Dispatch making Li Minzhi, magistrate of Susong, chief military commandant for the punitive campaign宿松縣令李敏之充招討都知兵馬使
1Like Lai Huer, who threw down his book and sighed
牒奉處分。昔來護者。立性卓犖。初讀詩至擊鼓其鏜。踊躍用兵。羔裘豹飾。孔武有力。乃捨書歎曰。夫人在世。固當如是。會因滅賊。以取功名。安能區區專事筆硯。其後果申壯志。累逢殊勳。則知奇才所爲。何代不有。前件官。精詳吏道。旁習戎機。假百里之威則疲甿獲賴。作萬夫之長則義旅知歸。遂得縣道肅淸。隣藩倚賴。欲破蘄春之狡窟。遙分江夏之兵權。罷從役於驅鷄。佇承乏於建隼。聊加職賞。俾振軍聲。是乃丈夫雄飛。君子豹變。勉驅甲騎。遠應羽書。旣設援於他邦。必保安於吾圉。事須補充節度衙前兵馬使兼充西南招討都知兵馬。
This dispatch carries out the decision handed down. Long ago Lai Huer was a man of outstanding nature. When he first read the Odes and came to "They beat the drums with a rolling sound, and leap up to use their arms," and to "A lambskin coat with leopard trim, mighty in war and full of strength," he threw down the book and sighed, saying, "A man alive in this world should truly be like that. He ought to meet the hour, wipe out the bandits and take merit and fame. How can he fuss over brush and inkstone alone?" Afterward he did indeed unfold his brave will, and met with rare merit again and again. From this it is known that there is no age without men of rare talent at work. The officer named above is exact in the way of the clerk, and has learned the workings of war besides. Lend him the awe of a hundred li, and the worn people gain their support. Make him the leader of ten thousand men, and righteous troops know where to turn. So the roads of his county were swept clean, and the neighboring province came to lean on him. To break the crafty den at Qichun, the military power of Jiangxia is divided from afar. He leaves the duty of driving chickens, and waits to fill the empty place of raising the falcon. His office and reward are raised a little, that the fame of the army may be shaken out. This is the man of worth soaring up, the gentleman changing like a leopard. Strive to drive the armored horse, and answer the feather dispatch far away. Since help has already been given to another province, our own border must surely be kept safe. This matter must be an appointment as military commandant of the military governor's headquarters staff, together with an appointment as chief military commandant for the punitive campaign in the southwest.
Interlinear notes 1
The base text reads 來護者, but the anecdote that follows is that of Lai Huer of the Sui, so 者 is taken as 兒. — translator