a beam tipped with an iron hook and snagged the ladder so it could not pull back; from another he braced it with a beam so it could not advance; from a third he thrust a beam bearing an iron cage of fire; the ladder snapped and every man on it burned. The rebels sent hook-wagons against the wall galleries; whatever the hooks caught collapsed. Zhang Xun answered with timbers tipped with chains and great rings, caught the hooks, hauled them in with rope wagons, cut off the heads, and sent the wagons away. The rebels built wooden siege towers; Zhang Xun poured molten metal over them and melted them wherever it struck. At the northwest corner they piled earth bags and firewood into a ramp to climb the wall. Zhang Xun did not fight them for the ramp; night after night he secretly tossed in pine torches and dry brush; after ten days the rebels noticed nothing; then he sortied, and men with torches burned the ramp downwind; the rebels could not stop it; the fire burned for twenty days. Everything Zhang Xun did he improvised on the spot; the rebels marveled at his wit and dared not assault again; they dug three trench lines and palisades to pen him in, and he dug counter-trenches within.
75
丁巳，賊將安武臣攻陝郡，楊務欽戰死，賊遂屠陝。
On dingsi rebel general An Wuchen attacked Shan Commandery; Yang Wuqin fell in battle, and the rebels sacked the city.
76
崔渙在江南選補，冒濫者眾，八月，甲申，罷渙為餘杭太守、江東採訪、防禦使。
Cui Huan's Jiangnan appointments were notoriously lax; in the eighth month, on jiashen, he was demoted to prefect of Yuhang with Jiangdong investigative and defense duties.
77
以張鎬兼河南節度、採訪等使，代賀蘭進明。
Zhang Gao was appointed military and investigative commissioner of Henan in Helan Jinming's place.
78
靈昌太守許叔冀為賊所圍，救兵不至，拔眾奔彭城。
Xu Shuji, prefect of Lingchang, was besieged; no relief came; he broke out and fled to Pengcheng.
79
睢陽士卒死傷之餘，才六百人，張巡、許遠分城而守之，巡守東北，遠守西南，與士卒同食茶紙，不復下城。 賊士攻城者，巡以逆順說之，往往棄賊來降，為巡死戰，前後二百餘人。
Only six hundred defenders remained at Suiyang; Zhang Xun and Xu Yuan split the wall—Zhang the northeast, Xu the southwest—eating tea and paper with the men and never leaving the ramparts. Zhang Xun preached loyalty to rebel assault troops; many defected and fought to the death for him—over two hundred in all.
80
是時，許步冀在譙郡，尚衡在彭城，賀蘭進明在臨淮，皆擁兵不救。 城中日蹙，巡乃令南霽雲將三十騎犯圍而出，告急於臨淮。 霽雲出城，賊眾數萬遮之，霽雲直衝其眾，左右馳射，賊眾披靡，止亡兩騎。 既至臨淮，見進明，進明曰：「今日睢陽不知存亡，兵去何益！」 霽雲曰：「睢陽若陷，霽雲請以死謝大夫。 且睢陽既拔，即及臨淮，譬如皮毛相依，安得不救！」 進明愛霽雲勇壯，不聽其語，強留之，具食與樂，延霽去坐。 霽雲慷慨，泣且語曰：「霽雲來時，睢陽之人不食月餘矣！ 霽雲雖欲獨食，且不下嚥，大夫坐擁強兵，觀睢陽陷沒，曾無分災救患之意，豈忠臣義士之所為乎！」 因嚙落一指以示進明，曰：「霽雲既不能達主將之意，請留一指以示信歸報。」 座中往往為泣下。
Xu Shuji held Qiao, Shang Heng Pengcheng, and Helan Jinming Linhuai—each with an army, none would help. As the city tightened daily, Zhang Xun sent Nan Jiyun with thirty horsemen to break out and beg relief at Linhuai. Jiyun rode out; tens of thousands blocked him; he charged straight through, shooting as he rode; the rebels broke; he lost only two men. At Linhuai he met Jinming, who said, "We do not even know if Suiyang still stands—what good are troops now!" Jiyun said, "If Suiyang falls, I will answer with my life. Once Suiyang falls, Linhuai is next—skin and fur together—how can you not save us!" Jinming admired his courage, ignored him, kept him by force, and set out a feast with music. Jiyun wept and said, "When I left, Suiyang had not eaten in more than a month! I cannot swallow a bite while you sit on a great army and watch Suiyang die without lifting a finger—is that what loyal men do!" He bit off a finger and said, "Since I cannot win you over, I leave this finger as proof for my commander." Many at the table wept.
81
霽雲察進明終無出師意，遂去。 至寧陵，與城使廉坦同將步騎三千人，閏月，戊申夜，冒圍，且戰且行，至城下，大戰，壞賊營，死傷之外，僅得千人入城。 城中將吏知無救，皆慟哭，賊知援絕，圍之益急。
Seeing Jinming would never march, Jiyun left. At Ningling he joined city commander Lian Tan with three thousand foot and horse; on the intercalary month's wushen night they fought through the ring; at the wall a great battle wrecked the rebel camps; only a thousand men got inside, the rest dead or wounded. Officers in the city wept when they saw no help would come; the rebels, knowing relief was gone, tightened the siege.
82
初，房琯為相，惡賀蘭進明，以為河南節度使，以許叔冀為進明都知兵馬使，俱兼御史大夫。 叔冀自恃麾下精銳，且官與進明等，不受其節制。 故進明不敢分兵，非惟疾巡、遠功名，亦懼為叔冀所襲也。
When Fang Guan was chancellor he had disliked Helan Jinming but still made him Henan commissioner while naming Xu Shuji his army commander—both as censor-in-chief. Shuji trusted his elite troops and equal rank and refused to obey Jinming. So Jinming dared not split his force—not only from jealousy of Zhang Xun and Xu Yuan, but fearing Xu Shuji would strike him.
83
戊辰，上勞饗諸將，遣攻長安，謂郭子儀曰：「事之濟否，在此行也！」 對曰：「此行不捷，臣必死之！」
On wuchen the emperor feasted the generals and sent them against Chang'an, telling Guo Ziyi, "Success or failure rides on this march!" Guo Ziyi answered, "If we fail, I will die!"
84
辛未，御史大夫崔光遠破賊於駱谷，光遠行軍司馬王伯倫、判官李椿將二千人攻中渭橋，殺賊守橋者千人，乘勝至苑門。 賊有先屯武功者，聞之，奔歸，遇於苑北，合戰，殺伯倫，擒椿送洛陽。 然自是賊不復屯武功矣。
On xinwei Censor-in-Chief Cui Guangyuan routed rebels at Luogu; his marshal Wang Bolun and aide Li Chun took two thousand men against the Middle Wei Bridge, killed a thousand guards, and drove to the imperial park gate. Rebel troops at Wugong rushed back, met them north of the park, killed Bolun, captured Chun, and sent him to Luoyang. After that the rebels never garrisoned Wugong again.
85
賊屢攻上黨，常為節度使程千里所敗。 蔡希德復引兵圍上黨。
Rebels repeatedly struck Shangdang and were repeatedly beaten by Commissioner Cheng Qianli. Cai Xide besieged Shangdang again.