Records of Wei 14: Biographies of Cheng Yu, Guo Jia, Dong Zhao, Liu Ye, Jiang Ji and Liu Fang

Records of Wei 14: Biographies of Cheng Yu, Guo Jia, Dong Zhao, Liu Ye, Jiang Ji and Liu Fang

Cheng Yu

程昱

Cheng Yu, courtesy name Zhongde, was a man of Dong'e County in Dong Commandery. He was eight chi three cun tall and had a fine beard and whiskers. When the Yellow Turbans rose up, the county Assistant Wang Du rebelled in response to them and burned the granaries and storehouses. The county Magistrate fled over the city wall, and the officials and people, carrying the old and the young on their backs, fled east to Mount Quqiu. Cheng Yu sent men to spy on Wang Du. Wang Du and his men had taken an empty city but could not hold it, and they went out five or six li west of the city and halted to camp there. Cheng Yu said to Xue Fang and the other heads of the county's great clans, “Now Wang Du and his men have taken the city walls but cannot stay there; one can see what their strength amounts to.

程昱字仲德，東郡東阿人也。長八尺三寸，美鬚髯。黃巾起，縣丞王度反應之，燒倉庫。縣令逾城走，吏民負老幼東奔渠丘山。昱使人偵視度，度等得空城不能守，出城西五六里止屯。昱謂縣中大姓薛房等曰：「今度等得城郭不能居，其勢可知。

This is nothing more than a wish to plunder goods; they have no intention of attacking or holding a place with stout armor and sharp weapons. Why not lead one another back to the city and defend it? Moreover, the walls are high and thick and there is plenty of grain. If we now go back, seek out the Magistrate, and hold firm together, Wang Du certainly cannot last long, and if we attack him he can be crushed.” Xue Fang and the others agreed. But the officials and people would not go along, saying, “The bandits are to the west; there is nowhere for us but the east.” Cheng Yu said to Xue Fang and the others, “There is no planning affairs with ignorant common folk.”

此不過欲虜掠財物，非有堅甲利兵攻守之志也。今何不相率還城而守之？且城高厚，多穀米，今若還求令，共堅守，度必不能久，攻可破也。」房等以為然。吏民不肯從，曰：「賊在西，但有東耳。」昱謂房等：「愚民不可計事。」

He then secretly sent several horsemen to raise banners on the hill to the east, had Xue Fang and the others look up at them and shout loudly, “The bandits have come!”, and at once went down the mountain and made for the city, and the officials and people ran after them. They found the Magistrate and together held the city. Wang Du and his men came to attack the city but could not take it and were about to leave. Cheng Yu led the officials and people, opened the city gates, and struck at them swiftly, and Wang Du and his men were routed and fled. Because of this, Dong'e was preserved intact.

乃密遣數騎舉幡於東山上，令房等望見，大呼言「賊已至」，便下山趣城，吏民奔走隨之，求得縣令，遂共城守。度等來攻城，不能下，欲去。昱率吏民開城門急擊之，度等破走。東阿由此得全。

During the Chuping era, Liu Dai, Inspector of Yan Province, summoned Cheng Yu to office, but Cheng Yu did not respond. At that time Liu Dai was on friendly terms with both Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan; Yuan Shao had his wife and children live with Liu Dai, and Gongsun Zan also sent his Attendant Officer Fan Fang with cavalry to help Liu Dai. Later a rift opened between Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan. After Gongsun Zan defeated Yuan Shao's army, he sent an envoy to tell Liu Dai to send away Yuan Shao's wife and children and break with Yuan Shao. He gave Fan Fang separate orders: “If Liu Dai does not send away Yuan Shao's family, bring the cavalry back.

初平中，兗州刺史劉岱辟昱，昱不應。是時岱與袁紹、公孫瓚和親，紹令妻子居岱所，瓚亦遣從事范方將騎助岱。後紹與瓚有隙。瓚擊破紹軍，乃遣使語岱，令遣紹妻子，使與紹絕。別敕范方：「若岱不遣紹家，將騎還。

Once I have settled Yuan Shao, I will turn my troops on Liu Dai.” Liu Dai deliberated for days without reaching a decision. His Attendant Officer with Separate Carriage, Wang Yu, told Liu Dai, “Cheng Yu is a man of stratagems who can decide great matters.” Liu Dai then summoned Cheng Yu and asked him for a plan. Cheng Yu said, “To abandon Yuan Shao's help close at hand and seek Gongsun Zan's help from afar is like the story of borrowing a man from Yue to save a drowning child. Gongsun Zan is no match for Yuan Shao. Though he has now broken Yuan Shao's army, in the end he will be captured by Yuan Shao.

吾定紹，將加兵於岱。」岱議連日不決，別駕王彧白岱：「程昱有謀，能斷大事。」岱乃召見昱，問計，昱曰：「若棄紹近援而求瓚遠助，此假人於越以救溺子之說也。夫公孫瓚，非袁紹之敵也。今雖壞紹軍，然終為紹所禽。

If you chase after the expedient of a single morning and give no thought to long-range plans, General, you will be defeated in the end.” Liu Dai followed his advice. Fan Fang went back with his cavalry, and before he arrived, Gongsun Zan had been heavily defeated by Yuan Shao. Liu Dai memorialized that Cheng Yu be made Chief Commandant of Cavalry, but Cheng Yu declined on grounds of illness.

夫趣一朝之權而不慮遠計，將軍終敗。」岱從之。范方將其騎歸，未至，瓚大為紹所破。岱表昱為騎都尉，昱辭以疾。

Liu Dai was killed by the Yellow Turbans. When Taizu came to Yan Province, he summoned Cheng Yu. As Cheng Yu was about to go, the people of his home district said to him, “How your conduct now contradicts what you did before!” Cheng Yu laughed and made no reply. Taizu talked with him and was pleased, and made Cheng Yu acting Magistrate of Shouzhang. When Taizu campaigned against Xu Province, he left Cheng Yu and Xun Yu to hold Juancheng. Zhang Miao and others rebelled and welcomed Lü Bu, and the commanderies and counties answered them like echoes; only Juancheng, Fan, and Dong'e did not waver. Men from Lü Bu's army who surrendered said that Chen Gong meant to lead troops himself to take Dong'e and was also sending Fan Yi to take Fan, and the officials and people were all afraid.

劉岱為黃巾所殺。太祖臨兗州，辟昱。昱將行，其鄉人謂曰：「何前後之相背也！」昱笑而不應。太祖與語，說之，以昱守壽張令。太祖征徐州，使昱與荀彧留守鄄城。張邈等叛迎呂布，郡縣響應，唯鄄城、范、東阿不動。布軍降者，言陳宮欲自將兵取東阿，又使氾嶷取范，吏民皆恐。

Xun Yu said to Cheng Yu, “Yan Province has now revolted, and only these three cities remain. If Chen Gong and the others come at them with a large force, the three cities will surely waver unless something binds their hearts to us deeply. You are the man the people look up to; if you go back and persuade them, it may well work!” Cheng Yu then went back. Passing through Fan, he persuaded its Magistrate Jin Yun, saying, “I hear that Lü Bu has seized your mother, your younger brother, your wife, and your children; for a filial son this is truly unbearable! Now the realm is in great disorder and heroes are rising together, but there will surely be one destined by Heaven for this age who can end the disorder of the realm, and that is what the wise must choose carefully.

彧謂昱曰：「今兗州反，唯有此三城。宮等以重兵臨之，非有以深結其心，三城必動。君，民之望也，歸而說之，殆可！」昱乃歸，過范，說其令靳允曰：「聞呂布執君母弟妻子，孝子誠不可為心！今天下大亂，英雄並起，必有命世，能息天下之亂者，此智者所詳擇也。

Those who find the right master prosper, and those who lose their master perish. Chen Gong has rebelled and welcomed Lü Bu, and a hundred cities have all answered him, so it looks as if they might achieve something. But in your view, what sort of man is Lü Bu? Lü Bu is coarse within and has few intimates; he is violent and without courtesy, a hero among common fellows and nothing more. Chen Gong and the others have joined him only for the moment by force of circumstance and cannot accept one another as lord. Though their troops are many, in the end they will surely accomplish nothing. Commissioner Cao has wisdom and strategy seldom seen in any age; he is surely one whom Heaven has bestowed! If you hold Fan firmly and I defend Dong'e, then an achievement like that of Tian Dan can be won.

得主者昌，失主者亡。陳宮叛迎呂布而百城皆應，似能有為，然以君觀之，布何如人哉！夫布，粗中少親，剛而無禮，匹夫之雄耳。宮等以勢假合，不能相君也。兵雖眾，終必無成。曹使君智略不世出，殆天所授！君必固范，我守東阿，則田單之功可立也。

How does that compare with betraying loyalty, following evil, and having both mother and son perish? I beg you to consider it carefully!” Jin Yun wept and said, “I would not dare to be of two minds.” By then Fan Yi was already in the county; Jin Yun went to meet him, had soldiers in ambush stab him to death, and returned to marshal his troops and hold the city. Cheng Yu also sent a separate cavalry detachment to cut off the Cangting Ford, and when Chen Gong arrived he could not cross. When Cheng Yu reached Dong'e, the Magistrate of Dong'e, Zao Zhi, had already rallied and roused the officials and people and was holding the city firmly against the enemy. In addition, Xue Ti, Attendant Officer of Yan Province, laid plans together with Cheng Yu, and in the end they kept the three cities intact to await Taizu.

孰與違忠從惡而母子俱亡乎？唯君詳慮之！」允流涕曰：「不敢有二心。」時氾嶷已在縣，允乃見嶷，伏兵刺殺之，歸勒兵守。¹昱又遣別騎絕倉亭津，陳宮至，不得渡。昱至東阿，東阿令棗祗已率厲吏民，拒城堅守。又兗州從事薛悌與昱協謀，卒完三城，以待太祖。

When Taizu returned, he took Cheng Yu's hand and said, “Without your efforts I would have had nowhere to return to.” He then memorialized that Cheng Yu be made Chancellor of Dongping, stationed at Fan.

太祖還，執昱手曰：「微子之力，吾無所歸矣。」乃表昱為東平相，屯范。¹

Taizu fought Lü Bu at Puyang and repeatedly had the worst of it. Then locusts appeared, and each side withdrew. Thereupon Yuan Shao sent someone to persuade Taizu to ally with him, wishing to have Taizu move his family to live at Ye. Taizu had just lost Yan Province and his army's food had run out, so he was about to agree. Just then Cheng Yu returned from a mission, was brought in to see him, and said, “I have heard, General, that you intend to send your family away and ally with Yuan Shao. Is it true?” Taizu said, “It is.”

太祖與呂布戰於濮陽，數不利。蝗蟲起，乃各引去。於是袁紹使人說太祖連和，欲使太祖遷家居鄴。太祖新失兗州，軍食盡，將許之。時昱使適還，引見，因言曰：「竊聞將軍欲遣家，與袁紹連和，誠有之乎？」太祖曰：「然。」

Cheng Yu said, “I suspect, General, that faced with this crisis you have perhaps taken fright; otherwise, how could your thinking be so shallow? Yuan Shao holds the lands of Yan and Zhao and has a mind to swallow the realm, but his wisdom is not equal to the task. Judge for yourself, General: could you bear to be his subordinate? With your might of dragon and tiger, could you play the part of Han Xin or Peng Yue? Though Yan Province is ravaged, three cities still remain, and there are no fewer than ten thousand men fit to fight. With your divine martial gifts, General, gather in Wenruo, myself, and the others and make use of us, and the enterprise of a hegemon and king can be accomplished. I beg you, General, to reconsider!” Taizu then gave up the idea.

昱曰：「意者將軍殆臨事而懼，不然何慮之不深也！夫袁紹據燕、趙之地，有並天下之心，而智不能濟也。將軍自度能為之下乎？將軍以龍虎之威，可為韓、彭之事邪？今兗州雖殘，尚有三城。能戰之士，不下萬人。以將軍之神武，與文若、昱等，收而用之，霸王之業可成也。願將軍更慮之！」太祖乃止。¹

When the Emperor made Xu his capital, Cheng Yu was made a Master of Writing. Since Yan Province was not yet settled, Cheng Yu was again made General of the Household of the East, took charge of Jiyin Commandery as Prefect, and was given overall command of the affairs of Yan Province. Liu Bei lost Xu Province and came over to Taizu. Cheng Yu urged Taizu to kill Liu Bei, but Taizu would not listen; this is recorded in the Annals of Emperor Wu. Later Taizu sent Liu Bei to Xu Province to intercept Yuan Shu, and Cheng Yu and Guo Jia said to Taizu, “Lord Cao, when you declined the other day to deal with Liu Bei, your judgment was truly beyond ours.

天子都許，以昱為尚書。兗州尚未安集，復以昱為東中郎將，領濟陰太守，都督兗州事。劉備失徐州，來歸太祖。昱說太祖殺備，太祖不聽。語在武紀。後又遣備至徐州要擊袁術，昱與郭嘉說太祖曰：「公前日不圖備，昱等誠不及也。

If you now lend him troops, he will surely turn disloyal.” Taizu regretted it and sent men after Liu Bei, but they could not catch him. It happened that Yuan Shu died of illness, and when Liu Bei reached Xu Province he killed Che Zhou and raised troops in revolt against Taizu. Shortly afterward, Cheng Yu was promoted to General Who Spreads Awe. Yuan Shao was at Liyang, about to cross south. At that time Cheng Yu was holding Juancheng with seven hundred troops. When Taizu heard of this, he sent someone to tell Cheng Yu that he wished to reinforce him with two thousand men. Cheng Yu would not accept, saying, “Yuan Shao commands a host of a hundred thousand and thinks nothing can stand before him.

今借之以兵，必有異心。」太祖悔，追之不及。會術病死，備至徐州，遂殺車胄，舉兵背太祖。頃之，昱遷振威將軍。袁紹在黎陽，將南渡。時昱有七百兵守鄄城，太祖聞之，使人告昱，欲益二千兵。昱不肯，曰：「袁紹擁十萬眾，自以所向無前。

Now, seeing how few troops I have, he will surely think little of me and not come to attack. If you reinforce me, he will have no choice but to attack as he passes, and if he attacks he will surely win; we would only lose strength on both counts. I beg you, Lord Cao, have no doubts!” Taizu followed his advice. When Yuan Shao heard that Cheng Yu had few troops, he indeed did not go there. Taizu said to Jia Xu, “Cheng Yu's courage surpasses that of Meng Ben and Xia Yu.” Cheng Yu gathered fugitives from the mountains and marshes and obtained several thousand crack troops, then led his army to join Taizu at Liyang to attack Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang. When Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang were routed and fled, Cheng Yu was appointed General of Vehement Might and enfeoffed as Marquis of Anguo Village.

今見昱兵少，必輕易不來攻。若益昱兵，過則不可不攻，攻之必克，徒兩損其勢。願公無疑！」太祖從之。紹聞昱兵少，果不往。太祖謂賈詡曰：「程昱之膽，過於賁、育。」昱收山澤亡命，得精兵數千人，乃引軍與太祖會黎陽，討袁譚、袁尚。譚、尚破走，拜昱奮武將軍，封安國亭侯。

When Taizu campaigned against Jing Province, Liu Bei fled to Wu. Commentators thought that Sun Quan would surely kill Liu Bei, but Cheng Yu judged otherwise: “Sun Quan has only recently taken his position and is not yet feared within the seas. Lord Cao has no rival in the realm; he has just taken Jing Province, and his might shakes the lands beyond the Yangtze. Though Sun Quan has cunning, he cannot stand against him alone. Liu Bei has a heroic reputation, and Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are each a match for ten thousand men; Sun Quan will surely use them to resist us. Once the crisis is past and power is divided, Liu Bei will have succeeded with that help, and then he can no longer be killed.”

太祖征荊州，劉備奔吳。論者以為孫權必殺備，昱料之曰：「孫權新在位，未為海內所憚。曹公無敵於天下，初舉荊州，威震江表，權雖有謀，不能獨當也。劉備有英名，關羽、張飛皆萬人敵也，權必資之以禦我。難解勢分，備資以成，又不可得而殺也。」

Sun Quan did indeed give Liu Bei many troops to resist Taizu. After this, as the central lands were gradually pacified, Taizu patted Cheng Yu on the back and said, “At the defeat in Yan Province, had I not taken your advice, how could I have come this far?” His clansmen gathered in a great assembly, offering oxen and wine, and Cheng Yu said, “He who knows when he has enough will not be disgraced. I can retire now.” He then memorialized on his own initiative to give back his troops, shut his gate, and did not go out.

權果多與備兵，以禦太祖。是後中夏漸平，太祖拊昱背曰：「兗州之敗，不用君言，吾何以至此？」宗人奉牛酒大會，昱曰：「知足不辱，吾可以退矣。」乃自表歸兵，闔門不出。¹

Cheng Yu was hard and fierce by nature and often at odds with others. Someone accused Cheng Yu of plotting rebellion, but Taizu treated him and rewarded him all the more generously. When the state of Wei was established, he became Commandant of the Guards, but he quarreled over matters of ceremonial dignity with the Commandant of the Capital, Xing Zhen, and was dismissed. When Emperor Wen took the throne, Cheng Yu again became Commandant of the Guards, was advanced in rank to Marquis of Anxiang District, and had his fief increased by three hundred households, for eight hundred households in all. His youngest son Cheng Yan and his grandson Cheng Xiao were separately enfeoffed as full marquises. The Emperor was just about to raise him to one of the ducal offices when he died. The Emperor wept for him, posthumously conferred on him the title of General of Chariots and Cavalry, and gave him the posthumous name Marquis Su. His son Cheng Wu succeeded him. When Cheng Wu died, his son Cheng Ke succeeded. When Cheng Ke died, his son Cheng Liang succeeded.

昱性剛戾，與人多迕。人有告昱謀反，太祖賜待益厚。魏國既建，為衛尉，與中尉邢貞爭威儀，免。文帝踐阼，復為衛尉，進封安鄉侯，增邑三百戶，並前八百戶。分封少子延及孫曉列侯。方欲以為公，會薨，帝為流涕，追贈車騎將軍，諡曰肅侯。¹子武嗣。武薨，子克嗣。克薨，子良嗣。

Cheng Xiao

孫　曉

Cheng Xiao became a Gentleman of the Yellow Gate during the Jiaping era. At that time the Investigators were arrogant and overbearing, and Cheng Xiao submitted a memorial: “The Rites of Zhou says, ‘Offices are established and duties divided, to serve as the standard for the people.’ The Tradition of the Spring and Autumn Annals says, ‘Heaven has ten suns, and men have ten ranks.’ The foolish may not preside over the worthy, nor the base over the noble. Thus sages and wise men were set up side by side, and their influence and example were established. They were clearly tested by their achievements, and their records were examined every nine years. Each cultivated his own work and did not let his thoughts stray beyond his post. So when Luan Shu wished to rescue the Marquis of Jin, his son would not allow it; and when dead men lay across the streets, Bing Ji did not inquire.

曉，嘉平中為黃門侍郎。¹時校事放橫，曉上疏曰：《周禮》云：『設官分職，以為民極。』《春秋傳》曰：『天有十日，人有十等。』愚不得臨賢，賤不得臨貴。於是並建聖哲，樹之風聲。明試以功，九載考績。各脩厥業，思不出位。故欒書欲拯晉侯，其子不聽；死人橫於街路，邴吉不問。

Those above did not demand achievements outside a man's office, and those below did not strive for rewards beyond their station; officials had no power to take charge of several things at once, and the people bore no double burden of service. This is truly the essential way of running a state and the source of order or disorder. Looking far back through the records and nearer at hand at Qin and Han, though the names of offices have changed and duties have differed, in exalting superiors and restraining inferiors, in making distinctions manifest and precedents clear, the principle has been one and the same. Never before has there been an office of Investigators that meddled in the general affairs of government.

上不責非職之功，下不務分外之賞，吏無兼統之勢，民無二事之役，斯誠為國要道，治亂所由也。遠覽典志，近觀秦漢，雖官名改易，職司不同，至於崇上抑下，顯分明例，其致一也。初無校事之官干與庶政者也。

In the past, when Emperor Wu was first founding his great enterprise, the offices were not yet complete, the army toiled and suffered, and the people's hearts were uneasy, so that even small offenses could not go unexamined. Therefore he set up the Investigators, using them only as a stopgap, and yet he had ways of checking and controlling them so that they did not become unrestrained. This was an expedient of an age of hegemons, not a proper institution of emperors and kings. Afterward they gradually came to be trusted and turned into a malady again, each passing it on to the next, with no one correcting it at the root. At last they were made to scrutinize the palace and the ancestral temples above and to take charge of all the offices below; offices have no defined sphere of work and posts no bounds, and they act as they please, following their feelings wherever their fancy leads.

昔武皇帝大業草創，眾官未備，而軍旅勤苦，民心不安，乃有小罪，不可不察，故置校事，取其一切耳，然檢禦有方，不至縱恣也。此霸世之權宜，非帝王之正典。其後漸蒙見任，復為疾病，轉相因仍，莫正其本。遂令上察宮廟，下攝眾司，官無局業，職無分限，隨意任情，唯心所適。

Laws are made at the tip of their brushes without regard to statutes and edicts; cases are decided within their own gates without regard to retrial. In choosing their subordinates, they count the careful as careless and the glib and rash as worthy and able. In handling affairs, they count harshness and cruelty as impartial strictness and adherence to principle as timidity and weakness. Outwardly they borrow the majesty of Heaven to lend themselves weight; inwardly they gather a crowd of villains as their confidants. The great ministers are ashamed to share power with them but hold their tongues and endure it; lesser men fear their sharp edge and are left with pent-up grievances and no one to appeal to.

法造於筆端，不依科詔；獄成於門下，不顧覆訊。其選官屬，以謹慎為粗疏，以謥詷為賢能。其治事，以刻暴為公嚴，以循理為怯弱。外則託天威以為聲勢，內則聚群奸以為腹心。大臣恥與分勢，含忍而不言，小人畏其鋒芒，鬱結而無告。

It came to the point where Yin Mo openly indulged in his villainy before everyone's eyes; his crimes were so glaring that every passer-by knew of them, yet for years not even the slightest of his faults was heard of. This is neither the intent behind the offices established in the Rites of Zhou nor the principle of the ten ranks in the Spring and Autumn. Now outside the palace there are the ministers, generals, and colonels who oversee the various bureaus; inside there are the Palace Attendants and Masters of Writing who manage the myriad affairs of state; the Colonel-Director of Retainers supervises the capital, and the Palace Assistant Imperial Clerk oversees the palace halls. All these posts are filled with carefully chosen men of worth and talent, and statutes and edicts are clearly proclaimed to check their transgressions.

至使尹模公於目下肆其奸慝；罪惡之著，行路皆知，纖惡之過，積年不聞。既非周禮設官之意，又非春秋十等之義也。今外有公卿將校總統諸署，內有侍中尚書綜理萬機，司隸校尉督察京輦，御史中丞董攝宮殿，皆高選賢才以充其職，申明科詔以督其違。

If these worthy men are still not fit to be trusted, then the petty Investigators are even less trustworthy. If these worthy men each strive to be utterly loyal, then the paltry Investigators add nothing. If instead eminent men of the state were carefully selected to serve as Investigators, that would merely add a duplicate office to those of the Palace Assistant Imperial Clerk and the Colonel-Director of Retainers. If they are chosen as before, the villainy of Yin Mo will break out again now. Reckoning it every way, there is no use for them. In the past, when Sang Hongyang sought profit for the Han, Bu Shi held that only if Hongyang alone were boiled alive would Heaven send rain.

若此諸賢猶不足任，校事小吏，益不可信。若此諸賢各思盡忠，校事區區，亦復無益。若更高選國士以為校事，則是中丞司隸重增一官耳。若如舊選，尹模之姦今復發矣。進退推算，無所用之。昔桑弘羊為漢求利，卜式以為獨烹弘羊，天乃可雨。

If the successes and failures of government must stir Heaven and Earth, I fear that the disasters of flood and drought may well be due to the Investigators. When Duke Gong of Cao kept gentlemen at a distance and drew petty men close, the Airs of the States alluded to it in satire. When Duke Xian of Wei set aside his great ministers and plotted with minor officials, Ding Jiang declared him guilty. Even if the Investigators were of benefit to the state, in terms of ritual propriety they would still wound the hearts of the great ministers. How much more so now, when their villainy and wickedness have been laid bare and still they are not abolished! This is leaving the rents in the imperial robe unmended and going astray without turning back.”

若使政治得失必感天地，臣恐水旱之災，未必非校事之由也。曹恭公遠君子，近小人，國風託以為刺。衛獻公舍大臣，與小臣謀，定姜謂之有罪。縱令校事有益於國，以禮義言之，尚傷大臣之心，況姦回暴露，而復不罷，是袞闕不補，迷而不返也。

Thereupon the office of Investigator was abolished. Cheng Xiao was transferred to be Prefect of Runan and died at a little over forty.

於是遂罷校事官。曉遷汝南太守，年四十餘薨。¹

Guo Jia

郭嘉

Guo Jia, courtesy name Fengxiao, was a man of Yangdi County in Yingchuan Commandery. Early on, he went north to see Yuan Shao, and he said to Yuan Shao's advisers Xin Ping and Guo Tu, “A wise man is careful in weighing a master, so that he succeeds in a hundred undertakings out of a hundred and can establish his merit and name. Lord Yuan merely wants to imitate the Duke of Zhou's humility toward men of talent, but he does not understand the key to employing people. He takes up many lines of action but grasps few essentials, and he loves scheming but cannot decide. To hope to rescue the realm from its great troubles with him and to settle the enterprise of a hegemon and king would be hard indeed!” And so he left him.

郭嘉字奉孝，潁川陽翟人也。¹初，北見袁紹，謂紹謀臣辛評、郭圖曰：「夫智者審於量主，故百舉百全而功名可立也。袁公徒欲效周公之下士，而未知用人之機。多端寡要，好謀無決，欲與共濟天下大難，定霸王之業，難矣！」於是遂去之。

Before this, Xi Zhicai of Yingchuan had been a planner and strategist whom Taizu valued highly, but he died early. Taizu wrote to Xun Yu, “Since Zhicai died, there has been no one with whom I can lay plans. Ru and Ying have always had many remarkable men; who could succeed him?” Xun Yu recommended Guo Jia. Taizu summoned him and they discussed the affairs of the realm. Taizu said, “The one who will enable me to accomplish the great enterprise is surely this man.” Guo Jia came out and said happily as well, “He is truly my master.” Taizu memorialized that he be made Army Libationer under the Minister of Works.

先是時，潁川戲志才，籌畫士也，太祖甚器之。早卒。太祖與荀彧書曰：「自志才亡後，莫可與計事者。汝、潁固多奇士，誰可以繼之？」　彧薦嘉。召見，論天下事。太祖曰：「使孤成大業者，必此人也。」嘉出，亦喜曰：「真吾主也。」表為司空軍祭酒。¹

In the campaign against Lü Bu, Taizu defeated him in three battles, and Lü Bu fell back to hold his position firmly. At that time the soldiers were weary, and Taizu wanted to withdraw his army, but Guo Jia persuaded Taizu to press the attack, and Lü Bu was captured. This is recorded in the Biography of Xun You.

征呂布，三戰破之，布退固守。時士卒疲倦，太祖欲引軍還，嘉說太祖急攻之，遂禽布。語在《荀攸傳》。¹

Sun Ce had fought his way across a thousand li and taken all of Jiangdong. Hearing that Taizu and Yuan Shao were locked in a standoff at Guandu, he was about to cross the Yangtze and strike north at Xu. Everyone who heard of this was afraid, but Guo Jia judged, “Sun Ce has newly annexed Jiangdong, and those he put to death were all heroes and men of mettle who could win others' willingness to die for them. But Sun Ce is rash and takes no precautions; though he has a host of a million, he is no different from a man traveling the central plain alone. If assassins spring from ambush, he is no more than a match for a single man.

孫策轉鬪千里，盡有江東，聞太祖與袁紹相持於官渡，將渡江北襲許。眾聞皆懼，嘉料之曰：「策新並江東，所誅皆英豪雄傑，能得人死力者也。然策輕而無備，雖有百萬之眾，無異於獨行中原也。若刺客伏起，一人之敵耳。

As I see it, he will surely die at the hands of some common fellow.” Sun Ce reached the Yangtze and, before he had crossed, was indeed killed by retainers of Xu Gong.

以吾觀之，必死於匹夫之手。」策臨江未濟，果為許貢客所殺。¹

Guo Jia went with Taizu to defeat Yuan Shao, and after Yuan Shao died, he again accompanied him in attacking Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang at Liyang, winning several victories in successive battles. The generals wanted to take advantage of their success and press the attack, but Guo Jia said, “Yuan Shao loved these two sons and never settled which was to be his heir. With Guo Tu and Feng Ji as their advisers, they are bound to be set fighting between themselves and will then split apart. If we press them hard, they will hold together; if we ease off, rivalry will spring up between them. Better to turn south toward Jing Province as if to campaign against Liu Biao and wait for them to turn on each other. Once that has happened, we can strike and settle everything at one stroke.”

從破袁紹，紹死，又從討譚、尚於黎陽，連戰數克。諸將欲乘勝遂攻之，嘉曰：「袁紹愛此二子，莫適立也。有郭圖、逢紀為之謀臣，必交鬥其間，還相離也。急之則相持，緩之而後爭心生。不如南向荊州若征劉表者，以待其變；變成而後擊之，可一舉定也。」

Taizu said, “Good.” He then campaigned south. When the army reached Xiping, Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang did indeed fight over Ji Province. Yuan Tan was defeated by Yuan Shang's army, fled to hold Pingyuan, and sent Xin Pi to ask to surrender. Taizu turned back to rescue him, and Guo Jia went with him to take Ye. He also went with him to attack Yuan Tan at Nanpi, and Ji Province was pacified. Guo Jia was enfeoffed as Marquis of Weiyang Village.

太祖曰：「善。」乃南征。軍至西平，譚、尚果爭冀州。譚為尚軍所敗，走保平原，遣辛毗乞降。太祖還救之，遂從定鄴。又從攻譚於南皮，冀州平。封嘉洧陽亭侯。¹

When Taizu was about to campaign against Yuan Shang and the Wuhuan of the Three Commanderies, many of his subordinates feared that Liu Biao would have Liu Bei raid Xu to strike at Taizu. Guo Jia said, “Lord Cao, though your might shakes the realm, the barbarians rely on their remoteness and will surely have made no preparations. If we take advantage of their lack of preparation and strike suddenly, they can be crushed and destroyed. Moreover, Yuan Shao showed kindness to both the Chinese and the barbarians, and Yuan Shang and his brother are still alive. The people of the four provinces now submit only out of fear of your might and have not yet received the benefits of your virtue. If we leave them and campaign south, Yuan Shang will use the Wuhuan's resources to summon ministers ready to die for their master; once the barbarians stir, Chinese and barbarians alike will answer, rousing Tadun's ambitions and bringing his covetous designs to fruition, and I fear that Qing and Ji will no longer be ours.

太祖將征袁尚及三郡烏丸，諸下多懼劉表使劉備襲許以討太祖，嘉曰：公雖威震天下，胡恃其遠，必不設備。因其無備，卒然擊之，可破滅也。且袁紹有恩於民夷，而尚兄弟生存。今四州之民，徒以威附，德施未加，舍而南征，尚因烏丸之資，招其死主之臣，胡人一動，民夷俱應，以生蹋頓之心，成覬覦之計，恐青、冀非己之有也。

Liu Biao is merely a man who sits and talks. He knows himself that his abilities are not enough to control Liu Bei; if he gives him a heavy responsibility, he fears he cannot restrain him, and if he gives him a light one, Liu Bei will not serve him. Even if we leave the state empty and campaign far away, Lord Cao, you have nothing to worry about.”

表，坐談客耳，自知才不足以御備，重任之則恐不能制，輕任之則備不為用，雖虛國遠征，公無憂矣。

Taizu then set out. When they reached Yi, Guo Jia said, “In war, divine speed is prized. Now we are going a thousand li to strike at the enemy with a heavy baggage train, which makes it hard to seize the advantage; besides, once they hear of it they will surely prepare. Better to leave the baggage behind and send out light troops at double pace to fall on them when they least expect it.” Taizu then secretly went out through the Lulong Pass and headed straight for the Shanyu's court. The barbarians suddenly heard that Taizu had arrived and, in panic and terror, joined battle. Taizu crushed them and beheaded Tadun and the famous kings and those below them. Yuan Shang and his elder brother Yuan Xi fled to Liaodong.

太祖遂行。至易，嘉言曰：「兵貴神速。今千里襲人，輜重多，難以趣利，且彼聞之，必為備；不如留輜重，輕兵兼道以出，掩其不意。」太祖乃密出盧龍塞，直指單于庭。虜卒聞太祖至，惶怖合戰。大破之，斬蹋頓及名王已下。尚及兄熙走遼東。

Guo Jia had deep understanding and a gift for strategy, and he grasped the realities of affairs. Taizu said, “Only Fengxiao truly knows my mind.” At thirty-eight, returning from Liucheng, he fell gravely ill, and the messengers Taizu sent to ask after him crossed paths on the road. When he died, Taizu attended his funeral in person, grieving deeply, and said to Xun You and the others, “You gentlemen are all of my generation; only Fengxiao was the youngest. I meant to entrust him with what came after, once the affairs of the realm were settled, but he has died young in the prime of life. It is fate!”

嘉深通有算略，達於事情。太祖曰：「唯奉孝為能知孤意。」年三十八，自柳城還，疾篤，太祖問疾者交錯。及薨，臨其喪，哀甚，謂荀攸等曰：「諸君年皆孤輩也，唯奉孝最少。天下事竟，欲以後事屬之，而中年夭折，命也夫！」

He then submitted a memorial: “Army Libationer Guo Jia followed me on campaign for eleven years. Whenever there were great deliberations, he faced the enemy and dealt with every change. When my plans were not yet settled, Guo Jia always brought them to completion. In pacifying the realm, his merit in strategy was the highest. Unfortunately his life was short, and his work was left unfinished. Recalling Guo Jia's achievements, I truly cannot forget them. His fief should be increased by eight hundred households, for a thousand households in all.” He was given the posthumous name Marquis Zhen. His son Guo Yi succeeded him.

乃表曰：「軍祭酒郭嘉，自從征伐，十有一年。每有大議，臨敵制變。臣策未決，嘉輒成之。平定天下，謀功為高。不幸短命，事業未終。追思嘉勳，實不可忘。可增邑八百戶，並前千戶。」¹諡曰貞侯。子奕嗣。²

Later, when Taizu was returning from his campaign against Jing Province, he met with an epidemic at Baqiu and burned his ships. He sighed, “If Guo Fengxiao were alive, he would not have let me come to this.” Earlier, Chen Qun had criticized Guo Jia for failing to keep his conduct in check and had repeatedly denounced him at court, but Guo Jia remained unperturbed. Taizu valued Guo Jia all the more, yet he was also pleased with Chen Qun because he could uphold what was right. Guo Yi became Literary Scholar to the Heir Apparent and died early. His son Guo Shen succeeded him. When Guo Shen died, his son Guo Lie succeeded.

後太祖征荊州還，於巴丘遇疾疫，燒船，歎曰：「郭奉孝在，不使孤至此。」¹初，陳群非嘉不治行檢，數廷訴嘉，嘉意自若。太祖愈益重之，然以群能持正，亦悅焉。²奕為太子文學，早薨。子深嗣。深薨，子獵嗣。³

Dong Zhao

董昭

Dong Zhao, courtesy name Gongren, was a man of Dingtao County in Jiyin Commandery. He was nominated as Filial and Incorrupt and appointed Chief of Yingtao and Magistrate of Bairen, and Yuan Shao made him an Army Adviser. When Yuan Shao met Gongsun Zan in battle at Jie Bridge, Li Shao, the Prefect of Julu, and the officials and gentry of the commandery all wanted to go over to Gongsun Zan because his troops were strong. When Yuan Shao heard of this, he had Dong Zhao take charge of Julu and asked him, “By what method will you control it?” Dong Zhao replied, “One man alone is too weak to break up the schemes of many. If I want to draw their hearts to me, I will voice the same views as they do, and once I have learned their true intentions, I will control them by expedient means.

董昭字公仁，濟陰定陶人也。舉孝廉，除廮陶長、柏人令，袁紹以為參軍事。紹逆公孫瓚於界橋，鉅鹿太守李邵及郡冠蓋，以瓚兵強，皆欲屬瓚。紹聞之，使昭領鉅鹿。問：「御以何術？」對曰：「一人之微，不能消眾謀，欲誘致其心，唱與同議，及得其情，乃當權以制之耳。

My plan will depend on the moment, and I cannot tell you now.” At that time several dozen men of the commandery's powerful clans, Sun Kang and others, were acting as ringleaders of the scheme and had alarmed the officials and people. When Dong Zhao reached the commandery, he forged a proclamation from Yuan Shao and announced to the commandery: “We have obtained the statement of Zhang Ji of Anping, a scout of the bandits, that they are about to attack Julu, and that Sun Kang, a former Filial and Incorrupt who sides with the bandits, and others will act as their inside agents. When this proclamation arrives, arrest them and apply military law. The punishment shall stop with their own persons; their wives and children shall not be implicated.” Dong Zhao issued orders according to the proclamation, and all of them were beheaded at once.

計在臨時，未可得言。」時郡右姓孫伉等數十人專為謀主，驚動吏民。昭至郡，偽作紹檄告郡云：「得賊羅候安平張吉辭，當攻鉅鹿，賊故孝廉孫伉等為應，檄到收行軍法，惡止其身，妻子勿坐。」昭案檄告令，皆即斬之。

The whole commandery was terrified, and he then reassured and comforted them one after another, until all were settled and calm. When the matter was finished, he reported to Yuan Shao, who praised him. It happened that Li Pan, the Prefect of Wei Commandery, was killed by soldiers, and Yuan Shao had Dong Zhao take charge of Wei Commandery as Prefect. At that time the commandery was in great disorder, with bandits numbering in the tens of thousands, who sent envoys back and forth to trade and do business. Dong Zhao treated them generously and used this to plant spies among them; then, striking where they were unprepared, he made surprise attacks and won great victories every time. Within two days, feathered dispatches arrived three times.

一郡惶恐，乃以次安慰，遂皆平集。事訖白紹，紹稱善。會魏郡太守栗攀為兵所害，紹以昭領魏郡太守。時郡界大亂，賊以萬數，遣使往來，交易市買。昭厚待之，因用為間，乘虛掩討，輒大克破。二日之中，羽檄三至。

Dong Zhao's younger brother Dong Fang was in Zhang Miao's army. When a rift opened between Zhang Miao and Yuan Shao, Yuan Shao listened to slander and was about to charge Dong Zhao with a crime. Dong Zhao set out to go to Emperor Xian of the Han, but on reaching Henei he was detained by Zhang Yang. Through Zhang Yang he returned his seal and ribbon to the court and was appointed Chief Commandant of Cavalry. At that time Taizu was governing Yan Province; he sent an envoy to Zhang Yang asking to be allowed passage west to Chang'an, but Zhang Yang refused. Dong Zhao persuaded Zhang Yang, saying, “Though Yuan and Cao act as one household, in the nature of things they cannot stay together long.

昭弟訪，在張邈軍中。邈與紹有隙，紹受讒將致罪於昭。昭欲詣漢獻帝，至河內，為張楊所留。因楊上還印綬，拜騎都尉。時太祖領兗州，遣使詣楊，欲令假塗西至長安，楊不聽。昭說楊曰：「袁、曹雖為一家，勢不久羣。

Cao may be weak now, but he is truly a hero of the realm, and you should make a point of forming ties with him. All the more so now that there is an occasion for it: you should forward his memorials to the court and also recommend him in a memorial of your own. If things succeed, it will make a deep and lasting bond.” Zhang Yang then forwarded Taizu's memorials and recommended Taizu in a memorial. Dong Zhao wrote letters on Taizu's behalf to Li Jue, Guo Si, and the other generals at Chang'an, expressing cordial regard to each according to his importance. Zhang Yang also sent an envoy to Taizu. Taizu presented Zhang Yang with dogs and horses, gold and silk, and so he came into contact with the west. When the Emperor was at Anyi, Dong Zhao went there from Henei and was appointed a Consultant by imperial edict.

曹今雖弱，然實天下之英雄也，當故結之。況今有緣，宜通其上事，並表薦之；若事有成，永為深分。」楊於是通太祖上事，表薦太祖。昭為太祖作書與長安諸將李傕、郭汜等，各隨輕重致殷勤。楊亦遣使詣太祖。太祖遺楊犬馬金帛，遂與西方往來。天子在安邑，昭從河內往，詔拜議郎。

In the first year of Jian'an, Taizu subdued the Yellow Turbans at Xu and sent an envoy to Hedong. It happened that the Emperor had returned to Luoyang, and Han Xian, Yang Feng, Dong Cheng, and Zhang Yang were each at odds and in discord. Dong Zhao judged that Yang Feng had the strongest troops and horses but few allies, and he wrote a letter to Yang Feng in Taizu's name: “Having heard of your fame, General, and admiring your righteousness, I at once opened my heart to you. Now, General, you have rescued the lord of ten thousand chariots from his hardships and brought him back to the old capital. Your merit in aiding and supporting him is unmatched in any age. How splendid it is!

建安元年，太祖定黃巾於許，遣使詣河東。會天子還洛陽，韓暹、楊奉、董承及楊各違戾不和。昭以奉兵馬最強而少黨援，作太祖書與奉曰：吾與將軍聞名慕義，便推赤心。今將軍拔萬乘之艱難，反之舊都，翼佐之功，超世無疇，何其休哉！

At present a pack of villains is throwing the Xia into chaos and the four seas are not yet at peace. The sacred vessel of the throne is of the utmost weight, and everything depends on those who support and assist it. Many worthy men are needed to clear the royal way; it is truly not something one man can establish alone. The heart and belly and the four limbs depend on one another, and if one of them is missing, something is lacking. You, General, should be the master within, and I will be your support from outside. Now I have grain and you have troops; if we exchange what each has and lacks, we can fully help one another. In life and death, in parting and meeting, let us share it all together.”

方今羣凶猾夏，四海未寧，神器至重，事在維輔；必須眾賢以清王軌，誠非一人所能獨建。心腹四支，實相恃賴，一物不備，則有闕焉。將軍當為內主，吾為外援。今吾有糧，將軍有兵，有無相通，足以相濟，死生契闊，相與共之。

Yang Feng was delighted when he received the letter and said to the other generals, “The armies of Yan Province are close by at Xu; they have troops and they have grain. The state ought to depend on them.” Together they then memorialized that Taizu be made General Who Guards the East and inherit his father’s rank as Marquis of Fei Village. Dong Zhao was promoted to Prefect of Tallies and Credentials.

奉得書喜悅，語諸將軍曰：「兗州諸軍近在許耳，有兵有糧，國家所當依仰也。」遂共表太祖為鎮東將軍，襲父爵費亭侯；昭遷符節令。

When Taizu paid court to the Son of Heaven at Luoyang, he invited Dong Zhao to sit beside him and asked, “Now that I have come here, what plan should I carry out?” Dong Zhao said, “General, you raised a righteous army to punish the violent and the disorderly, and you have come to court to attend the Son of Heaven and to support the royal house; this is an achievement like that of the Five Hegemons. The generals here each have their own ideas and will not necessarily obey; if you stay here now to set things right and assist, the situation is unfavorable. The only course is to move the imperial carriage to Xu. Yet the court has been wandering and has only just returned to the old capital, and people near and far are standing on tiptoe, hoping that it will find peace at once.

太祖朝天子於洛陽，引昭並坐，問曰：「今孤來此，當施何計？」昭曰：「將軍興義兵以誅暴亂，入朝天子，輔翼王室，此五伯之功也。此下諸將，人殊意異，未必服從，今留匡弼，事勢不便，惟有移駕幸許耳。然朝廷播越，新還舊京，遠近跂望，冀一朝獲安。

To move the carriage again now would not satisfy the people’s hearts. But only those who carry out extraordinary deeds win extraordinary merit, and I hope that you, General, will weigh which is greater.” Taizu said, “That is my own original intention. Yang Feng is close by at Liang, and I hear his troops are elite. Might he not become an encumbrance to me?” Dong Zhao said, “Yang Feng has few allies and will commit himself to you alone. The matters of your appointment as General Who Guards the East and Marquis of Fei Village were all settled by Yang Feng, and I have also heard that your letters and commands made firm pledges to him, which is enough to win his trust.

今復徙駕，不厭眾心。夫行非常之事，乃有非常之功，願將軍算其多者。」太祖曰：「此孤本志也。楊奉近在梁耳，聞其兵精，得無為孤累乎？」昭曰：「奉少黨援，將獨委質。鎮東、費亭之事，皆奉所定，又聞書命申束，足以見信。

You should promptly send envoys with generous gifts to thank him and set his mind at ease. Tell him, ‘There is no grain in the capital, so we wish to have the imperial carriage go for a time to Luyang. Luyang is near Xu, and transport will be somewhat easier, so there will be no worry of running short.’ Yang Feng is brave by nature but lacks foresight; he will surely not suspect anything, and while the envoys are going back and forth there will be enough time to settle the plan. How could Yang Feng be an encumbrance?” Taizu said, “Good.” He at once sent envoys to Yang Feng, and moved the imperial carriage to Xu. Yang Feng was thereby disappointed, and he went with Han Xian and others to Dingling to plunder and commit outrages.

宜時遣使厚遺答謝，以安其意。說『京都無糧，欲車駕暫幸魯陽，魯陽近許，轉運稍易，可無縣乏之憂』。奉為人勇而寡慮，必不見疑，比使往來，足以定計。奉何能為累！」太祖曰：「善。」即遣使詣奉。徙大駕至許。奉由是失望，與韓暹等到定陵鈔暴。

Taizu did not respond, but secretly attacked their camp at Liang; those there surrendered or were executed, and it was settled at once. Yang Feng and Han Xian, having lost their followers, went east and surrendered to Yuan Shu. In the third year, Dong Zhao was promoted to Intendant of Henan. At that time Zhang Yang had been killed by his officer Yang Chou, and Zhang Yang’s Chief Clerk Xue Hong and the Prefect of Henei, Miao Shang, were holding the city and awaiting rescue from Yuan Shao. Taizu ordered Dong Zhao to go into the city alone and reason with Xue Hong, Miao Shang, and the others, and that very day they surrendered with all their forces. Dong Zhao was made Governor of Ji Province.

太祖不應，密往攻其梁營，降誅即定。奉、暹失眾，東降袁術。三年，昭遷河南尹。時張楊為其將楊醜所殺，楊長史薛洪、河內太守繆尚城守待紹救。太祖令昭單身入城，告喻洪、尚等，即日舉眾降。以昭為冀州牧。

When Taizu had Liu Bei go to resist Yuan Shu, Dong Zhao said, “Liu Bei is brave and ambitious, and Guan Yu and Zhang Fei serve as his wings. I fear that Liu Bei’s heart cannot yet be judged!” Taizu said, “I have already given my permission.” When Liu Bei reached Xiapi, he killed the Inspector of Xu Province, Che Zhou, and rebelled. Taizu campaigned against Liu Bei in person and moved Dong Zhao to be Governor of Xu Province. When Yuan Shao sent his general Yan Liang to attack Dong Commandery, Dong Zhao was moved again to be Prefect of Wei Commandery and followed in the campaign against Yan Liang.

太祖令劉備拒袁術，昭曰：「備勇而志大，關羽、張飛為之羽翼，恐備之心未可得論也！」太祖曰：「吾已許之矣。」備到下邳，殺徐州刺史車胄，反。太祖自征備，徙昭為徐州牧。袁紹遣將顏良攻東郡，又徙昭為魏郡太守，從討良。

After Yan Liang died, they advanced and besieged the city of Ye. Yuan Shao’s clansman Yuan Chunqing was Prefect of Wei Commandery and was inside the city. His father, Yuan Yuanchang, was in Yang Province, and Taizu sent people to bring him back.

良死後，進圍鄴城。袁紹同族春卿為魏郡太守，在城中，其父元長在揚州，太祖遣人迎之。

Dong Zhao wrote to Yuan Chunqing: “I have heard that the filial do not turn their backs on their parents to seek profit, the humane do not forget their lord to pursue private ends, men of purpose do not probe disorder in hope of a lucky chance, and the wise do not twist the Way and so endanger themselves. Your honored father, in the past, fled from troubles in his own house and went south to travel among the Hundred Yue. It was not that he was distant toward his own flesh and blood, but that he took pleasure in Wu and Kuaiji; with a wise man’s deep insight, perhaps it was fitting that he alone should do so. Lord Cao pitied him for holding fast to his purpose with purity and integrity, living apart from the crowd with few companions, and so specially sent envoys to Jiangdong, some to welcome him and some to escort him. He will soon arrive.

昭書與春卿曰：蓋聞孝者不背親以要利，仁者不忘君以徇私，志士不探亂以徼幸，智者不詭道以自危。足下大君，昔避內難，南游百越，非疏骨肉，樂彼吳會，智者深識，獨或宜然。曹公愍其守志清恪，離羣寡儔，故特遣使江東，或迎或送，今將至矣。

Even if you were living in some remote and peaceful place, relying on a lord of virtue and righteousness, dwelling with the steadfastness of Mount Tai, and fit to be a companion of the immortals Wangzi Qiao and Chisongzi, righteousness would still require you to turn your back on that place and face this one, to abandon the people and hasten to your father. Moreover, when Yifu of Zhu first made a covenant with Duke Yin, the men of Lu praised him but did not record his rank; thus a rank not conferred by the king is not truly honored, however high it may be. That is the principle of the Spring and Autumn Annals. How much more so now, when the one you have entrusted yourself to is a state in peril and disorder, and the commission you hold is a forged and false one?

就令足下處偏平之地，依德義之主，居有泰山之固，身為喬松之偶，以義言之，猶宜背彼向此，舍民趣父也。且邾儀父始與隱公盟，魯人嘉之，而不書爵，然則王所未命，爵尊不成，春秋之義也。況足下今日之所託者乃危亂之國，所受者乃矯誣之命乎？

If you throng together with the disaffected and give no care to your father, you cannot be called filial. If you forget the court your ancestors served and rest content in a wicked and illegitimate office, it is hard to call you loyal. If you abandon both loyalty and filial piety, it is hard to call you wise. Moreover, you were once summoned with courtesy by Lord Cao. To hold your clansmen close while keeping distant from the one who gave you life, to treat the place you have lodged as your own while treating the royal house as an outsider, to cling to a wicked stipend while betraying the one who recognized you, to keep away from good fortune while drawing near to peril and ruin, to cast aside clear righteousness and reap great shame—is that not a pity?

苟不逞之與羣，而厥父之不恤，不可以言孝。忘祖宗所居之本朝，安非正之姦職，難可以言忠。忠孝並替，難以言智。又足下昔日為曹公所禮辟，夫戚族人而疏所生，內所寓而外王室，懷邪祿而叛知己，遠福祚而近危亡，棄明義而收大恥，不亦可惜邪！

If you can change your course and alter your allegiance, serving the Emperor and caring for your father, and entrusting yourself to Lord Cao, then loyalty and filial piety will not fall away and your glorious name will be made known. You should consider this deeply and settle quickly on the right plan.”

若能翻然易節，奉帝養父，委身曹公，忠孝不墜，榮名彰矣。宜深留計，早決良圖。

After Ye was pacified, Dong Zhao was made Grandee Remonstrant. Later, when Yuan Shang took refuge with Tadun of the Wuhuan, Taizu was about to campaign against them. Worried about the difficulty of delivering army provisions, he had two canals, the Pinglu and the Quanzhou, dug to reach the sea and open water transport; this was Dong Zhao’s proposal. Taizu memorialized to enfeoff him as Marquis of Qianqiu Village, and he was transferred to be Army Libationer under the Minister of Works.

鄴既定，以昭為諫議大夫。後袁尚依烏丸蹋頓，太祖將征之。患軍糧難致，鑿平虜、泉州二渠入海通運，昭所建也。太祖表封千秋亭侯，轉拜司空軍祭酒。

Later Dong Zhao proposed, “We should restore the ancient practice and establish the five ranks of nobility.” Taizu said, “Those who established the five ranks were sages, and it is not something a subject can institute. How could I presume to do it?” Dong Zhao said: “Since antiquity, among subjects who have set the world right, none has had achievements like yours today; and none who had achievements like yours today has long remained in the position of a subject. Now you, my illustrious lord, are ashamed at any blemish upon your virtue and at falling short of perfect goodness, and you take joy in preserving your name and integrity so as to incur no great blame. The beauty of your virtue surpasses that of Yi Yin and the Duke of Zhou; this is the utmost that supreme virtue can reach.

後昭建議：「宜脩古建封五等。」太祖曰：「建設五等者，聖人也，又非人臣所制，吾何以堪之？」昭曰：自古以來，人臣匡世，未有今日之功。有今日之功，未有久處人臣之勢者也。今明公恥有慚德而未盡善，樂保名節而無大責，德美過於伊、周，此至德之所極也。

However, one cannot be sure of meeting a ruler like Taijia or King Cheng. The people today are harder to transform than in the times of Yin and Zhou, and to be in the position of a great minister while causing others to suspect you over great matters is something that truly demands serious thought. Though you, my illustrious lord, are outstanding in might and virtue and clear in law and statecraft, if you do not secure your foundation, your planning for ten thousand generations is still incomplete. The root of securing the foundation lies in land and people; you should gradually establish them as a bulwark for yourself. Your loyalty shines forth plainly, and Heaven’s majesty is in your countenance; Geng Yan’s words at the bedside and Zhu Ying’s discourse on the unexpected must not simply pass by your ears. Having received extraordinary favor, I dare not fail to lay this before you.”

然太甲、成王未必可遭，今民難化，甚於殷、周，處大臣之勢，使人以大事疑己，誠不可不重慮也。明公雖邁威德，明法術，而不定其基，為萬世計，猶未至也。定基之本，在地與人，宜稍建立，以自籓衛。明公忠節穎露，天威在顏，耿弇床下之言，朱英無妄之論，不得過耳。昭受恩非凡，不敢不陳。

Later, when Taizu finally accepted the titles of Duke of Wei and King of Wei, it was all at Dong Zhao’s initiative.

¹後太祖遂受魏公、魏王之號，皆昭所創。

When Guan Yu besieged Cao Ren at Fan, Sun Quan sent an envoy with this message: “I am sending troops west upriver, intending to take Guan Yu by surprise. Jiangling and Gong’an hold his dependents and supplies; if Guan Yu loses those two cities, he will surely flee of his own accord, and the siege of the army at Fan will lift without any rescue. I beg you to keep this secret and not let it leak, so that Guan Yu is not put on his guard.” Taizu consulted his ministers, and they all said it should be kept secret. Dong Zhao said, “In military affairs expediency is prized; the aim is to fit the circumstances. We should answer Sun Quan by agreeing to keep it secret, but let it leak on our side.

及關羽圍曹仁於樊，孫權遣使辭以「遣兵西上，欲掩取羽。江陵、公安累重，羽失二城，必自奔走，樊軍之圍，不救自解。乞密不漏，令羽有備。」太祖詰羣臣，羣臣咸言宜當密之。昭曰：「軍事尚權，期於合宜。宜應權以密，而內露之。

If Guan Yu hears that Sun Quan is coming upriver and turns back to protect himself, the siege will be lifted quickly and we will gain the benefit at once. We can make the two bandits lock horns with each other and sit waiting for them to wear themselves out. To keep it secret and not reveal it, letting Sun Quan achieve his aim, is not the best plan. Besides, the officers and officials inside the siege do not know that help is coming; they are counting their grain and are afraid, and if they should waver in their loyalty, the trouble would be no small one. Revealing it is the better course. Moreover, Guan Yu is stubborn and overbearing by nature; relying on the firm defenses of those two cities, he will surely not withdraw quickly.”

羽聞權上，若還自護，圍則速解，便獲其利。可使兩賊相對銜持，坐待其弊。秘而不露，使權得志，非計之上。又，圍中將吏不知有救，計糧怖懼，儻有他意，為難不小。露之為便。且羽為人強梁，自恃二城守固，必不速退。」

Taizu said, “Good.” He at once ordered the relief general Xu Huang to shoot copies of Sun Quan’s letter into the besieged city and into Guan Yu’s camp. When those inside the siege heard of it, their spirits rose a hundredfold. Guan Yu did indeed hesitate. Sun Quan’s army arrived and took his two cities, and Guan Yu was then routed.

太祖曰：「善。」即敕救將徐晃以權書射著圍裡及羽屯中，圍裡聞之，志氣百倍。羽果猶豫。權軍至，得其二城，羽乃破敗。

When Emperor Wen took the throne as King, he appointed Dong Zhao Court Architect. When he ascended the imperial throne, he transferred him to Grand Herald and advanced his rank, enfeoffing him as Marquis of You District. In the second year, one hundred households were divided from his fief to grant Dong Zhao’s younger brother Dong Fang the rank of Marquis Within the Passes, and Dong Zhao was transferred to Palace Attendant. In the third year, Cao Xiu, Grand General Who Campaigns in the East, was facing the Yangzi at Dongpukou, and he memorialized on his own initiative: “I wish to lead elite troops striding like tigers south of the Yangzi, taking supplies from the enemy; the undertaking will surely succeed. And should I perish, there is no need to be concerned.”

文帝即王位，拜昭將作大匠。及踐阼，遷大鴻臚，進封右鄉侯。二年，分邑百戶，賜昭弟訪爵關內侯，徙昭為侍中。三年，征東大將軍曹休臨江在洞浦口，自表：「願將銳卒虎步江南，因敵取資，事必克捷；若其無臣，不須為念。」

The Emperor, fearing that Cao Xiu would cross the Yangzi forthwith, sent an edict by post-horse to stop him. Dong Zhao was then attending at his side, and said, “I venture to observe that Your Majesty looks worried. Is it solely because Cao Xiu may cross the river? Crossing the river at present is something people find hard. Even if Cao Xiu has this intention, he cannot go alone; he will need the other generals. Zang Ba and the others are already rich and noble and have nothing more to hope for; they want only to live out their natural span and keep their stipends and ranks. Why would they be willing to ride into danger, throwing themselves into a deadly place in search of a lucky chance?

帝恐休便渡江，驛馬詔止。時昭侍側，因曰：「竊見陛下有憂色，獨以休濟江故乎？今者渡江，人情所難，就休有此志，勢不獨行，當須諸將。臧霸等既富且貴，無復他望，但欲終其天年，保守祿祚而已，何肯乘危自投死地，以求徼倖？

If Zang Ba and the others do not advance, Cao Xiu’s resolve will falter of itself. I fear that even if Your Majesty issued an edict ordering them across, they would still hesitate and not obey at once.” Not long afterward a violent wind blew the bandits’ boats all the way to the foot of Cao Xiu’s camps; they beheaded some and captured others alive, and the bandits scattered. An edict ordered the armies to hurry across, but the army did not advance in time, and the bandits’ relief boats arrived.

苟霸等不進，休意自沮。臣恐陛下雖有敕渡之詔，猶必沉吟，未便從命也。」是後無幾，暴風吹賊船，悉詣休等營下，斬首獲生，賊遂迸散。詔敕諸軍促渡。軍未時進，賊救船遂至。

When the imperial carriage went to Wan, Xiahou Shang, Grand General Who Campaigns in the South, and others attacked Jiangling but could not take it. The river was then shallow and narrow, and Xiahou Shang intended to take infantry and cavalry by boat onto a sandbar in the river and make camp there, building a floating bridge to go back and forth north and south. Most of those who discussed it thought the city would certainly fall. Dong Zhao submitted a memorial: “Emperor Wu surpassed others in wisdom and courage, yet in using troops he respected the enemy and never dared to take them as lightly as this. Troops love to advance and hate to retreat; that is the constant rule.

大駕幸宛，征南大將軍夏侯尚等攻江陵，未拔。時江水淺狹，尚欲乘船將步騎入渚中安屯，作浮橋，南北往來，議者多以為城必可拔。昭上疏曰：武皇帝智勇過人，而用兵畏敵，不敢輕之若此也。夫兵好進惡退，常然之數。

Even on level ground with no natural obstacles it is still hard; if one must go deep, the road back must be advantageous. Troops must advance and retreat, and cannot always do as they wish. Now, to camp on the sandbar is to go as deep as one can; to cross by a floating bridge is as dangerous as one can; to go by a single route is as narrow as one can. These three things are what military men avoid, and yet they are being done now. If the bandits attack the bridge repeatedly and by some mischance there is a breach, the elite troops on the sandbar will no longer belong to Wei; they will become Wu’s instead. I am privately so anxious over this that I forget to sleep and eat, yet those who discuss it are at ease and see no cause for worry. Is this not delusion?

平地無險，猶尚艱難，就當深入，還道宜利，兵有進退，不可如意。今屯渚中，至深也；浮橋而濟，至危也；一道而行，至狹也：三者兵家所忌，而今行之。賊頻攻橋，誤有漏失，渚中精銳，非魏之有，將轉化為吳矣。臣私慼之，忘寢與食，而議者怡然不以為憂，豈不惑哉！

Moreover, the river is about to rise; should it suddenly swell one day, how will we defend ourselves? Even if we do not defeat the bandits, we should at least keep ourselves intact. How can we ride into danger without fear? Matters are about to become perilous. May Your Majesty consider it!”

加江水向長，一旦暴增，何以防禦？就不破賊，尚當自完。奈何乘危，不以為懼？事將危矣，惟陛下察之！

The Emperor, realizing the truth of Dong Zhao’s words, at once issued an edict ordering Xiahou Shang and the others to hurry out. The bandits advanced from both ends together, and as the government troops withdrew along a single route they could not get out in time; the generals Shi Jian and Gao Qian barely escaped with their lives. Some ten days after the army came out, the river suddenly rose. The Emperor said, “How precisely you reasoned about this affair! Even if Zhang Liang or Chen Ping had been faced with it, what more could they have added?” In the fifth year his fief was changed and he became Marquis of Chengdu District, and he was appointed Minister of Ceremonies. That same year he was transferred to Grandee of Splendid Happiness and Palace Steward.

帝悟昭言，即詔尚等促出。賊兩頭並前，官兵一道引去，不時得洩，將軍石建、高遷僅得自免。軍出旬日，江水暴長。帝曰：「君論此事，何其審也！正使張、陳當之，何以復加。」五年，徙封成都鄉侯，拜太常。其年，徙光祿大夫、給事中。

He followed the imperial carriage on the eastern campaign, and on returning in the seventh year was appointed Minister Coachman. When Emperor Ming took the throne, he advanced Dong Zhao’s rank to Marquis of Leping with a fief of one thousand households and transferred him to Commandant of the Guards. One hundred households were divided from his fief to grant one of his sons the rank of Marquis Within the Passes.

從大駕東征，七年還，拜太僕。明帝即位，進爵樂平侯，邑千戶，轉衛尉。分邑百戶，賜一子爵關內侯。

In the fourth year of Taihe, he was made acting Minister over the Masses, and in the sixth year he was given the post in full. Dong Zhao submitted a memorial setting out the evils of the decadent trends of the age: “All who have possessed the realm have honored men who are sincere, simple, loyal, and trustworthy, and have deeply hated those who are false and insincere, because such people ruin teaching and disorder government, corrupt customs and harm moral transformation. Recently, Wei Feng was executed at the end of Jian’an, and Cao Wei was beheaded at the beginning of Huangchu. I humbly observe that the sacred edicts, earlier and later, have deeply hated frivolity and falsehood and have sought to break up and scatter the wicked cliques, always with gnashing of teeth. Yet the officers who enforce the law all fear their power and influence and none can expose them, so that customs are ruined and their encroaching greed grows ever worse.

太和四年，行司徒事，六年，拜真。昭上疏陳末流之弊曰：凡有天下者，莫不貴尚敦朴忠信之士，深疾虛偽不真之人者，以其毀教亂治，敗俗傷化也。近魏諷則伏誅建安之末，曹偉則斬戮黃初之始。伏惟前後聖詔，深疾浮偽，欲以破散邪黨，常用切齒；而執法之吏皆畏其權勢，莫能糾擿，毀壞風俗，侵欲滋甚。

I venture to observe that the young people of today no longer make learning their foundation but make socializing their sole occupation, and that the gentlemen of the state do not put filial piety, brotherly respect, and pure self-cultivation first, but put the pursuit of power and profit before all else. They form cliques and link up into gangs, praising one another; they use slander as their punishment and the praise of their faction as their reward of rank. Those who attach themselves to them they praise with every word, and for those who do not, they invent faults. They have even gone so far as to say to one another, ‘In this age, why worry about not getting ahead? Just worry that you are not diligent enough in seeking people out and do not cast your net widely enough. And why fear that others will not appreciate you? Just make them swallow a potion and they will turn soft and pliant.’

竊見當今年少，不復以學問為本，專更以交遊為業；國士不以孝悌清脩為首，乃以趨勢遊利為先。合黨連羣，互相褒嘆，以毀訾為罰戮，用黨譽為爵賞，附己者則嘆之盈言，不附者則為作瑕釁。至乃相謂『今世何憂不度邪，但求人道不勤，羅之不博耳；又何患其不知己矣，但當吞之以藥而柔調耳。』

I have also heard that some have their slaves and retainers enrolled under false names as household members of officials in office, and using this pretense they go in and out, coming and going in the depths of the forbidden palace, passing letters back and forth and prying into matters. All these things are what the law does not permit and what punishment does not pardon; even the crimes of Wei Feng and Cao Wei could not exceed them.”

又聞或有使奴客名作在職家人，冒之出入，往來禁奧，交通書疏，有所探問。凡此諸事，皆法之所不取，刑之所不赦，雖諷、偉之罪，無以加也。

The Emperor thereupon issued a stern edict dismissing Zhuge Dan, Deng Yang, and others. Dong Zhao died at the age of eighty-one and was given the posthumous title Marquis Ding. His son Dong Zhou succeeded him. Dong Zhou served in turn as a commandery administrator and as one of the Nine Ministers.

帝於是發切詔，斥免諸葛誕、鄧颺等。昭年八十一薨，諡曰定侯。子胄嗣。胄歷位郡守、九卿。

Liu Ye

劉曄

Liu Ye, courtesy name Ziyang, was a man of Chengde in Huainan and a descendant of Liu Yan, King of Fuling, a son of Emperor Guangwu of Han. His father was Liu Pu, and his mother, of the Xiu family, bore Liu Huan and Liu Ye. When Liu Huan was nine and Liu Ye seven, their mother fell gravely ill. As she was dying, she warned Liu Huan and Liu Ye: “Liu Pu’s concubine has a flattering and harmful nature. After I die, I fear she will surely bring disorder to the household. If, when you are grown, you can get rid of her, I will have no regrets.” When Liu Ye was thirteen, he said to his elder brother Liu Huan, “Our late mother’s words can now be carried out.”

劉曄字子揚，淮南成悳人，¹漢光武子阜陵王延後也。父普，母脩，產渙及曄。渙九歲，曄七歲，而母病困。臨終，戒渙、曄以「普之侍人，有諂害之性。身死之後，懼必亂家。汝長大能除之，則吾無恨矣。」曄年十三，謂兄渙曰：「亡母之言，可以行矣。」

Liu Huan said, “How could that be done?” Liu Ye at once went into the room, killed the concubine, and went straight out to bow at their mother’s tomb. The household was greatly alarmed and reported it to Liu Pu. Liu Pu was furious and sent people after Liu Ye. Liu Ye came back, bowed, and apologized, saying, “It was the dying command of my late mother. I dare to accept punishment for acting on my own without asking permission.” Liu Pu inwardly marveled at him and in the end did not reproach him. Xu Shao of Runan, famous for his judgment of people, had taken refuge in Yang Province, and he praised Liu Ye as having the talent to assist the age.

渙曰：「那可爾！」曄即入室殺侍者，徑出拜墓。舍內大驚，白普。普怒，遣人追曄。曄還拜謝曰：「亡母顧命之言，敢受不請擅行之罰。」普心異之，遂不責也。汝南許劭名知人，避地揚州，稱曄有佐世之才。

Many of the men of Yang Province were reckless swashbucklers and cunning ruffians, men like Zheng Bao, Zhang Duo, and Xu Qian, each of whom commanded his own troops. Zheng Bao was the most fierce and bold, surpassing others in talent and strength, and the whole region feared him. He wanted to drive and carry off the common people across the Yangzi to the lands south of it, and since Liu Ye was a famous man of a high-ranking family, he wanted to force him to be the one to champion this scheme. Liu Ye, then a little over twenty, was privately worried by this but had no way out. It happened that Taizu sent an envoy to the province to make certain inquiries.

揚士多輕俠狡桀，有鄭寶、張多、許乾之屬，各擁部曲。寶最驍果，才力過人，一方所憚。欲驅略百姓越赴江表，以曄高族名人，欲強逼曄使唱導此謀。曄時年二十餘，心內憂之，而未有緣。會太祖遣使詣州，有所案問。

Liu Ye went to see the envoy, discussed the situation with him, and invited him to come home with him, where he stayed for several days. Zheng Bao, as expected, came with several hundred followers bringing oxen and wine to call on the envoy. Liu Ye had his household servants seat Zheng Bao’s followers outside the middle gate and serve them wine and food, while he feasted with Zheng Bao inside. He secretly instructed some strong men to cut Zheng Bao down as they passed the cups. But Zheng Bao did not care for wine and watched everything very keenly, so the cup-bearers did not dare to strike. Liu Ye then drew the sword at his own waist, cut Zheng Bao down and killed him, and cut off his head to command his troops, saying, “Lord Cao has given orders: anyone who dares to move will share Zheng Bao’s guilt.”

曄往見，為論事勢，要將與歸，駐止數日。寶果從數百人齎牛酒來候使，曄令家僮將其眾坐中門外，為設酒飯；與寶於內宴飲。密勒健兒，令因行觴而斫寶。寶性不甘酒，視候甚明，觴者不敢發。曄因自引取佩刀斫殺寶，斬其首以令其軍，云：「曹公有令，敢有動者，與寶同罪。」

The followers were all terrified and ran back to their camp. In the camp there were supervising officers with several thousand elite troops, and fearing that they would rise in revolt, Liu Ye at once mounted Zheng Bao’s horse and, taking a few household servants, went to the gate of Zheng Bao’s camp, called out their leaders, and explained to them where disaster and fortune lay. They all kowtowed, opened the gate, and let Liu Ye in. Liu Ye comforted and reassured them, and all were pleased and submitted, and they offered to make Liu Ye their leader. But Liu Ye, seeing that the house of Han was steadily declining and being himself a collateral member of it, did not want to hold troops, and so he handed these forces over to the Prefect of Lujiang, Liu Xun.

眾皆驚怖，走還營。營有督將精兵數千，懼其為亂，曄即乘寶馬，將家僮數人，詣寶營門，呼其渠帥，喻以禍福，皆叩頭開門內曄。曄撫慰安懷，咸悉悅服，推曄為主。曄睹漢室漸微，己為支屬，不欲擁兵，遂委其部曲與廬江太守劉勛。

Liu Xun wondered at his reason, and Liu Ye said, “Zheng Bao had no laws or discipline, and his followers have always made their gains by plunder. I have no resources of my own, and if I tried to bring them into order they would surely grow resentful and it would not last, so I am handing them to you.” At that time Liu Xun’s forces were the strongest between the Yangzi and the Huai. Sun Ce hated him, and sent envoys with humble words and rich gifts, along with a letter to persuade him: “The clan people of Shangliao have repeatedly bullied our humble state, and we have resented them for years. We would attack them, but the road is inconvenient for us; we hope to rely on your great state to attack them.

勳怪其故，曄曰：「寶無法制，其眾素以鈔略為利，僕宿無資，而整齊之，必懷怨難久，故相與耳。」時勳兵強於江、淮之間。孫策惡之，遣使卑辭厚幣，以書說勳曰：「上繚宗民，數欺下國，忿之有年矣。擊之，路不便，願因大國伐之。

Shangliao is very rich, and taking it would enrich your state. Please send out your troops, and we will give support from outside.” Liu Xun believed him, and having also received pearls and treasures and fine Yue cloth from Sun Ce, he was delighted. Everyone within and without offered congratulations; Liu Ye alone did not. When Liu Xun asked him why, he replied, “Though Shangliao is small, its walls are strong and its moats deep; it is hard to attack and easy to defend, and cannot be taken within ten days. Then our troops will be worn out abroad while the state at home lies empty. If Sun Ce takes advantage of that emptiness to attack us, our rear will be unable to hold out on its own.

上繚甚實，得之可以富國，請出兵為外援。」勳信之，又得策珠寶、葛越，喜悅。外內盡賀，而曄獨否。勳問其故，對曰：「上繚雖小，城堅池深，攻難守易，不可旬日而舉，則兵疲於外，而國內虛。策乘虛而襲我，則後不能獨守。

You would then, General, be thwarted by the enemy if you advanced and have nowhere to return if you withdrew. If the army must go out, disaster will be upon you at once.” Liu Xun did not listen. He raised troops to attack Shangliao, and Sun Ce did indeed fall upon his rear. Liu Xun, driven into a corner, fled to Taizu.

是將軍進屈於敵，退無所歸。若軍必出，禍今至矣。」勳不從。興兵伐上繚，策果襲其後。勳窮踧，遂奔太祖。

When Taizu reached Shouchun, there was a mountain bandit in the Lujiang region, Chen Ce, who with a following of several tens of thousands was holding out in a strong position. Subordinate generals had been sent earlier to punish him, but none had been able to capture or defeat him. Taizu asked his subordinates whether he could be attacked, and they all said, “The mountains are steep and high and the valleys deep and narrow; it is easy to defend and hard to attack. Besides, not having the place is no loss, and gaining it is no gain.” Liu Ye said, “Chen Ce and his like are petty wretches who took to the heights in the midst of the disorder and have grown strong only by leaning on one another; there is no rank, commission, authority, or trust binding them to submit to one another.

太祖至壽春，時廬江界有山賊陳策，眾數萬人，臨險而守。先時遣偏將致誅，莫能禽克。太祖問羣下，可伐與不？咸云：「山峻高而谿谷深隘，守易攻難；又無之不足為損，得之不足為益。」曄曰：策等小豎，因亂赴險，遂相依為強耳，非有爵命威信相伏也。

In the past, the subordinate generals carried little weight and the central lands were not yet pacified, so Chen Ce dared to hold out in his stronghold. Now the realm is largely settled, and those who submit last will be the first to be punished. Fearing death and pursuing reward are the same in the foolish and the wise. That is why the Lord of Guangwu, devising a plan for Han Xin, said that his authority and fame were enough to subdue neighboring states by first sending word ahead and following it with force. How much more so with your virtue, my illustrious lord, such that when you campaign in the east, the west complains of being left for later! If you first open the way with offers of reward and recruitment and then bring the great army to bear on them, on the day your order is proclaimed, the gates of their camp will open and the bandits will collapse of themselves.”

往者偏將資輕，而中國未夷，故策敢據險以守。今天下略定，後伏先誅。夫畏死趨賞，愚知所同，故廣武君為韓信畫策，謂其威名足以先聲後實而服鄰國也。豈況明公之德，東征西怨，先開賞募，大兵臨之，令宣之日，軍門啟而虜自潰矣。

Taizu laughed and said, “What you say is near the mark!” He then sent fierce generals in front with the main army behind, and on arrival they defeated Chen Ce, just as Liu Ye had predicted. When Taizu returned, he summoned Liu Ye to serve as a Clerk of the Granary Bureau under the Minister of Works.

太祖笑曰：「卿言近之！」遂遣猛將在前，大軍在後，至則克策，如曄所度。太祖還，辟曄為司空倉曹掾。¹

When Taizu campaigned against Zhang Lu, he transferred Liu Ye to Registrar. On reaching Hanzhong, the mountains were steep and hard to climb, and the army’s food was rather short. Taizu said, “This is nothing but a land of sorcery and delusion; what difference does it make whether we have it or not? My army is short of food; it would be better to return quickly.” He then led his own troops back and ordered Liu Ye to supervise the armies in the rear and bring them out in order. Liu Ye reckoned that Zhang Lu could be beaten, and that since the supply line could not be sustained, even if they withdrew the army could not all come out intact; so he galloped to Taizu and said, “It would be better to attack.”

太祖征張魯，轉曄為主簿。既至漢中，山峻難登，軍食頗乏。太祖曰：「此妖妄之國耳，何能為有無？吾軍少食，不如速還。」便自引歸，令曄督後諸軍，使以次出。曄策魯可克，加糧道不繼，雖出，軍猶不能皆全，馳白太祖：「不如致攻。」

So they advanced, bringing out large numbers of crossbows to shoot at Zhang Lu’s camps. Zhang Lu fled, and Hanzhong was at last pacified. Liu Ye came forward and said, “My illustrious lord, starting out with five thousand foot soldiers to punish Dong Zhuo, you went on to defeat Yuan Shao in the north and campaign against Liu Biao in the south; of the nine provinces and hundred commanderies you have annexed eight in ten. Your might shakes the realm, and your power awes the lands beyond the seas. Now you have taken Hanzhong, and the people of Shu, hearing the news, will lose their nerve and abandon their defenses. Pressing on from here, Shu could be settled merely by sending out a proclamation. Liu Bei is an outstanding man, with breadth of mind but slow to act; he has held Shu only a short while, and the people of Shu do not yet rely on him.

遂進兵，多出弩以射其營。魯奔走，漢中遂平。曄進曰：明公以步卒五千，將誅董卓，北破袁紹，南征劉表，九州百郡，十併其八，威震天下，勢慴海外。今舉漢中，蜀人望風，破膽失守，推此而前，蜀可傳檄而定。劉備，人傑也，有度而遲，得蜀日淺，蜀人未恃也。

Now that Hanzhong has been crushed, the people of Shu are shaking with fear, and their position will topple of itself. With the divine insight you possess, Duke, if you press down on them as they topple, you cannot fail to conquer. If you relax even a little, Zhuge Liang, who is clear in government, will serve as chancellor, and Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, whose courage is foremost in the three armies, will serve as generals; once the people of Shu are settled and they hold the strong passes and key points, they cannot be assailed. If you do not take Shu now, it will surely be a worry in the future.”

今破漢中，蜀人震恐，其勢自傾。以公之神明，因其傾而壓之，無不克也。若小緩之，諸葛亮明於治而為相，關羽、張飛勇冠三軍而為將，蜀民既定，據險守要，則不可犯矣。今不取，必為後憂。

Taizu did not follow this advice, and the main army then returned. After returning from Hanzhong, Liu Ye became Chief Clerk of the Marching Army and concurrently Commander of the Army. In the first year of Yankang, the Shu general Meng Da surrendered with his followers. Meng Da had a fine bearing and impressive talent, and Emperor Wen valued and loved him greatly; he made Meng Da Prefect of Xincheng with the additional post of Cavalier Attendant-in-Ordinary. Liu Ye held that “Meng Da has a heart set on getting whatever he can, relies on his talent, and loves stratagems; he will surely be incapable of being moved by kindness or holding to righteousness. Xincheng borders on both Wu and Shu, and if he should turn, he will create trouble for the state.” Emperor Wen did not change his mind, and in the end Meng Da did rebel and was destroyed.

太祖不從，¹大軍遂還。曄自漢中還，為行軍長史，兼領軍。延康元年，蜀將孟達率眾降。達有容止才觀，文帝甚器愛之，使達為新城太守，加散騎常侍。曄以為「達有苟得之心，而恃才好術，必不能感恩懷義。新城與吳、蜀接連，若有變態，為國生患。」文帝竟不易，後達終於叛敗。²

In the first year of Huangchu, Liu Ye was made Palace Attendant and granted the rank of Marquis Within the Passes. An edict asked the ministers to estimate whether Liu Bei would march out to take revenge on Wu for Guan Yu. The general opinion was, “Shu is a small state, and Guan Yu was its only famous general. With Guan Yu dead and his army broken, the state is anxious and afraid; there is no reason it would come out again.” Liu Ye alone said, “Though Shu is cramped and weak, Liu Bei’s design is to make himself strong through martial might, and he will surely use his forces to show that he has strength to spare.

黃初元年，以曄為侍中，賜爵關內侯。詔問羣臣令料劉備當為關羽出報吳不。眾議咸云：「蜀，小國耳，名將唯羽。羽死軍破，國內憂懼，無緣復出。」曄獨曰：「蜀雖狹弱，而備之謀欲以威武自強，勢必用眾以示其有餘。

Moreover, Guan Yu and Liu Bei were lord and subject in duty but like father and son in affection; if, with Guan Yu dead, he could not raise an army to avenge him on the enemy, he would fall short of his obligations from beginning to end.” Later Liu Bei did indeed send troops to attack Wu. Wu mobilized the whole state to meet him and sent envoys declaring itself a vassal. The court officials all offered congratulations; Liu Ye alone said, “Wu, cut off beyond the Yangzi and the Han, has long had no heart to be a subject within the empire. Though Your Majesty’s virtue equals that of Shun of Yu, the nature of these vile barbarians has not been touched by it.

且關羽與備，義為君臣，恩猶父子；羽死不能為興軍報敵，於終始之分不足。」後備果出兵擊吳。吳悉國應之，而遣使稱籓。朝臣皆賀，獨曄曰：「吳絕在江、漢之表，無內臣之心久矣。陛下雖齊德有虞，然醜虜之性，未有所感。

They seek to become vassals because they are in difficulty, so they can surely not be trusted. They must be hard pressed from without and in distress within, and only then did they send this envoy; we can take advantage of their straits to attack and seize them. To let an enemy go for a single day is to bring trouble for generations; this must be considered carefully.” After Liu Bei’s army was defeated and withdrew, Wu’s courtesy and respect lapsed, and the Emperor wanted to raise an army to attack it. Liu Ye held that “they have just achieved their aims, high and low are of one heart, and they are girded by rivers and lakes; it will surely be hard to succeed quickly.” The Emperor did not listen.

因難求臣，必難信也。彼必外迫內困，然後發此使耳，可因其窮，襲而取之。夫一日縱敵，數世之患，不可不察也。」備軍敗退，吳禮敬轉廢，帝欲興眾伐之，曄以為「彼新得志，上下齊心，而阻帶江湖，必難倉卒。」帝不聽。¹

In the fifth year, the Emperor went to Sikou in Guangling and ordered the armies of Jing and Yang Provinces to advance together. He assembled his ministers and asked, “Will Sun Quan come in person?” They all said, “Since Your Majesty is campaigning in person, Sun Quan will be terrified and will surely meet you with the whole strength of his state. Nor will he dare to entrust a great army to his subordinates; he will surely come leading it himself.” Liu Ye said, “He will think that Your Majesty means to use the weight of ten thousand chariots to pin him down, while the ones crossing the rivers and lakes will be separate generals. He will surely hold his troops in check and wait on events, neither advancing nor retreating.”

五年，幸廣陵泗口，命荊、揚州諸軍並進。會羣臣，問：「權當自來不？」咸曰：「陛下親征，權恐怖，必舉國而應。又不敢以大眾委之臣下，必自將而來。」曄曰：「彼謂陛下欲以萬乘之重牽己，而超越江湖者在於別將，必勒兵待事，未有進退也。」

The imperial carriage stayed there for many days, and Sun Quan did indeed not come, so the Emperor withdrew his army. He said, “Your reckoning was correct. But you should think about how to destroy the two bandits for me, not merely know their circumstances.”

大駕停住積日，權果不至，帝乃旋師。云：「卿策之是也。當念為吾滅二賊，不可但知其情而已。」

When Emperor Ming took the throne, he advanced Liu Ye’s rank to Marquis of Dong Village with a fief of three hundred households. An edict said: “Honoring and revering one’s forebears is the means to exalt filial piety and display right conduct; tracing back to the root and revering the beginning is the means to deepen teaching and spread moral transformation. Thus, though Tang the Victorious and Kings Wen and Wu truly founded Shang and Zhou, the meaning of the Odes and the Documents is to honor Hou Ji and Xie posthumously and to sing the praises of Jiandi of Yousong and Jiang Yuan, making clear the source of their abundant virtue and the origin of their receiving the Mandate. Since our house of Wei received Heaven’s succession, its first steps were taken under Emperor Gao and the Grand Emperor, and its achievements flourished under Emperor Wu and Emperor Wen.

明帝即位，進爵東亭侯，邑三百戶。詔曰：尊嚴祖考，所以崇孝表行也；追本敬始，所以篤教流化也。是以成湯、文、武，實造商、周，詩、書之義，追尊稷、契，歌頌有娀、姜嫄之事，明盛德之源流，受命所由興也。自我魏室之承天序，既發跡於高皇、太皇帝，而功隆於武皇、文皇帝。

As for the father of Emperor Gao, the Gentleman Recluse, he quietly cultivated virtue and modesty, and his conduct was like that of the spirits. He is the one whom Heaven and Earth have blessed and whose offerings they have accepted, the source from which the radiant spirits have come. Yet his spirit has passed into the remote distance and his title goes unrecorded; this is not what is meant by exalting filial piety and honoring the root. Let the ministers and those below them meet and deliberate on a title and a posthumous name.

至於高皇之父處士君，潛脩德讓，行動神明，斯乃乾坤所福饗，光靈所從來也。而精神幽遠，號稱罔記，非所謂崇孝重本也。其令公卿已下，會議號諡。

Liu Ye submitted his opinion: The wish of a sage emperor and filial grandson to honor and exalt his ancestors is truly without limit. Yet the degrees of kinship and the diminishing of honors with distance are governed by the rules of ritual, by which private feeling is cut off and public law fulfilled, to serve as a model for ten thousand generations. The kings of Zhou traced their line back to Houji as founder because he had merit in assisting Tang Yao and his name stood in the canon of sacrifices. At the beginning of the Han, posthumous titles did not go beyond the emperor’s father.

曄議曰：聖帝孝孫之欲褒崇先祖，誠無量已。然親疏之數，遠近之降，蓋有禮紀，所以割斷私情，克成公法，為萬世式也。周王所以上祖后稷者，以其佐唐有功，名在祀典故也。至於漢氏之初，追諡之義，不過其父。

Compared upward with the house of Zhou, the rise of the great Wei began with Emperor Gao; judged downward by the Han, the rite of posthumous titles did not extend to the grandfather. This is truly the established law of former ages and the clear principle of the present day. Your Majesty’s filial thoughts spring from within and are truly unceasing, but every act of a ruler is recorded, and that is why one must be careful in matters of ritual. I believe that posthumous honors should stop at Emperor Gao.

上比周室，則大魏發跡自高皇始；下論漢氏，則追諡之禮不及其祖。此誠往代之成法，當今之明義也。陛下孝思中發，誠無已已，然君舉必書，所以慎於禮制也。以為追尊之義，宜齊高皇而已。

The Master of Writing Wei Zhen agreed with Liu Ye, and the matter was carried out accordingly.

尚書衛臻與曄議同，事遂施行。

Gongsun Yuan, Grand Administrator of Liaodong, seized his uncle’s position, set himself up on his own authority, and sent an envoy with a memorial reporting the situation. Liu Ye held that the Gongsun clan had been employed under the Han and had since held office generation after generation. By water they could be reached only across the sea, and by land they were shielded by mountains; so the barbarian lands there were remote and hard to control, and the family’s power had lasted for generations. If they were not punished now, they would surely cause trouble later. If the court waited until he turned disloyal and held out with his troops before punishing him, the task would be difficult. It would be better to take advantage of his having just come to power, when he had both partisans and enemies, to strike before he expected it by bringing troops against him and offering rewards to those who would come over; then he could be subdued without wearing out the army. Later Gongsun Yuan did in fact rebel.

遼東太守公孫淵奪叔父位，擅自立，遣使表狀。曄以為公孫氏漢時所用，遂世官相承，水則由海，陸則阻山，故胡夷絕遠難制，而世權日久。今若不誅，後必生患。若懷貳阻兵，然後致誅，於事為難。不如因其新立，有黨有仇，先其不意，以兵臨之，開設賞募，可不勞師而定也。後淵竟反。

At court Liu Ye had almost no dealings with the men of his time. When someone asked him why, he answered, “The house of Wei has only recently ascended the throne. The wise know the Mandate, but common opinion may not yet all accept it. Under the Han I was a branch of the imperial clan, and under Wei I serve as a trusted confidant. Having few companions and few followers is not amiss for me.” In the sixth year of Taihe, because of illness, he was appointed Grand Palace Grandee. After a while he became Grand Herald; after two years in office he resigned and again became Grand Palace Grandee, and then he died. He was given the posthumous name Marquis Jing. His son Liu Yu succeeded him.

曄在朝，略不交接時人。或問其故，曄答曰：「魏室即阼尚新，智者知命，俗或未咸。僕在漢為支葉，於魏備腹心，寡偶少徒，於宜未失也。」太和六年，以疾拜太中大夫。有間，為大鴻臚，在位二年遜位，復為太中大夫，薨。諡曰景侯。子寓嗣。¹

His Son Liu Tao

子　陶

His youngest son, Liu Tao, was also highly talented but of frivolous conduct; he rose to be Grand Administrator of Pingyuan.

少子陶，亦高才而薄行，官至平原太守。¹

Jiang Ji

蔣濟

Jiang Ji, courtesy name Zitong, was a man of Ping'a in the state of Chu. He served the commandery as its accounts officer and the province as Attendant Officer. In the thirteenth year of Jian'an, Sun Quan led his host to besiege Hefei. At that time the main army was campaigning in Jing Province and had been struck by pestilence, so only the general Zhang Xi was sent with a thousand horsemen, taking command of the troops of Runan on his way, to lift the siege; and they too suffered badly from pestilence. Jiang Ji then secretly advised the Inspector to pretend that he had received a letter from Zhang Xi saying that forty thousand foot and horse had already reached Yulou, and to send the Registrar to go and meet Zhang Xi.

蔣濟字子通，楚國平阿人也。仕郡計吏、州別駕。建安十三年，孫權率眾圍合肥。時大軍征荊州，遇疾疫，唯遣將軍張喜單將千騎，過領汝南兵以解圍，頗復疾疫。濟乃密白刺史偽得喜書，云步騎四萬已到雩婁，遣主簿迎喜。

Three parties of messengers were sent carrying the letter to inform the commander defending the city; one party got into the city, and two were captured by the enemy. Sun Quan believed it, hastily burned his siege lines and fled, and so the city was saved. The next year Jiang Ji went on a mission to Qiao, and Taizu asked him, “In the past, when I faced Yuan Benchu at Guandu, I moved the people of Yan and Baima; the people could not run off, and the enemy did not dare plunder them. Now I wish to move the people of Huainan. What do you think?” Jiang Ji replied, “At that time our troops were weak and the enemy strong; had you not moved them, you would surely have lost them.

三部使齎書語城中守將，一部得入城，二部為賊所得。權信之，遽燒圍走，城用得全。明年使於譙，太祖問濟曰：「昔孤與袁本初對官渡，徙燕、白馬民，民不得走，賊亦不敢鈔。今欲徙淮南民，何如？」濟對曰：「是時兵弱賊強，不徙必失之。

Since you defeated Yuan Shao, you have taken Liucheng in the north and turned south toward the Yangzi and the Han; Jing Province folded its arms in surrender, your might has shaken the realm, and the people have no other allegiance. But the common folk cling to their land and truly do not wish to move; I fear they will certainly be unsettled.” Taizu did not follow his advice, and more than a hundred thousand people between the Yangzi and the Huai all took fright and fled to Wu. Later Jiang Ji went on a mission to Ye, and Taizu greeted him with a great laugh, saying, “I only meant to have them avoid the enemy, and instead I drove them all away.” He appointed Jiang Ji Grand Administrator of Danyang.

自破袁紹，北拔柳城，南向江、漢，荊州交臂，威震天下，民無他志。然百姓懷土，實不樂徙，懼必不安。」太祖不從，而江、淮間十餘萬眾，皆驚走吳。後濟使詣鄴，太祖迎見大笑曰：「本但欲使避賊，乃更驅盡之。」拜濟丹陽太守。

When the main army returned from its southern campaign, Wen Hui was made Inspector of Yang Province and Jiang Ji his Attendant Officer. The order said, “With Jizi as its minister, Wu was bound to have a true ruler. Now that you return to the province, I have no worries.” A man of the people falsely accused Jiang Ji of being the ringleader of a rebellion. When Taizu heard of it, he pointed to his earlier order and said to Yu Jin, General of the Left, Feng Ren, Chancellor of Pei, and others, “How could Jiang Ji be involved in such a thing? If he were, it would mean I do not know men.

大軍南征還，以溫恢為揚州刺史，濟為別駕。令曰：「季子為臣，吳宜有君。今君還州，吾無憂矣。」民有誣告濟為謀叛主率者，太祖聞之，指前令與左將軍于禁、沛相封仁等曰：「蔣濟寧有此事！有此事，吾為不知人也。

This must be some foolish commoner who delights in disorder and dragged his name in falsely.” He had the case hastily tried and Jiang Ji released. He summoned him to be Registrar to the Chancellor and Clerk of the Western Bureau. The order said, “When Shun raised up Gaoyao, the unkind were kept at a distance. To judge good and bad aright is what I look for from a worthy aide.” Guan Yu besieged Fan and Xiangyang. Because the Han emperor was at Xu, close to the enemy, Taizu wished to move the capital. Sima Yi (King Xuan) and Jiang Ji advised Taizu, “Yu Jin and the others were overwhelmed by the water; it was not a failure in battle or assault, and it is not enough to damage the great plans of the state.

此必愚民樂亂，妄引之耳。」促理出之。辟為丞相主簿西曹屬。令曰：「舜舉皋陶，不仁者遠；臧否得中，望於賢屬矣。」關羽圍樊、襄陽。太祖以漢帝在許，近賊，欲徙都。司馬宣王及濟說太祖曰：「于禁等為水所沒，非戰攻之失，於國家大計未足有損。

Liu Bei and Sun Quan are friendly on the surface but estranged at heart; Sun Quan surely does not want Guan Yu to get his way. We can send someone to urge him to fall upon Guan Yu’s rear, promising to cut off the land south of the Yangzi and enfeoff him with it; then the siege of Fan will lift of itself.” Taizu did as they said. When Sun Quan heard this, he at once led his troops west and attacked Gong'an and Jiangling by surprise. Guan Yu was then captured.

劉備、孫權，外親內疏，關羽得志，權必不願也。可遣人勸躡其後，許割江南以封權，則樊圍自解。」太祖如其言。權聞之，即引兵西襲公安、江陵。羽遂見禽。

When Emperor Wen ascended the throne as King, Jiang Ji was transferred to be Chief Clerk to the Chancellor of State. When Emperor Wen took the imperial throne, Jiang Ji was sent out as General of the Household of the East. Jiang Ji asked to stay at court, and the edict said, “Gaozu sang, ‘How shall I find brave warriors to guard the four quarters!’ The realm is not yet at peace, and we need good ministers to hold the frontiers. When all is quiet, you may come back to jingle your jade pendants at court; it will not be too late.” Jiang Ji presented his Discourse on the Myriad Affairs, and the Emperor thought well of it. He came into court as Cavalier Attendant-in-Ordinary. At that time there was an edict addressed to Xiahou Shang, General Who Conquers the South, which said, “You are a trusted and important general, and I shall give you special charge.

文帝即王位，轉為相國長史。及踐阼，出為東中郎將。濟請留，詔曰：「高祖歌曰『安得猛士守四方』！天下未寧，要須良臣以鎮邊境。如其無事，乃還鳴玉，未為後也。」濟上萬機論，帝善之。入為散騎常侍。時有詔，詔征南將軍夏侯尚曰：「卿腹心重將，特當任使。

Your kindness is enough to make men die for you, and your favor can win their hearts. Exercise authority, dispense blessings, put men to death or grant them life.” Xiahou Shang showed this to Jiang Ji. When Jiang Ji arrived, the Emperor asked him, “What have you seen and heard of the customs and moral instruction of the realm?” Jiang Ji answered, “I have seen nothing else that is good, only words that ruin a state.” The Emperor flushed with anger and asked what he meant. Jiang Ji explained in full, and went on, “‘Exercising authority and dispensing blessings’ is clearly warned against in the Book of Documents. ‘The Son of Heaven does not jest’ is something the ancients took care over. I beg Your Majesty to consider it!” At this the Emperor’s anger dissolved, and he sent someone after the earlier edict to retrieve it.

恩施足死，惠愛可懷。作威作福，殺人活人。」尚以示濟。濟既至，帝問曰：「卿所聞見天下風教何如？」濟對曰：「未有他善，但見亡國之語耳。」帝忿然作色而問其故，濟具以答，因曰：「夫『作威作福』，書之明誡。『天子無戲言』，古人所慎。惟陛下察之！」於是帝意解，遣追取前詔。

In the third year of Huangchu, he campaigned against Wu with Cao Ren, the Grand Marshal, and Jiang Ji made a separate attack on Xianxi. Cao Ren wanted to attack the island at Ruxu, but Jiang Ji said, “The enemy holds the western bank and has lined up his ships upstream. To send troops onto the island is to walk into hell of our own accord; it is the road to danger and ruin.” Cao Ren did not listen and was indeed defeated. When Cao Ren died, Jiang Ji was again made General of the Household of the East and took over command of his troops. The edict said, “You combine civil and military gifts, and your resolve and principles are fervent; you have always cherished the ambition of crossing the rivers and lakes to swallow Wu and Kuaiji. Therefore I again entrust you with the duties of a commander."

黃初三年，與大司馬曹仁征吳，濟別襲羨谿。仁欲攻濡須洲中，濟曰：「賊據西岸，列船上流，而兵入洲中，是為自內地獄，危亡之道也。」仁不從，果敗。仁薨，復以濟為東中郎將，代領其兵。詔曰：「卿兼資文武，志節慷慨，常有超越江湖吞吳會之志，故復授將率之任。」

Soon afterward he was summoned to be a Master of Writing. When the imperial carriage went to Guangling, Jiang Ji memorialized that the waterways would be hard to pass, and also presented his Discourse on the Three Provinces to admonish the Emperor indirectly. The Emperor did not listen, and as a result several thousand warships became stuck and could not move. Some proposed leaving troops there to farm in military colonies, but Jiang Ji held that since the place was near the lakes to the east and bordered the Huai to the north, the enemy could easily raid it when the waters were high, and it could not be safely garrisoned. The Emperor followed his advice and the imperial carriage set out at once. On the way back, when they reached Jinghu, the water was gradually running dry, so all the boats were left behind and entrusted to Jiang Ji.

頃之，徵為尚書。車駕幸廣陵，濟表水道難通，又上《三州論》以諷帝。帝不從，於是戰船數千皆滯不得行。議者欲就留兵屯田，濟以為東近湖，北臨淮，若水盛時，賊易為寇，不可安屯。帝從之，車駕即發。還到精湖，水稍盡，盡留船付濟。

The boats had originally been strung out over several hundred li. Jiang Ji dug four or five new channels and drove the boats together; he had built earthen dams in advance to block off the lake water, and after all the rear boats had been drawn in, he opened the dams at once and sent them into the Huai. When the Emperor returned to Luoyang he said to Jiang Ji, “One must never fail to understand how things are done. I had earlier decided to burn half of the boats in Shanyang Pond, but you brought them along behind me and arrived at Qiao at about the same time as I did. And every proposal you set before me truly accords with my mind. From now on, think well and give your views on plans for campaigns against the enemy."

船本歷適數百里中，濟更鑿地作四五道，蹴船令聚；豫作土豚遏斷湖水，皆引後船，一時開遏入淮中。帝還洛陽，謂濟曰：「事不可不曉。吾前決謂分半燒船於山陽池中，卿於後致之，略與吾俱至譙。又每得所陳，實入吾意。自今討賊計畫，善思論之。」

When Emperor Ming took the throne, he granted Jiang Ji the rank of Marquis Within the Passes. When the Grand Marshal Cao Xiu led an army toward Wan, Jiang Ji memorialized, “He is going deep into enemy territory to face Sun Quan’s picked troops, while Zhu Ran and the others are upstream and will fall on his rear. I see no advantage in it.” When the army reached Wan, Wu sent troops out to Anlu. Jiang Ji again submitted a memorial: “The enemy is now making a show in the west, but he surely means to combine his forces against the east. We should urgently order all armies to go to the rescue."

明帝即位，賜爵關內侯。大司馬曹休帥軍向皖，濟表以為「深入虜地，與權精兵對，而朱然等在上流，乘休後，臣未見其利也。」軍至皖，吳出兵安陸，濟又上疏曰：「今賊示形於西，必欲並兵圖東，宜急詔諸軍往救之。」

Just then Cao Xiu’s army had been defeated and was retreating, having abandoned all its weapons and baggage. Wu tried to block Jiashi, but the relief troops arrived, and so the government army escaped annihilation. Jiang Ji was promoted to Central Protector of the Army.

會休軍已敗，盡棄器仗輜重退還。吳欲塞夾石，遇救兵至，是以官軍得不沒。遷為中護軍。

At that time the Supervisor and the Prefect of the Palace Secretariat were said to hold exclusive power, and Jiang Ji submitted a memorial which said: When great ministers are too weighty, the state is endangered; when attendants are too intimate, the ruler is blinded. This was the gravest warning of antiquity. In the past, when great ministers controlled affairs, there was agitation within and without. Your Majesty has risen above this and personally oversees the myriad affairs, and all have become reverent and respectful. It is not that great ministers are disloyal, but when authority lies below, the hearts of the many come to slight the sovereign; such is the ordinary tendency of power. Your Majesty has already seen this with regard to great ministers; I pray you will not forget it with regard to your attendants.

時中書監、令號為專任，濟上疏曰：大臣太重者國危，左右太親者身蔽，古之至戒也。往者大臣秉事，外內扇動。陛下卓然自覽萬機，莫不祗肅。夫大臣非不忠也，然威權在下，則眾心慢上，勢之常也。陛下既已察之於大臣，願無忘於左右。

Your attendants are not necessarily superior to great ministers in loyalty, integrity, and farsightedness, but in fawning and ingratiating themselves they may be more skilled. Now whenever people outside talk, they speak of the Palace Secretariat. Even if its officials are respectful and cautious and dare not form outside connections, the mere reputation still misleads the world. How much more so when they actually hold the essentials of affairs and are before your eyes every day! If, at moments when you are weary, they should make decisions on their own, the officials, seeing that they can sway affairs, will turn toward them as the times dictate.

左右忠正遠慮，未必賢於大臣，至於便辟取合，或能工之。今外所言，輒云中書，雖使恭慎不敢外交，但有此名，猶惑世俗。況實握事要，日在目前，儻因疲倦之間有所割制，眾臣見其能推移於事，即亦因時而向之。

Once such a beginning is made, they will set up means of securing themselves within, and using this talk of the crowd, they will privately draw in those they associate with to serve as their support inside. If that happens, praise and blame will surely arise arbitrarily, and rewards and punishments for merit and fault will surely be reversed. Those who rise by the straight path may be blocked, while those who crookedly attach themselves to the attendants will get ahead instead. They enter through small openings and emerge in visible forms, yet because they are those whom you trust and are close to, you will no longer suspect or notice them. This is something your sage wisdom ought to hear of early; if you pay attention from the outside, the signs will appear of themselves.

一有此端，因當內設自完，以此眾語，私招所交，為之內援。若此，臧否毀譽，必有所興，功負賞罰，必有所易；直道而上者或壅，曲附左右者反達。因微而入，緣形而出，意所狎信，不復猜覺。此宜聖智所當早聞，外以經意，則形際自見。

I fear that the officials at court, afraid that their words will not be accepted and that they will incur the resentment of the attendants, will not venture to speak. I humbly trust that Your Majesty, reflecting quietly and deeply, listening impartially and observing widely, will, wherever affairs fall short of reason or things are not fully put to use, change the melody and alter the tune, contending in merit with the Yellow Emperor and Tang Yao in the distant past and shedding light on the traces of Emperors Wu and Wen in recent times; how could you be confined to your intimates? Yet even a ruler cannot make all the affairs of the realm fit his own discernment; he must entrust some of them to others.

或恐朝臣畏言不合而受左右之怨，莫適以聞。臣竊亮陛下潛神默思，公聽並觀，若事有未盡於理而物有未周於用，將改曲易調，遠與黃、唐角功，近昭武、文之跡，豈近習而已哉！然人君猶不可悉天下事以適己明，當有所付。

If three offices are entrusted to one minister, then unless he has the loyalty of Dan, Duke of Zhou, or the impartiality of Guan Yiwu, there will be the evil of manipulating power and corrupting office. Although men who can serve as pillars and foundation stones of the state are few today, there are those whose conduct is praised throughout a province and whose wisdom proves effective in an office, who give their lives in loyalty and good faith and each perform their duties. They can all be driven forward together, so that the court of a sage and enlightened ruler does not acquire the reputation of having officials who monopolize power.

三官任一臣，非周公旦之忠，又非管夷吾之公，則有弄機敗官之弊。當今柱石之士雖少，至於行稱一州，智效一官，忠信竭命，各奉其職，可並驅策，不使聖明之朝有專吏之名也。

The edict said, “Ministers of backbone are what a ruler relies on. Jiang Ji’s talents combine the civil and the military; he serves diligently and exerts himself to the utmost in integrity, and whenever there is a great matter of war or state he submits his views. His loyalty is fervent, and I highly admire it.” He was promoted in place to General Protector of the Army, with the added post of Cavalier Attendant-in-Ordinary.

詔曰：「夫骨鯁之臣，人主之所仗也。濟才兼文武，服勤盡節，每軍國大事，輒有奏議，忠誠奮發，吾甚壯之。」就遷為護軍將軍，加散騎常侍。¹

In the Jingchu era, with military campaigns and labor service abroad and palace building at home, many men and women were left without spouses and resentful, and the harvests were poor. Jiang Ji submitted a memorial which said: Your Majesty is about to enlarge and exalt the achievements of your forebears and bring glory and completion to the legacy you inherited; this is truly not a time to govern with a high pillow. Although we now have twelve provinces, the population is no more than that of a single large commandery in Han times. The two rebels have not been destroyed; troops have long been stationed on the frontiers, farming and fighting at once, and the resentment of those without spouses has accumulated over years. In the ancestral temples and the palaces every task is only now being begun; those who farm and raise silkworms are few, while those who must be clothed and fed are many. What is urgent now is simply to stop wearing down the people, so that they do not become utterly exhausted.

景初中，外勤征役，內務宮室，怨曠者多，而年穀飢儉。濟上疏曰：陛下方當恢崇前緒，光濟遺業，誠未得高枕而治也。今雖有十二州，至於民數，不過漢時一大郡。二賊未誅，宿兵邊陲，且耕且戰，怨曠積年。宗廟宮室，百事草創，農桑者少，衣食者多，今其所急，唯當息耗百姓，不至甚弊。

An exhausted and worn-out people, should they meet with flood or drought, would be of no use to the state even if they numbered a million. Whenever the people are employed, it must be in the slack season of farming, so as not to rob them of their time. A ruler who wishes to undertake great works first gauges the strength of his people and warms and rests them. Goujian nurtured births so as to have men to use later, and King Zhao tended the sick in order to avenge his wrongs; thus weak Yan subdued mighty Qi and feeble Yue destroyed powerful Wu. Now the two enemies will not be destroyed unless attacked, and if we do nothing they will invade; if they are not removed in your own time, it will be a reproach for a hundred generations.

弊攰之民，儻有水旱，百萬之眾，不為國用。凡使民必須農隙，不奪其時。夫欲大興功之君，先料其民力而燠休之。句踐養胎以待用，昭王卹病以雪仇，故能以弱燕服強齊，羸越滅勁吳。今二敵不攻不滅，不事即侵，當身不除，百世之責也。

With Your Majesty’s sage, enlightened, divine, and martial strategy, if you set aside what is not pressing and devote your mind to attacking the rebels, I believe there will be no difficulty. Moreover, indulgence in pleasure harms the vital spirit; the spirit used too much is exhausted, and the body worked too hard is worn out. I pray that you will choose widely among the worthy and excellent, enough to provide for the “hundred sons,” and send out all the superfluous ones who have not yet been ranked, striving for purity and quiet.

以陛下聖明神武之略，捨其緩者，專心討賊，臣以為無難矣。又歡娛之耽，害於精爽；神太用則竭，形太勞則弊。願大簡賢妙，足以充『百斯男』者。其冗散未齒，且悉分出，務在清靜。

The edict said, “Were it not for the Protector of the Army, I would never have heard these words."

詔曰：「微護軍，吾弗聞斯言也。」¹

When the King of Qi took the throne, Jiang Ji was transferred to General Commanding the Army, his rank was raised to Marquis of Changlingting, and he was promoted to Grand Commandant.

齊王即位，徙為領軍將軍，進爵昌陵亭侯，¹遷太尉。

Earlier, the Palace Attendant Gaotang Long, discussing the suburban sacrifices, held that Wei was descended from Shun and proposed that Shun be honored as co-recipient of the sacrifice to Heaven. Jiang Ji held that Shun’s original surname was Gui and that his descendants were the Tian, not the ancestors of the Cao, and he wrote a piece refuting Gaotang Long.

初，侍中高堂隆論郊祀事，以魏為舜後，推舜配天。濟以為舜本姓媯，其苗曰田，非曹之先，著文以追詰隆。¹

At this time Cao Shuang held power exclusively, and Ding Mi, Deng Yang, and others lightly altered the laws and institutions. When a solar eclipse occurred, an edict asked the officials about the successes and failures of government, and Jiang Ji submitted a memorial which said: In ancient times, when the great Shun assisted in government, the warning was against forming cliques; when the Duke of Zhou aided the government, he was careful about factions. When the Marquis of Qi asked about a calamity, Yan Ying answered that he should spread his bounty; when the Lord of Lu asked about a portent, Zangsun replied that he should lighten labor service. Responding to Heaven and forestalling portents truly lies in human affairs. Now the two rebels have not been destroyed, officers and men have been exposed in the field for several decades, men and women live without spouses in resentment, and the common people are poor and suffering.

是時，曹爽專政，丁謐、鄧颺等輕改法度。會有日蝕變，詔羣臣問其得失，濟上疏曰：昔大舜佐治，戒在比周；周公輔政，慎於其朋；齊侯問災，晏嬰對以布惠；魯君問異，臧孫答以緩役。應天塞變，乃實人事。今二賊未滅，將士暴露已數十年，男女怨曠，百姓貧苦。

The laws and institutions of a state can be laid out as a framework and handed down to posterity only by a great talent of his age; how can they be fit to be changed by officials of middling or lower rank? In the end it brings no benefit to government and only harms the people. I hope that the civil and military officials may each be made to keep to his duties and be led by purity and fairness; then harmonious vapors and auspicious omens may be moved to appear.

夫為國法度，惟命世大才，乃能張其綱維以垂於後，豈中下之吏所宜改易哉？終無益於治，適足傷民，望宜使文武之臣各守其職，率以清平，則和氣祥瑞可感而致也。

Because he had accompanied the Grand Tutor Sima Yi in holding the pontoon bridge on the Luo River when Cao Shuang and his associates were executed, he was raised to Chief District Marquis, with a fief of seven hundred households. Jiang Ji submitted a memorial: “I was unworthily favored with a high office, yet Cao Shuang dared to harbor treacherous designs; this shows my incompetence. The Grand Tutor exerted himself with a plan of sole decision, Your Majesty recognized his loyalty, and the guilty have been executed. This is the good fortune of the altars of state. Enfeoffments, favors, and rewards must be given to those who have merit. Yet as for the planning, I did not know of it beforehand, and as for the fighting, it was not I who led the troops. If those above lose their standards, those below suffer the harm.

以隨太傅司馬宣王屯洛水浮橋，誅曹爽等，進封都鄉侯，邑七百戶。濟上疏曰：「臣忝寵上司，而爽敢苞藏禍心，此臣之無任也。太傅奮獨斷之策，陛下明其忠節，罪人伏誅，社稷之福也。夫封寵慶賞，必加有功。今論謀則臣不先知，語戰則非臣所率，而上失其制，下受其弊。

I hold the office of a chief minister, on whom the people all look; I truly fear that a trend toward undeserved rewards will begin from this, and that the custom of yielding honors to others will thereby be abandoned.” He firmly declined, but was not permitted. He died that year and was given the posthumous name Marquis Jing. His son Jiang Xiu succeeded him. When Jiang Xiu died, his son Jiang Kai succeeded. In the Xianxi era, when the five ranks of nobility were established, because Jiang Ji had distinguished himself in meritorious service under the former dynasty, Jiang Kai’s fief was changed and he was made Viscount of Xiacai.

臣備宰司，民所具瞻，誠恐冒賞之漸自此而興，推讓之風由此而廢。」固辭，不許。¹是歲薨，諡曰景侯。²子秀嗣。秀薨，子凱嗣。咸熙中，開建五等，以濟著勳前朝，改封凱為下蔡子。

Liu Fang

劉放

Liu Fang, courtesy name Ziqi, was a man of Zhuo Commandery, a descendant of Liu Hong, Marquis of Xixiang, son of King Shun of Guangyang of the Han. He served in the commandery as a senior clerk and was recommended as Filial and Incorrupt. He met with the great disorder of the age; at that time Wang Song of Yuyang held that territory, and Liu Fang went to attach himself to him. When Taizu conquered Ji Province, Liu Fang advised Wang Song: In the past, when Dong Zhuo rebelled, heroes rose up together, relying on their troops and issuing commands at will, each building up his own power. Only Lord Cao has been able to rescue the realm from danger and disorder and to support and uphold the Emperor; carrying out the imperial word, he punishes the guilty, and wherever he goes he is victorious.

劉放字子棄，涿郡人，漢廣陽順王子西鄉侯宏後也。歷郡綱紀，舉孝廉。遭世大亂，時漁陽王松據其土，放往依之。太祖克冀州，放說松曰：往者董卓作逆，英雄並起，阻兵擅命，人自封殖，惟曹公能拔拯危亂，翼戴天子，奉辭伐罪，所向必克。

Even with the strength of the two Yuans, when they defended, Huainan melted like ice, and when they fought, they were utterly defeated at Guandu. Riding his victories and sweeping all before him, he is about to clear the lands north of the Yellow River; his authority and his punishments now go together, and the general trend is plain to see. Those who come quickly will gradually receive blessings, while those who submit late will be the first to perish. This is a time to gallop forward without waiting for the day to end. In the past Qing Bu gave up the dignity of facing south as a ruler and, sword in hand, went over to the Han; he truly understood the principles of rise and fall and discerned when to go and when to stay. You, General, should give yourself up and entrust your fate to him, binding yourself closely to him.

以二袁之強，守則淮南冰消，戰則官渡大敗；乘勝席捲，將清河朔，威刑既合，大勢以見。速至者漸福，後服者先亡，此乃不俟終日馳騖之時也。昔黥布棄南面之尊，仗劍歸漢，誠識廢興之理，審去就之分也。將軍宜投身委命，厚自結納。

Wang Song agreed. Just then Taizu was attacking Yuan Tan at Nanpi and sent a letter summoning Wang Song, and Wang Song brought over Yongnu, Quanzhou, and Anci to join him. Liu Fang wrote Wang Song’s reply to Taizu, and its prose was very fine. Taizu admired it, and when he also heard of Liu Fang’s advice, he therefore summoned Liu Fang to office. In the tenth year of Jian'an, Liu Fang came with Wang Song. Taizu was delighted and said to Liu Fang, “Long ago Ban Biao attached himself to Dou Rong and achieved merit in Hexi. How very alike this is!"

松然之。會太祖討袁譚於南皮，以書招松，松舉雍奴、泉州、安次以附之。放為松答太祖書，其文甚麗。太祖既善之，又聞其說，由是遂辟放。建安十年，與松俱至。太祖大悅，謂放曰：「昔班彪依竇融而有河西之功，今一何相似也！」

He then made Liu Fang Army Adviser to the Minister of Works; Liu Fang served successively as Registrar and as Recorder, and was sent out as Magistrate of Heyang, Duiyu, and Zan.

乃以放參司空軍事，歷主簿記室，出為郃陽、祋祤、¹贊令。

When the state of Wei was established, he and Sun Zi of Taiyuan both became Gentlemen of the Secretarial Office. Before this, Sun Zi had also served as a county magistrate and as Army Adviser to the Chancellor.

魏國既建，與太原孫資俱為秘書郎。先是，資亦歷縣令，參丞相軍事。¹

When Emperor Wen took the throne, Liu Fang and Sun Zi were transferred to be Assistants of the Left and Right. After a few months Liu Fang was moved up to be Prefect. At the beginning of Huangchu, the Secretarial Office was renamed the Palace Secretariat; Liu Fang was made its Supervisor and Sun Zi its Prefect, each with the additional post of Supplementary Attendant within the Palace. Liu Fang was granted the rank of Marquis Within the Passes and Sun Zi that of Marquis of Guanzhong, and thereafter they were in charge of confidential affairs. In the third year, Liu Fang’s rank was raised to Marquis of Weishouting and Sun Zi became Marquis Within the Passes. When Emperor Ming took the throne, they enjoyed particular favor and trust, and both were given the additional post of Cavalier Attendant-in-Ordinary; Liu Fang’s rank was raised to Marquis of Xixiang and Sun Zi’s to Marquis of Leyangting.

文帝即位，放、資轉為左右丞。數月，放徙為令。黃初初，改秘書為中書，以放為監，資為令，各加給事中；放賜爵關內侯，資為關中侯，遂掌機密。三年，放進爵魏壽亭侯，資關內侯。明帝即位，尤見寵任，同加散騎常侍；進放爵西鄉侯，資樂陽亭侯。¹

At the end of Taihe, Wu sent its general Zhou He across the sea to Liaodong to entice Gongsun Yuan. The Emperor wished to intercept and attack him, but most of the court opinion held that it could not be done. Only Sun Zi resolved on a plan to act, and indeed the enemy was heavily defeated; his rank was raised to Marquis of Zuoxiang. Liu Fang was skilled at writing letters and proclamations, and most of the edicts and commands of the three imperial Ancestors that called on others to submit were written by him. At the beginning of Qinglong, Sun Quan allied with Zhuge Liang, intending that they should both advance and raid. When the border scouts captured a letter from Sun Quan, Liu Fang altered its wording, replacing the original text in many places and fitting it together so that it read as though addressed to Man Chong, General Who Conquers the East, expressing a wish to submit; he then had it sealed and shown to Zhuge Liang.

太和末，吳遣將周賀浮海詣遼東，招誘公孫淵。帝欲邀討之，朝議多以為不可。惟資決行策，果大破之，進爵左鄉侯。¹放善為書檄，三祖詔命有所招喻，多放所為。青龍初，孫權與諸葛亮連和，欲俱出為寇。邊候得權書，放乃改易其辭，往往換其本文而傅合之，與征東將軍滿寵，若欲歸化，封以示亮。

Zhuge Liang passed it on to Wu’s senior general Bu Zhi and others, and Bu Zhi and the others showed it to Sun Quan. Sun Quan, afraid that Zhuge Liang would suspect him, went to great lengths to explain himself. That year Liu Fang and Sun Zi were both given the additional posts of Palace Attendant and Grand Master of Splendid Happiness. In the second year of Jingchu, when Liaodong was pacified, for their contribution to the planning each was raised in rank and enfeoffed in his home county: Liu Fang as Marquis of Fangcheng and Sun Zi as Marquis of Zhongdu.

亮騰與吳大將步騭等，騭等以見權。權懼亮自疑，深自解說。是歲，俱加侍中、光祿大夫。¹景初二年，遼東平定，以參謀之功，各進爵，封本縣，放方城侯，資中都侯。

That year the Emperor fell ill and wished to make Cao Yu, King of Yan, Grand General, to assist in the government together with Xiahou Xian, General Commanding the Army, Cao Shuang, General of the Martial Guard, Cao Zhao, Colonel of Garrison Cavalry, and Qin Lang, General of Valiant Cavalry. Cao Yu, being respectful and good-natured by temperament, sincerely and firmly declined. The Emperor summoned Liu Fang and Sun Zi into his bedchamber and asked, “Is the King of Yan truly like this?” Liu Fang and Sun Zi replied, “It is only that the King of Yan knows himself to be unequal to so great a responsibility."

其年，帝寢疾，欲以燕王宇為大將軍，及領軍將軍夏侯獻、武衛將軍曹爽、屯騎校尉曹肇、驍騎將軍秦朗共輔政。宇性恭良，陳誠固辭。帝引見放、資，入臥內，問曰：「燕王正爾為？」放、資對曰：「燕王實自知不堪大任故耳。」

The Emperor said, “Could Cao Shuang take Cao Yu’s place?” Liu Fang and Sun Zi thereupon endorsed him. They also urged strongly that the Grand Commandant Sima Yi should be summoned quickly to hold together the imperial house. The Emperor accepted their advice and at once handed Liu Fang yellow paper to write the edict. After Liu Fang and Sun Zi had gone out, the Emperor changed his mind again and issued an edict halting Sima Yi and telling him not to come. Soon afterward he saw Liu Fang and Sun Zi again and said, “I myself meant to summon the Grand Commandant, but Cao Zhao and the others made me stop him instead. They nearly ruined my plans!"

帝曰：「曹爽可代宇不？」放、資因贊成之。又深陳宜速召太尉司馬宣王，以綱維皇室。帝納其言，即以黃紙授放作詔。放、資既出，帝意復變，詔止宣王勿使來。尋更見放、資曰：「我自召太尉，而曹肇等反使吾止之，幾敗吾事！」

He ordered the edict rewritten, and the Emperor summoned only Cao Shuang to receive the edict together with Liu Fang and Sun Zi; Cao Yu, Xiahou Xian, Cao Zhao, and Qin Lang were then dismissed from office. The Grand Commandant also arrived, mounted the couch to receive the edict, and after that the Emperor died.

命更為詔，帝獨召爽與放、資俱受詔命，遂免宇、獻、肇、朗官。太尉亦至，登床受詔，然後帝崩。¹

When the King of Qi took the throne, because Liu Fang and Sun Zi had decided the great plan, their fiefs were increased by three hundred households, bringing Liu Fang’s to eleven hundred in all and Sun Zi’s to a thousand. One favorite son of each was enfeoffed as a village marquis, a second son was made Chief Commandant of Cavalry, and all the other sons became Gentlemen of the Palace. In the first year of Zhengshi, Liu Fang was further given the post of Grand Master of Splendid Happiness of the Left and Sun Zi that of the Right, with gold seals and purple ribbons, and ceremonial status equal to the Three Excellencies. In the sixth year Liu Fang was transferred to General of Swift Cavalry and Sun Zi to General of the Guards, while keeping their posts as Supervisor and Prefect as before.

齊王即位，以放、資決定大謀，增邑三百，放並前千一百，資千戶；封愛子一人亭侯，次子騎都尉，餘子皆郎中。正始元年，更加放左光祿大夫，資右光祿大夫，金印紫綬，儀同三司。六年，放轉驃騎，資衛將軍，領監、令如故。

In the seventh year another son of each was enfeoffed as a village marquis. Both, being old, resigned their posts and attended court on the first and fifteenth days of the month as full marquises, with the rank of Specially Advanced. After Cao Shuang was executed, Sun Zi was again made Palace Attendant and concurrently Prefect of the Palace Secretariat. In the second year of Jiaping, Liu Fang died and was given the posthumous name Marquis Jing. His son Liu Zheng succeeded him. Sun Zi again resigned and returned to his residence, where he was appointed General of Swift Cavalry; he was then transferred to Palace Attendant, remaining Specially Advanced as before. He died in the third year and was given the posthumous name Marquis Zhen. His son Sun Hong succeeded him.

七年，復封子一人亭侯，各年老遜位，以列侯朝朔望，位特進。¹曹爽誅後，復以資為侍中，領中書令。嘉平二年，放薨，諡曰敬侯。子正嗣。²資復遜位歸第，就拜驃騎將軍，轉侍中，特進如故。三年薨，諡曰貞侯。子宏嗣。

Liu Fang was superior to Sun Zi in talent and planning, but inferior in self-cultivation. Both were adept at complying with the sovereign’s wishes and never openly spoke of what was right or wrong; they held down Xin Pi and helped Wang Si, and for this they were criticized in their time. Yet at times, when other officials remonstrated, they would support and endorse their arguments, and they also often privately set out the gains and losses of policies, so it is said that they did not merely lead the sovereign with flattery. In the Xianxi era, when the five ranks of nobility were established, because Liu Fang and Sun Zi had distinguished themselves in meritorious service under the former dynasty, Liu Zheng’s fief was changed to Viscount of Fangcheng and Sun Hong’s to Viscount of Lishi.

放才計優資，而自脩不如也。放、資既善承順主上，又未嘗顯言得失，抑辛毗而助王思，以是獲譏於世。然時因羣臣諫諍，扶贊其義，並時密陳損益，不專導諛言云。及咸熙中，開建五等，以放、資著勳前朝，改封正方城子，宏離石子。¹

Appraisal

評論

Appraisal: Cheng Yu, Guo Jia, Dong Zhao, Liu Ye, and Jiang Ji were extraordinary men of their age in talent, strategy, and planning. Though in upright administration and virtuous achievement they differed from Xun You, in devising plans and foreseeing outcomes they were of his kind. Liu Fang with his writing and Sun Zi with his diligence and caution together served as the throat and tongue of the throne, and their power was renowned in their day; but refinement and integrity were not in their nature, and so the voices of censure against them always exceeded the truth.

評曰：程昱、郭嘉、董昭、劉曄、蔣濟才策謀略，世之奇士，雖清治德業，殊於荀攸，而籌畫所料，是其倫也。劉放文翰，孫資勤慎，並管喉舌，權聞當時，雅亮非體，是故譏諛之聲，每過其實矣。