Zizhi Tongjian: The Jin Dynasty (Part 2)

[Lady Wu]

336 - Murong Huang’s Icy Adventure, whee!

1. Missing 前此海未嘗凍

3. 張英之俘二使也 referring to his capturing the envoys from Yuwen and Duan factions. So when Murong Ren found out that Murong Huang was sending a force there, he’s like revenge time!

慕容軍帥所部降於皝 Murong Jun led his men to defect to Murong Huang

然後賜仁死: another case of forced suicide

5. Feng Ji was sent with: should be “Feng Yi”

7. 坦慨然曰：「大丈夫將終，不問以濟國安民之術，乃為兒女子相泣邪！」冰深謝之。= Kong Tan said with great passion (慨然), “How can a man, when approaching a deathbed, not ask about the way to strengthen the nation and help the people, but instead weep like children?” Yu Bing apologized greatly. (謝 more often than not means “to apologize” in the language of this time)

10. Li Qi sure was a nice guy.

12. “King Friendly to Zhao”: Finally, a descriptive title!

13. “precious women”: Not sure where the precious comes from or how that fits... wouldn’t just “daughters of both gentry and common families” work?

置女太史，及雜伎工巧，皆與外同: He created the position of female hisotorian, and positions for all kinds of skills and trades, mirroring the jobs of the outside world.

鹵簿 = ceremonial guard for when the emperor travels

執羽儀，鳴鼓吹，游宴以自隨。= they carried the imperial insignia and sounded (鳴) the drums and horns, and Shi Hu had them follow him when he travelled for pleasure.

粟二鬥 = probably meaning 2斗 : one catty of gold for two pecks of grain

百姓嗷然 = the people were in great distress (嗷然= crying and moaning in distress)

而虎用兵不息，百役並興 = and yet Shi Hu waged war (用兵) incessantly (不息), and ran all kinds of labour (construction?) projects. (there’s nothing about people being pacified)

翁仲 = statue of a giant

鐘虡 = bronze bell stand decorated with wild animals

飛廉 = deer/bird hybrid

(maybe you can just say “he had a bunch of heavy overweight bronze items shipped to Ye“?)

造萬斛之舟以濟之 = A 10,000-斛 (volume unit) boat was made to transport it.

投石於河 : I think rocks would be more effective, but this being Shi Hu I dunno.

於鄴南投石於河，以作飛橋，功費數千萬億，橋竟不成，役夫饑甚，乃止。: Should be broken up like: “He had rocks cast into the river south of Ye, in order to make a flying bridge. It cost billions, but the bridge could not be completed. Meanwhile, the labourers were starving, so the project was stopped.”

復為權豪所奪，民無所得: But [the food] was seized by the rich and powerful, so the people ended up with nothing.

中國 = the term really more generally refers to the Chinese heartland, mainly the lands between the Yellow and the Yangtze Rivers. More a term of geography than politics.

商賈= probably “merchants”

後至林邑: referring just to Pham Van

或...或...: either... or... ; here it should be “The sons either were exiled or fled on their own”

椰酒: Pina colada?

[Lady Wu]

337: Shi Sui tries to get ahead, fails.

1. 南郊 : the countryside south of the capital city. Traditionally where all the imperial sacrifices and ceremonies took place.
and issuing a general pardon: Poor Chenggong Duan missed it

2. 浸安: gradually (浸) becomes stable. They’re saying, since it’s now getting more and more stable east of the River, let’s build some schools.

徵集生徒: recruited students

而士大夫習尚老、莊，儒術終不振。= But the gentry class practised (習) and favoured (尚) the teachings of Daoism (Laozi and Zhuangzi), and Confucianism did not flourish (不振).

3. 好城 I think this is a proper noun.

4. 段疾陸眷及遼五世 = [...] five rulers, from Duan Jilujuan to Duan Liao

皆見尊禮 = Just “they all respected him”. 尊 doesn’t necessary refer to seniority here.

親仁善鄰 = Being friendly to those nearby and kind to neighbouring nations

況慕容氏與我世婚，迭為甥舅: Furthermore (況), the Murongs have been intermarrying with us for generations (世婚), and we’ve been each others in-laws (迭 = taking turns, one after another; i.e., we take turns to become father-in-law to the other side)

而我與之構怨 = but we created animosity against him

利不補害 = the benefits do not make up for the evils

社稷之憂 = concerns over the (fall of the) dynasty; i.e., we’ll have to start worrying about the dynasty falling.

兩追前失 = to repent (追) our two past transgressions (前失)

5. Oooooh boy.

故使朕得至此= [because the Simas fought each other,] I got to where I am.

洗血置盤上 = wash the blood off the heads and place them on a plate [then passed the head around for the guests to look at]
I really wouldn’t want to be on Shi Sui’s party invite list.

官家難稱 = The emperor (官家—I saw this used in this sense in Song dynasty stuff a lot, but didn’t know it started this early! Neat!) is difficult to please (稱 – in current usage we still have 稱心, meaning something that fits what your heart desires).

冒頓 = Modu, the Xiongnu ruler who killed his father and built the Xiongnu empire

伏不敢對 = prostrated (伏) and did not dare to answer

視事 = to manage affairs

別捨 I think should be 別舍。 Shi Sui led 500 or so riders to go drink at Li Yan’s... cottage? (secondary abode anyway, not his main house).

有不從者斬 = I’ll take the head of whoever doesn’t follow me! (he’s really into heads, wasn’t he)

邃亦昏醉而歸 = Shi Sui was passing out from drink, so they went home.

數往 = to go often, to go repeatedly

虎將視邃疾，思澄言而還 = Shi Hu was about to (將 = about to) go check on Shi Sui, but remembered FTD’s words and went back (還) (i.e. he changed his mind)
Poor Li Yan, he didn’t even agree to Shi Sui’s plan!

幽邃於東宮，既而赦之，引見太武東堂. = Shi Hu detained (幽, especially in a palace context, means to keep someone detained in a place without right to see the emperor or go anywhere) Shi Sui in the Eastern Palace. Later on (既而), he pardoned him, and had him brought out (引) for an audience (見) in the eastern wing of Taiwu Palace.

邃朝而不謝，俄頃即出 = Shi Sui did obeisance (朝) but did not apologize (謝, see earlier note), and left after just a moment (俄頃).

中宮 = the empress’s palace. “The crown prince should go pay respects to the empress. How could he just leave like that?”

男女二十六人 = I don’t think they had 26 children. I think it’s just some 26 people who happened to be around or related, like servants or concubines or whatnot.

6. 雲從大秦國來，當王小秦國 = He claimed to be from Daqin, and thus should be king of the lesser Qin (i.e. China)

7. 輔政 = to support the government (which makes more sense for Cao/Sima, but a bit of an euphemism in Murong Huang’s case...)

8. 侵 = not just encroach, more like raid

乞師 = to beg for an army

自請盡帥國中之眾以會之 = volunteered to lead every last troop in his state to fight along with them. (I don’t see the bit about dividing up Duan’s land)

9. 納拓跋翳槐於大寧 = I think it’s the other way round: he brought Tuoba Yihuai over from Daning (and most of his tribes joined him)

並有其眾 = took over (並 is probably a mistaken traditionalization (?) for 并, as in 吞併) his (其, referring to Yang Yi) soldiers

[Lady Wu]

338: The year of the long letters

2. 將追之 = was about to pursue them. (將 = planning to, about to)

當並力御之 = we should put our forces all together to defend against them

而更與燕鬥 = but now instead we changed to fighting with Yan

燕王自將而來 = the Prince of Yan is leading (將 = to lead) them here himself

若萬一失利，將何以御南敵乎 = in case we cannot overcome them, with what will be defend the south?

吾前為卿所誤，以成今日之患 = Because you misled me last time, we are now faced with this disaster.

3. 恥於迎降耳 = It’s just that he’s ashamed of surrendering.

我固苦心 = As much as I had wanted to help you (can’t really find an equivalent expression... this is close enough I guess)

4. 乞特真 Duan Liao’s son is Duan Qitezhen

7. 而籍沒其資財、婦女= and confiscated (籍沒) their wealth and women.

8. 積年不除喪 = kept his mourning garb on all those years

豈徒脫今日之禍而已 = It will go beyond just saving yourself from the disaster at hand. (literally: How will that not be beyond simply escaping from today’s disaster?)

解思明 = Xie Siming (解 is xie4 when a family name)

許賞以城中財物 = promised them the wealth within the city

不意其至= was not expecting his arrival

10. 朝聞道，夕死可矣 = “If one hears of the Truth in the morning, he may die content that evening.” (i.e. YOLO)

公、卿、州、郡，悉用其僚佐代之 = All the lords, ministers, and local officers were replaced with Li Shou’s confidants.

皆見疏斥 = were all distanced and ostracized

不如死 = I might as well die!

11. 罷六卿，納言，常伯，冗騎常侍官 = I’m not sure about this one. It seems to mean he dismissed(罷) those positions, but how would that make sense?

12. 營丘內史鮮於屈亦遣使降趙。武寧令廣平孫興曉諭吏民共收屈，數其罪而殺之，閉城拒守: Xianyu Qu sent an envoy to Zhao to offer surrender. Sun Xing rallied the people to apprehend Xianyu Qu, and, reading out a list of his crimes, he had Qu killed. Then he closed the city gates for defense.

樂浪太守鞠彭以境內皆叛，選鄉里壯士二百餘人共還棘城: Ju Peng, considering how everyone else in the realm had gone over to the enemy, picked 200 or so of doughty men from the countryside to go with him to Jicheng.

13. 出亡 = to flee

一舉足 = as soon as you leave

使趙人收略國民，兵強谷足，不可復敵 = and Zhao will be able to take over all the people of our state, and come to have strong army and plenty of grain. Then we will never be able to defeat them again.

今固守堅城，其勢百倍，縱其急攻，猶足支持，觀形察變，間出求利。如事之不濟，不失於走，奈何望風委去，為必亡之理乎 = Now, if we hold fast to this well-defended city, we will be a hundred times stronger than they are. Even if they press on the attack, we will still have enough to defend ourselves. Then we can observe the circumstances and find an opportunity to turn the tides to our advantage. And if that fails at the end, there is still time to flee then. Why would you flee upon hearing of their coming, and suppose that you would definitely lose?

事之安危，繫於一人 = The outcome of this situation hangs on you alone.

大王此際無所推委，當自強以厲將士 = At this time, you must not pass the responsibility to someone else, but rather strengthen your resolve in order to hearten the soldiers.

攻守勢異 = their role has shifted from being the attackers to being the defenders.

頓兵積日，釁隙自生 = after encamping here for long, division will arise naturally among them.

16. 拓境至凡城 = he expanded his territory to Fancheng.

皝賞鞠彭、慕輿根等而治諸叛者，誅滅甚眾= Murong Huang rewarded Ju Peng and Muyu Gen, and punished the defectors, and many were to be executed.

功曹劉翔為之申理，多所全活: Liu Xiang put up a defence for them (the rebels), and saved a great number of them.

20. 豈罪己之意邪！司隸不進讜言，佐朕不逮，而欲妄陷無辜，可白衣領職 = How would that reflect my contrition? The Director of Retainers fails to admonish me with upright words, and thus has failed in his duty in aiding me. Instead, he intends to punish the innocent. Let him remain in his post as a commoner! (白衣領職 = stripping an official of their rank, thus making them a commoner, but keeping them in their job. A less severe punishment than outright firing them.)

21. 私樹恩澤 = granted favours in his own name (i.e., making people indebted to him and thus obliged to help him)

“The two Guis”... cute!

22. 罷司徒官以並丞相府 = removed the position of Minister over the Masses, and combined his staff with that of the Prime Minister’s.

主上自八九歲以及成人 = Our lord, from when he was eight or nine until he came of age,

讀書無從受音句，顧問未嘗遇君子= He has not had a proper teacher, nor has he met an honest man to advise him. (音句 = to learn the proper pronunciation of words and where the punctuation went)

秦政欲愚其黔首，天下猶知不可，況欲愚其主哉！= When the Qin administration intended to keep the populace stupid, the realm knew it was not a good policy. How much more [should they object to] keeping its lord stupid!

復子明辟 = this is a set phrase meaning “returning the power to someone”, not about Emperor Ming

不稽首歸政，甫居師傅之尊，多養無賴之士 = “Instead of humbly returning the authority to him, as soon as he was honoured as an elder, he kept a horde of miscreants.

公與下官並荷托付之重，大奸不掃 = “Sir, you and I were both entrusted with the task of supporting the emperor. If you do not sweep away this great evil,

先帝 = I think it’s just the current emperor’s pappy.

悠悠之談，宜絕智者之口 = This kind of idle talk should stop at the mouth of the wise.

宜善事之 = you must be nice to him.

王公常有世外之懷，豈肯為凡人事邪 = Lord Wang has a lofty mind; how would he do such a prosaic thing?

此必佞邪之徒欲間內外耳 = This must be the work of some slanderous man trying to cause division.

而遙執朝廷之權 = He wielded the power of the court from afar.

既據上流 = literally “encamped by the upper reaches of the river”

趣勢者多歸之 = “those who were career-driven all flocked to him.”

充以時俗崇尚浮虛，乃著《學箴》= Chong penned the “Learned Admonishments” upon seeing how the popular custom promoted vain and empty things (Daoism)

以為老子云「絕仁棄義，民復孝慈，」豈仁義之道絕，然後孝慈乃生哉？蓋患乎情仁義者寡，而利仁義者眾，將寄責於聖人而遣累乎陳跡也。凡人見形者眾，及道者鮮，逐跡逾篤，離本逾遠。= He considered Laozi’s saying “[blahblah]” hardly means that only after benevolence and righteousness are exterminated that people will be filial and kind. It’s probably because those who truly worry about benevolence and righteousness are few, but those who abuse that for their benefit are many; therefore, [Laozi] took to laying the blame on the sages and ascribing the problem to old issues. There are many people who see the external appearance of things, but those who understand the inner workings are few. The more zealously one follows the sages’ path, the farther one gets away from their core teachings.

故作《學箴》以祛其蔽曰：「名之攸彰，道之攸廢；及損所隆，乃崇所替。非仁無以長物，非義無以齊恥，仁義固不可遠，去其害仁義者而已。」= Therefore, he wrote the “Learned Admonishments” to correct the erroneous thinking, in which he said, “That which advance’s one’s own reputation [or position] is what causes the Way to be diminished. Only by reducing the desire to pursue vanity can one elevate the Way [literally: that which the vanity had replaced]. Without benevolence, nothing can grow; without righteousness, no one can agree on what should be shameful. We must not distance ourselves from benevolence and righteousness, but rather remove whatever that is harming those virtues.

23. 從兄廣漢太守乾 = Should be Li Qian

告大臣謀廢立 = reported that the ministers were planning to depose the emperor

廣與大臣盟於前殿 = Guang and the ministers to swear a pact in the front palace

24. 陛下起兵之初，上指星辰，昭告天地，歃血盟眾，舉國稱籓，天應人悅，大功克集。而論者未諭，權宜稱制。= When your Majesty first raised troops, you swore on the stars and announced your plans to the world. You made a blood-pact with all those there and offered your whole state as a vassal of Jin. As it was in accordance with Heaven’s will and the people’s desire, you were ultimately successful in your endeavor. However, some, not understand the circumstances, advised you to take the imperial title.

愚謂宜遵前盟，推奉建康，彼必不愛高爵重位以報大功 = My humble opinion is that you should honour the initial pact and submit to Jiankang. They will certainly not begrudge (愛 = to be stingy with, to be reluctant to give away) a high rank to repay you for your deed.

而子孫無窮，永保福祚，不亦休哉 = your descendants will forever and ever be guaranteed good fortune. Would that not be a happy (休) thing?

論者或言二州附晉則榮，六郡人事之不便。昔公孫述在蜀，羈客用事，劉備在蜀，楚士多貴。及吳、鄧西伐，舉國屠滅，寧分客主！= People have been saying that while those from the two provinces will prosper from submitting to Jin, those from the six commandaries may have difficulties in their careers. Formerly, when Gongsun Shu was in Shu, the outsiders ran the show; when Liu Bei was in Shu, those from Chu (Jingzhou) were the ones who were elevated. But when Wu Han adn Deng Ai marched west against them, everyone in theri states were slaughtered, regardless of their place of origin!

論者不達安固之基，苟惜名位，以為劉氏守令方仕州郡；曾不知彼乃國亡主易，豈同今日義舉，主榮臣顯哉！= Those offering that opinion do not understand the basics of stability and security, and care only for their reputation and positions. They think, Liu Bei’s people got jobs running the provinces and commandaries, but they forget that their state was overthrown and their ruler lost. That cannot be compared with the righteous task you undergo today, which will bring glory to you, the ruler, and honour to your subordinates!

臣蒙陛下大恩，恣臣所安 = Your Majesty has granted me the benevolence of allowing me to do as I please

26. 百僚宜為降禮 = the ministers ought to kowtow to him

理無偏敬 = there is no reason to honour him particularly

不識時務 = I do not know what’s the right thing to do in these circumstances

既而告人 = Later on, he confided to another

吾聞伐國不問仁人，向馮祖思問佞於我，我豈有邪德乎 = I have heard it said that when planning an invasion, one does not ask for advice from a compassionate man. But the Feng Huai asked for my advice on ingratiation. Am I actually a wicked man?

修己而天不與者，命也；守道而人不知者，性也 = If you cultivate yourself (more accurately, live a healthy lifestyle) and Heaven doesn’t grant you [longevity], that’s just your fate. But if you keep to the Way but people do not recognize you, it’s due to your nature. We each have our own appointed fate and nature; thre is no need to consult the tortoise shells.

27. 命諸大人立之 = [Shiyijian was a hostage in Zhao] he ordered the regents to make Shiyijian his heir

什翼犍在遠，來未可必；比其至，恐有變亂 = Shiyijian is far away, and may not be able to come. And by the time he gets here, there may be disorder already (more literally, the situation may be different)

自詣鄴迎什翼犍，請身留為質 = He went personally to Ye to bring Shiyijian back, and offered to stay as hostage.

趙王虎義而俱遣之 = Shi Hu praised his 義 and sent them both back.

and split the state in half with Tuoba Gu: Wow, finally an uplifting family story!

28. 拓跋氏寢衰 = the Tuobas gradually (寢) demised

能修祖業 = he could cultivate what his forebears left him

分掌眾務 = to handle different administrative matters

於是東自濊貊，西及破落那，南距陰山，北盡沙漠，率皆歸服 = From Yemaek in the East to Poluona in the west; from the Yinshan mountains in the south to the ends of the deserts in the north, all submitted to him.

32. 叱令起 = shouted at him and ordered him to get up

身是貴人，義不為小人所屈 = I am a noble person, and will not suffer to be humiliated by you scoundrels.

待遼以上賓之禮 = He treated Duan Liao as an honoured guest

[Lady Wu]

339: The year of lots of talking and not a lot of doing

2. 皆假節 = they were all granted the Imperial Staff of Power

惡 = to dislike (not necessarily evil). Yu Liang disliked Tao Cheng for being wily.

數稱前後罪惡 = he listed Tao Cheng’s transgressions from past to present

趣漢中 = to hurry towards Hanzhong

4. 為伐趙之規 = to prepare to invade Zhao

5. 時有否泰，道有屈伸 = Some situations are unfavourable while others are opportune, and the proper way to do things should be tailored to accommodate that (literally: The Way can be bent or stretched out).

自石勒舉事 = Since Shi Le’s rise

所據之地，同於魏世 = the territory they control is the same as what Wei had

虎挾嗣君 = Shi Hu controlled the next ruler

誅石聰如拾遺 = killed Shi Cong as easily as picking up something from the ground

取郭權如振槁 = took Guo Quan as easily as shaking dead leaves off a tree

論者 = People have argued...

6. 且石遇，偏師也，桓平北，邊將也 = Furthermore, Shi Yu leads an auxiliary division of Zhao, while Huan Xuan is a general guarding the border.

所爭者疆場之土，利則進，否則退，非所急也 = They are fighting to extend our respective borders, advancing when it is advantageous to do so, and retreating otherwise. It is not a matter for haste.

今征西以重鎮名賢... = Now, The General who Conquers the West, a famed general in charge of a major strategic point, wishes to personally lead an army to conquer the region south of the Yellow River. Of course Shi Hu would lead all his state’s forces to do battle with him.

豈得以襄陽為比哉！= How can this matter be compared with Xiangyang?

今征西欲與之戰，何如石生？若欲城守，何如金墉？欲阻沔水，何如大江？欲拒石虎，何如蘇峻？ = If the General wishes to offer battle, how does he compare with Shi Sheng? If he wishes to defend the city, how does the city compare with Jinyong? If he wants to use the Mian River as a defence, how does the river compare with the Yangzi? If he wants to repel Shi Hu, how does he compare with Su Jun?

又當是時，洛陽、關中皆舉兵擊虎，今此三鎮反為其用；方之於前，倍半之勢也。石生不能敵其半，而征西欲當其倍，愚所疑也 = And, back then, Luoyang and Guanzhong all rose against Shi Hu, but the three strongholds there are now on his side. Compared to then, Shi Hu now has double his troops. Shi Sheng was unable to defeat half of Shi Hu’s force then, but now General Yu wants to defeat double Shi Hu’s force now. This makes me wonder.
[Ministers: Stop it! We can’t keep up with the math!]

谷將熟，胡果至，丁夫戰於外，老弱獲於內，多持炬火，急則燒谷而走= As the grain was ready to be harvested, the barbarians came. The able-bodied fought them on the periphery, while the old and weak harvested the grain within, each carrying torches, for burning the remaining grain when they were pressed to flee.

今王土與胡，水陸異勢，便習不同；胡若送死，則敵之有餘，若棄江遠進，以我所短擊彼所長 = The barbarians and us hold different terrains and are adept at different kids of warfare. If the barbarians come attack us, we’d be more than able to defend against them. But if we abandon the Yangzi and push deep into their territory, and use what we’re least adept at to fight what they’re best at,

10. Duan Liao plotted rebellion against Yan: Well, that was fast.

11. 吾自先世以來，以遷徙為業 = For generations, our people have lead a nomadic existence.

12. 代人謂它國之民來附者皆為烏桓 = The Dai called all migrants to their territory “Wuhuan”

14. 建天子旌旗 = I think this is saying Shi Hu himself started to use imperial banners

16. 善因事就功 = He was good at achieving results by following the natural order of things.

雖無日用之益而歲計有餘 = Under his governance, even though the nation did not have daily surpluses, there was always more than enough to last the year.

倉無儲谷 = He had no stored grain in his warehouse

社稷無虞矣 = Then the state will be safe

加吏部尚書 = The 吏部尚書 position was added to his current rank.

17. 冰既當重任 = Since Yu Bing was appointed to that high position

賓禮朝賢，升擢後進 = He showed great respect to the wise men in the court, and promoted worthy people junior to him.

前相之賢，猶不堪其弘，況如吾者哉 = Even with Wang Dao’s sagacity, he was unable to keep up with that leniency; how much less can I?

頃天文錯度= Recently, the stars have not followed their natural course

冰好為糾察，近於繁細，後益矯違，復存寬縱，疏密自由，律令無用矣。= Yu Bing liked investigating into everything, to the point of being painstaking. But later, he overcorrected himself, and allowed himself to be overly lenient. As he would go from being strict to lenient on a whim, his laws were no longer abided to.

19. 疾篤 = became deathly/terminally ill

上疏乞骸骨 = He submitted a resignation petition

或逼遷徙 = Some of which were forced to relocate here

示以好惡，處與田宅 = taught them right from evil, and gave them fields and houses to settle in

聞臣疾篤，眾情駭動，若當北渡 = Learning of my grave illness, they were greatly shocked. If they do move back north,

素望所歸 = respected by all

20. 城壁相望 = the cities [are so close that they] can see each other’s walls

夫以白起... = Even with the heroism of Bai Qi etc., they still needed [to burn the boats and fight desperately...]

今欲停船水渚，引兵造城，前對堅敵，顧臨歸路，此兵法之所誡 = Now you plan to moor the boats along the shore and lead the troops to attack the city. The troops would then face a strong enemy to the front while seeing an open line of retreat behind them, which is a big no-no in military manuals.

懼桓子不知所為而舟中之指可掬也: 桓子 = Xun Linfu , a Jin (S&A) general who was defeated by Sunshu Ao of the Chu state. As he retreated to the river, his soldiers rushed to clamber onto the boats to cross back to the other side, cutting off the fingers of those who were already grabbing onto the boat, until there were so many severed fingers in the boats that you could scoop them up by the handful.

Here, Cai Mao was saying that he feared Chen Guang’s plan would end up like that.

今光所將皆殿中精兵 =光 is Chen Guang, not “clear”

宜令所向有征無戰 = it’s best to order them to go on campaigns, but not to engage in battle (I guess the idea is that they’d be good for running campaigns and raising morale and scaring the enemy that kind of thing, but it’d be a waste to use them as cannon fodder)

國之爪士擊寇之下邑 = Using the best fighters of the state to attack the least of the enemy’s cities

得之則利薄而不足損敵，失之則害重而足以益寇 = If we conquer it, our gain would be too slight to harm the enemy; if we lose the battle, then our losses will be sufficient to benefit the enemy.

懼非策之長者也 = I fear this is not the best of plans.

21. 言者不巳 = But people wouldn’t stop talking about it.

內無所倚 = It has no defensive advantage in and of itself

晉人貪利，夷不堪命，必引虜入寇 = If we the people of Jin try to profit off of it, the barbarians will certainly not put up with it and invade us with their hordes. (i.e., if we try to increase troops there, they’d see us as encroaching on their land, and strike us first)

且吳時戍此城，用三萬兵，今縱有兵守之，亦無益於江南 = Back then Wu needed 30k soldiers to defend the city. Now, even if we have that number of troops to defend it, it is of no use to us.

22. 亮以城固 = Yu Liang, thinking that the city was strong,

23. 鄭豹等五將軍 = Zheng Bao and 4 other officers

24. 庾亮猶上疏 = Yu Liang was about to send a meorial in

上表陳謝 = Instead, he submitted a memorial of apology

25. 中外肅然 = all cleaned up their act

26. 凡城 = Fancheng (a city)

親冒矢石 = personally risking arrow and rock (i.e. risking his life on the front line)

28. 自以為勝之也 = considering himself to be superior to them

舍人 = a kind of a retainer or adviser

作詩十篇 = 10 poems

省詩知意 = When I read a poem, I understand the meaning behind it.

則死鬼之常辭耳 = these would just be banal words of ghosts

29. 來獻捷論功，且言權假之間 = to report on his victories and merits, and explain why he had assumed the noble title

勇冠三軍 = more like “a champion within the armies”, one whose valour surpasses all in the 3 armies

... “13 years old” in their reckoning is like 12. Guess he started young!

30.辟雍、明堂: Piyong and Mingtang are names of ceremonial buildings from the Western Zhou

[Lady Wu]

340: Murong Han is awesome

1. 假節: see earlier note

2. 臥自便利 = relieving himself while lying down

被發歌呼 = let his hair down and sing loudly (發 is a mistraditionalization of 髮)

宇文舉國賤之，不復省錄，以故得行來自遂，山川形便，皆默記之 = The entire state of the Yuwens held him in contempt, and did not keep tabs on him anymore. Thus, he was able to come and go freely, and in that way he committed the geography of the land to memory.

燕王皝以翰初非叛亂 = Murong Huang knew that Murong Han fled not due to rebellion [but because of suspicion...]

吾久客思歸 = After staying long away from home, I yearn to return

吾之故藝猶在 = I still have my skills from the past

吾居汝國久恨恨 (恨 should be悢) = I have some feelings for your state, after staying there for so long [so I don’t want to kill you]

7. 解思明 = Xie Siming

陛下與胡通，孰若與晉通 = Should you treat with the barbarians or should you treat with the Jin?

既滅晉，不得不北面事之 = once Jin is destroyed, we will have no choice but to submit to them as vassals

若與之爭天下 = If we contend with them for the realm

願陛下熟慮之 = I ask Your Majesty to think carefully about this.

8. 既報父、叔之仇 = Since he has now avenged his father and uncle,

10. 合鄴城舊兵，滿五十萬 = Combined with the existing soldiers in Ye, they numbered 500,000.

自幽州以東至白狼，大興屯田 = Large agricultural colonies were established from the east of Youzhou all the way to Bailang. (大興 is just “a great building project”)

悉括取民馬，有敢私匿者腰斬 = all horses from the people were confiscated, and whoever dared to hide one would be cut at the waist

大閱於宛陽 = He had a grand review at Wanyang

11. 蠮螉塞 = Yewengsai, the old name for this https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hans/%E5%B1 ... 8%E5%85%B3


12. 不可以假人 = cannot be given (假) to other people

太子職在視膳，不當豫政；庶人邃以豫政致敗，覆車未遠也 = The Crown Prince’s duty is to wait on you (視膳 literally means “to check on the food of a parent or elder, to make sure it’s ok and not poisoned, etc.) and not to be involved in administration. The now-commoner Shi Sui met his downfall through meddling in administration. The lesson of his case was not that long ago (覆車未遠, literally, a carriage flipped over not that long ago; don’t follow along the same tracks/don’t follow their footsteps).

且二政分權，鮮不階禍 = Furthermore, rare (鮮) has it been that two people can split up administrative power between them without ending in disaster (不階禍).

愛之不以道，適所以害之也 = To love someone (愛之) without following the proper way (不以道) is the same as (適) harming him (害之).

中謁者令 = an imperial secretarial position

宣亦暱之，使典機密 = Shi Xuan was also very close to him, and had him handle secret matters. (Shi Hu doesn’t care about stuff anymore, remember?)

15. 懸管而入: 管means “key”, and in this case, the key to the city gates. Here, it means he would return to the city after the gates were closed (thus needing to carry the key to the gate with him). Probably “he’d hunt till late and come back after the gates were closed for the evening” would do.

賀度嚴衛馳白之 = Zhang Hedu set a heavy guard about himself, and sent a rider to go tell Shi Hu.

免官歸第 = stripped of office and sent home

16. 今國家所當先除者，遺晉也。 = The one that we should get rid of first is Jin

河西僻陋，不足為意 = The region west of the River is a backwater country and not worth our worry.

recovering Jiankang: “recovering” sounds like they used to have Jiankang.

17. 今李閎以死自誓曰：『苟得歸骨於蜀，當糾帥宗族，混同王化。』(今 should be 令)= Make Li Hong swear by his own life, ‘If I may return safely to Shu, I will rally my clan to submit (the land) to your rule.’

若其信也 etc. = If he is true to his word... / If he is not true to his word...

李壽既僭大號，今以制詔與之，彼必酬返，不若復為書與之 = Now that Li Shou has assumed the imperial title, if we send him an imperial edict of our own, he would likely reply in the same way. Why don’t we write a letter back to him?

挹婁國 = The Yilou, a Tungusic people in the northeast https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hant/%E6%8C%B9%E5%A8%84

楛矢石砮: arrows made with special wood and stone, and which were a traditional symbol of northeastern culture. The tribes of the northeast first sent them as a gift to the Zhou court way back. http://baike.baidu.com/view/10355564.htm

使其知我能服遠方也 = This will let them know we can make faraway nations submit to us.

以白衣領職 = have Wang Bo continue his job with commoner status

[Lady Wu]

341 - What happened to Murong Han?

1. 築城 = build cities

3. 臣受遣之日，朝服拜章 = On the day I was sent forth, he was attired in court robes and did obeisance in your direction.

4. 燕五章璽 (五 should be 王) = and the seal of the Prince of Yan.

故事 = According to past practice,

大將軍不處邊 = The Grand General is not deployed to the frontier

悉徙邊陲之民散居三魏 = relocated the inhabitants of the border regions to the area of the Three Weis

蹙國千里，以薊城為北境 = Thus building a thousand-li realm, extending all the way to Ji in the north

而惜海北之地不以為封邑 = You begrudge granting him the lands north of Bohai as his fief

昔漢高祖不愛王爵於韓、彭 = Emperor Gaozu was not too miserly to grant princely titles to Han and Peng

吾之至心，非敬欲尊其所事，竊惜聖朝疏忠義之國，使四海無所勸慕耳 = In the depths of my heart, I am not simply trying to elevate the one I serve; rather, I bemoan the fact that the Imperial Court is ostracizing a loyal vassal state, and thus discouraging all within the Four Seas from yearning for and revering you.

5. 惟器與名 = Imperial honours and titles, however,

乃謂翔曰 = Then he said to Xiang

嫠婦猶知恤宗周之隕 = Even a widow would lament for the downfall of her in-laws’ family

君位侔元、豈 = (we talked about this before already) Your occupy a position as high as that of the Sixteen Talents of the ancient times everyone would have had to button their coats on the left: The idea is right, but there were no buttons back then... how about “tie their robes to the left”?

枕戈待旦 = how about less literally, “preparing day and night for battle”

歲餘 = Over a year

眾議終不決: Sounds like Congress. Fun fact: 眾議院 = House of Representatives

6. 說 = to persuade, to lobby

自索頭、宇文暨諸小國，無不臣服 = All the lesser states from the Suotou to the Yuwen bow to him

精貫白日 = The Sun can bear witness to his loyalty.

無復南向者矣 = No one will honour the South anymore. (literally: no one will turn [his heart] southward)

今朝廷乃矜惜虛名，沮抑忠順 = But now the court is so miserly with a insubstantial title that it is discouraging the loyal.

帝意亦欲許之= The Emperor was leaning towards granting the ranks.

責其當國秉權，不能為國雪恥 = upbraiding him for not being able to wipe away the nation’s shame despite holding the highest office

以其絕遠，非所能制 = worried that Murong Huang was too far away to be controlled

備物、典策，皆從殊禮 = all the tokens and documents bestowed upon him were beyond the prescribed rites

賜軍資器械以千萬計: Not sure where you got 50k units...

7. 翔疾江南士大夫以驕奢酣縱相尚: Pretty close – Liu Xiang abhored at how the Southland gentry praised each other for being vain and extravagant, indulgent in drinking, and wanton in behaviour.

三紀 = 3 x 12 = 36 years

塗炭 = in great destitute, suffer greatly (don’t have to be literal)

8. 少康資一旅以滅有窮 = Shaokang only had one brigade and he managed to destroy the Youqiong tribe (and restored Xia)

蔓草猶宜早除，況寇仇乎 = One would consider it wise to remove creeping weeds as soon as possible, let alone a sworn enemy!

今石虎、李壽，志相吞噬 = Now, Shi Hu and Li Shou each wants to conquer the other.

一旦石虎先入舉事，並壽而有之，據形便之地以臨東南，雖有智者，不能善其後矣。= Should Shi Hu makes the first move and annex Li Shou’s land, he will be towering over the southeast from a position of geographical advantage. Not even whe wisest man can salvage the situation then.

9. 恭皇后: is that her posthumous title?

13. 築盛樂城於故城南八里= built the city of Shengle 8 li south of the previous/old city

17. 自慕容翰、慕容仁之後，諸將無能繼者 = There was none after Murong Han and Murong Ren who could replace them. [did Murong Han die already???]

及恪至平郭，撫舊懷新 = When Murong Ke arrived at Pingguo, he cheered the troops and officers there, and welcomed new migrants.

19. 鄴中繁庶 = the riches of Ye

趙王虎以刑殺御下，故能控制境內 = Shi Hu was able to control his territory by ruling his subordinates (御下) with punishments and executions.

壽慕之: More than interested—he was yearning for that

徙旁郡民三丁以上者以實成都 = In nearby counties, if a household had more than three men, the excess were relocated to Chengdu.

治器玩: not military instruments, but rather ornaments and various artefacts

人有小過，輒殺以立威 = He would execute people for minor offences in order to establish his authority.

民疲於賦役 = The people were exhausted from taxes and conscripted labour.

思亂者眾矣 = Harboured thoughts of rebellion?

[Lady Wu]

Year 335, in Shi Hu's edict permitting the worship of Buddhism, the line "忝君諸夏" should be interpreted as "I came to rule the Chinese lands out of fortune alone". 君 here is a verb. 忝 is a term of self-denigration, like "I am unworthy but...". 諸夏 is either "the various lands of the Chinese heartland" or 諸 is the contracted form of 之於, as in "I'm lording it over the Xia".

Sorry, I didn't read it carefully enough the first time round.

[Taishi Ci 2.0]

咸康八年（壬寅，公元三四二年）

The Eighth Year of Xiankang (The Renyin Year, 342 AD)

春，正月，己未朔，日有食之。

1. In spring, the first month, on the new moon on the day Jiwei (February 22nd), there was an eclipse.

乙丑，大赦.

2. On the day Yichou (February 28th), there was a general amnesty in Jin.

豫州刺史庾懌以酒餉江州刺史王允之；允之覺其毒，飲犬，犬斃，密奏之。帝曰：「大舅已亂天下，小舅復欲爾邪！」二月，懌飲鴆而卒。

3. Jin’s Inspector of Yuzhou, Yu Yi, treated the Inspector of Jiangzhou, Wang Yunzhi, to drinks. Wang Yunzhi suspected the wine was poisoned. He fed some to a dog, and the dog died. Wang sent a secret message about it to the court. Emperor Cheng said, “My elder uncle (Yu Liang) already caused such strife in the empire. Now this younger uncle is up to the same tricks!" In the second month, Yu Yi drank poison and died.

三月，初以武悼后配食武帝廟。

4. During the third month, Jin officials first began to offer sacrifices to Empress Wudao (Yang Zhi) at the temple of Emperor Wu (Sima Yan).

Empress Wudao, or Empress Yang Zhi, was the Empress of Sima Yan, the first Emperor of Jin. She had been slandered by the Crown Princess Jia Nanfeng, and was given an improper burial and had been worshipped separately from Sima Yan, until this time.

庾翼在武昌，數有妖怪，欲移鎮樂鄉。征虜長史王述與庾冰箋曰：「樂鄉去武昌千有餘里，數萬之眾，一旦移徙，興立城壁，公私勞擾。又江州當溯流數千里，供給軍府，力役增倍。且武昌實江東鎮戍之中，非但扞御上流而已；緩急赴告，駿奔不難。若移樂鄉，遠在西陲，一朝江渚有虞，不相接救。方岳重將，固當居要害之地，為內外形勢，使闚□之心不知所向。昔秦忌亡胡之讖，卒為劉、項之資；周圍惡□弧之謠，而成褒姒之亂。是以達人君子，直道而行，禳避之道，皆所不取；正當擇人事之勝理，思社稷之長計耳。」朝議亦以為然。翼乃止。

5. Yu Yi’s base was at Wuchang, where he claimed there were many strange sightings. For that reason, he wished to move his command to Lexiang.

The Chief Clerk Who Conquers The Caitiffs, Wang Shu, wrote to Yu Bing saying, "Lexiang is over a thousand li from Wuchang. If we were to move an army of several tens of thousands there, and to then set up defensive works, it would place a serious strain on both public and private affairs. Furthermore, Jiangzhou is thousands of li upstream, which would make it more difficult to keep the military supplied. Wuchang remains the superior location for defending all of the Southland, not just the upper reaches of the Yangzi, and if any emergencies should need to be reported, it is not difficult for riders to come from there. If the soldiers move to Lexiang, then they will be far away on the western border, and if the court should be threatened by barbarians crossing the Yangzi islands, there would be no prospect of mutual support. A high-ranking general defending an important location should be stationed in a strategic location, to form a barricade against outside forces, so that those seeking an opportunity to attack us won’t know where to hit us. Even knowing the internal or external situation from there will be difficult to know for sure.

"In former times, the false rumor ‘Hu will bring ruin to Qin’ was turned by Liu Bang and Xiang Yu to their advantage. King You of Zhou spread false rumors of attack and so consummated the chaos caused by Baosi. A true man follows the straight way, and does not take evasive paths dictated by superstition. At this time we should choose the correct path in managing personnel movement, for the sake of the longevity of the nation."

After discussing this, the court agreed with Wang Shu. So Yu Yi dropped his request.

During the Qin dynasty, Qin Shihuang was visited by a certain Lu Sheng, who claimed he could commune with the gods. After being ordered to do so by Qin Shihuang, Lu Sheng made up a prophecy stating “Hu will bring ruin to Qin”. In this sentence, 胡 “Hu” often means “barbarians”, so Qin Shihuang used the prophecy as justification for his campaigns against the Xiongnu. Following Qin Shihuang’s death, many rebellions broke out against his successor, Huhai. Liu Bang, Xiang Yu, and the other rebels reinterpreted the prophecy to point to Huhai as the culprit, since the first character of his name was also 胡.

King You of Zhou once had a beautiful woman named Baosi as his concubine. He was so taken with her that he replaced his queen with her instead. It was difficult to make her smile or laugh. To amuse her, King You falsely lit the warning beacons around his kingdom that were meant to alert the nobles of barbarians invasions. The nobles responded to the call to arms, but they were only met with Baosi’s laughter. After several more false lightings, the nobles no longer responded to the beacons. When the father of the deposed queen attacked King You along with the barbarians, King You lit the beacons again, but the nobles ignored it, and so King You and Baosi were killed.

夏，五月，乙卯，帝不豫；六月，庚寅，疾篤。或詐為尚書符，敕宮門無得內宰相；眾皆失色。庾冰曰：「此必詐也。」推問，果然。帝二子丕、弈，皆在襁褓。庾冰自以兄弟秉權日久，恐易世之後，親屬愈疏，為它人所間，每說帝以國有強敵，宜立長君；請以母親弟琅邪王岳為嗣，帝許之。中書令何充曰：「父子相傳，先王舊典，易之者鮮不致亂。故武王不授聖弟，非不愛也。今琅邪踐阼，將如孺子何！」冰不聽。下詔，以岳為嗣，並以弈繼琅邪哀王。壬辰，冰、充及武陵王晞、會稽王昱、尚書令諸葛恢並受顧命。癸巳，帝崩。帝幼沖嗣位，不親庶政；及長，頗有勤儉之德。

6. In summer, the fifth month, on the day Yimao (?), Emperor Cheng began to feel unwell. In the sixth month, on the day Gengyin (July 23rd), he became gravely ill. Several false edicts were sent out, forbidding the Prime Minister from entering the palace. Many people became worried. Yu Bing said, "Naturally this must be false." Upon investigation, it turned out to be so.

Emperor Cheng's two sons, Sima Pi and Sima Yi, were both still infants. Since Yu Bing and his late brother Yu Liang had been controlling power for a long time, he was afraid that after a new lord ascended the throne, his family’s influence would diminish and other people would take their place. He constantly told Emperor Cheng that because the state was beset by strong enemies, it must therefore have an adult lord. He asked that the Emperor's younger brother, the Prince of Langye Sima Yue, take the throne next. Emperor Cheng agreed. The Palace Secretary He Chong warned them, “It has been the tradition for a son to inherit from a father ever since the First Sovereign. This is the best means to avoid disorder. Even King Wu of Zhou did not pass his throne on to his brother the Duke of Zhou, and not because King Wu did not love the Duke. Now if the Prince of Langye ascends the throne, what shall become of the young heirs?" But Yu Bing did not heed him.

King Wu of Zhou was the founder of the Zhou Dynasty. The Duke of Zhou was his younger brother. Although he assumed command as regent after his elder brother’s death, the Duke of Zhou never sought to actually claim the throne for himself.

He Chong presumably meant ever since Sima Rui, since Sima Rui himself was not the son of Emperor Huai of Western Jin.

An edict was proclaimed, appointing Sima Yue as the heir, and appointing Sima Yi to continue Prince Ai of Langye’s line. On the day Renchen (July 25th), Yu Bing, He Chong, the Prince of Wuling Sima Xi, the Prince of Kuaiji Sima Yue, and the Prefect of the Masters of Writing Zhuge Hui were entrusted as guardians. On the day Guisi (July 26th), Emperor Cheng passed away.

Emperor Cheng was young when he came to the throne, and he did not personally exercise power. When he grew up, he often displayed the virtues of thriftiness and diligence.

Prince Ai of Langye, Sima Anguo, was the grandson of the Eastern Jin founder Sima Rui by his sons Sima Pou. He was so named ("the Lamentable") because he had died when only a year old.

甲午，琅邪王即皇帝位，大赦。

7. On the day Jiawu (July 27th), the Prince of Langye, Sima Yue, rose to the throne as Emperor Kang. A general amnesty was declared.

己亥，封成帝子丕為琅邪王，弈為東海王。

8. On the day Jihai (August 1st), Emperor Cheng’s son Sima Pi was named the new Prince of Langye, and his other son Sima Yi was named the Prince of Donghai.

康帝亮陰不言，委政於庾冰、何充。秋，七月，丙辰，葬成帝於興平陵。帝徒行送喪，至閶闔門，乃升素輿至陵所。既葬，帝臨軒，庾冰、何充侍坐。帝曰：「朕嗣鴻業，二君之力也。」充曰：「陛下龍飛，臣冰之力也；若如臣議，不睹昇平之世。」帝有慚色。己未，以充為驃騎將軍、都督徐州、揚州之晉陵諸軍事、領徐州刺史，鎮京口，避諸庾也。

9. Emperor Kang kept silent as was tradition for an emperor in mourning, and left matters to Yu Bing and He Chong.

In autumn, the seventh month, on the day Bingchen (August 18th), Emperor Cheng was buried at Xingping Tomb. Emperor Kang went on foot to the mourning until he reached the Changhe Gate, then boarded a plain white carriage to continue the journey to the tomb. Following the burial, he officially rose to the throne, and Yu Bing and He Chong waited upon him.

Emperor Kang said to them, “My ascension is all thanks to your efforts." He Chong replied, "Your Majesty is only able to soar like a dragon thanks to Yu Bing. If I had been listened to, you would never have reached such heights." The Emperor was ashamed to hear this.

On the day Jiwei (August 21st), Emperor Kang appointed He Chong to be the General of Agile Cavalry, in charge of military affairs in Xuzhou and Yangzhou, and Inspector of Xuzhou. He Chong was based at Jingkou, where he could avoid Yu Bing.

冬，十月，燕王皝遷都龍城，赦其境內。

10. In winter, the tenth month, Murong Huang moved the capital to Longcheng, and declared an amnesty within his territory.

建威將軍翰言於皝曰：「宇文強盛日久，屢為國患。今逸豆歸篡竊得國，群情不附。加之性識庸暗，將帥非才，國無防衛，軍無部伍。臣久在其國，悉其地形；雖遠附強羯，聲勢不接，無益救援；今若擊之，百舉百克。然高句麗去國密邇，常有闚□之志。彼知宇文既亡，禍將及己，必乘虛深入，掩吾不備。若少留兵則不足以守，多留兵則不足以行。此心腹之患也，宜先除之；觀其勢力，一舉可克。宇文自守之虜，必不能遠來爭利。既取高句麗，還取宇文，如返手耳。二國既平，利盡東海，國富兵強，無返顧之憂，然後中原可圖也。」皝曰：「善！」將擊高句麗。高句麗有二道，其北道平闊，南道險狹，眾欲從北道。翰曰：「虜以常情料之，必謂大軍從北道，當重北而輕南。王宜帥銳兵從南道擊之，出其不意，丸都不足取也。別遣偏師出北道，縱有蹉跌，其腹心己潰，四支無能為也。」皝從之。

11. By now, Murong Han had settled things with Murong Huang, and had become his General Who Establishes Might. Murong Han told his brother, "The Yuwen have grown stronger and more numerous for some time, and they pose a constant threat to our state. But Yuwen Yidougui has only recently usurped the command of the tribes, and many of them are not yet inclined to go along with him. Furthermore, he is lacking both in temperament and in knowledge. His state has poor defenses, and their soldiers are unorganized. I lived among them a long time, and so I know well the lay of their land. Although they are nominally vassals of the Jie, they are too far away to really be able to receive any timely assistance from them. If we were to attack the Yuwen now, we would have a hundred victories in a hundred battles.

“But we must also consider Goguryeo, which is also very close by to us. They have long looked upon our land with greed, watching for the day when they may conquer us. If they learn that the Yuwen are about to be extinguished, then they will know that they will be the next to face destruction, so they will attack us first. If we leave too few soldiers, it will not be enough to mount a defense against Goguryeo. But if we leave too many soldiers, then we will not have enough men to make headway against the Yuwen either. Since Goguryeo presents a constant threat to us, we had better deal with them first. Considering their current strength, we can overcome them in one go.

“The Yuwen are slaves to their defenses; they will certainly not come a long way to take advantage of our absence by attacking us. Once we have taken Goguryeo, we may then conquer the Yuwen as easily as one turns over one's hand. And once we have pacified both these states, then we may reap all the profits of the East Sea. The state will prosper and the soldiers will grow stronger, all without any cause for concern in that direction. Then, we may conquer the Central Plains."

Murong Huang said, "Excellent!" So he prepared to attack Goguryeo.

There were two routes to that state; the northern route was level and wide, while the southern route was narrower and more dangerous. Most of the generals wanted to take the northern route. Murong Han said, "The barbarians shall certainly expect that any great invading army will advance by the northern route, so they will place more focus there than on the southern one. You ought to lead your best troops to attack by the southern route; you will catch them off guard, and you will definitely be able to capture their capital at Hwando. Meanwhile, send another commander to lead some troops along the northern route, where they can make a demonstration and then fall back. Even if this northern force suffers a defeat, the enemy’s core strength will have been destroyed, and the rest of their forces won’t be able to do much." Murong Huang followed his advice.

十一月，皝自將勁兵四萬出南道，以慕容翰、慕容霸為前鋒，別遣長史王寓等將兵萬五千出北道，以伐高句麗。高句麗王釗果遣弟武帥精兵五萬拒北道，自帥羸兵以備南道。慕容翰等先至，與釗合戰，皝以大眾繼之。左常侍鮮於亮曰：「臣以俘虜蒙王國士之恩，不可以不報；今日，臣死日也！」獨與數騎先犯高句麗陣，所向摧陷。高句麗陣動，大眾因而乘之，高句麗兵大敗。左長史韓壽斬高句麗將阿佛和度加，諸軍乘勝追之，遂入丸都。釗單騎走，輕車將軍慕輿泥追獲其母周氏及妻而還。會王寓等戰於北道，皆敗沒，由是皝不復窮追。遣使招釗，釗不出。

12. In the eleventh month, Murong Huang personally marched along the southern route with forty thousand of his best soldiers, and Murong Han and Murong Ba led his vanguard. He sent the Chief Clerk Wang Yu and several others to lead fifteen thousand troops along the northern route. Thus did he invade Goguryeo.

The King of Goguryeo, Go Soe (Gogugwon), sent his younger brother Go Wu with fifty thousand elite soldiers to guard the northern route, while he himself went to guard the southern route with weaker troops. When Murong Han and the others in the vanguard arrived, they did battle with Go Soe, until Murong Huang and the main body came up. The Regular Attendant of the Left Xianyu Liang said, "Though I was a mere captive, I received my lord's benevolence, and cannot fail to repay it. Let today be the day of my death!" Leading only a few riders, he plunged into several Goguryeo formations, and broke through them.

Despite Xianyu Liang’s outburst and the apparently suicidal nature of his attack, it appears that he does not die here, as someone with the same name is mentioned again several years later (Book 98, 350.8, and Book 100, 356.22).

With their formations thrown off, the bulk of the enemy army scattered, and Goguryeo suffered a great defeat. The Chief Clerk of the Left Han Shou killed the Goguryeo general Abulhwadoga. The Yan soldiers pursued the fleeing Goguryeo troops, until they entered the Goguryeo capital Hwando. Go Soe fled alone on horseback. The General of Light Chariots Muyu Ni pursued him, capturing his mother Lady Zhou and his wife, before returning.

Meanwhile, on the northern road, Wang Yu and the others were repulsed by the enemy army. Because of Wang Yu's defeat, Murong Huang did not pursue the beaten Goguryeo army. Messengers were sent with demands for Go Soe to surrender, but he did not present himself.

皝將還，韓壽曰：「高句麗之地，不可戍守。今其主亡民散，潛伏山谷；大軍既去，必復鳩聚，收其餘燼，猶足為患。請載其父屍、囚其生母而歸，俟其束身自歸，然後返之，撫以恩信，策之上也。」皝從之。發釗父乙弗利墓。載其屍，收其府庫累世之寶，虜男女五萬餘口，燒其宮室，毀丸都城而還。

13. Murong Huang was about to order the army to return home. Han Shou said to him, "Goguryeo’s territory cannot be held. Although we have scattered their soldiers, they will lie in ambush in the mountains and valleys. As soon as our army leaves, they will certainly flock together again, kindling a new flame from the ashes. That will be a source of future troubles. I suggest that you take with us the body of their king’s late father, and bring his mother back as our prisoner. Once Go Soe presents himself, bound, for submission, then we can return his father’s body and his mother to him. And we will win him over to us by granting him favors. This is the best plan." Murong Huang agreed.

The body of Go Soe's father, Go Eulbul, was taken from its tomb. The Yan army took the treasures of the royal household, along with over fifty thousand men and women as slaves. They burned the palaces, and set fire to Hwando, before returning home.

Go Eulbul, also known as Micheon, was the fifteenth ruler of Goguryeo.

十二月，壬子，立妃褚氏為皇后。征豫章太守褚裒為待中、尚書。裒自以後父，不願居中任事，苦求外出；乃除建威將軍、江州刺史，鎮半洲。

14. In the twelfth month, on the day Renzi (February 10th), Emperor Kang of Jin made his concubine Lady Chu his Empress. The Administrator of Yuzhang, her father Chu Pou, was summoned by the Emperor to be appointed as Palace Attendant and Master of Writing. Since Chu Pou was the Empress's father, he was unwilling to assume posts in the capital, and asked to be assigned elsewhere. Therefore, Emperor Kang made him the General Who Establishes Valor and Inspector of Jiangzhou, and he was based at Banzhou.

趙王虎作台觀四十餘所於鄴，又營洛陽、長安二宮，作者四十餘萬人；又欲自鄴起閣道至襄國，敕河南四州治南伐之備，並、朔、秦、雍嚴西討之資，青、冀、幽州為東征之計，皆三五發卒。諸州軍造甲者五十餘萬人，船夫十七萬人，為水所沒，虎狼所食者三分居一。加之公侯、牧宰競營私利，百姓失業愁困。貝丘人李弘因眾心之怨，自言姓名應讖，連結黨與，署置百寮；事發，誅之，連坐者數千家。

15. Shi Hu wished to construct over forty pavilions at Ye, as well as in the two palaces at Luoyang and Chang'an. He employed over four hundred thousand people in these efforts. He also desired to construct a boardwalk from Ye to Xiangguo. He had the four provinces south of the Yellow River to prepare for a campaign to the south; the provinces of Bing, Shuo, Qin, and Yong to prepare for a western campaign; the provinces of Qing, Ji, and You to prepare for a campaign eastward. In all these provinces, two males were drafted from a household of three males, or three males were drafted from a household of five males. Together, the provinces put together more than five hundred thousand soldiers and a hundred and seventy thousand sailors. Of these, a third either drowned or were eaten by wild beasts. On top of that, the local lords and officials competed to fill their private coffers, causing the populace to lose their means of living and worried about their destitution.

Because of their complaints, Li Hong, a native of Beiqiu, took advantage of the people’s misery to begin plotting for himself. He claimed that his name conformed to favorable divinations, and began to gather followers to himself, and set up the various offices as in a state. However, the plot was discovered, and he was executed, along with several thousand families in league with him.

虎畋獵無度，晨出夜歸，又多微行，躬察作役。侍中京兆韋謏諫曰：「陛下忽天下之重，輕行斤斧之間，猝有狂夫之變，雖有智勇，將安所施！又興役無時，廢民耘獲，吁嗟盈路，殆非仁聖之所忍為也。」虎賜謏谷帛，而興繕滋繁，游察自若。

16. Shi Hu enjoyed going hunting excessively, often going out at dawn and not returning until night. He also often went out in plain clothing to inspect how his construction projects were going. The Palace Attendant, Wei Xiao of Jingzhao, remonstrated with him, saying, "Your Majesty is ignoring your importance to the realm and carelessly placing yourself in danger. If any wild fellow began to do something untoward, though you have wisdom and strength, what would you be able to do? You are also forcing upon the people endless labors, disrupting their farming and harvesting, and filling the roads with sighs and lamentations. I’m afraid this is not something that a benevolent and sage ruler would bear to do." Shi Hu rewarded Wei Xiao with grain and silks, but his orders only continued to multiply, and he kept on inspecting as before.

秦公韜有寵於虎，太子宣惡之。右僕射張離領五兵尚書，欲求媚於宣，說之曰：「今諸侯吏兵過限，宜漸裁省，以壯本根。」宣使離為奏：「秦、燕、義陽、樂平四公，聽置吏一百九十七人，帳下兵二百人；自是以下，三分置一，餘兵五萬，悉配東宮。」於是諸公鹹怨，嫌釁益深矣。

17. Shi Hu showed great favor to his son Shi Tao, the Duke of Qin. The Crown Prince Shi Xuan was angered by this. The Deputy Director of the Right Zhang Li was in command of various troop departments. Wishing to win favor with Shi Xuan, he said to him, "The Dukes have recruited retainers beyond their natural limits. You ought to gradually cut back on them, in order to strengthen your own base."

Shi Xuan had Zhang Li send in a petition saying, "The Dukes of Qin, Yan, Yiyang, and Leping are allowed to have a hundred and ninety-seven retainers, and two hundred personal soldiers. Those nobles whose ranks are beneath theirs will be allowed a third as many retainers and troops, according to their rank. The remaining fifty thousand soldiers should all be reassigned to the Eastern Palace (which was Shi Xuan’s residence)." This made the dukes very bitter, and the rifts between them and Shi Xuan deepened.

青州上言：「濟南平陵城北石虎，一夕移於城東南，有狼狐千餘跡隨之，跡皆成蹊。」虎喜曰：「石虎者，朕也；自西北徙而東南者，天意欲使朕平蕩江南也。其敕諸州兵明年悉集，朕當親董六師，以奉天命。」群臣皆賀，上《皇德頌》者一百七人。制：「征士五人出車一乘，牛二頭，米十五斛，絹十匹，調不辦者斬。」民至鬻子以供軍須，猶不能給，自經於道樹者相望。

18. A report was sent in from Qingzhou stating, "At Pingling near Jinan, there was a stone tiger north of the city. Overnight, it has moved southeast of the city. It was followed by over a thousand wolves and foxes, and their trail became a road."

Shi Hu happily stated, "I, too, am a stone tiger (Shi Hu’s name, 石虎, literally means “stone tiger”). I shall also move from the northwest to the southeast. It is Heaven's will that I should pacify the Southland. Gather the soldiers of the several provinces by next year. I shall lead six armies to fulfill Heaven's Mandate." Many ministers expressed their congratulations, and a hundred and seven people submitted memorials entitled “An Ode To Imperial Virtue”.

The Zhao court ordered: “For the sake of the conquest, let every five draftees bring in a cart, two oxen, fifty 斛 of rice, and ten bolts of silk. Whoever does not bring them will be executed.” The people were reduced to selling their children in order to provide the army supplies. Those who were still unable to provide them hanged themselves from trees on the sides of the roads. So many people hanged themselves in this fashion that one could always see a hanging corpse within sight of another one.

[Taishi Ci 2.0]

建元元年（癸卯，公元三四三年）

The First Year of Jianyuan (The Guimao Year, 343 AD)

春，二月，高句麗王釗遣其弟稱臣入朝於燕，貢珍異以千數。燕王皝乃還其父屍，猶留其母為質。

1. In spring, the second month, the king of Goguryeo Go Soe sent his brother to the Yan court to declare his submission, bringing a thousand rare treasures in tribute. Murong Huang thus returned the body of the former king of Goguryeo, but kept Go Soe’s mother as a hostage.

宇文逸豆歸遣其相莫淺渾將兵擊燕；諸將爭欲擊之，燕王皝不許。莫淺渾以為皝畏之，酣飲縱獵，不復設備。皝使慕容翰出擊之，莫淺渾大敗，僅以身免，盡俘其眾。庾翼為人慷慨，喜功名，不尚浮華。琅邪內史桓溫，彝之子也，尚南康公主，豪爽有風概。翼與之友善，相期以寧濟海內。翼嘗薦溫於成帝曰：「桓溫有英雄之才，願陛下勿以常人遇之，常婿畜之。宜委以方、邵之任，必有弘濟艱難之勳」。時杜乂、殷浩並才名冠世，冀獨弗之重也，曰：「此輩宜束之高閣，俟天下太平，然後徐議其任耳。」浩累辭征辟，屏居墓所，幾將十年，時人擬之管、葛。江夏相謝尚、長山令王濛常伺其出處，以卜江左興亡。嘗相與省之，知浩有確然之志，既返，相謂曰：「深源不起，當如蒼生何！」尚，鯤之子也。翼請浩為司馬；詔除侍中、安西軍司，浩不應。翼遺浩書曰：「王夷甫立名非真，雖雲談道，實長華競。明德君子，遇會處際，寧可然乎！」浩猶不起。

2. Yuwen Yidougui sent an army under his general Moqian Hun to attack Yan. The Yan generals wished to fight him, but Murong Huang would not permit it. Moqian Hun believed that Murong Huang was afraid of him, so he spent his time drinking and hunting, and did not prepare any defenses. Murong Huang then sent Murong Han out to attack him, and Moqian Hun suffered a great defeat. Although he himself escaped, his troops were all taken captive.

Yu Yi was generous towards people, rewarding people well for their accomplishments, but without being ostentatious. The Interior Minister of Langye, Huan Wen, was the son of Huan Yi. He was married to the Princess of Nankang. He was bold and chivalrous principles, and could grasp the bigger picture. He was friends with Yu Yi, and they made a pact together to bring peace to the land. Yu Yi once introduced Huan Wen to Emperor Cheng by saying, “Huan Wen has the talent of a mighty hero. I hope that Your Majesty will not treat him like a common fellow, or keep him cooped up like a typical son-in-law. He should be given the same positions that Fang Shu and Shao Hu held, and then he will certainly accomplish great merits in helping us through this time of difficulty.”

Fang Shu and Shao Hu were able and loyal ministers of King Xuan of Zhou.

At that time, Du Yi’s and Yin Hao’s talents and reputations were unmatched in the realm. Yu Yi alone discounted their importance, saying, “Men of their ilk should be left on a high shelf somewhere. Once the realm has been pacified, then we may take our time considering how to employ them.” Yin Hao repeatedly declined offers of employment, and lived in deep seclusion. After ten years, people began to think of him as an equal to Guan Zhong or Zhuge Liang. The Chancellor of Jiangxia, Xie Shang, and the Prefect of Changshan, Wang Meng, often spied on his comings and goings, to predict whether Jin would rise or fall. They once visited him together, and they began to recognize his true ambitions. After returning, they said to one another about him, ”He does not rise from the depths; what are the people to do?” Xie Shang was the son of Xie Kun.

Yu Yi asked Yin Hao to accept appointment as Marshal; the court afterwards summoned him to be Palace Attendant and Army Major Who Maintains The West. But in both cases, Yin Hao declined the offered posts. Yu Yi sent Yin Hao a message saying, "Wang Yifu once made a name for himself, but he was utterly lacking in substance. Although he said he was talking of mystic ways, he was really encouraging the growth of the trend of vanity and license. How could someone as perceptive and virtuous as your lordship still prefer to stay away from this opportunity?" But Yin Hao still would not accept office.

Wang Yan, styled Yifu, was a Western Jin chief minister most famous for his philosophical musings. However, he was unable to halt the advance of the northern invasions, and died during the chaos.

殷羨為長沙相，在郡貪殘，庾冰與翼書屬之。翼報曰：「殷君驕豪，亦似由有佳兒，弟故小令物情容之。大較江東之政，以嫗煦豪強，常為民蠹；時有行法，輒施之寒劣。如往年偷石頭倉米一百萬斛，皆是豪將輩，而直殺倉督監以塞責。山遐為餘姚長，為官出豪強所藏二千戶，而眾共驅之，令遐不得安席。雖皆前宰之惛謬，江東事去，實此之由。兄弟不幸，橫陷此中，自不能拔足於風塵之外，當共明目而治之。荊州所統二十餘郡，唯長沙最惡；惡而不黜，與殺督監者復何異邪！」遐，簡之子也。

3. Yin Hao's father, Yin Xian, was made the Chancellor of Changsha. In his commandary, he proved to be greedy and cruel towards the people. Yu Bing sent several messages about him to Yu Yi, asking him to protect Yin Xian.

Yu Yi sent a response, stating, "Lord Yin is haughty and acts without restraint, probably because he has a good son. Thus I had hitherto tolerated him more or less, out of that consideration. However, if you look at the overall picture of how the Southland has been ruled, you’d see we’ve been encouraging powerful bullies, who often become a plague to the people. Even when the law is carried out, it’s always the poor and lowly who are punished.

"For example, last year, a million 斛 of grain was stolen from Shitou, and all by powerful people. But they put the blame on the inspector of the granaries and executed him. When Shan Xia was Chief of Yuyao, he uncovered two thousand households that were hidden from official records by the powerful people. So those powerful people banded together and drove him out, and caused him to not know a moment of peace again. Even though this was all due to the previous prime minister's (Wang Dao) fatuousness, this is really the cause of the demise of the Southland.

"Brother, you and I are unfortunate enough to be entangled in the affairs of these times; since we cannot remove ourselves from these worldly affairs, we should try to set things straight, with eyes opened. Out of the 20-odd commanderies of Jingzhou, Changsha is the worst-governed. If we don’t demote the bad governor, how would we be different from the one who executed the granary inspector?"

This Shan Xia was the son of Shan Jian.

Shan Jian was a Western Jin minister, and was himself one of the sons of Shan Tao, one of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove.

翼以滅胡取蜀為己任，遣使東約燕王皝，西約張駿，刻期大舉。朝議多以為難，唯庾冰意與之同，而桓溫、譙王無忌皆贊成之。無忌，承之子也。

4. Yu Yi wished to assume the great task of recapturing Shu and wiping out the barbarians, so he sent messengers to coordinate with Murong Huang in the east and Zhang Jun in the west to set a date for this great undertaking. The court officials believed that this task would be too difficult to carry out. Only Yu Bing, Huan Wen, and the Prince of Qiao Sima Wuji favored the planned campaign. Sima Wuji was the son of Sima Cheng.

Sima Cheng was a member of the Jin royal family. He was the grandson of Sima Yi’s younger brother Sima Jin.

秋，七月，趙汝南太守戴開帥數千人詣翼降。丁巳，下詔議經略中原。翼欲悉所部之眾北伐，表桓宣為都督司、雍、梁三州、荊州之四郡諸軍事、梁州刺史，前趣丹水；桓溫為前鋒小督、假節，帥眾入臨淮；並發所統六州奴及車牛驢馬，百姓嗟怒。

5. In fall, the seventh month, Zhao's Administrator of Runan, Dai Kai, led several thousand men to defect to Yu Yi.

On the day Dingsi (August 14th), an imperial edict went out for the ministers to discuss the campaign to retake the Central Plains. Yu Yi wanted to lead all of his troops to march north. He petitioned for Huan Xuan to be appointed as Commander in charge of military affairs in Sizhou, Yongzhou, Liangzhou, and the four commandaries in Jingzhou. He was also named the Inspector of Liangzhou, and he advanced to capture Danshui. Huan Wen was appointed as Subcommander of the Vanguard and Credential Holder; he lead his troops to the bank of the Huai river. Yu Yi mobilized all the bondmen, carriages, and beasts of burden from the six provinces under his command, to the sorrow of the common people.

代王什翼犍復求婚於燕，燕王皝使納馬千匹為禮；什翼犍不與，又倨慢無子婿禮。八月，皝遣世子俊帥前軍師評等擊代。什翼犍帥眾避去，燕人無所見而還。

6. Since his wife Lady Murong had died, Tuoba Shiyijian asked for another wife from Yan. Murong Huang asked that Tuoba send him a thousand horses as a gift, but Tuoba Shiyijian refused to do so, and arrogantly refused to carry out the rites associated with being Murong Huang’s son-in-law.

In the eighth month, Murong Huang sent an army under his son Murong Jun, the General of the Front Murong Ping, and others to attack Dai. Tuoba Shiyijian marched his men away from them. Since the Yan soldiers encountered no one, they returned home.

漢主壽卒，謚曰昭文，廟號中宗；太子勢即位，大赦。

7. The Emperor of Han, Li Shou, passed away. He was posthumously named Emperor Zhaowen, and his temple name was Zhongzong. His crown prince Li Shi rose to the throne. A general amnesty was declared in Han.

趙太子宣擊鮮卑斛谷提，大破之，斬首三萬級。

8. The Zhao crown prince, Shi Xuan, attacked the Xianbei leader Huguti. He won a great victory, and over thirty thousand Xianbei were killed.

宇文逸豆歸執段遼弟蘭，送於趙，並獻駿馬萬匹。趙王虎命蘭帥所從鮮卑五千人屯令支。

9. Yuwen Yidougui captured Duan Liao's brother, Duan Lan. He sent Duan Lan to Zhao, along with ten thousand fine horses as tribute. Shi Hu ordered Duan Lan to lead his former command, five thousand Xianbei soldiers, to station at Lingzhi.

庾翼欲移鎮襄陽，恐朝廷不許，乃奏雲移鎮安陸。帝及朝士皆遣使譬止翼，翼遂違詔北行；至夏口，復上表請鎮襄陽。翼時有眾四萬，詔加翼都督征討諸軍事。先是車騎將軍、揚州刺史庾冰屢求出外，辛巳，以冰都督荊、江、寧、益、梁、交、廣七州、豫州之四郡諸軍事，領江州刺史，假節，鎮武昌，以為翼繼援。征徐州刺史何充為督揚、豫、徐州之琅邪諸軍事，領揚州刺史，錄尚書事，輔政。以琅邪內史桓溫為都督青、徐、兗三州諸軍事、徐州刺史，征江州刺史褚裒為衛將軍，領中書令。

10. Yu Yi wished to move many of his soldiers to Xiangyang, but he feared the court would not permit that, so he sent in a petition asking to relocate to Anlu instead. The Emperor and the court officials sent messengers ordering Yu Yi to halt. However, Yu Yi disobeyed the order and moved north. When he reached Xiakou, he again asked to garrison at Xiangyang. At this time, Yu Yi commanded forty thousand soldiers. An edict was proclaimed making Yu Yi Commander of the expeditionary force.

Earlier, Yu Bing, who was currently the General of Chariots and Cavalry and Inspector of Yangzhou, had made many requests asking to be sent out. On the Xinsi day, he was placed in charge of military affairs in Jingzhou, Jiangzhou, Ningzhou, Yizhou, Liangzhou, Jiaozhou, and Guangzhou, as well as the four commandaries of Yuzhou. Yu Bing was also named as Inspector of Jiangzhou and Credential Holder. He was stationed at Wuchang, in order to reinforce Yu Yi.

The Inspector of Xuzhou, He Chong, was put in command over the imperial soldiers in Yangzhou, Yuzhou, and Xuzhou, and was named acting Inspector of Yangzhou. He took charge of handling all the court petitions and edicts, and administered the affairs of state.

The Interior Minister of Langye, Huan Wen, was entrusted with military affairs in Qingzhou, Xuzhou, and Yanzhou. He was named the new Inspector of Xuzhou. The current Inspector of Jiangzhou, Chu Pou, became the Guard General and acting Prefect of the Palace Secretariat.

冬，十一月，己巳，大赦。

11. In winter, the eleventh month, on the day Jisi (December 24th), a general amnesty was declared in Jin.

[Taishi Ci 2.0]

建元二年（甲辰，公元三四四年）

The Second Year of Jianyuan (The Jiachen Year, 344 AD)

春，正月，趙王虎享群臣於太武殿，有白雁百餘集馬道之南，虎命射之，皆不獲。時諸州兵集者百餘萬，太史令趙攬密言於虎曰：「白雁集庭，宮室將空之象，不宜南行。」虎信之，乃臨宣武觀，大閱而罷。

1. In spring, the first month, Shi Hu held a feast for his ministers at Taiwu Palace in Xiangguo. There were about a hundred wild geese gathered around the southern road. Shi Hu ordered that they be shot at, but none of them were taken. At that time, the gathered soldiers from the several provinces numbered in the hundreds of thousands. The Court Historian Zhao Lan secretly warned Shi Hu, "The white geese gathered at the palace are an omen that the palace itself may soon be empty. It is best not to march south." Shi Hu trusted his advice. After reviewing the troops at Xuanwu Palace, he canceled the planned campaign.

The palace being empty was an indication that the royal family would have abandoned it in their flight from some enemy, presumably a Jin counter-attack.

漢主勢改元太和，尊母閻氏為皇太后，立妻李氏為皇后。

2. The new Emperor of Han, Li Shi, changed his reign era title to Taihe. He honored his mother Lady Yan as Empress Dowager, and he named his wife Lady Li as Empress.

燕王皝與左司馬高詡謀伐宇文逸豆歸。詡曰：「宇文強盛，今不取，必為國患，伐之必克；然不利於將。」出而告人曰：「吾往必不返，然忠臣不避也。」於是皝自將伐逸豆歸。以慕容翰為前鋒將軍，劉佩副之；分命慕容軍、慕容恪、慕容霸及折衝將軍慕輿根將兵，三道並進。高詡將發，不見其妻，使人語以家事而行。

3. With the threat from Goguryeo having been taken care of, Murong Huang discussed with his Marshal of the Left, Gao Xu, how best to campaign against Yuwen Yidougui. Gao Xu said, "The strength of the Yuwen continues to grow. Unless we capture their territory now, they will certainly pose a threat to our state. But if we do attack them now, although we shall certainly be successful, it will do harm to our generals."

After leaving the meeting, Gao Xu told someone, "Now I go out to war; I shall certainly not come back from this campaign. But a loyal minister does not avoid his fate."

Thus, Murong Huang prepared to campaign against Yuwen Yidougui. Murong Han was the vanguard commander, with Liu Pei as his adjutant. The army went out, under the commands of Murong Jun, Murong Ke, Murong Ba, and the General Who Breaks And Charges, Muyu Gen. The armies set out along three different roads. Gao Xu set out at once; he did not even go to visit his wife, but sent an aide to attend to his family affairs.

逸豆歸遣南羅大涉夜干將精兵逆戰，皝遣人馳謂慕容翰曰：「涉夜干勇冠三軍，宜小避之。」翰曰：「逸豆歸掃其國內精兵以屬涉夜干，涉夜干素有勇名，一國所賴也。今我克之，其國不攻自潰矣。且吾孰知涉夜干之為人，雖有虛名，實易與耳，不宜避之，以挫吾兵氣。」遂進戰。翰自出衝陣，涉夜幹出應之；慕容霸從傍邀擊，遂斬涉夜干。宇文士卒見涉夜干死，不戰而潰；燕兵乘勝逐之，遂克其都城。逸豆歸走死漠北，宇文氏由是散亡。皝悉收其畜產、資貨，徙其部眾五千餘落於昌黎，闢地千餘里。更命涉夜干所居城曰威德城，使弟彪戍之而還。高詡、劉佩皆中流矢卒。

4. Yuwen Yidougui sent the Chief of Nanluo, Sheyegan, with many elite soldiers to offer battle. Murong Huang sent notice by a fast messenger to tell Murong Han, "Sheyegan is the champion of three armies (an outstanding warrior). Beware of him."

Murong Han said, "Yuwen Yidougui has placed all of the best soldiers in his state under the command of Sheyegan. Sheyegan has a famous name for bravery. The whole Yuwen state relies upon him. If I am successful, the entire state will collapse on its own without need for further attacks. Besides, I know the real measure of this Sheyegan; although he is renowned for bravery, it is only talk and rumors. If I were to avoid him, it would only hurt our army’s morale."

Thus, he joined battle. Murong Han himself plunged into battle by a frontal assault, and Sheyegan advanced to meet him. Then Murong Ba suddenly attacked from a flank, and he slew Sheyegan. When the Yuwen soldiers saw that Sheyegan was dead, they stopped fighting and their ranks disintegrated; the Yan soldiers, sensing victory, pursued them back to their capital. Yuwen Yidougui fled the city, and perished in the northern deserts.

Thus the Yuwen clan was wiped out. Murong Huang gathered up their livestock and valuables, relocating five thousand households to Changli, and opened up a thousand li of territory for farmland. He also ordered that the city where Sheyegan had lived be renamed Weide (Martial Virtue), and sent his brother Murong Biao to garrison the area before he himself led the army home.

Gao Xu and Liu Pei were both killed by stray arrows during the battle.

以滅宇文之功，封都鄉侯。(Jinshu 123.1)

After Murong Ba's achievement in conquering the Yuwen, he was appointed as Marquis of Duxiang.

詡善天文，皝嘗謂曰：「卿有佳書而不見與，何以為忠盡！」詡曰：「臣聞人君執要，人臣執職。執要者逸，執職者勞。是以後稷播種，堯不預焉。占候、天文，晨夜其苦，非至尊之所宜親，殿下將焉用之！」皝默然。

5. Gao Xu had been adept at divination. Murong Huang once told him, “You have books of fine quality, but you never let me read them; is that any way for a loyal fellow to act?"

Gao Xu replied, "I have heard that among men, monarchs must focus on the grand vision while ministers attend to the details of carrying it out. Those who focus on vision may be leisurely, but those who focus on details must work hard. Grain cannot be harvested unless the seeds have been planted beforehand. Thus, when Houji sowed, King Yao did not intervene. Working in divination and reading the heavens is a tiring task done in the early morning and the late night. This is not a task for he who holds the highest office to attend to personally. What use would you have for my books?" Murong Huang could make no reply.

Emperor Yao was one of the Five Emperors, sage-kings of great antiquity. He was said to be especially skilled in divination. Houji was credited with teaching the commoners to sow various grains, thus preventing a serious famine during the times of the Mythical Kings.

初，逸豆歸事趙甚謹，貢獻屬路。及燕人伐逸豆歸，趙王虎使右將軍白勝、并州刺史王霸自甘松出救之。比至，宇文氏已亡，因攻威德城，不克而還；慕容彪追擊，破之。

6. Up until now, Yuwen Yidougui had been very respectful to Zhao as a vassal, and had continuously sent them tribute. When Yan attacked Yuwen Yidougui, Shi Hu sent his General of the Left Bai Sheng and his Inspector of Bingzhou Wang Ba to march from Gangong to reinforce them. By the time the Zhao troops arrived, the Yuwen clan had already been wiped out. The Zhao soldiers attacked Weide, but could not take it and so retreated. Murong Biao pursued them, and routed them.

慕容翰之與宇文氏戰也，為流矢所中，臥病積時不出。後漸差，於其家試騁馬。或告翰稱病而私飛騎乘，疑欲為變。燕王皝雖藉翰勇略，然中心終忌之，乃賜翰死。翰曰：「吾負罪出奔，既而復還，今日死已晚矣。然羯賊跨據中原，吾不自量，欲為國家蕩壹區夏。此志不遂，沒有遺恨，命矣夫！」飲藥而卒。

7. During the battle against the Yuwen, Murong Han was hit with an arrow during the fighting. He was confined to bed and did not emerge for some time. Eventually, as his condition slowly improved, he tried riding a horse at home. Some people said to Murong Huang that it seemed strange that Murong Han pleaded illness yet was riding a horse in private, and that perhaps he was planning something suspect. Although Murong Huang relied on Murong Han’s bravery, he still harbored fears about his brother deep within.

Thus, Murong Huang ordered Murong Han to take his own life. Murong Han said, "I, a guilty man, had fled and yet returned. I ought to have died long ago. Yet the Jie bandits still hold the Central Plains, and though I am of no importance, I had hoped to battle them and unify the realm for my state. Yet it is not to be. I have no regrets; It is just fate!" Thus he took poison and perished.

代王什翼犍遣其大人長孫秩迎婦於燕。

8. Tuoba Shiyijian sent his chief Zhangsun Zhi to Yan to once more ask for a marriage alliance.

夏，四月，涼州將張瓘敗趙將王擢於三交城。

9. In summer, the fourth month, the Liangzhou general Zhang Guan defeated the Zhao general Wang Zhuo at Sanjiao.

初，趙領軍王朗言於趙王虎曰：「盛冬雪寒，而皇太子使人伐宮材，引於漳水，役者數萬，吁嗟滿道，陛下宜因出遊罷之。」虎從之。太子宣怒。會熒惑守房，宣使太史令趙攬言於虎曰：「房為天王，今熒惑守之，其殃不細。宜以貴臣王姓者當之。」虎曰：「誰可者？」攬曰：「無貴於王領軍。」虎意惜朗，使攬更言其次。攬無以對，因曰：「其次唯中書監王波耳。」虎乃下詔，追罪波前議枯矢事，腰斬之，及其四子，投屍漳水；既而愍其無罪，追贈司空，封其孫為侯。

10. Earlier, Zhao's General Who Directss The Army Wang Lang had said to Shi Hu, "This winter has become especially cold and the snow has been fierce. Yet the Crown Prince has forced the common people into laboring for him by harvesting lumber for building a palace. Tens of thousands have already been compelled into the project, sending the lumber down the Zhang River. The roads are filled with their lamentations. Your Majesty ought to go and see for yourself, and put an end to it." Shi Hu followed his advice. The Crown Prince Shi Xuan was furious.

At that time, Mars was in the Room quadrant. Shi Xuan sent the Court Historian Zhao Lan to tell Shi Hu, "The Room quadrant represents kings. For Mars to reside there augurs a great disaster. You ought to offer up a chief minister with the surname Wang in order to forestall it." (王 Wang means "king", but is also a common surname.)

Shi Hu asked, "Whom should it be?"

Zhao Lan replied, "The most suitable one would be the General Who Directs The Army, Wang Lang."

But Shi Hu wanted to keep Wang Lang, so he ordered Zhao Lan to say who would be next most suitable. Zhao Lan at first had no response, and eventually said, "Next best could only be the Palace Secretary, Wang Bo." So Shi Hu issued an edict against Wang Bo.

Since Shi Hu still held a grudge against Wang Bo for the incident with the arrow tribute to Han, he had Wang Bo cut in half at the waist, along with his four sons. All of their corpses were cast into the Zhang River. Later, since Shi Hu felt regret at what he had done because Wang Bo had committed no actual crime, he posthumously appointed Wang Bo as Minister of Works, and he appointed Wang Bo's grandsons as Marquises.

趙平北將軍尹農攻燕凡城，不克而還。

11. Zhao's General Who Pacifies The North, Yin Nong, attacked Yan’s city Fancheng. He was unsuccessful and so withdrew.

漢太史令韓皓上言：「熒惑守心，乃宗廟不修之譴。」漢主勢命群臣議之。相國董皎、侍中王嘏以為：「景、武創業，獻、文承基，至親不遠，無宜疏絕。」乃更命祀成始祖、太宗，皆謂之漢。

12. Han's Court Astrologist Han Hao sent in a memorial stating, "Mars is now residing in the Heart quadrant. This is Heaven’s criticism for not maintaining the ancestral temples (of the Cheng Emperors)." Li Shi assembled his ministers to discuss the matter.

Chancellor Dong Jiao and Palace Attendant Wang Gu believed, "Emperor Jing (Li Te) and Emperor Wu (Li Xiong) began the grand design from which our state was inherited, and Emperor Xian (Li Xiang) and Emperor Wen (Li Shou) continued their legacy. Our own kinship with Cheng is very close, and so we ought not to refrain from honoring them." So the ancestral temple for Shizu (Li Te) and Taizong (Li Xiong) was maintained, and they were recognized as part of Han.

征西將軍庾翼使梁州刺史桓宣擊趙將李羆於丹水，為羆所敗，翼貶宣為建威將軍。宣慚憤成疾，秋，八月，庚辰，卒。翼以長子方之為義城太守，代領宣眾；又以司馬應誕為襄陽太守，參軍司馬勳為梁州刺史，戍西城。

13. Jin's General Who Conquers The West, Yu Yi, sent the Inspector of Liangzhou, Huan Xuan, to attack the Zhao general Li Pi at Danshui. But Huan Xuan suffered a defeat, so Yu Yi demoted him to General Who Establishes Might. Huan Xuan gradually became ill, and in autumn, the eighth month, on the day Gengchen (August 31st), he passed away.

Yu Yi's eldest son Yu Fangzhi became the Administrator of Yicheng, and commanded the troops there in place of Huan Xuan. Yu Yi also appointed the Marshal Ying Dan as the Administrator of Xiangyang. The Army Advisor Sima Xun became the Inspector of Lianzhou, and camped at Xicheng.

中書令褚裒固辭樞要；閏月，丁巳，以裒為左將軍、都督兗州、徐州之琅邪諸軍事、兗州刺史，鎮金城。

14. The Prefect of the Palace Secretariat, Chu Pou, declined any additional positions he was offered within the court. In the intercalary month, on the day Dingsi (October 7th), Chu Pou became the General of the Left, charged with military affairs in Yanzhou and Xuzhou. He was made the Inspector of Yanzhou, and based at Jincheng.

帝疾篤，庾冰、庾翼欲立會稽王昱為嗣；中書監何充建議立皇子聃，帝從之。九月，丙申，立聃為皇太子。戊戌，帝崩於式乾殿。己亥，何充以遺旨奉太子即位，大赦。由是冰、翼深恨充。尊皇后褚氏為皇太后。時穆帝方二歲，太后臨朝稱制。何充加中書監，錄尚書事。充自陳既錄尚書，不宜復監中書；許之，復加侍中。

15. Emperor Kang grew ill. Yu Bing and Yu Yi wished to make the Prince of Kuaiji, Sima Yu, the new heir. But the Palace Secretary He Chong advocated for the Emperor's son, Sima Dan, to be the next heir, and Emperor Kang agreed. In the ninth month, on the day Bingshen (November 15th), Sima Dan was established as the crown prince.

On the day Wuxu (November 17th), Emperor Kang passed away at Shiqian Palace. On the day Jihai (November 18th), He Chong raised Sima Dan to the imperial throne as Emperor Mu, and a general amnesty was declared. Because of this, Yu Bing and Yu Yi greatly despised He Chong.

Emperor Kang's wife, Empress Chu, became Empress Dowager Chu. At that time, the new Emperor Mu was only two years old, so the Empress Dowager managed the court for him. He Chong was kept on in his role as Palace Secretary, and also wielded authority over the imperial secretariat. However, since He Chong placed greater importance on the latter role, he asked to relinquish his position as Palace Secretary. This was permitted, and so he became a Palace Attendant.

充以左將軍褚裒，太后之父，宜綜朝政，上疏薦裒參錄尚書；乃以裒為侍中、衛將軍、錄尚書事，持節、督、刺史如故。裒以近戚，懼獲譏嫌，上疏固請居籓；改授都督徐、兗、青三州、揚州之二郡諸軍事、衛將軍、徐、兗二州刺史，鎮京口。尚書奏：「裒見太后，在公庭則如臣禮，私覿則嚴父。」從之。

16. He Chong wished to bring Chu Pou, the General of the Left and the Empress Dowager's father, into the affairs of court. He sent in a petition asking that Chu Pou assist him in managing the imperial secretariat. Thus, Chu Pou was appointed as Palace Attendant, Guard General, chief of the imperial secretariat, and Credential Bearer, with authority as a Commander or Inspector. But because Chu Pou was a close relative of the Emperor, he feared he would attract criticism and suspicion, so he sent in a memorial insisting on being posted to an outlying province.

Chu Pou’s assignment was changed to be in charge of military affairs in Xuzhou, Yanzhou, and Qingzhou, as well as the two commandaries in Yangzhou. He was named as Guard General as well as Inspector of Xuzhou and Yanzhou, and he was based at Jingkou. The Master of Writing memorialized: “When Lord Chu visits with the Empress Dowager, in court he must conduct himself as a minister, but in private he may treat her like a stern father.” This was agreed to.

冬，十月，乙丑，葬康帝於崇平陵。

17. In winter, the tenth month, on the day Yichou (December 14th), Emperor Kang was buried at Chongping Tomb.

江州刺史庾冰有疾；太后征冰輔政，冰辭，十一月，庚辰，卒。庾翼以家國情事，留子方之為建武將軍，戍襄陽。方之年少，以參軍毛穆之為建武司馬以輔之。穆之，寶之子也。翼還鎮夏口，詔翼復督江州，又領豫州刺史。翼辭豫州，復欲移鎮樂鄉，詔不許。翼仍繕修軍器，大佃積穀，以圖後舉。

18. The Inspector of Jiangzhou, Yu Bing, fell ill; when the Empress Dowager requested his aid with governing, he declined. In the eleventh month, on the day Gengcheng (December 29th), he passed away.

Because it was too much to handle both family affairs and national affairs, Yu Yi appointed his son Yu Fangzhi as General Who Establishes Valor to guard Xiangyang. Because Yu Fangzhi was still young, the Army Advisor Mao Muzhi was named as Marshal Who Establishes Valor to assist him. This Mao Muzhi was the son of Mao Bao. Yu Yi returned to guard Xiako. An edict was proclaimed naming Yu Yi as Commander of Jiangzhou and acting Inspector of Yuzhou, but Yu Yi declined Yuzhou. He still wished to relocate his command to Le County, but this was not permitted. So Yu Yi contented himself with repairing and fixing up the soldiers' equipment, collecting grain, and preparing for a campaign at some later date.

Mao Bao was the Jin general earlier mentioned as a subordinate of Yu Liang in Jingzhou; he was one of the officers who was killed at Zhuling when Yu Liang unwisely stationed troops there and provoked Shi Hu’s preemptive attack.

趙王虎作河橋於靈昌津，採石為中濟，石下，輒隨流，用功五百餘萬而橋不成，虎怒，斬匠而罷。

19. Shi Hu wished to build a bridge at Lingchang Ford. He planned to build the main pillars out of stones. But when the stones were dropped into the river, the water just washed them away. Although more than five million was used, the bridge was still not completed. Shi Hu, enraged, executed the artisans and canceled the project.