1
資治通鑑第283卷
Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance, Volume 283
2
【後晉紀四】起玄默攝提格，盡閼逢執徐正月，凡二年有奇。
[Later Jin Annals 4] From Xuanni Shetige through Efeng Zhixu, first month—two years and a fraction in all.
3
高祖聖文章武明德孝皇帝下天福七年（ 壬寅，公元九四二年）
Reign of the Sacred Literary Martial Virtuous Filial Emperor Gaozu, Tianfu year 7 ( renyin, 942 CE)
4
春，正月，丁巳，鎮州牙將自西郭水碾門導官軍入城，殺守陴民二萬人，執安重榮，斬之。 杜重威殺導者，自以為功。 庚申，重榮首至鄴都，帝命漆之，函送契丹。
In spring, the first month, on dingsi, a Zhenzhou garrison officer led government troops into the city through the West Suburb watermill gate, slaughtered twenty thousand civilians defending the walls, seized An Chongrong, and executed him. Du Chongwei killed the guide and took credit for the victory himself. On gengshen, Chongrong's head reached the capital at Yedu. The emperor had it lacquered and dispatched in a casket to the Khitan.
5
癸亥，改鎮州為恆州，成德軍為順國軍。
On guihai, the court renamed Zhenzhou Hengzhou and redesignated the Chengde army as the Shunguo army.
6
丙寅，以門下侍郎、同平章事趙瑩為侍中，以杜重威為順國節度使兼侍中。 安重榮私財及恆州府庫，重威盡有之，帝知而不問。 又表衛尉少卿范陽王瑜為副使，瑜為之重斂於民，恆人不勝其苦。
On bingyin, Zhao Ying, vice director of the Secretariat and co-administrator of the Secretariat-Chancellery, was promoted to chief minister of the Palace Secretariat, while Du Chongwei was appointed military governor of Shunguo with concurrent status as chief minister of the Palace Secretariat. Du Chongwei seized all of An Chongrong's private property together with the Hengzhou treasury, and though the emperor knew of it, he made no inquiry. Du Chongwei also recommended Wang Yu of Fanyang, vice director of the Court of Imperial Regalia, as his deputy commissioner. Yu imposed heavy exactions on the people on Du's behalf, until the populace of Heng could endure no more.
7
張式父鐸詣闕訟冤。 壬午，以河陽節度使王周為彰義節度使，代張彥澤。
Zhang Du, father of Zhang Shi, traveled to the capital to protest the injustice done to his son. On renwu, Wang Zhou, military governor of Heyang, was appointed military governor of Zhangyi in Zhang Yanze's stead.
8
閩主曦立皇后李氏，同平章事真之女也； 嗜酒剛愎，曦寵而憚之。
The Min ruler Xi installed Lady Li as empress—she was the daughter of co-administrator Zhen. Given to drink and willful by nature, she was both favored and feared by Xi.
9
彰武節度使丁審琪，養部曲千人，縱之為暴於境內； 軍校賀行政與諸胡相結為亂，攻延州，帝遣曹州防禦使何重建將兵救之，同、鄜援兵繼至，乃得免。 二月，癸已，以重建為彰武留後，召審琪歸朝。 重建，雲、朔間胡人也。 唐左丞相宋齊丘固求豫政事，唐主聽入中書； 又求領尚書省，乃罷侍中壽王景遂判尚書省，更領中書、門下省，以齊丘知尚書省事； 其三省事並取齊王璟參決。 齊丘視事數月，親吏夏昌圖盜官錢三千緡，齊丘判貸其死； 唐主大怒，斬昌圖。 齊丘稱疾，請罷省事，從之。
Zhangwu military governor Ding Shenqi maintained a private force of a thousand retainers and turned them loose to terrorize the countryside within his jurisdiction; Army officer He Xingzheng allied with various non-Han groups in rebellion and attacked Yanzhou. The emperor sent Caozhou defense commissioner He Chongjian with troops to the relief of the city. Reinforcements from Tong and Fu arrived in succession, and Yanzhou was spared. In the second month, on guisi, He Chongjian was appointed acting governor of Zhangwu, and Ding Shenqi was recalled to the capital. He Chongjian was a non-Han native of the Yun-Shuo frontier. Tang Left Grand Counselor Song Qiqiu pressed insistently to take part in affairs of state, and the Tang ruler permitted him to enter the Central Secretariat; Song Qiqiu then sought to head the Department of State Affairs. Prince Jing of Shou, the chief minister who had been administering that department, was reassigned to oversee the Central Secretariat and Chancellery instead, while Song Qiqiu was placed in charge of the Department of State Affairs; Matters of all three central departments were to be decided with Prince Qi Jing's participation. After several months in office, Qiqiu learned that a trusted subordinate, Xia Changtu, had embezzled three thousand strings of government cash. Qiqiu ruled that his capital crime be commuted; The Tang ruler was furious and had Changtu executed. Qiqiu pleaded illness and asked to be relieved of his duties as department director; the court consented.
10
涇州奏遣押牙陳延暉持敕書詣涼州，州中將吏請延暉為節度使。
Jingzhou reported that it had dispatched envoy Chen Yanhui with an imperial edict to Liangzhou, where the prefecture's officers and officials petitioned to have Yanhui made military governor.
11
三月，閩主曦立長樂王亞澄為閩王。
In the third month, the Min ruler Xi invested Prince of Changle Ya Cheng as Prince of Min.
12
張彥澤在涇州，擅發兵擊諸胡，兵皆敗沒，調民馬千餘匹以補之。 還至陝，獲亡將楊洪，乘醉斷其手足而斬之。 王周奏彥澤在鎮貪殘不法二十六條，民散亡者五千餘戶。 彥澤既至，帝以其有軍功，又與楊光遠連姻，釋不問。
While stationed at Jingzhou, Zhang Yanze dispatched troops on his own authority to attack various non-Han groups. His forces were destroyed in defeat, and he requisitioned more than a thousand civilian horses to replenish his losses. On his return to Shan, he captured the deserter general Yang Hong, and in a drunken rage severed his hands and feet before executing him. Wang Zhou memorialized the throne with twenty-six counts of Zhang Yanze's extortion, cruelty, and lawlessness in command. More than five thousand households had fled the region. When Yanze arrived at court, the emperor excused him from investigation on account of his military service and his marriage tie to Yang Guangyuan.
13
夏，四月，己未，右諫議大夫鄭受益上言：「楊洪所以被屠，由陛下去歲送張式與彥澤，使之逞志，致彥澤敢肆凶殘，無所忌憚。 見聞之人無不切齒，而陛下曾不動心，一無詰讓； 淑慝莫辨，賞罰無章。 中外皆言陛下受彥澤所獻馬百匹，聽其如是，臣竊為陛下惜此惡名，乞正彥澤罪法，以湔洗聖德。」 疏奏，留中。 受益，從讜之兄子也。 庚申，刑部郎中李濤等伏閣極論彥澤之罪，語甚切至。 辛酉，敕：「張彥澤削一階，降爵一級。 張式父及子弟皆拜官。 涇州民復業者，減其徭賦。」 癸亥，李濤復與兩省及御史台官伏閣奏彥澤罰太輕，請論如法。 帝召濤面諭之。 濤端笏前迫殿陛，論辨聲色俱厲。 帝怒，連叱之，濤不退。 帝曰：「朕已許彥澤不死。」 濤曰：「陛下許彥澤不死，不可負； 不知范延光鐵券安在！」 帝拂衣起，入禁中。 丙寅，以彥澤為左龍武大將軍。
In summer, the fourth month, on jiwei, Right Remonstrance and Editorial Director Zheng Shouyi memorialized: "Yang Hong was butchered because Your Majesty sent Zhang Shi into Zhang Yanze's hands last year, giving him license to act as he pleased. This emboldened Yanze to commit atrocities without fear or restraint. All who witnessed these deeds grind their teeth in rage, yet Your Majesty has shown neither concern nor reproof— good cannot be distinguished from evil, and reward and punishment follow no consistent rule. Court and country alike say Your Majesty accepted a gift of a hundred horses from Yanze and allowed him to go on as he has. I grieve for the stain this casts upon Your Majesty's name and beg that Yanze be punished according to law, so that Your Majesty's sacred virtue may be cleansed." The memorial was submitted and withheld within the palace. Shouyi was a nephew of Congzan. On gengshen, Supervisory Secretary of the Ministry of Justice Li Tao and others kneeled at the palace gate and vehemently denounced Yanze's crimes in the strongest terms. On xinyou, an edict was issued: "Zhang Yanze shall be reduced one rank and demoted one grade of nobility. Zhang Shi's father and brothers shall all be granted official appointments. For the people of Jingzhou who resume their livelihoods, corvée and taxes shall be reduced." On guihai, Li Tao again kneeled at the palace gate with officials of the two departments and the Censorate to protest that Yanze's punishment was too lenient, petitioning for judgment according to law. The emperor summoned Li Tao and addressed him in person. Clutching his court tablet, Li Tao pressed forward to the palace steps, arguing with voice and bearing both fierce. The emperor flew into a rage and shouted him down repeatedly, but Li Tao would not withdraw. The emperor said, "I have already promised that Yanze shall not die." Li Tao replied, "Your Majesty must keep your promise that Yanze shall not die— but I wonder where Fan Yanguang's iron certificate of mercy has gone!" The emperor flung aside his robes and stormed into the inner palace. On bingyin, Yanze was appointed Grand General of the Left Longwu Guard.
14
漢高祖寢疾，以其子秦王弘度、晉王弘熙皆驕恣，少子越王弘昌孝謹有智識，與右僕射兼西御院使王翷謀出弘度鎮邕州，弘熙鎮容州，而立弘昌。 制命將行，會崇文使蕭益入問疾，以其事訪之。 益曰：「立嫡以長，違之必亂。」 乃止。 丁丑，高祖殂。 高祖為人辨察，多權數，好自矜大，常謂中國天子為「洛州刺史」。 嶺南珍異所聚，每窮奢極麗，宮殿悉以金玉珠翠為飾。 用刑慘酷，有灌鼻、割舌、支解、刳剔、砲炙、烹蒸之法； 或聚毒蛇水中，以罪人投之，謂之水獄。 同平章事楊洞潛諫，不聽。 末年尤猜忌； 以士人多為子孫計，故專任宦者，由是其國中宦者大盛。
As the Han Gaozu lay gravely ill, he judged his sons the Prince of Qin Hongdu and the Prince of Jin Hongxi to be proud and unrestrained, whereas his youngest son the Prince of Yue Hongchang was dutiful, circumspect, and capable. He conspired with Right Vice Director and commissioner of the Western Inner Court Wang Hong to post Hongdu to Yongzhou and Hongxi to Rongzhou while elevating Hongchang to succeed him. The decree was about to be issued when Commissioner for Promoting Culture Xiao Yi came to inquire after his health. The emperor consulted him on the plan. Xiao Yi said, "The heir should be the eldest son of the principal consort. To set that rule aside is to invite chaos." The plan was abandoned. On dingchou, Gaozu died. Gaozu was sharp-witted and full of stratagem, fond of magnifying himself, and often referred to the Chinese Son of Heaven as "the Prefect of Luozhou." Exotic treasures of Lingnan filled his court, and he pursued extravagance to its limit. His palaces were adorned throughout with gold, jade, pearls, and kingfisher plumes. His punishments were unspeakably cruel—there were pourings into the nose, tongue-cuttings, dismemberments, excisions, slow roastings, and boilings alive— sometimes venomous serpents were gathered in a pool and condemned men cast in; this was called the Water Prison. Co-administrator Yang Dongqian remonstrated against such practices, but the emperor would not heed him. In his final years he grew ever more suspicious; believing that scholar-officials served mainly to advance their own sons and grandsons, he entrusted power exclusively to eunuchs, and eunuchs accordingly rose to great dominance throughout his realm.
15
秦王弘度即皇帝位，更名玢。 以弘熙輔政，改元光天； 尊母趙昭儀曰皇太妃。
The Prince of Qin Hongdu ascended the throne and changed his name to Bin. Hongxi was appointed to assist in government, and the era name was changed to Guangtian; His mother, Lady Zhao the Zhaoyi, was honored as Imperial Noble Consort.
16
契丹以晉招納吐谷渾，遣使來讓。 帝憂悒不知為計； 五月，己亥，始有疾。
Because Jin had offered refuge to the Tuyuhun, the Khitan sent envoys to lodge a protest. The emperor brooded in distress, unable to devise a response; In the fifth month, on jihai, he first fell ill.
17
乙巳，尊太妃劉氏為皇太后。 太后，帝之庶母也。
On yisi, Imperial Noble Consort Liu was honored as Empress Dowager. The empress dowager was the emperor's stepmother.
18
唐丞相、太保宋齊丘既罷尚書省，不復朝謁。 唐主遣壽王景遂勞問，許鎮洪州，始入朝。 唐主與之宴，酒酣，齊丘曰：「陛下中興，臣之力也，奈何忘之！」 唐主怒曰：「公以遊客干朕，今為三公，亦足矣。 乃與人言朕烏喙如句踐，難與共安樂，有之乎？」 齊丘曰：「臣實有此言。 臣為遊客時，陛下乃偏裨耳。 今日殺臣可矣。」 明日，唐主手詔謝之曰：「朕之褊性，子嵩平昔所知。 少相親，老相怨，可乎！」 丙午，以齊丘為鎮南節度使。
Song Qiqiu, Tang grand counselor and grand guardian, having stepped down from the Department of State Affairs, ceased attending court audiences altogether. The Tang ruler sent Prince Jing of Shou to inquire after him, promised him a post at Hongzhou, and only then did Song Qiqiu return to court. The Tang ruler held a banquet for him. When the wine had gone deep, Qiqiu said, "Your Majesty's restoration was my doing—how can you forget it!" The Tang ruler erupted in anger. "You came to me a mere wandering guest, and now you stand among the Three Excellencies—is that not enough? And yet you tell others I have Goujian's hooked beak and am impossible to enjoy peace with—is that not so?" Qiqiu said, "I did speak those words, Your Majesty. When I was yet a wandering guest, Your Majesty was nothing but a junior officer. If Your Majesty wishes to kill me today, so be it." The next day the Tang ruler sent a personal edict of apology: "My narrow temperament is something you have known well for years, Zisong. Must we who were close in youth become estranged in old age?" On bingwu, Qiqiu was appointed military governor of Zhennan.
19
帝寢疾，一旦，馮道獨對。 帝命幼子重睿出拜之，又令宦者抱重睿置道懷中，其意蓋欲道輔立之。
As the emperor lay gravely ill, Feng Dao once attended him in a private audience. The emperor summoned his youngest son Chongrui to bow before Feng Dao and had a eunuch place the boy in Feng Dao's arms—clearly intending that Feng Dao support his succession.
20
六月，乙丑，帝殂。
In the sixth month, on yichou, the emperor died.
21
道與天平節度使、侍衛馬步都虞候景延廣議，以國家多難，宜立長君，乃奉廣晉尹齊王重貴為嗣。 是日，齊王即皇帝位。 延廣以為己功，始用事，禁都下人毋得偶語。
Feng Dao conferred with Tiansping military governor and commander of palace horse and foot Jing Yanguang. Judging the realm beset by troubles, they held that an elder and more seasoned ruler should be chosen, and together they installed Qi Wang Chonggui, the Guangjin Director, as heir. That same day, Qi Wang ascended the throne. Jing Yanguang claimed credit for the outcome and began to wield power, forbidding anyone in the capital to speak together in pairs.
22
初，高祖疾亟，有旨召河東度使劉知遠入輔政，齊王寢之； 知遠由是怨齊王。
When Gaozu first fell critically ill, he had issued an order summoning Hedong military governor Liu Zhiyuan to the capital to assist in government, but Qi Wang suppressed it; Liu Zhiyuan therefore came to resent Qi Wang.
23
丁卯，尊皇太后曰太皇太后，皇后曰皇太后。
On dingmao, the empress dowager was elevated to grand empress dowager, and the empress was honored as empress dowager.
24
閩富沙王延政圍汀州，閩主曦發漳、泉兵五千救之。 又遣其將林守亮入尤溪，大明宮使黃敬忠屯尤口，欲乘虛襲建州； 國計使黃紹頗將步卒八千為二軍聲援。
Min Prince of Fusha Yan Zheng besieged Tingzhou, and the Min ruler Xi sent five thousand troops from Zhang and Quan to its relief. He also sent his general Lin Shouliang into Youxi while Palace Commissioner Huang Jingzhong encamped at Youkou, planning to strike Jianzhou while the enemy's defenses were exposed; State Planning Commissioner Huang Shaopo led eight thousand foot soldiers in two columns to reinforce them.
25
秋，七月，壬辰，太皇太后劉氏殂。
In autumn, the seventh month, on renchen, Grand Empress Dowager Liu died.
26
閩富沙王延政攻汀州，四十二戰，不克而歸。 其將包洪實、陳望，將水軍以御福州之師； 丁酉，遇於尤口。 黃敬忠將戰，占者言時刻未利，按兵不動； 洪實等引兵登岸，水陸夾攻之，殺敬忠，俘斬二千級，林守亮、黃紹頗皆遁歸。
Min Prince of Fusha Yan Zheng assaulted Tingzhou. After forty-two engagements he failed to take the city and withdrew. His generals Bao Hongshi and Chen Wang commanded the river fleet to block the force advancing from Fuzhou; On dingyou, the two forces met at Youkou. Huang Jingzhong prepared to give battle, but the diviner declared the hour unfavorable, and he held his troops in place; Hongshi and his men came ashore and attacked from land and water at once. They killed Huang Jingzhong and killed or captured two thousand of the enemy. Lin Shouliang and Huang Shaopo both fled the field.
27
庚子，大赦。
On gengzi, the court proclaimed a general amnesty.
28
癸卯，加景延廣同平章事，兼侍衛馬步都指揮使。
On guimao, Jing Yanguang was promoted to co-equal chancellor and appointed commander-in-chief of the palace guard, horse and foot alike.
29
勳舊皆欲復置樞密使，馮道等三表，請以樞密舊職讓之； 帝不許。
The old hands who had earned their merit all wanted the Privy Commission restored. Feng Dao and others sent up three memorials, offering to surrender their former Privy posts to them. The emperor refused.
30
有神降於博羅縣民家，與人言而不見其形，閭閻人往占吉凶，多驗，縣吏張遇賢事之甚謹。 時循州盜賊群起，莫相統一，賊帥共禱於神，神大言曰：「張遇賢當為汝主。」 於是群帥共奉遇賢，稱中天八國王，改元永樂，置百官，攻掠海隅。 遇賢年少，無他方略，諸將但告進退而已。 漢主以越王弘昌為都統，循王弘杲為副以討之，戰於錢帛館。 漢兵不利，二王皆為賊所圍； 指揮使陳道癢等力戰救之，得免。 東方州縣多為遇賢所陷。 道庠，端州人也。
A spirit descended into a household in Boluo County. It spoke with men and women yet showed no form. Neighbors flocked to it for auguries of fortune and ruin, and its words often proved true. The county clerk Zhang Yuxian tended it with scrupulous devotion. Bandits were rising everywhere in Xun Prefecture, leaderless and scattered. The chiefs prayed together before the spirit, and it thundered: "Zhang Yuxian shall be your sovereign." At once the chiefs raised Yuxian up, hailed him King of the Eight Kingdoms of the Middle Heaven, proclaimed the era Yongle, set up a full court of offices, and swept the coast in plunder. Yuxian was still young and knew no stratagem beyond this; his generals simply told him when to advance or withdraw. The Han sovereign sent Prince Yue Hongchang as supreme commander, with Prince Xun Honggao as his second, to suppress the rebellion. They gave battle at the Qianbo Pavilion. The Han army met defeat; both princes were hemmed in by the rebels. Commander Chen Daoyang and his men fought with desperate strength to break the encirclement, and the princes were saved. Prefectures and counties across the east largely fell into Yuxian's hands. Daoxiang was native to Duanzhou.
31
高行周圍襄州逾年，不下。 城中食盡，奉國軍都虞候曲周王清言於行周曰：「賊城已危，我師已老，民力已困，不早迫之，尚何俟乎！」 與奉國都指揮使元城劉詞帥眾先登。 八月，拔之。 安從進舉族自焚。
Gao Xingzhou invested Xiang Prefecture for over a year and could not bring it down. When provisions in the city were spent, Wang Qing of Quzhou, deputy chief of the Fengguo Army, urged Xingzhou: "The rebels' walls are already failing, our troops are weary, and the people's strength is spent. If we do not press the attack now, how long will we wait?" He and Liu Ci of Yuancheng, commander of the Fengguo Army, stormed the walls at the head of the host. In the eighth month the city fell. An Congjin gathered his whole clan and burned himself alive.
32
甲子，以趙瑩為中書令。 閩主曦遣使以手詔及金器九百、錢萬緡、將吏敕告六百四十通，求和於富沙王延政，延政不受。 丙寅，閩主曦宴群臣於九龍殿。 從子繼柔不能飲，強之。 繼柔私減其酒，曦怒，並客將斬之。
On jiazi, Zhao Ying was appointed Director of the Secretariat. The Min ruler Xi dispatched envoys bearing his own hand-edict, nine hundred gold vessels, ten thousand strings of cash, and six hundred forty sealed commissions for officers and men, suing for peace with Prince Fusha Yan Zheng. Yan Zheng would not accept. On bingyin the Min ruler Xi held a banquet for his ministers in the Hall of Nine Dragons. His nephew Jirou could not hold his wine, but they pressed him to drink all the same. Jirou secretly watered down his cup. Xi flew into a rage and had him beheaded, together with the officer who had been his guest.
33
閩人鑄永隆通寶大鐵錢，一當鉛錢百。
Min cast great iron coins bearing the inscription Yonglong Tongbao, each valued at a hundred lead coins.
34
漢葬天皇大帝於康陵，廟號高祖。
Han interred the Heavenly Sovereign Emperor at Kangling and gave him the temple name Gaozu.
35
唐主自為吳相，興利除害，變更舊法甚多。 及即位，命法官及尚書刪定為《升元條》三十卷； 庚寅，行之。
From the time he served Wu as chancellor, the Tang ruler had sought profit for the people and cleared away abuses, altering a great many old statutes. When he took the throne, he commanded judicial officers and the Secretariat to edit and codify them into thirty scrolls, the Shengyuan Articles. On gengyin the code took effect.
36
閩主曦以同平章事候官余廷英為泉州刺史。 廷英貪穢，掠人女子，詐稱受詔采擇以備後宮。 事覺，曦遣御史按之。 廷英懼，詣福州自歸，曦詰責，將以屬吏； 廷英退，獻買宴錢萬緡。 曦悅，明日召見，謂曰：「宴已買矣，皇后貢物安在？」 廷英復獻錢於李後，乃遣歸泉州； 自是諸州皆別貢皇后物。 未幾，復召廷英為相。
The Min ruler Xi made Yu Tingying of Houguan, his co-equal chancellor, prefect of Quanzhou. Tingying was grasping and corrupt. He seized men's daughters, pretending he had been commanded to gather them for the inner palace. When the affair was exposed, Xi dispatched censors to investigate. Tingying, in fear, came to Fuzhou to give himself up. Xi questioned and rebuked him, and was about to remand him to the magistrates. Tingying withdrew and offered ten thousand strings of cash as the price of a feast. Xi was delighted. The next day he summoned Tingying and said, "The feast is paid for—where is the empress's tribute?" Tingying paid out again, this time to Empress Li, and only then was he sent back to Quanzhou. After that, every prefecture began sending separate tribute for the empress. Before long Xi recalled Tingying to serve again as chancellor.
37
冬，十月，丙子，張遇賢陷循州，殺漢刺史劉傳。
In winter, the tenth month, on bingzi, Zhang Yuxian seized Xun Prefecture and slew the Han prefect Liu Chuan.
38
楚王希範作天策府，極棟宇之盛； 戶牖欄檻皆飾以金玉，塗壁用丹砂數十萬斤； 地衣，春夏用角簟，秋冬用木綿。 與子弟僚屬游宴其間。
Ma Xifan, King of Chu, raised the Celestial Policies Bureau, lavishing every extravagance upon its halls and towers. Doors, windows, rails, and balustrades glittered with gold and jade; the walls were painted with cinnabar by the hundred thousand jin. The floor coverings were horn mats in spring and summer, cotton in autumn and winter. There he wandered and feasted with his sons, younger brothers, and the officers of his court.
39
十一月，庚寅，葬聖文章武明德孝皇帝於顯陵，廟號高祖。
In the eleventh month, on gengyin, the Sacred Literary Martial Virtuous Filial Emperor was laid to rest at Xianling and given the temple name Gaozu.
40
先是，河南、北諸州官自賣海鹽，歲收緡錢十七萬； 又散蠶鹽斂民錢。 言事者稱民坐私販鹽抵罪者眾，不若聽民自販，而歲以官所賣錢直斂於民，謂之食鹽錢； 高祖從之。 俄而鹽價頓賤，每斤至十錢。 至是，三司使董遇欲增求羨利，而難於驟變前法，乃重征鹽商，過者七錢，留賣者十錢。 由是鹽商殆絕，而官復自賣。 其食鹽錢，至今斂之如故。
Earlier, the prefectures north and south of the Yellow River had sold sea salt themselves, taking in one hundred seventy thousand strings a year. They also scattered silkworm salt among the people and collected money in return. Memorialists argued that countless commoners were being punished for trafficking in salt on their own. Better, they said, to let the people trade freely, while the state each year collected from them the sum it had once earned from official sales—a charge called the salt-consumption tax. Gaozu agreed. Soon salt plunged in price, falling as low as ten cash per jin. By then the Commissioner of the Three Departments, Dong Yu, wanted to squeeze out greater profit yet shrank from overturning the new law at a stroke. Instead he piled heavy duties on salt merchants: seven cash on those merely passing through, ten on those who lingered to sell. Salt merchants all but vanished, and the state once again took up selling salt on its own account. As for the salt-consumption tax, it was still levied unchanged.
41
閩鹽鐵使、右僕射李仁遇，敏之子，閩主曦之甥也； 年少，美姿容，得幸於曦。 十二月，以仁遇為左僕射兼中書侍郎，翰林學士、吏部侍郎李光准為中書侍郎兼戶部尚書，並同平章事。 曦荒淫無度，嘗夜宴，光准醉忤旨，命執送都市斬之； 吏不敢殺，系獄中。 明日，視朝，召復其位。 是夕，又宴，收翰林學士周維岳下獄。 吏拂榻待之，曰：「相公昨夜宿此，尚書勿憂。」 醒而釋之。 他日，又宴，侍臣皆以醉去，獨維岳在。 曦曰：「維岳身甚小，何飲酒之多？」 左右或曰：「酒有別腸，不必長大。」 曦欣然，命捽維岳下殿，欲剖視其酒腸。 或曰：「殺維岳，無人復能侍陛下劇飲者。」 乃捨之。
Li Renyu, Min's commissioner of salt and iron and right vice director of the Secretariat, was Min's son and nephew to the Min ruler Xi. He was young and fair of face, and won Xi's special favor. In the twelfth month Renyu was made left vice director and vice director of the Secretariat; Hanlin academician and vice minister of Personnel Li Guangzhun was made vice director of the Secretariat and minister of Revenue. Both were appointed co-equal chancellors. Xi abandoned himself to pleasure without measure. One night at banquet Guangzhun, drunk, gave offense. Xi ordered him seized and marched to the execution ground. The officers did not dare carry out the sentence; they locked him in prison instead. The next morning, when Xi held audience, he restored Guangzhun to office. That very evening, at yet another feast, he had the Hanlin academician Zhou Weiyue thrown into jail. The jailers brushed off a couch and told him, "Chancellor, you slept here last night, Minister—have no fear." When Xi woke sober, he set Weiyue free. On another night of feasting, every attendant minister staggered off drunk save Weiyue alone. Xi said, "Weiyue is so slight of frame—how does he hold so much wine?" Someone at his side answered, "Wine runs through a separate gut; a man need not be tall to drink deep." Xi laughed with pleasure and ordered Weiyue hauled down from the hall, intending to cut him open and inspect this wine-gut of his. " Another voice said, "Slay Weiyue, and who will ever again keep Your Majesty company in deep drinking?" Xi stayed his hand and spared him.
42
帝之初即位也，大臣議奉表稱臣告哀於契丹，景延廣請致書稱孫而不稱臣。 李崧曰：「屈身以為社稷，何恥之有！ 陛下如此，他日必躬擐甲冑，與契丹戰，於時悔無益矣。」 延廣固爭，馮道依違其間。 帝卒從延廣議。 契丹大怒，遣使來責讓，且言：「何得不先承稟，遽即帝位？」 延廣復以不遜語答之。
At the beginning of his reign the emperor's ministers debated whether to submit a memorial as vassals announcing the late emperor's death to the Khitan. Jing Yanguang urged that the letter call him "grandson" but not "subject." Li Song said, "To bend the knee for the realm's sake—what shame lies in that? If Your Majesty goes this way, the day will come when you must buckle on armor yourself and meet the Khitan in battle—and then remorse will be too late." Yanguang held his ground; Feng Dao hung undecided between the two. In the end the emperor sided with Yanguang. The Khitan ruler erupted in fury and sent envoys to upbraid him, demanding, "How dare you mount the throne without first seeking our leave?" Yanguang answered once more with words of defiance.
43
契丹盧龍節度使趙延壽欲代晉帝中國，屢說契丹擊晉，契丹主頗然之。
Zhao Yanshou, the Khitan military governor of Lulong, meant to supplant the Jin emperor and rule China himself. Again and again he pressed the Khitan ruler to attack Jin, and the Khitan ruler was much inclined to listen.
44
齊王上
King Qi, Part One
45
高祖聖文章武明德孝皇帝下天福八年（ 癸卯，公元九四三年）
Gaozu the Sacred Literary Martial Virtuous Filial Emperor, continued—Year Eight of Tianfu ( guimao, AD 943)
46
春，正月，癸卯，蜀主以宣徽使兼宮苑使田敬全領永平節度使； 敬全，宦者也，引前蜀王承休為比而命之，國人非之。
In spring, the first month, on guimao, the Shu ruler put Xuanhui commissioner and palace park commissioner Tian Jingquan in charge of the Yongping military commission. Jingquan was a eunuch. The ruler justified the appointment by pointing to Former Shu's Wang Chengxiu—and the people of Shu murmured against it.
47
帝聞契丹將入寇，二月，己未，發鄴都； 乙丑，至東京。 然猶與契丹問遺相往來，無虛月。
Learning that the Khitan were poised to invade, the emperor in the second month, on jiwei, set out from Yedu. On yichou he arrived at the Eastern Capital. Even so, courtesies and gifts still shuttled back and forth with the Khitan—not a month passed without some embassy.
48
唐宣城王景達，剛毅開爽，烈祖愛之，屢欲以為嗣； 宋齊丘亟稱其才，唐主以齊王璟年長而止。 璟以是怨齊丘。 唐主幼子景逷，母种氏有寵，齊王璟母宋皇后稀得進見。 唐主如璟宮，遇璟親調樂器，大怒，誚讓者數日。 种氏乘間言，景逷雖幼而慧，可以為嗣。 唐主怒曰：「子有過，父訓之，常事也。 國家大計，女子何得預知！」 即命嫁之。 唐主嘗夢吞靈丹，旦而方士史守沖獻丹方，以為神而餌之，浸成躁急。 左右諫，不聽。 嘗以藥賜李建勳，建勳曰：「臣餌之數日，已覺躁熱，況多餌乎！」 唐主曰：「朕服之久矣。」 群臣奏事，往往暴怒； 然或有正色論辨中理者，亦斂容慰謝而從之。 唐主問道士王棲霞：「何道可致太平？」 對曰：「王者治心治身，乃治家國。 今陛下尚未能去饑嗔、飽喜，何論太平！」 宋-{后}-自簾中稱歎，以為至言。 凡唐主所賜予，棲霞皆不受。 棲霞常為人奏章，唐主欲為之築壇。 辭曰：「國用方乏，何暇及此！ 俟焚章不化，乃當奏請耳。」
Jing Da, Prince of Xuancheng, was firm, open, and forthright. Liezu doted on him and more than once meant to name him heir. Song Qiqiu never ceased praising his gifts, but the Tang ruler held back because Prince Qi Li Jing was the elder son. From this Li Jing came to bear Qiqiu a grudge. The Tang ruler's youngest son, Jing Ti, was born to the favored Lady Chong, while Li Jing's mother, Empress Song, was seldom admitted to audience. When the Tang ruler visited Li Jing's palace and found him tuning instruments with his own hands, he blazed with anger and upbraided him for days on end. Lady Chong seized the moment to say that though Jing Ti was still young, he was clever and fit to be heir. The Tang ruler snapped, "When a son missteps, the father corrects him—that is only natural. Great affairs of state are no business for a woman to speak of!" He at once commanded that she be given in marriage and sent away. The Tang ruler once dreamed that he swallowed an elixir of immortality. At dawn the daoist Shi Shouchong offered him a recipe. The ruler took it for a divine gift and began to ingest it, and little by little his temper turned sharp and fevered. Those around him pleaded with him to stop; he would not hear them. Once he gave the drug to Li Jianxun. Jianxun said, "I took it for only a few days and already felt hot restlessness—what if one swallowed it in quantity?" The Tang ruler answered, "I have been taking it a long time." When his ministers came before him with business, he would often burst into rage. Yet if a man stood his ground with sober face and right reason, the ruler would also collect himself, offer gracious words, and yield. The Tang ruler asked the daoist Wang Qixia, "By what Way can one bring the realm to great peace?" Wang answered, "A king must first govern his own heart and body; only then can he govern house and realm. Your Majesty has not yet learned to leave off anger in hunger and delight in fullness—how then speak of great peace!" From behind the curtain Empress Song cried out in praise, declaring it the truest word she had ever heard. Whatever the Southern Tang emperor offered him, Qixia refused to take it. Qixia frequently drafted memorials for other people, and the emperor wanted to erect an altar in his honor. He declined, saying, "The treasury is already empty. How can we afford such a thing? Wait until a burned memorial is left unconsumed by the flames. Only then will I ask for it."
49
駕部郎中馮延己，為齊王元帥府常書記，性傾巧，與宋齊丘及宣徽副使陳覺相結； 同府在巳上者，延己稍以計逐之。 延已嘗戲謂中書侍郎孫晟曰：「公有何能，為中書郎？」 晟曰：「晟，山東鄙儒，文章不如公，詼諧不如公，諂詐不如公。 然主上使公與齊王游處，蓋欲以仁義輔導之也，豈但為聲色狗馬之友邪！ 晟誠無能； 如公之能，適足為國家之禍耳。」 延己，歙州人也。 又有魏岑者，亦在齊王府。 給事中常夢錫屢言陳覺、馮延己、魏岑皆佞邪小人，不宜侍東宮； 司門郎中判大理寺蕭儼表稱陳覺奸回亂政； 唐主頗感悟，未及去。 會疽發背，秘不令人知，密令醫治之，聽政如故。 庚午，疾亟，太醫吳廷裕遣親信召齊王璟入侍疾。 唐主謂璟曰：「吾餌金石，始欲益壽，乃更傷生，汝宜戒之！」 是夕，殂。 秘不發喪，下制：「以齊王監國，大赦。」
Feng Yanji of the Directorate of Imperial Carriages served as permanent secretary in the Prince of Qi's headquarters. Cunning by nature, he joined forces with Song Qiqiu and Chen Jue, deputy commissioner of the Palace Secretariat; any colleague in the same office who outranked him, Feng Yanji gradually maneuvered out of the way. Feng Yanji once teased Sun Sheng, vice director of the Secretariat: "What talent do you have that qualifies you to be a secretariat gentleman?" Sun Sheng replied, "I am only a rustic scholar from Shandong. I cannot match you in prose, in wit, or in sycophancy and deceit. But His Majesty paired you with the Prince of Qi so that you might guide him with virtue and righteousness. Surely he did not mean for you to be a companion in pleasure, horses, and hounds alone! I truly have no talent; but talents like yours are exactly what can bring a nation to ruin." Feng Yanji was a native of Shezhou. There was also a Wei Cen, who served in the Prince of Qi's household as well. Chang Mengxi, a supervising secretary, repeatedly warned that Chen Jue, Feng Yanji, and Wei Cen were flatterers and villains who should not attend the crown prince; Xiao Yan of the Ministry of Justice, serving concurrently as judge of the Court of Judicial Review, submitted a memorial accusing Chen Jue of treachery and corrupting the administration; The emperor was somewhat persuaded, but had not yet removed them from office. Then a carbuncle erupted on his back. He kept it secret, had physicians treat it quietly, and continued to hold court as usual. On the day gengwu his condition turned critical. Chief Imperial Physician Wu Tingyu sent a trusted messenger to summon Prince Qi Jing to his bedside. The emperor told Jing, "I took mineral elixirs hoping to extend my life, but they only shortened it. You must guard against this!" That night he died. The death was kept secret and mourning was not announced. An edict was issued: "The Prince of Qi shall serve as regent. A general amnesty is granted."
50
孫晟恐馮延己等用事，欲稱遺詔令太后臨朝稱制。 翰林學士李貽業曰：「先帝嘗云：『婦人預政，亂之本也。』 安肯自為厲階！ 此必近習奸人之詐也。 且嗣君春秋已長，明德著聞，公何得遽為亡國之言！ 若果宣行，吾必對百官毀之。」 晟懼而止。 貽業，蔚之從曾孫也。
Sun Sheng, fearing that Feng Yanji and his faction would seize power, wanted to invoke the late emperor's edict and have the empress dowager assume regency. Hanlin academician Li Yiye said, "The late emperor once declared, 'When women meddle in government, that is the root of chaos. How could he have chosen to become the author of his own ruin! This must be a forgery by court favorites and schemers. Besides, the heir is already a grown man of proven virtue. How can you so rashly utter words that would ruin the realm! If this edict is actually promulgated, I will denounce it before the whole court." Sun Sheng, alarmed, abandoned the plan. Li Yiye was a collateral descendant of Li Wei.
51
丙子，始宣遺制。 烈祖末年卞急，近臣多罹譴罰。 陳覺稱疾，累月不入，及宣遺詔，乃出。 蕭儼劾奏：「覺端居私室，以俟升遐，請按其罪。」 齊王不許。
On the day bingzi the late emperor's final edicts were publicly announced. In his last years the Founding Emperor had grown harsh and quick-tempered, and many of his close ministers were punished. Chen Jue pleaded illness and stayed away from court for months, appearing only after the testamentary edict was announced. Xiao Yan impeached him, saying, "Chen Jue remained at home, waiting for the emperor to die. I ask that his offense be investigated." The Prince of Qi refused.
52
自烈祖相吳，禁壓良為賤，令買奴婢者通官作券。 馮延己及弟禮部員外郎延魯，俱在元帥府，草遺詔聽民賣男女； 意欲自買姬妾，蕭儼駁曰：「此必延己等所為，非大行之命也。 昔延魯為東都判官，已有此請； 先帝訪臣，臣對曰：『陛下昔為吳相，民有鬻男女者，為出府金，贖而歸之，故遠近歸心。 今即位而反之，使貧人之子為富人廝役，可乎？』 先帝以為然，將治延魯罪。 臣以為延魯愚，無足責。 先帝斜封延魯章，抹三筆，持入宮。 請求諸宮中，必尚在。」 齊王命取先帝時留中章奏千餘道，皆斜封一抹，果得延魯疏。 然以遺詔已行，竟不之改。
Ever since the Founding Emperor had served as chief minister of Wu, he had forbidden the press-ganging of free people into bondage and required all purchases of slaves to be recorded with official certificates. Feng Yanji and his younger brother Yanlu, an outer gentleman of the Ministry of Rites, both served in the prince's headquarters and drafted a testamentary edict allowing common people to sell their sons and daughters; they intended to buy concubines for themselves. Xiao Yan objected: "This must be the work of Feng Yanji and his circle, not the late emperor's command. When Yanlu had previously served as magistrate of the Eastern Capital, he had already made this same request; the late emperor consulted me, and I answered, 'When Your Majesty was chief minister of Wu, whenever people sold their children you paid out treasury funds to redeem them and send them home. That is why the realm rallied to you. Now that you have taken the throne, to reverse that policy and turn the children of the poor into servants for the rich—can that be right?' The late emperor agreed and was about to punish Yanlu. I argued that Yanlu was merely foolish and not worth punishing. The late emperor sealed Yanlu's memorial askew, struck through three lines, and kept it in the palace. Search the palace archives—it must still be there." The Prince of Qi ordered more than a thousand memorials withheld during the late emperor's reign to be brought out—all bearing the telltale diagonal seal—and Yanlu's memorial was found among them. But because the testamentary edict had already been promulgated, it was never revoked.
53
閩富沙王延政稱帝於建州，國號大殷，大赦，改元天德。 以將樂縣為鏞州，延平鎮為鐔州。 立皇后張氏。 以節度判官潘承祐為吏部尚書，節度巡官建陽楊思恭為兵部尚書。 未幾，以承祐同平章事，思恭遷僕射，錄軍國事。 延政服赭袍視事，然牙參及接鄰國使者，猶如籓鎮禮。 殷國小民貧，軍旅不息。 楊思恭以善聚斂得幸，增田畝山澤之稅，至於魚鹽蔬果，無不倍征，國人謂之「楊剝皮」。
Yanzheng, Prince of Fusha in Min, declared himself emperor at Jianzhou. He named his state Great Yin, proclaimed a general amnesty, and adopted the era name Tiande. He elevated Jiangle County to Yong Prefecture and Yanping garrison to Tan Prefecture. He made Lady Zhang his empress. He appointed Pan Chengyou, judge of the military governorship, minister of personnel, and Yang Sigong of Jianyang, touring official of the military governorship, minister of war. Soon afterward Pan Chengyou was made co-director of the Secretariat, Yang Sigong was promoted to vice director, and both were charged with overseeing military and state affairs. Yanzheng wore an imperial ochre robe when holding court, yet in morning audience and when receiving envoys from neighboring states he still followed the etiquette of a vassal military governor. The Yin realm was small and its people poor, and warfare never ceased. Yang Sigong won favor through his talent for extracting revenue. He raised taxes on farmland, mountains, lakes, and marshes; even fish, salt, fruit, and vegetables were taxed at double rates. The people nicknamed him "Yang the Skinner."
54
三月，己卯朔，以中書令趙瑩為晉昌節度使兼中書令； 以晉昌節度使兼侍中桑維翰為侍中。
In the third month, on the first day jimao, Zhao Ying, director of the Secretariat, was appointed military governor of Jinchang while retaining his secretariat title; Sang Weihan, military governor of Jinchang and concurrent palace attendant, was confirmed as palace attendant.
55
唐元宗即位，大赦，改元保大。 秘書郎韓熙載請俟逾年改元，不從。 尊皇后曰皇太后，立妃鍾氏為皇后。 唐主未聽政，馮延己屢入白事，一日至數四。 唐主曰：「書記有常職，何為如是其煩也！」 唐主為人謙謹，初即位，不名大臣，數延公卿論政體，李建勳謂人曰：「主上寬仁大度，優於先帝； 但性習未定，苟旁無正人，但恐不能守先帝之業耳。」 唐主以鎮南節度使宋齊丘為太保兼中書令，奉化節度使周宗為侍中。 唐主以齊丘、宗先朝勳舊，故順人望召為相，政事皆自決之。 徙壽王景遂為燕王，宣城王景達為鄂王。 初，唐主為齊王，知政事，每有過失，常夢錫常直言規正； 始雖忿懟，終以諒直多之。 及即位，許以為翰林學士，齊丘之黨疾之，坐封駁制書，貶池州判官。 池州多遷客，節度使上蔡王彥儔，防制過甚，幾不聊生，惟事夢錫如在朝廷。
When Tang Yuanzong took the throne, he proclaimed a general amnesty and adopted the era name Baoda. Han Xizai, a secretariat secretary, asked that the era name be changed only after a full year had passed, but the request was rejected. The late emperor's consort was honored as empress dowager, and Lady Zhong was made empress. Before the new emperor began to hold audience, Feng Yanji repeatedly came to report business—sometimes as many as four times in one day. The emperor said, "A secretary has defined duties. Why are you bothering me like this!" The emperor was modest and careful by nature. When he first took the throne he did not address ministers by personal name and often summoned the high officials to discuss governance. Li Jianxun told others, "Our lord is generous and broad-minded, better than his father; but his character is not yet fixed. Unless upright men stand beside him, I fear he may not be able to preserve what his father built. The emperor appointed Song Qiqiu, military governor of Zhennan, grand mentor and concurrent director of the Secretariat, and Zhou Zong, military governor of Fenghua, palace attendant. Because Song Qiqiu and Zhou Zong were distinguished veterans of the previous reign, the emperor brought them into office as chief ministers to satisfy public expectation, but kept all major decisions in his own hands. He reassigned Prince Shou Jingsui as Prince of Yan and Prince Xuancheng Jingda as Prince of E. When the emperor had been Prince of Qi and handled government affairs, Chang Mengxi had often corrected him bluntly whenever he erred; at first the prince resented it, but in time he came to value Mengxi's honesty. On taking the throne he had promised to make Chang Mengxi a hanlin academician, but Song Qiqiu's faction despised him. Mengxi was demoted to magistrate of Chizhou for having sealed and returned an edict. Chizhou held many exiled officials. Its military governor, Prince of Shangcai Yan Chou, restricted them so harshly that they could barely survive; only toward Chang Mengxi did he behave as though Mengxi were still at court."
56
宋齊丘待陳覺素厚，唐主亦以覺為有才，遂委任之。 馮延己、延魯、魏岑，雖齊邸舊僚，皆依附覺，與休寧查文徽更相汲引，侵蠹政事，唐人謂覺等為「五鬼」。 延魯自禮部員外郎遷中書舍人、勤政殿學士，江州觀察使杜昌業聞之，歎曰：「國家所以驅駕群臣，在官爵而已。 若一言稱旨，遽躋通顯，後有立功者，何以賞之！」 未幾，唐主以岑及文徽皆為樞密副使。 岑既得志，會覺遭母喪，岑即暴揚覺過惡，擯斥之。
Song Qiqiu had long favored Chen Jue, and the emperor also regarded him as talented, so he was given real authority. Feng Yanji, Yanlu, and Wei Cen, though old colleagues from the prince's household, all clustered around Chen Jue. With Zha Wenhu of Xiuning they promoted one another and preyed on the administration. The people of Tang called them the "Five Demons." Yanlu was promoted from outer gentleman of the Ministry of Rites to secretariat drafter and academician of the Hall of Diligent Governance. When Du Changye, observation commissioner of Jiangzhou, heard of it he sighed and said, "The state governs its ministers by office and rank alone. If one pleasing word can vault a man straight to the highest honors, what reward will be left for those who actually perform meritorious service!" Before long the emperor appointed both Wei Cen and Zha Wenhu deputy commissioners of the Bureau of Military Affairs. Once Wei Cen had gotten what he wanted, Chen Jue entered mourning for his mother. Cen immediately publicized Jue's misdeeds and had him expelled.
57
唐置定遠軍於濠州。
Tang established the Dingyuan Army at Haozhou.
58
漢殤帝驕奢，不親政事。 高祖在殯，作樂酣飲； 夜與倡婦微行，裸男女而觀之。 左右忤意輒死，無敢諫者； 惟越王弘昌及內常侍番禺吳懷恩屢諫，不聽。 常猜忌諸弟，每宴集，令宦者守門，群臣、宗室，皆露索，然後入。 晉王弘熙欲圖之，乃盛飾聲伎，娛悅其意，以成其惡。 漢主好手搏，弘熙令指揮使陳道庠引力士劉思潮、譚令禋、林少強、林少良、何昌廷等五人習手搏於晉府，漢主聞而悅之。 丙戌，與諸王宴於長春宮，觀手搏，至夕罷宴，漢主大醉。 弘熙使道庠、思潮等掖漢主，因拉殺之，盡殺其左右。 明旦，百官諸王莫敢入宮，越王弘昌帥諸弟臨於寢殿，迎弘熙即皇帝位，更名晟，改元應乾。 以弘昌為太尉兼中書令、諸道兵馬都元帥，知政事，循王弘杲為副元帥，參預政事。 陳道庠及劉思潮等皆受賞賜甚厚。
Emperor Shang of Later Han was arrogant and dissolute and neglected government. Even while his father's coffin still lay in state, he ordered music and drank heavily; at night he slipped out incognito with singing girls and forced men and women to strip naked for his amusement. any attendant who displeased him was killed on the spot, and no one dared to remonstrate; only the King of Yue, Hongchang, and the inner palace attendant Wu Huai'en of Panyu repeatedly admonished him, but he refused to listen. He constantly distrusted his younger brothers. At every banquet he posted eunuchs at the gates, and ministers and royal kinsmen were searched before they were allowed in. The King of Jin, Hongxi, plotted to overthrow him and therefore lavished music and entertainers upon him, feeding his vices to bring about his downfall. The emperor loved wrestling. Hongxi had Commander Chen Daoxiang train five strongmen—Liu Sichao, Tan Lingyin, Lin Shaoqiang, Lin Shaoliang, and He Changting—in hand-to-hand combat at the Jin palace. The emperor heard of it and was delighted. On the day bingxu he feasted with the princes at Everlasting Spring Palace and watched the wrestling matches. The banquet ran until evening, and the emperor became thoroughly drunk. Hongxi had Chen Daoxiang, Liu Sichao, and the others support the emperor, then strangled him and killed all his attendants. The next morning no official or prince dared enter the palace. The King of Yue, Hongchang, led his brothers to the imperial bedchamber, installed Hongxi as emperor, changed his name to Sheng, and adopted the era name Yingqian. Hongchang was made grand marshal, concurrent director of the Secretariat, commander-in-chief of all military circuits, and head of government; the King of Xun, Honggao, was made deputy commander-in-chief with a seat in government. Chen Daoxiang, Liu Sichao, and the others all received lavish rewards.
59
閩主曦納金吾使尚保殷之女，立為賢妃。 妃有殊色，曦嬖之； 醉中，妃所欲殺則殺之，所欲宥則宥之。
The ruler of Min, Xi, took the daughter of Golden Guard commissioner Shang Baoyin as consort and made her Worthy Consort. The consort was exceptionally beautiful, and Xi doted on her; when he was drunk, he executed whomever she wanted executed and pardoned whomever she wanted pardoned.
60
夏，四月，戊申朔，日有食之。
In summer, in the fourth month, on the first day wushen, the sun was eclipsed.
61
唐以中書侍郎、同平章事李建勳為昭武節度使，鎮撫州。
Tang appointed Li Jianxun, vice director and co-director of the Secretariat, military governor of Zhaowu, stationed at Fuzhou.
62
殷將陳望等攻閩福州，入其西郛，既而敗歸。
Yin generals including Chen Wang attacked Fuzhou in Min, broke into the western suburbs, but were eventually driven back in defeat.
63
五月，殷吏部尚書、同平章事潘承祐上書陳十事，大指言：「兄弟相攻，逆傷天理，一也。 賦斂煩重，力役無節，二也。 發民為兵，羈旅愁怨，三也。 楊思恭奪民衣食，使歸怨於上，群臣莫敢言，四也。 疆土狹隘，多置州縣，增吏困民，五也。 除道裹糧，將攻臨汀，曾不憂金陵、錢塘乘虛相襲，六也。 括高貲戶，財多者補官，逋負者被刑，七也。 延平諸津，征果菜魚米，獲利至微，斂怨甚大，八也。 與唐、吳越為鄰，即位以來，未嘗通使，九也。 宮室台榭，崇飾無度，十也。」 殷王延政大怒，削承祐官爵，勒歸私第。
In the fifth month, Pan Chengyou of Yin, minister of personnel and co-director of the Secretariat, submitted a memorial listing ten grievances. In essence he argued: "Brothers making war on one another violates Heaven's order—that is the first. Taxes and levies are oppressive, and forced labor knows no limit—that is the second. To conscript commoners into military service, leaving them far from home in sorrow and resentment—that is the third point. Yang Sigong confiscated the people's food and clothing and shifted the blame upward, so that resentment fell on the throne—yet none among the ministers dared speak out. That is the fourth point. Though the realm was small and cramped, the government multiplied prefectures and counties, piling on officials and grinding down the people. That is the fifth point. While clearing roads and packing supplies to attack Linzhou, there was no thought that Jinling and Qiantang might strike when the realm was exposed. That is the sixth point. Rich households were shaken down: the wealthiest were bought off with official appointments, while those unable to pay were punished. That is the seventh point. At the Yanping ferry crossings, taxes were levied on fruit, vegetables, fish, and grain—petty gains that stirred deep resentment. That is the eighth point. Though neighbors to Tang and Wuyue, not once since accession had he exchanged envoys with them. That is the ninth point. Palaces, terraces, and pavilions were lavishly adorned beyond all limit. That is the tenth point. Yinzheng was furious. He stripped Chengyou of rank and office and sent him home under restraint."
64
漢中宗既立，國中議論哅哅。 循王弘杲請斬劉思潮等以謝中外，漢主不從。 思潮等聞之，譖弘杲謀反，漢主令思潮等伺之。 弘杲方宴客，思潮與譚令禋帥衛兵突入，斬弘杲。 於是漢主謀盡誅諸弟，以越王弘昌賢而得眾，尤忌之。 雄武節度使齊王弘弼，自以居大鎮，懼禍，求入朝； 許之。
Once Zhongzong of Han took the throne, the court buzzed with whisper and debate. Prince Xun, Honggao, urged that Liu Sichao and his faction be put to death as a show of accountability at home and abroad. The Han sovereign refused. Sichao and his allies, hearing of it, accused Honggao of plotting rebellion. The Han ruler set them to spy on him. Honggao was holding a banquet when Sichao and Tan Lingyin burst in at the head of the palace guard and cut him down. The Han ruler then resolved to destroy all his brothers. Prince Yue, Hongchang, won men's hearts by his virtue, and the sovereign feared him above all. Prince Qi, Hongbi, Military Commissioner of Xiongwu, fearful that holding a major command made him a target, asked to be recalled to court; His request was granted.
65
初，閩主曦侍康宗宴，會新羅獻寶劍，康宗舉以示同平章事王倓曰：「此何所施？」 倓對曰：「斬為臣不忠者。」 時曦己蓄異志，凜然變色。 至是宴群臣，復有獻劍者，曦命發校塚，斬其屍。 校書郎陳光逸謂其友曰：「主上失德，亡無日矣，吾欲死諫。」 其友止之，不從； 上書陳曦大惡五十事。 曦怒，命衛士鞭之數百，不死； 以繩系其頸，懸諸庭樹，久之乃絕。
Earlier, while the Min ruler Xi was attending a feast with Kangzong, Silla presented a precious sword. Kangzong lifted it and showed it to Wang Tan, Associate Grand Councillor, asking, "What is this for?" Tan answered, "To behead ministers who are disloyal." Xi already nursed secret ambitions, and his face turned pale. Now, at a banquet with his ministers, another sword was presented. Xi had Wang's grave opened and his corpse beheaded. Chen Guangyi, a proofreader, told a friend, "The sovereign has lost the Way. His fall cannot be far off. I mean to remonstrate with my life." His friend tried to hold him back, but he would not be dissuaded; He submitted a memorial enumerating fifty grievous crimes of Xi's reign. Xi had his guards whip him hundreds of times; still he would not die; They bound a rope around his neck and hung him from a tree in the courtyard. A long while passed before he finally died.
66
秋，七月，己丑，詔以年饑，國用不足，分遣使者六十餘人於諸道括民谷。
In the seventh month of autumn, on jichou, an edict went forth: famine had emptied the treasury, so more than sixty envoys were sent through every circuit to seize grain from the people.
67
吳越王弘佐初立，上統軍使闞璠強戾，排斥異己，弘佐不能制； 內牙上都監使章德安數與之爭，右都監使李文慶不附於璠，乙巳，貶德安於處州，文慶於睦州。 璠與右統軍使胡進思益專橫。 璠，明州人； 文慶，睦州人； 進思，湖州人也。
When King Hongzuo of Wuyue first took the throne, Senior Commanding General Kan Fan ruled by force, purging rivals, and the young king could not rein him in; Chief Palace Guard Supervisor Zhang De'an clashed with Fan repeatedly; Right Chief Supervisor Li Wenqing refused to follow him. On yisi, De'an was banished to Chuzhou and Wenqing to Muzhou. Fan and Right Commanding General Hu Jinsi grew only more overbearing. Fan was from Mingzhou; Wenqing was from Muzhou; Jinsi was from Huzhou.
68
唐主緣烈祖意，以天雄節度使兼中書令、金陵尹燕王景遂為諸道兵馬元帥，徙封齊王，居東宮； 天平節度使、守侍中、東都留守鄂王景達為副元帥，徙封燕王； 宣告中外，約以傳位。 立長子弘冀為南昌王。 景遂、景達固辭，不許。 景遂自誓必不敢為嗣，更其字曰退身。
Honoring his grandfather the Founder's wishes, the Tang sovereign named Prince Jingsui of Yan—Military Commissioner of Tianxiong, concurrent Chief Councillor, and Prefect of Jinling—Commander-in-Chief of all armies, transferred his title to Prince Qi, and installed him in the Eastern Palace; Prince Jingda of E, Military Commissioner of Tianping, Acting Chief Councillor, and Eastern Capital Regent, was made Deputy Commander-in-Chief and given the title Prince of Yan; The court announced it at home and abroad, binding itself to pass the succession as promised. He made his eldest son, Hongji, Prince of Nanchang. Jingsui and Jingda protested again and again, but the sovereign would not relent. Jingsui swore he would never accept the succession and changed his style name to Tuishen—"Withdrawing from Office."
69
漢指揮使萬景忻敗張遇賢於循州。 遇賢告於神，神曰：「取虔州，則大事可成。」 遇賢帥眾逾嶺，趣虔州。 唐百勝節度使賈匡浩不為備，遇賢眾十餘萬攻陷諸縣，再敗州兵，城門晝閉。 遇賢作宮室營署於白雲洞，遣將四出剽掠。 匡浩，公鐸之子也。
Wan Jingxin, a Han commanding general, defeated Zhang Yuxian at Xunzhou. Yuxian prayed to a god, and the god answered, "Seize Qianzhou, and your great cause will succeed." Yuxian led his host across the mountains toward Qianzhou. Jia Kuanghao, Tang Military Commissioner of Baisheng, was caught unprepared. Yuxian's army of more than a hundred thousand overran the counties, twice routed the prefectural forces, and by daylight the city gates had to be shut. Yuxian built palaces and camps at Baiyun Cave and sent generals out on every side to pillage. Kuanghao was Gongduo's son.
70
八月，乙卯，唐主立弟景逷為保寧王。 宋太后怨种夫人，屢欲害景逷，唐主力保全之。
In the eighth month, on yimao, the Tang sovereign ennobled his younger brother Jingyao as Prince of Baoning. Empress Dowager Song hated Lady Zhong and more than once tried to destroy Jingyao. The Tang sovereign shielded him with all his power.
71
夏州牙內指揮使拓跋崇斌謀作亂，綏州刺史李彝敏將助之，事覺； 辛未，彝敏棄州，與其弟彝俊等五人奔延州。
Tuoba Chongbin, an internal commanding general of the Xiazhou guard, plotted rebellion, and Li Yimin, prefect of Suizhou, meant to join him. The plot was uncovered; On xinwei, Yimin abandoned his post and fled to Yanzhou with his brother Yijun and three others—five men in all.
72
九月，尊帝母秦國夫人安氏為皇太妃。 妃，代北人也。 帝事太后、太妃甚謹，多侍食於其宮，待諸弟亦友愛。
In the ninth month, the emperor's mother, Lady An of Qin, was raised to the rank of Imperial Grand Consort. She came from the northern Dai region. The emperor tended the empress dowager and the grand consort with scrupulous devotion, often taking his meals in their quarters, and treated his younger brothers with genuine warmth.
73
初，河陽牙將喬榮從趙延壽入契丹，契丹以為回圖使，往來販易於晉，置邸大梁。 及契丹與晉有隙，景延廣說帝囚榮於獄，悉取邸中之貨。 凡契丹之人販易在晉境者，皆殺之，奪其貨。 大臣皆言契丹有大功於晉，不可負。 戊子，釋榮，慰賜而歸之。 榮辭延廣，延廣大言曰：「歸語而主，先帝為北朝所立，故稱臣奉表。 今上乃中國所立，所以降志於北朝者，正以不敢忘先帝盟約故耳。 為鄰稱孫，足矣，無稱臣之理。 北朝皇帝勿信趙延壽誑誘，輕侮中國。 中國士馬，爾所目睹。 翁怒則來戰，孫有十萬橫磨劍，足以相待。 它日為孫所敗，取笑天下，毋悔也！」 榮自以亡失貨財，恐歸獲罪，且欲為異時據驗，乃曰：「公所言頗多，懼有遺忘，願記之紙墨。」 延廣命吏書其語以授之，榮具以白契丹主。 契丹主大怒，入寇之志始決。 晉使如契丹，皆縶之幽州，不得見。 桑維翰屢請遜辭以謝契丹，每為延廣所沮。 帝以延廣為有定策功，故寵冠群臣； 又總宿衛兵，故大臣莫能與之爭。 河東節度使劉知遠，知延廣必致寇，而畏其方用事，不敢言，但益募兵，奏置興捷、武節等十餘軍以備契丹。
In earlier days, Qiao Rong, a guard officer at Heyang, had followed Zhao Yanshou into Khitan lands. The Khitan made him their trade envoy to Jin and set up a merchant house for him at Daliang. When relations between Khitan and Jin soured, Jing Yanguang urged the emperor to throw Rong in prison and confiscate everything in his depot. Every Khitan trader found within Jin borders was killed and plundered. The senior ministers all protested that the Khitan had done Jin great service and must not be betrayed. On wuzi, Rong was freed, soothed with gifts, and sent back. When Rong came to say farewell, Yanguang thundered, "Go tell your master: our late emperor was placed on the throne by the Northern Court, so he called himself subject and sent tribute. The present emperor was raised by the Middle Kingdom itself. He abases himself before the Northern Court only because he dares not forget our late sovereign's sworn pact. As neighbors go, calling yourself grandson is enough. There is no call to play the subject. Let the Khitan emperor not trust Zhao Yanshou's poison or hold the Middle Kingdom in contempt. You have seen our soldiers and horses with your own eyes. If the old man wants war, let him bring it. Your grandson keeps a hundred thousand swords whetted on the whetstone, enough to meet him. When my grandson beats you someday and all the world laughs, do not say you were not warned! Rong, having lost his property and fearing punishment at home—and wanting proof for later—said, "You have said a great deal, sir. I am afraid I may forget. Would you put it in writing?" Yanguang had a clerk write down every word and hand the record to Rong, who carried the whole account to the Khitan sovereign. The Khitan sovereign flew into a rage, and from that moment his mind was set on invasion. Every Jin envoy sent to Khitan was held at Youzhou and denied an audience. Sang Weihan pleaded again and again for conciliatory language toward Khitan, and each time Yanguang blocked him. Because Yanguang had helped settle the succession, the emperor favored him above every other minister; and he commanded the palace guard besides, so no senior minister could stand against him. Liu Zhiyuan of Hedong saw that Yanguang would bring the Khitan down on them, but Yanguang was in the ascendant and Liu dared not speak. He raised troops in secret and petitioned to form more than a dozen new armies—Xingjie, Wujie, and the rest—to hold Khitan at bay."
74
甲午，定難節度使李彝殷奏李彝敏作亂之狀，詔執彝敏送夏州，斬之。
On jiawu, Li Yiyin, Military Commissioner of Dingnan, reported Li Yimin's rebellion. An edict ordered Yimin seized, sent to Xiazhou, and executed.
75
冬，十月，戊申，立吳國夫人馮氏為皇后。 初，高祖愛少弟重胤，養以為子； 及留守鄴都，娶副留守安喜馮濛女為其婦。 重胤早卒，馮夫人寡居，有美色，帝見而悅之； 高祖崩，梓宮在殯，帝遂納之。 群臣皆賀，帝謂馮道等曰：「皇太后之命，與卿等不任大慶。」 群臣出，帝與夫人酣飲，過梓宮前，醊而告曰：「皇太后之命，與先帝不任大慶。」 左右失笑，帝亦自笑，顧謂左右曰：「我今日作新婿，何如？」 夫人與左右皆大笑。 太后雖恚，而無如之何。 既正位中宮，頗預政事。 後兄玉，時為禮部郎中、鹽鐵判官，帝驟擢用至端明殿學士、戶部侍郎，與議政事。
In the tenth month of winter, on wushen, Lady Feng of Wu was crowned empress. Long ago, Gaozu had doted on his youngest brother Chongyin and raised him as a son; While stationed at Ye, he had married him to Feng Meng of Anxi's daughter, the deputy regent's child. Chongyin died young. Lady Feng, widowed and beautiful, caught the emperor's eye; and the moment Gaozu died, with the imperial coffin still in state, the new emperor took her for his own. The court offered congratulations. The emperor told Feng Dao and the rest, "By the empress dowager's command, I cannot hold a grand celebration with you." After the ministers left, he drank deep with his new consort. Passing the coffin, he poured a libation and said, "By the empress dowager's command, the late emperor and I cannot share in any grand rejoicing." His attendants burst out laughing. The emperor laughed too, turned to them and asked, "How do I look as a bridegroom today?" The lady and the attendants roared with laughter. The empress dowager was furious, but there was nothing she could do. Once enthroned as empress, she began to dabble in state affairs. Her elder brother Yu, then a director in the Ministry of Rites and salt-and-iron commissioner, was catapulted to Academician of the Hall of Brilliant Governance and Vice Minister of Revenue, and given a seat in policy debates.
76
漢主命韶王弘雅致仕。
The Han sovereign ordered Prince Shao, Hongya, to retire from office.
77
唐主遣洪州營屯都虞候嚴恩將兵討張遇賢，以通事舍人金陵邊鎬為監軍。 鎬用虞州人白昌裕為謀主，擊張遇賢； 屢破之。 遇賢禱於神，神不復言，其徒大懼。 昌裕勸鎬伐木開道，出其營後襲之，遇賢棄眾奔別將李台。 台知神無驗，執遇賢以降，斬於金陵市。
The Tang sovereign sent Yan En, chief adjutant of Hongzhou's garrison farms, to campaign against Zhang Yuxian, with Bian Hao of Jinling—a protocol officer—as military inspector. Hao put Bai Changyu of Yuzhou in charge of strategy and attacked Zhang Yuxian; breaking him again and again. Yuxian prayed to his god, but the god fell silent. His followers were seized with terror. Changyu told Hao to cut a road through the forest and fall on the rebel camp from behind. Yuxian abandoned his army and fled to the deputy commander Li Tai. Li Tai, seeing the god had failed, seized Yuxian and surrendered. Yuxian was beheaded in the Jinling market.
78
十一月，丁亥，漢主祀南郊，大赦，改元乾和。
In the eleventh month, on dinghai, the Han sovereign sacrificed at the southern altar, proclaimed a general amnesty, and adopted the era name Qianhe.
79
戊子，吳越王弘佐納妃仰氏，仁詮之女也。
On wuzi, King Hongzuo of Wuyue took Lady Yang, Renquan's daughter, as consort.
80
初，高祖以馬三百借平盧節度使楊光遠，景延廣以詔命取之。 光遠怒曰：「是疑我也。」 密召其子單州刺史承祚，戊戌，承祚稱母病，夜，開門奔青州。 庚子，以左飛龍使金城何超權知單州。 遣內班賜光遠玉帶、御馬、金帛，以安其意。 壬寅，遣侍衛步軍都指揮使郭謹將兵戍鄆州。
Earlier, Gaozu had lent three hundred horses to Yang Guangyuan, Military Commissioner of Pinglu. Jing Yanguang now reclaimed them by imperial order. Guangyuan raged, "They mean to suspect me." He secretly summoned his son Chengzhu, prefect of Shanzhou. On wuxu, Chengzhu feigned his mother's illness; that night he threw open the gates and fled to Qingzhou. On gengzi, Left Flying Dragon Commissioner He Chao of Jincheng was made acting prefect of Shanzhou. The court sent palace attendants with a jade belt, an imperial horse, gold, and silk to reassure Guangyuan. On renyin, Palace Guard Infantry Commander Guo Jin was sent to garrison Yanzhou with his troops.
81
唐葬光文肅武孝高皇帝於永陵，唐號烈祖。
Tang interred Emperor Guangwensu Wu Xiaogao at Yongling and gave him the temple name Liezu, the Grand Founder.
82
十二月，乙巳朔，遣左領軍衛將軍蔡行遇將兵戍鄆州。 楊光遠遣騎兵入淄州，劫刺史翟進宗歸於青州。 甲寅，徙楊承祚為登州刺史以從其便。 光遠益驕，密告契丹，以晉主負德違盟，境內大饑，公私困竭，乘此際攻之，一舉可取； 趙延壽亦勸之。 契丹主乃集山後及盧龍兵合五萬人，使延壽將之，委延壽經略中國，曰：「若得之，當立汝為帝。」 又常指延壽謂晉人曰：「此汝主也。」 延壽信之，由是為契丹盡力，畫取中國之策。 朝廷頗聞其謀，丙辰，遣使城南樂及德清軍，征近道兵以備之。
In the twelfth month, on the yisi new moon, General Cai Xingyu of the Left Imperial Guard was sent to Yanzhou with troops to take up the garrison. Yang Guangyuan sent cavalry into Zizhou, abducted Prefect Zhai Jinzong, and carried him off to Qingzhou. On jiayin, Yang Chengzuo was reassigned as prefect of Dengzhou at his own request. Yang Guangyuan grew ever bolder and secretly urged the Khitan: the Jin emperor had betrayed the alliance, famine ravaged the realm, and public coffers were empty — strike now and the conquest would be won in a single blow; Zhao Yanshou seconded the advice. The Khitan khagan mustered fifty thousand men from the lands beyond the mountains and from Lulong and placed them under Yanshou's command. He entrusted the China campaign to Yanshou, saying: "If we win, I shall make you emperor." He would often point at Yanshou and tell Jin subjects: "This man is your sovereign." Yanshou took him at his word and from then on threw himself into the Khitan cause, drafting plan after plan for the conquest of China. Word of the plot reached the court. On bingchen, envoys were sent to the southern garrisons at Yue and Deqing to raise local troops in readiness.
83
唐侍中周宗年老，恭謹自守，中書令宋齊丘廣樹朋黨，百計傾之。 宗泣訴於唐王，唐主由是薄齊丘。 既而陳覺被疏，乃出齊丘為鎮海節度使。 齊丘忿懟，表乞歸九華舊隱，唐主知其詐，一表，即從之，賜書曰：「今日之行，昔時相許。 朕實知公，故不奪公志。」 仍賜號九華先生，封青陽公，食一縣租稅。 齊丘乃治大第於青陽，服御將吏，皆如王公，而憤邑尤甚。
Tang Vice Grand Councilor Zhou Zong was elderly, reverent, and self-restrained. Chief Councilor Song Qiqiu built a wide patronage network and schemed by every means to bring him down. Zhou Zong wept before the Tang emperor and pleaded his case; from that point the emperor's regard for Song Qiqiu cooled. When Chen Jue later fell from favor, Song Qiqiu was posted out as military governor of Zhenhai. Song Qiqiu, furious, petitioned to retire to his old hermitage on Mount Jiuhua. The Tang emperor saw through the ploy; after one memorial he assented and wrote back: "The journey you take today is the one we spoke of long ago. I know you well, and so I will not stand in the way of your wish." He also gave him the honorific Master of Jiuhua, enfeoffed him as Duke of Qingyang, and granted him the tax revenue of one county. Song Qiqiu then built a grand mansion at Qingyang; his household, dress, and retinue all matched princely rank, yet his bitterness only deepened.
84
寧州酋長莫彥殊以所部溫那等十八州附於楚； 其州無官府，惟立牌於岡阜，略以恩威羈縻而已。
Mo Yanshu, chieftain of Ningzhou, brought eighteen prefectures under his rule — including Wenna — into Chu's orbit; those districts had no formal bureaucracy; placards were set up on hilltops, and the people were held in loose allegiance through a mix of favor and coercion.
85
是歲，春夏旱，秋冬水，蝗大起，東自海壖，西距隴坻，南逾江、湖，北抵幽薊，原野、山谷、城郭、廬舍皆滿，竹木葉俱盡。 重以官括民谷，使者督責嚴急，至封碓磑，不留其食，有坐匿谷抵死者。 縣令往往以督趣不辦，納印自劾去。 民餒死者數十萬口，流亡不可勝數。 於是留守、節度使下至將軍，各獻馬、金、帛、芻粟以助國。 朝廷以恆、定饑甚，獨不括民谷。 順國節度使杜威奏稱軍食不足，請如諸州例，許之。 威用判官王緒謀，檢索殆盡，得百萬斛。 威止奏三十萬斛，餘皆入其家； 又令判官李沼稱貸於民，復滿百萬斛，來春糶之，得緡錢二百萬，闔境苦之。 定州吏欲援例為奏，義武節度使馬全節不許，曰：「吾為觀察使，職在養民，豈忍效彼所為乎！」
That year brought drought through spring and summer and floods through autumn and winter, and locusts swarmed in unprecedented numbers. From the eastern coast west to Longdi, south beyond the Yangtze and the great lakes, north to You and Ji — fields, valleys, cities, and homesteads were carpeted with them; every leaf on bamboo and tree was stripped bare. On top of this, the government seized grain from the people. Collectors pressed their demands with brutal urgency, even sealing mills and grinding stones so that nothing was left to eat; some were put to death for hoarding grain. County magistrates, unable to meet the crushing collection quotas, often surrendered their seals and resigned in disgrace. Hundreds of thousands starved to death, and refugees fled in numbers beyond counting. Garrison commanders, military governors, and generals alike sent horses, gold, silk, and fodder grain to aid the state. Because Heng and Ding were hit hardest by famine, the court alone exempted them from grain requisitions. Du Wei, military governor of Shunguo, reported that army rations were insufficient and asked to requisition grain like the other prefectures; the request was granted. Following the scheme of his aide Wang Xu, Du Wei searched the region to the last storehouse and seized one million hu of grain. He reported only three hundred thousand hu to the court; the rest went into his private coffers; he then had his aide Li Zhao extort grain loans from the people until another million hu were amassed, to be sold off the following spring for two million strings of cash — and the whole region groaned under the burden. Dingzhou officials wanted to follow suit and petition for the same requisitions; Ma Quanjie, military governor of Yiwu, refused, saying: "As observation commissioner, my duty is to care for the people — how could I stoop to what they did!"
86
楚地多產金銀，茶利尤厚，由是財貨豐殖。 而楚王希範，奢欲無厭，喜自誇大。 為長槍大槊，飾之以金，可執而不可用。 募富民年少肥澤者八千人，為銀槍都。 宮室、園囿、服用之物，務窮侈靡。 作九龍殿，刻沈香為八龍，飾以金寶，長十餘丈，抱柱相向； 希範居其中，自為一龍，其襆頭腳長丈餘，以象龍角。 用度不足，重為賦斂。 每遣使者行田，專以增頃畝為功，民不勝租賦而逃。 王曰：「但令田在，何憂無谷！」 命營田使鄧懿文籍逃田，募民耕藝出租。 民捨故從新，僅能自存，自西徂東，各失其業。 又聽人入財拜官，以財多少為官高卑之差。 富商大賈，布在列位。 外官還者，必責貢獻。 民有罪，則富者輸財，強者為兵，惟貧弱受刑。 又置函，使人投匿名書相告訐，至有滅族者。 是歲，用孔目官周陟議，令常稅之外，大縣貢米二千斛，中千斛，小七百斛； 無米者輸布帛。 天策學士拓跋恆上書曰：「殿下長深宮之中，藉已成之業，身不知稼穡之勞，耳不聞鼓鼙之音，馳騁遨遊，雕牆玉食。 府庫盡矣，而浮費益甚； 百姓困矣，而厚斂不息。 今淮南為仇讎之國，番禺懷吞噬之志，荊渚日圖窺伺，溪洞待我姑息。 諺曰：『足寒傷心，民怨傷國。』 願罷輸米之令，誅周陟以謝郡縣，去不急之務，減興作之役。 無令一旦禍敗，為四方所笑。」 王大怒。 他日，恆請見，辭以晝寢。 恆謂客將區弘練曰：「王逞欲而愎諫，吾見其千口飄零無日矣。」 王益怒，遂終身不復見之。
Chu was rich in gold and silver, and tea brought especially heavy profits; state coffers swelled accordingly. Yet King Xi Fan of Chu was insatiable in his appetites and loved nothing more than glorifying himself. He had long spears and great halberds made, gilded for show — splendid to look at, useless in battle. He recruited eight thousand young men from wealthy families — plump, fair-skinned youths — to form the Silver Spear Guard. Palaces, gardens, and every object of daily use were pushed to the utmost extravagance. He built the Hall of Nine Dragons, carving agarwood into eight dragons studded with gold and jewels, each more than ten zhang long, coiled around pillars face to face; Xi Fan sat among them as the ninth dragon; the flaps and tails of his official cap stretched more than a zhang, fashioned to look like dragon horns. When revenues ran short, he imposed fresh levies and exactions. Whenever he sent agents to survey the fields, success was measured only by how many acres could be added to the tax rolls; peasants, crushed by rent and levies, fled. The king said: "As long as the land is still there, why worry about grain!" He ordered Deng Yiwen, commissioner of military colonies, to register abandoned fields, recruit settlers to farm them, and collect rent. People abandoned old holdings for new ones and barely scraped by; moving from west to east, each lost the livelihood he had known. He also allowed men to buy office with cash, rank rising or falling with the size of the payment. Wealthy merchants sat throughout the ranks of officialdom. Officials returning from provincial posts were always required to bring tribute. When commoners were charged with crimes, the rich bought their way out with cash, the strong were pressed into service as soldiers — only the poor and weak were punished. He also installed a denunciation box for anonymous accusations, until some families were wiped out to the last soul. That year, on the advice of chief clerk Zhou Zhi, on top of regular taxes large counties had to deliver two thousand hu of rice, medium counties one thousand, and small counties seven hundred; counties without rice paid in cloth and silk instead. Tianji Academician Tuoba Heng submitted a memorial: "Your Highness has long lived deep in the palace, resting on an inheritance already won. You have never felt the labor of the fields, never heard the drums of war. You ride and hunt for pleasure, dine off jade, and dwell within carved walls. The treasury is empty, yet wasteful spending grows ever greater; the people are in misery, yet heavy exactions never stop. Huainan is a sworn enemy; Panyu hungers to swallow us; Jingzhou watches daily for weakness; the hill tribes wait on our forbearance. A proverb says: 'Cold feet chill the heart; popular resentment wounds the state.' I beg you to revoke the rice tribute, execute Zhou Zhi to answer the provinces and counties, drop unurgent business, and cut construction and corvée. Do not invite sudden ruin and become a laughingstock to every quarter." The king flew into a rage. Another day, when Heng asked for an audience, the king refused, pleading a midday nap. Heng told guest officer Qu Honglian: "The king follows his appetites and spurns honest counsel; I see the day coming when his whole clan will be scattered to the winds." The king's rage only deepened, and he never granted Heng an audience again for the rest of his life.
87
閩主曦嫁其女，取班簿閱視之； 朝士有不賀者十二人，皆杖之於朝堂。 以御史中丞劉贊不舉劾，亦將杖之，贊義不受辱，欲自殺。 諫議大夫鄭元弼諫曰：「古者刑不上大夫，中丞儀刑百僚，豈宜加之棰楚！」 曦正色曰：「卿欲效魏徵邪？」 元弼曰：「臣以陛下為唐太宗，故敢效魏徵。」 曦怒稍解，乃釋贊，贊竟以憂卒。
When Lord Xi of Min gave his daughter in marriage, he took out the roster of officials to review it; twelve court officials who had failed to offer congratulations were flogged in the audience hall. Because Censor-in-Chief Liu Zan had not impeached them, he too was to be flogged; Liu Zan, unwilling to endure such humiliation, tried to take his own life. Remonstrance Officer Zheng Yuanbi protested: "In antiquity, punishment did not reach high officials; the censor-in-chief sets the standard for all the bureaucracy — how can he be beaten with rod and whip!" Xi said sternly: "Do you mean to play Wei Zheng to me?" Yuanbi replied: "Because I take Your Majesty for Emperor Taizong of Tang, I dare play Wei Zheng." Xi's anger subsided somewhat; he released Liu Zan, but Liu Zan died of grief all the same.
88
高祖聖文章武明德孝皇帝下開運元年（ 甲辰，公元九四四年）
Emperor Gaozu the Sage, Cultured, Martial, Brightly Virtuous, and Filially Reverent — Lower Section, First Year of Kaiyun ( jiachen, 944 CE)
89
春，正月，乙亥，邊籓馳告：「契丹前鋒將趙延壽、趙延照將兵五萬入寇，逼貝州。」 延照，思溫之子也。 先是朝廷以貝州水陸要衝，多聚芻粟，為大軍數年之儲，以備契丹。 軍校邵珂，性凶悖，永清節度使王令溫黜之。 珂怨望，密遣人亡入契丹，言「貝州粟多而兵弱，易取也。」 會令溫入朝，執政以前復州防禦使吳巒權知州事。 巒至，推誠撫士； 會契丹入寇，巒書生，無爪牙，珂自請，願效死，巒使將兵守南門，巒自守東門。 契丹主自攻貝州，巒悉力拒之，燒其攻具殆盡。 己卯，契丹復攻城，珂引契丹自南門入，巒赴井死。 契丹遂陷貝州，所殺且萬人。 庚辰，以歸德節度使高行周為北面行營都部署，以河陽節度使符彥卿為馬軍左廂排陳使，以右神武統軍皇甫遇為馬軍右廂排陳使，以陝府節度使王周為步軍左廂排陳使，以左羽林將軍潘環為步軍右廂排陳使。
In spring, the first month, on yihai, frontier garrisons sent urgent word: "Khitan vanguard generals Zhao Yanshou and Zhao Yanzhao are leading fifty thousand men in invasion, closing on Beizhou." Yanzhao was the son of Siwen. Earlier, because Beizhou was a strategic crossroads by land and water, the court had stockpiled fodder and grain there — enough for a great army to live on for years — against a Khitan attack. Army officer Shao Ke was violent and insubordinate; Wang Lingwen, military governor of Yongqing, removed him from his post. Shao Ke, nursing a grudge, secretly sent men into the Khitan camp with word that Beizhou was rich in grain but weak in troops — an easy prize." Just then Wang Lingwen went to court; the chief ministers appointed former Fuzhou defense commissioner Wu Luan acting prefect. When Wu Luan arrived, he treated the troops with open sincerity; when the Khitan invasion came, Wu Luan was a scholar with no hardened fighters of his own; Shao Ke volunteered to die in the city's defense. Wu Luan put him in charge of the south gate and held the east gate himself. The Khitan khagan himself besieged Beizhou; Wu Luan resisted with everything he had and burned the siege engines nearly to ashes. On jimao the Khitan assaulted the city again; Shao Ke opened the south gate and let them in. Wu Luan threw himself into a well and died. The Khitan then took Beizhou; nearly ten thousand were slaughtered. On gengchen, Gao Xingzhou, military governor of Guide, was named overall commander of the northern campaign; Fu Yanqing of Heyang was made left cavalry wing commander; Huangfu Yu, commander-in-chief of the Right Divine Martial Army, right cavalry wing commander; Wang Zhou of Shanzhou, left infantry wing commander; and Left Feathered Forest General Pan Huan, right infantry wing commander.
90
太原奏契丹入雁門關。 恆、邢、滄皆奏契丹入寇。
Taiyuan reported that the Khitan had crossed Yanmen Pass. Heng, Xing, and Cang all reported Khitan incursions.
91
成德節度使杜威遣幕僚曹光裔詣楊光遠，為陳禍福，光遠遣光裔入奏，稱：「承祚逃歸，母疾故爾。 既蒙恩宥，闔族荷恩。」 朝廷信其言，遣使與光裔復往慰諭之。
Du Wei, military governor of Chengde, sent staff officer Cao Guangyi to Yang Guangyuan to argue the costs of rebellion; Guangyuan sent Cao to court with word that Chengzuo had fled home because his mother was ill. Having received the court's gracious pardon, our whole clan is bound in gratitude." "The court believed him and sent an envoy with Cao Guangyi back to reassure him.
92
唐以侍中周宗為鎮南節度使，左僕射兼門下侍郎、同平章事張居詠為鎮海節度使。
Tang appointed Vice Grand Councilor Zhou Zong military governor of Zhennan and Left Vice Director of the Secretariat, Left Minister of Works, and Co-Equal to the Three Excellencies Zhang Juyong military governor of Zhenhai.
93
唐主決欲傳位於齊、燕二王。 翰林學士馮延己等因之欲隔絕中外以擅權。 辛巳，敕：「齊王景遂參決庶政，百官惟樞密副使魏岑、查文徽得白事，餘非召對不得見。」 國人大駭。 給事中蕭儼上疏極論，不報。 侍衛都虞候賈崇叩閣求見，曰：「臣事先帝三十年，觀其延接疏遠，孜孜不怠，下情猶有不通者。 陛下新即位，所任者何人，而頓與群臣謝絕？ 臣老矣，不復得奉顏色。」 因涕泗嗚咽。 唐主感悟，遽收前敕。 唐主於宮中作高樓，召侍臣觀之，眾皆歎美。 蕭儼曰：「恨樓下無井。」 唐主問其故。 對曰：「以此不及景陽樓耳。」 唐主怒，貶於舒州，觀察使孫晟遣兵防之，儼曰：「儼以諫諍得罪，非有它志。 昔顧命之際，君幾危社稷，其罪顧不重於儼乎？ 今日反見防邪！」 晟慚懼，遽罷之。
The Tang emperor was firmly resolved to pass the throne to the Princes of Qi and Yan. Hanlin Academician Feng Yanji and his circle seized on the moment, hoping to cut the court off from the outside world and keep power in their own hands. On xinsi an edict declared: "Prince Jing of Qi shall share in deciding routine government; of all officials, only Deputy Commissioners of Military Affairs Wei Cen and Zha Wenhui may report business directly — the rest may not be received unless summoned." The realm was shaken. Supervising Secretary Xiao Yan submitted a fierce memorial of protest; no answer came. Chief of Palace Guards Jia Chong knocked at the palace gate and begged an audience: "I served the late emperor for thirty years and watched him receive men high and low with tireless diligence — yet even then the voices below did not always reach him. Your Majesty has only just taken the throne — whom have you put in charge, that you suddenly shut the ministers out entirely? I am old; I shall never again look upon your face." He broke down in tears. The Tang emperor was moved and at once revoked the edict. The Tang emperor built a high tower in the palace and summoned his ministers to view it; all murmured in admiration. Xiao Yan said: "My only regret is that there is no well beneath the tower." The Tang emperor asked why. He answered, "That's why it falls short of the Jingyang Tower." The Tang ruler flew into a rage and banished him to Shuzhou. Observation Commissioner Sun Sheng sent troops to keep watch over him. Yan declared, "I was punished only for speaking out in remonstrance—I have no other designs. When you received the dying sovereign's charge, you nearly brought the realm to ruin. Surely your guilt outweighs mine? And now I am the one placed under guard?" Ashamed and alarmed, Sun Sheng at once withdrew the guard.
94
帝遣使持書遺契丹，契丹已屯鄴都，不得通而返。 壬午，以侍衛馬步都指揮使景延廣為御營使，前靖難節度使李周為東京留守。 是日，高行周以前軍先發。 時用兵方略號令皆出延廣，宰相以下皆無所預； 延廣乘勢使氣，陵侮諸將，雖天子亦不能制。 乙酉，帝發東京。 丁亥，滑州奏契丹至黎陽。 戊子，帝至澶州。 契丹主屯元城，趙延壽屯南樂； 以延壽為魏博節度使，封魏王。 契丹寇太原，劉知遠與白承福合兵二萬擊之。 甲午，以知遠為幽州道行營招討使，杜威為副使，馬全節為都虞候。 丙申，遣右武衛上將軍張彥澤等將兵拒契丹於黎陽。
The Emperor sent an envoy with a letter to the Khitan, but the Khitan had already encamped at Yedu; unable to get through, the envoy turned back. On renwu, Jing Yanguang, commander-in-chief of the palace cavalry and infantry, was appointed commander of the imperial camp, and the former Jingnan military governor Li Zhou was made governor of the Eastern Capital. That same day Gao Xingzhou marched out first at the head of the vanguard. At the time all strategy and commands came from Yanguang alone; the chief ministers and everyone below had no say in them; Yanguang, swollen with power and arrogance, bullied and humiliated the generals; not even the Emperor could check him. On yiyou the Emperor set out from the Eastern Capital. On dinghai Hua Prefecture reported that the Khitan had reached Liyang. On wuzi the Emperor arrived at Cazhou. The Khitan ruler encamped at Yuancheng, and Zhao Yanshou encamped at Nanle; Yanshou was appointed military governor of Weibo and enfeoffed as Prince of Wei. The Khitan attacked Taiyuan; Liu Zhiyuan and Bai Chengfu joined forces—twenty thousand men—and struck back. On jiawu Liu Zhiyuan was made campaign commander on the Youzhou route, with Du Wei as deputy and Ma Quanjie as chief adjutant. On bingshen Zhang Yanze, senior general of the Right Martial Guard, and others were sent to lead troops against the Khitan at Liyang.
95
戊戌，蜀主復以將相遙領節度使。
On wuxu the Shu ruler again had his generals and ministers hold military governorships in absentia.
96
帝復遣譯者孟守忠致書於契丹，求修舊好。 契丹主復書曰：「已成之勢，不可改也。」 辛丑，太原奏破契丹偉王於秀容，斬首三千級。 契丹自鴉鳴谷遁去。
The Emperor again sent the interpreter Meng Shouzhong with a letter to the Khitan, asking to renew the old alliance. The Khitan ruler wrote back: "What is already settled cannot be undone." On xinchou Taiyuan reported a victory over the Khitan Prince Wei at Xiurong, with three thousand heads taken. The Khitan withdrew through Yamming Gorge.
97
殷鑄天德通寶大鐵錢，一當百。
Yin cast large iron Tiande Tongbao coins, each valued at a hundred standard coins.
98
唐主遣使遺閩主曦及殷主延政書，責以兄弟尋戈。 曦復書，引周公誅管、蔡，唐太宗誅建成、元吉為比。 延政復書，斥唐主奪楊氏國。 唐主怒，遂與殷絕。
The Tang ruler sent envoys with letters to the Min ruler Xi and the Yin ruler Yanzheng, rebuking them for fratricidal war. Xi wrote back, comparing himself to the Duke of Zhou's punishment of Guan and Cai and to Emperor Taizong's execution of Jiancheng and Yuanji. Yanzheng wrote back, accusing the Tang ruler of usurping the Yang family's kingdom. The Tang ruler was furious and broke off relations with Yin.
99
天平節度副使、知鄆州顏衎遣觀察判官竇儀奏：「博州刺史周儒以城降契丹，又與楊光遠通使往還，引契丹自馬家口濟河，擒左武衛將軍蔡行遇。」 儀謂景延廣曰：「虜若濟河與光遠合，則河南危矣。」 延廣然之。 儀，薊州人也。
Yan Kan, deputy military governor of Tianping and acting prefect of Yanzhou, had Observation Corps judge Dou Yi submit a memorial: "Bo Prefecture governor Zhou Ru surrendered his city to the Khitan, exchanged envoys with Yang Guangyuan, and guided the Khitan across the river at Majiakou, where they captured Left Martial Guard General Cai Xingyu." Yi told Jing Yanguang, "If the enemy crosses the river and links up with Guangyuan, the lands south of the Yellow River will be in grave danger." Yanguang agreed. Yi was from Jizhou.