Forthright Remonstrance — Supplement直諫
貞觀二年，隋通事舍人鄭仁基女年十六七，容色絕姝，當時莫及。文德皇后訪求得之，請備嬪御。太宗乃聘為充華。詔書已出，策使未發。魏徵聞其已許嫁陸氏，方遽進而言曰：「陛下為人父母，撫愛百姓，當憂其所憂，樂其所樂。自古有道之主，以百姓之心為心，故君處臺榭，則欲民有棟宇之安；食膏粱，則欲民無饑寒之患；顧嬪御，則欲民有室家之歡。此人主之常道也。今鄭氏之女，久已許人，陛下取之不疑，無所顧問，播之四海，豈為民父母之道乎？臣傳聞雖或未的，然恐虧損聖德，情不敢隱。君舉必書，所願特留神慮。」太宗聞之大驚，手詔答之，深自克責，遂停策使，乃令女還舊夫。左僕射房玄齡、中書令溫彥博、禮部尚書王珪、御史大夫韋挺等云：「女適陸氏，無顯然之狀，大禮既行，不可中止。」又陸氏抗表云：「某父康在日，與鄭家往還，時相贈遺資財，初無婚姻交涉親戚。」並云：「外人不知，妄有此說。」大臣又勸進。太宗於是頗以為疑，問徵曰：「群臣或順旨，陸氏何為過爾分疏？」徵曰：「以臣度之，其意可識，將以陛下同於太上皇。」太宗曰：「何也？」徵曰：「太上皇初平京城，得辛處儉婦，稍蒙寵遇。處儉時為太子舍人，太上皇聞之不悅，遂令出東宮為萬年縣，每懷戰懼，常恐不全首領。陸爽以為陛下今雖容之，恐後陰加譴謫，所以反覆自陳，意在於此，不足為怪。」太宗笑曰：「外人意見，或當如此。然朕之所言，未能使人必信。」乃出敕曰：「今聞鄭氏之女，先已受人禮聘，前出文書之日，事不詳審，此乃朕之不是，亦為有司之過。授充華者宜停。」時莫不稱嘆！
In the second year of Zhenguan, the daughter of Zheng Renji, a court usher of the Sui, was sixteen or seventeen years old, and her beauty was so rare that no one of that time could match her. Empress Wende sought her out and obtained her, and asked that she be taken among the palace consorts. Taizong then received her and made her a consort of the rank of chonghua. The edict had already gone out, but the envoy with the letter of investiture had not yet set off.
Wei Zheng heard that the girl had already been promised in marriage to the Lu family, and he came forward at once in haste and said:
"Your Majesty is father and mother to the people, and you cherish them. You should grieve over what grieves them and delight in what delights them. From of old the rulers who had the Way made the heart of the people their own heart. Therefore when the ruler dwells in terraces and pavilions, he wishes the people to have the peace of a roof and a beam; when he eats rich food, he wishes the people to be free from hunger and cold; when he looks upon his consorts, he wishes the people to have the joy of a household. This is the constant way of a ruler.
"Now the daughter of the Zheng family was promised to another long ago, and if Your Majesty takes her without doubting, without looking into it or asking, and spreads this through the four seas, how is that the way of a father and mother to the people? What your servant has heard at second hand may not be certain, yet I fear it will mar your sagely virtue, and out of feeling I dare not hide it. What a ruler does is always written down. I ask you to give this your especial thought."
When Taizong heard this he was greatly startled. He answered with an edict in his own hand, blaming himself deeply, and at last he stopped the envoy of investiture and ordered that the girl be returned to her former husband.
Fang Xuanling, the left vice director of the Department of State Affairs, Wen Yanbo, the director of the Secretariat, Wang Gui, the minister of rites, and Wei Ting, the censor in chief, said:
"There is no clear trace that the girl was given in marriage to the Lu family, and the great rite has already been performed, so it cannot be halted halfway."
The Lu family too sent up a memorial that said:
"While my father Lu Kang was alive he went back and forth with the Zheng household, and at times they made each other gifts of goods, but from the first there was no dealing between us as kin by marriage."
It said as well, "Outsiders did not know, and have spoken this wildly." The great ministers again urged him to go on. Taizong therefore grew rather doubtful and asked Wei Zheng:
"The ministers may be following my wishes, but why does the Lu family go to such lengths to set the matter apart?"
Wei Zheng said:
"As your servant judges it, their intent can be known. They would put Your Majesty on a level with the Retired Emperor."
Taizong said:
"How is that?"
Wei Zheng said:
"When the Retired Emperor first subdued the capital, he took the wife of Xin Chujian and showed her much favor. Chujian was then a secretary to the Heir Apparent, and when the Retired Emperor heard of it he was displeased, and at last he sent him out of the Eastern Palace to be magistrate of Wannian, so that he lived always in dread and feared he would not keep his head. Lu Shuang fears that though Your Majesty bears with him now, later you will secretly rebuke him and drive him out, and that is why he declares himself over and over. His intent lies in this. It is not to be wondered at."
Taizong laughed and said:
"An outsider's mind may well be like this. Yet what I have said has not been able to make men believe."
Then he issued a command:
"Now I hear that the daughter of the Zheng family had already received the betrothal gifts of another. On the day the document went out before, the matter was not looked into closely. This is my own fault, and it is also the error of the office in charge. The grant of the rank of chonghua is to be stopped."
At that time there was no one who did not praise him and sigh.
貞觀三年，詔關中免二年租稅，關東給復一年。尋有敕：已役已納，並遣輸納，明年總為準折。給事中魏徵上書曰：「伏見八月九日詔書，率土皆給復一年。老幼相歡，或歌且舞。又聞有敕，丁已配役，即令役滿折造，餘物亦遣輸了，待明年總為準折。道路之人，咸失所望。此誠平分百姓，均同七子。但下民難與圖始，日用不足，皆以國家追悔前言，二三其德。臣竊聞之，天之所輔者仁，人之所助者信。今陛下初膺大寶，億兆觀德。始發大號，便有二言。生八表之疑心，失四時之大信。縱國家有倒懸之急，猶必不可。況以泰山之安，而輒行此事！為陛下為此計者，於財利小益，於德義大損。臣誠智識淺短，竊為陛下惜之。伏願少覽臣言，詳擇利益。冒昧之罪。臣所甘心。」
In the third year of Zhenguan an edict remitted two years of taxes in Guanzhong and granted one year's release from service in Guandong. Soon there was a command: those who had already done service and already paid in were all to render it, and in the next year the whole would be reckoned and set off. Wei Zheng, the supervising secretary, sent up a document:
"Bowing low, I have seen the edict of the ninth day of the eighth month, that the whole land is granted one year's release from service. Old and young rejoiced together, and some sang and danced. But I hear too that there is a command: that able-bodied men already assigned to service shall serve out their term and have it reckoned and set off afterward, and that the other goods shall also be rendered in full, to wait for next year when the whole will be reckoned and set off. The people on the roads have all lost what they hoped for.
"This is truly meant to share out evenly among the people and to treat seven sons alike. But the humble folk below are hard to bring along at the start, and their daily use is not enough, so they all think that the state repents of its earlier word and that its virtue is divided in two and three.
"Your servant has quietly heard that what Heaven upholds is benevolence, and what men aid is good faith. Now that Your Majesty has newly received the great treasure, the myriad people are watching your virtue. You have issued your first great proclamation, and already there are two words in it. This breeds a doubting heart in the eight quarters and loses the great faith of the four seasons. Even if the state were in the straits of a man hung upside down, it still must not be done; how much less, with the peace of Mount Tai, should this thing be done all at once.
"Whoever laid this plan for Your Majesty has gained a little in goods and profit and lost much in virtue and right. Your servant's wit and knowledge are truly shallow and short, yet I quietly grieve over this for Your Majesty's sake. Bowing low, I ask you to look even a little at your servant's words and to choose carefully what is of benefit. The guilt of my presumption your servant bears gladly."
簡點使右僕射封德彜等，並欲中男十八已上，簡點入軍。敕三四出，徵執奏以為不可。德彜重奏：「今見簡點者云，次男內大有壯者。」太宗怒，乃出敕：「中男已上，雖未十八，身形壯大，亦取。」徵又不從，不肯署敕。太宗召徵及王珪，作色而待之，曰：「中男若實小，自不點入軍。若實大，亦可簡取。於君何嫌？過作如此固執，朕不解公意！」徵正色曰：「臣聞竭澤取魚，非不得魚，明年無魚。焚林而畋，非不獲獸，明年無獸。若次男已上，盡點入軍，租賦雜徭，將何取給？且比年國家衛士，不堪攻戰。豈為其少，但為禮遇失所，遂使人無鬥心。若多點取人，還充雜使，其數雖眾，終是無用。若精簡壯健，遇之以禮，人百其勇，何必在多？陛下每云，我之為君，以誠信待物，欲使官人百姓，並無矯偽之心。自登極已來，大事三數件，皆是不信，復何以取信於人？」太宗愕然曰：「所云不信，是何等也？」徵曰：「陛下初即位，詔書曰：『逋私宿債，欠負官物，並悉原免。』即令所司，列為事條，秦府國司，亦非官物，陛下自秦王為天子，國司不為官物，其餘物復何所有？又關中免二年租調，關外給復一年。百姓蒙恩，無不歡悅。更有敕旨：『今年白丁多已役訖，若從此放免，並是虛荷國恩，若已折已輸，令總納取了，所免者皆以來年為始。』散還之後，方更徵收，百姓之心，不能無怪，已徵得物，便點入軍，來年為始，何以取信？又共理所寄，在於刺史、縣令，常年貌稅，並悉委之。至於簡點，即疑其詐偽。望下誠信，不亦難乎？」太宗曰：「我見君固執不已，疑君蔽此事。今論國家不信，乃人情不通。我不尋思，過亦深矣。行事往往如此錯失，若為致理？」乃停中男，賜金甕一口，賜珪絹五十匹。
Feng Deyi, the right vice director of the Department of State Affairs, and the other conscription commissioners all wished to choose middle males of eighteen and above into the army. The command came out three or four times, but Wei Zheng held to his report that it must not be done. Deyi reported again:
"Those who are now choosing them say that among the middle males there are many who are sturdy."
Taizong was angry, and issued this command:
"Middle males and above, though they be not yet eighteen, are also to be taken if their bodies are big and sturdy."
Wei Zheng again would not comply and refused to sign the command. Taizong summoned Wei Zheng and Wang Gui, and faced them with his color changed, saying:
"If the middle males are truly small, they will not be chosen into the army of themselves. If they are truly big, they may be chosen and taken. What have you against it? Why do you hold out so stubbornly? I do not understand your mind."
Wei Zheng set his face straight and said:
"Your servant has heard that if you drain the pond to take the fish, it is not that you get no fish, but next year there are no fish; and if you burn the forest to hunt, it is not that you catch no beasts, but next year there are no beasts. If the middle males and above are all chosen into the army, where will the taxes and the sundry labor be taken from?
"Moreover, in these last years the palace guards of the state have not been fit for battle. How is that because they are few? It is only because they were not treated with proper courtesy, so that men were left with no heart to fight. If many men are chosen and then put back to odd errands, their number may be great but in the end they are of no use. If the sturdy are picked out with care and treated with courtesy, each man's courage will be a hundredfold. Why must there be many?
"Your Majesty always says, 'In my rule I meet all things with sincerity and good faith, and I would have the officials and the people alike be without a false heart.' Since you ascended the throne there have been three or four great matters in which there was no good faith. With what then will you win the faith of men?"
Taizong was astonished and said:
"What do you call this want of good faith?"
Wei Zheng said:
"When Your Majesty first ascended the throne, the edict said, 'Old private debts that have been hidden, and goods of the government left owing, are all forgiven.' But then the office in charge was made to set out the items, and the estate offices of the Prince of Qin's household are not government goods either. Your Majesty went from Prince of Qin to be Son of Heaven; if the household offices are not government goods, what other goods can there be?
"Again, two years of taxes were remitted in Guanzhong and one year's release from service was granted beyond the pass, and the people received the favor, and there was not one who was not glad. But then there was another command: 'This year many of the able-bodied commoners have already finished their service. If they are released from this point, they will all have received the state's favor for nothing. If they have already reckoned and already paid in, let them all be made to render it in full, and let the remission begin from next year for all.' To scatter and return it and then to collect again, the hearts of the people cannot but think it strange. The goods already collected are kept, and then men are chosen into the army, and yet you say the remission begins next year. With what will you win their faith?
"Again, those to whom the governing is entrusted with you are the prefects and the county magistrates, and the yearly tax assessed by inspecting each person is all left to them. Yet when it comes to choosing men out, you doubt them of fraud. To hope that sincerity and faith will go down below, is that not hard as well?"
Taizong said:
"I saw you hold out without ceasing, and I doubted that you were shielding this matter. Now that you speak of the state's want of faith, it was human feeling that had not got through. I did not think it out, and my fault is deep as well. If affairs are bungled like this time after time, how shall order be reached?"
Then he stopped the taking of the middle males, and gave him a golden jar, and gave Wang Gui fifty rolls of silk.
貞觀五年，持書侍御史權萬紀、侍御史李仁發，俱以告訐譖毀，數蒙引見，任心彈射，肆其欺罔，令在上震怒，臣下無以自安。內外知其不可，而莫能論諍。給事中魏徵正色而奏之曰：「權萬紀、李仁發並是小人，不識大體，以譖毀為是，告訐為直，凡所彈射，皆非有罪。陛下掩其所短，收其一切。乃騁其奸計，附下罔上，多行無禮，以取強直之名。誣房玄齡，斥退張亮，無所肅厲，徒損聖明。道路之人，皆興謗議。臣伏度聖心，必不以為謀慮深長，可委以棟梁之任，將以其無所避忌，欲以警厲群臣。若信狎回邪，猶不可以小謀大，群臣素無矯偽，空使臣下離心。以玄齡、亮之徒，猶不可得伸其枉直，其餘疏賤，孰能免其欺罔？伏願陛下留意再思。自驅使二人以來，有一弘益，臣即甘心斧鉞，受不忠之罪。陛下縱未能舉善以崇德，豈可進奸而自損乎？」太宗欣然納之，賜徵絹五百匹。其萬紀又奸狀漸露，仁發亦解黜，萬紀貶連州司馬。朝廷咸相慶賀焉。
In the fifth year of Zhenguan, Quan Wanji, the attending censor in charge of documents, and Li Renfa, the attending censor, both won many audiences by denouncing and slandering men, and they impeached as they pleased and gave full rein to their deceits, so that the emperor above was in great anger and the ministers below could find no ease. Within and without, men knew it was not right, but none could argue against it. Wei Zheng, the supervising secretary, set his face straight and reported:
"Quan Wanji and Li Renfa are both small men who do not know the great body of things. They take slander for right and denunciation for straightness, and whomever they impeach is not guilty at all. Your Majesty covers their shortcomings and gathers up all they do, and so they ply their crafty schemes, siding with those below and deceiving the one above, doing much that is improper to win a name for firmness and straightness. They have falsely accused Fang Xuanling and driven out Zhang Liang, and nothing has been made more strict by it; it has only diminished your sagely brightness. The men on the roads all raise talk against it.
"Bowing low, I measure your sagely heart, and surely it is not that you think their counsel deep and far-reaching, fit to be trusted with the burden of a ridgepole and beam; you must mean to use their having nothing they shrink from in order to warn and spur the body of ministers. But if you trust and grow close to the crooked and the wicked, still the small cannot be used to plan for the great, and the ministers have never been false, so this will only turn the hearts of your servants away. If men like Xuanling and Liang cannot get their wrong or their right set out, who among the rest, distant and lowly, can escape being deceived?
"Bowing low, I ask Your Majesty to give this thought and think again. If since these two were put to use there has been one great benefit, your servant will gladly meet the axe and take the guilt of disloyalty. Even if Your Majesty cannot raise up the good and exalt virtue, how can you advance the crafty and diminish yourself?"
Taizong received it gladly and gave Wei Zheng five hundred rolls of silk. As for Wanji, his crafty doings came little by little to light; Renfa too was released from office and driven out, and Wanji was demoted to aide of Lianzhou. The whole court congratulated one another.
貞觀六年，有人告尚書右丞魏徵，言其阿黨親戚。太宗使御史大夫溫彥博案驗其事，乃言者不直。彥博奏稱，徵既為人所道，雖在無私，亦有可責。遂令彥博謂徵曰：「爾諫正我數百條，豈以此小事，便損眾美。自今已後，不得不存形跡。」居數日，太宗問徵曰：「昨來在外，聞有何不是事？」徵曰：「前日令彥博宣敕語臣云：『因何不存形跡？』此言大不是。臣聞君臣同氣，義均一體。未聞不存公道，惟事形跡。若君臣上下，同遵此路，則邦國之興喪，或未可知！」太宗矍然改容曰：「前發此語，尋已悔之。實大不是，公亦不得遂懷隱避。」徵乃拜而言曰：「臣以身許國，直道而行，必不敢有所欺負。但願陛下使臣為良臣，勿使臣為忠臣。」太宗曰：「忠良有異乎？」徵曰：「良臣使身獲美名，君受顯號。子孫傳世，福祿無疆。忠臣身受誅夷，君陷大惡。家國並喪，獨有其名。以此而言，相去遠矣。」太宗曰：「君但莫違此言，我必不忘社稷之計。」乃賜絹二百匹。
In the sixth year of Zhenguan someone accused Wei Zheng, the right assistant director of the Department of State Affairs, saying that he took the side of his kin. Taizong had Wen Yanbo, the censor in chief, look into the matter, and the accuser's words were found crooked. Yanbo reported that since Wei Zheng had already been talked of by others, then even though there was nothing selfish in him he might still be rebuked. So he had Yanbo say to Wei Zheng:
"You have remonstrated and set me right in several hundred matters. Why let this small thing diminish your many excellences? From now on you cannot but watch how things appear."
Some days later Taizong asked Wei Zheng:
"When you were outside yesterday, did you hear of anything that was not right?"
Wei Zheng said:
"The other day you had Yanbo declare your command and say to me, 'Why do you not watch how things appear?' These words are greatly wrong. Your servant has heard that ruler and minister are of one breath and that in right they are one body. I have never heard of not keeping to the public Way and making only appearances one's business. If ruler and minister, above and below, follow this road together, then whether the state rises or falls cannot be known."
Taizong was startled and changed his look, and said:
"After I sent out those words before, I soon repented of them. They were truly greatly wrong. You too must not go on harboring a wish to hide and keep clear."
Wei Zheng then bowed and said:
"Your servant has pledged his body to the state and walks the straight Way, and surely I will not dare to deceive or fail you. I ask only that Your Majesty make me a good minister and not make me a loyal minister."
Taizong said:
"Is there a difference between loyal and good?"
Wei Zheng said:
"A good minister wins a fair name for himself, and his ruler receives an illustrious title, and his sons and grandsons pass it down through the ages, and their blessing has no bound. A loyal minister is cut down in his own body, and his ruler falls into great evil, and house and state are lost together, and only the name is left. Spoken of in this way, the two are far apart."
Taizong said:
"Only do not go against these words. I will surely not forget the plan for the altars of the state."
Then he gave him two hundred rolls of silk.
貞觀六年，匄奴克平，遠夷入貢，符瑞日至，年穀頻登。嶽牧等屢請封禪，群臣等又稱述功德，以為「時不可失，天不可違，今行之，臣等猶謂其晚」。惟魏徵以為不可。太宗曰：「朕欲得卿直言之，勿有所隱。朕功不高耶？」曰：「高矣。」「德未厚耶？」曰：「厚矣。」「華夏未安耶？」曰：「安矣。」「遠夷未慕耶？」曰：「慕矣」「符瑞未至耶？」曰：「至矣。」「年穀未登耶？」曰：「登矣。」「然則何為不可？」對曰：「陛下功高矣，民未懷惠。德厚矣，澤未旁流。華夏安矣，未足以供事。遠夷慕矣，無以供其求。符瑞雖臻，而罻羅猶密。積歲豐稔，而倉廩尚虛。此臣所以竊謂未可。臣未能遠譬，且借近喻於人。有人長患疼痛，不能任持，療理且愈，皮骨僅存，便欲負一石米，日行百里，必不可得。隋氏之亂，非止十年。陛下為之良醫，除其疾苦，雖已乂安，未甚充實，告成天地，臣竊有疑。且陛下東封，萬國咸萃，要荒之外，莫不奔馳。今自伊、洛之東，暨乎海、岱，萑莽巨澤，茫茫千里，人煙斷絕，雞犬不聞，道路蕭條，進退艱阻。寧可引彼戎狄，示以虛弱？竭財以賞，未厭遠人之望；加年給復，不償百姓之勞。或遇水旱之災，風雨之變，庸夫邪議，悔不可追。豈獨臣之誠懇，亦有輿人之論。」太宗稱善，於是乃止。
In the sixth year of Zhenguan the Xiongnu were defeated and pacified, the distant tribes brought tribute, auspicious signs came day by day, and the grain ripened year after year. Those charged with the four quarters asked again and again for the feng and shan sacrifices, and the body of ministers too told over his merit and virtue, holding that "the time cannot be lost and Heaven cannot be crossed; if it is done now, your servants would still call it late." Only Wei Zheng held that it must not be. Taizong said:
"I would have your straight word, and let nothing be hidden. Is my merit not high?"
"It is high."
"Is my virtue not ample?"
"It is ample."
"Is Huaxia not at peace?"
"It is at peace."
"Do the distant tribes not admire us?"
"They admire us."
"Have the auspicious signs not come?"
"They have come."
"Has the grain not ripened year by year?"
"It has ripened."
"Then why do you say it must not be?"
He answered:
"Your Majesty's merit is high, but the people do not yet hold your bounty in their hearts. Your virtue is ample, but your bounty has not yet spread all around. Huaxia is at peace, but it is not yet enough to meet the charge. The distant tribes admire us, but there is nothing to meet what they seek. The auspicious signs have indeed come, but the nets are still close set. There have been years of good harvest, but the granaries are still empty. This is why your servant quietly says that it must not yet be.
"Your servant cannot reach for a far comparison, so let me borrow a near one from men. Suppose a man has long suffered pain and cannot hold himself up, and is treated and begins to mend, with only skin and bone left, and then wishes to carry a picul of rice and walk a hundred li in a day: he surely cannot do it. The disorder of the Sui did not stop at ten years. Your Majesty has been its good physician and has taken away its sickness and pain, and though order and peace have come, there is not yet great fullness, and about announcing the work done to Heaven and Earth your servant quietly has doubts.
"Moreover, if Your Majesty performs the sacrifice in the east, the myriad states will all gather, and from beyond the far border lands there will be none who does not come running. Now from east of the Yi and the Luo as far as the sea and Mount Dai there are reeds and thickets and great marshes, a vast thousand li where the smoke of men is cut off and no cock or dog is heard, the roads desolate, and going forward or turning back is hard and blocked. How can those tribes be drawn in and shown this weakness? To spend all our wealth in gifts would not fill the hopes of distant men; to add years of release from service would not repay the toil of the people. And if flood or drought should come, or the change of wind and rain, worthless men will raise crooked talk, and then repentance cannot overtake it. How should this be your servant's earnest heart alone? There is the talk of the common people as well."
Taizong called it good, and so it was stopped.
貞觀七年，蜀王妃父楊譽，在省競婢，都官郎中薛仁方留身勘問，未及予奪。其子為千牛，於殿庭陳訴，云：「五品以上非反逆不合留身，以是國親，故生節目，不肯決斷，淹留歲月。」太宗聞之，怒曰：「知是我親戚，故作如此艱難。」即令杖仁方一百，解所任官。魏徵進曰：「城狐社鼠皆微物，為其有所憑恃，故除之猶不易。況世家貴戚，舊號難理，漢、晉以來，不能禁御，武德之中，已多驕縱，陛下登極，方始蕭條。仁方既是職司，能為國家守法，豈可枉加刑罰，以成外戚之私乎！此源一開，萬端爭起，後必悔之，將無所及。自古能禁斷此事，惟陛下一人。備豫不虞，為國常道。豈可以水未橫流，便欲自毀隄防？臣竊思度，未見其可。」太宗曰：「誠如公言，鄉者不思。然仁方輒禁不言，頗是專權，雖不合重罪，宜少加懲肅。」乃令杖二十而赦之。
In the seventh year of Zhenguan, Yang Yu, the father of the consort of the Prince of Shu, quarreled over a serving girl in a government office. Xue Renfang, director of the Bureau of Justice, held him in custody and questioned him, but had not yet given a decision. His son, who was a guardsman of the Thousand Bulls, made his plea in the palace courtyard, saying, "Men of the fifth rank and above are not to be held in custody except for rebellion, and because we are kin of the state he has made an issue of it on purpose, and will not decide, but drags the matter out for months." When Taizong heard it he was angry and said:
"He knows they are my kin, and so he makes it hard like this."
He at once ordered Renfang given a hundred strokes of the rod and stripped of the office he held. Wei Zheng came forward and said:
"The fox in the city wall and the rat in the shrine are both small things, but because they have something to lean on, they are still not easy to get rid of. How much more the great houses and the noble kin, who from of old have been called hard to govern. From the Han and the Jin on they could not be checked and held back, and in the Wude years there was already much arrogance and license; only when Your Majesty ascended the throne did it begin to grow quiet. Renfang was in his own charge and was able to keep the law for the state. How can punishment be laid on him wrongly, to serve the private ends of the consort's kin?
"Once this spring is opened, ten thousand streams will vie to rise, and though you repent afterward it will be beyond reach. From of old there is only Your Majesty alone who can forbid and cut off this thing. To be ready beforehand against what is not looked for is the constant way of a state. How can you wish to break down your own dike because the water has not yet overflowed? Your servant quietly weighs it, and I do not see that it is right."
Taizong said:
"It is truly as you say. Just now I did not think of it. Yet that Renfang held him in custody without a word was much like taking power into his own hands, and though it does not merit a heavy punishment, he should be a little chastised and made strict."
So he had him given twenty strokes of the rod and then pardoned.
貞觀八年，左僕射房玄齡、右僕射高士廉於路逢少府監竇德素，問北門近來更何營造。德素以聞。太宗乃謂玄齡曰：「君但知南衙事，我北門少有營造，何預君事？」玄齡等拜謝。魏徵進曰：「臣不解陛下責，亦不解玄齡、士廉拜謝。玄齡既任大臣，即陛下股肱耳目，有所營造，何容不知？責其訪問官司，臣所不解。且所為有利害，役工有多少，陛下所為善，當助陛下成之，所為不是，雖營造，當奏陛下罷之。此乃君使臣、臣事君之道。玄齡等問既無罪，而陛下責之，臣所不解；玄齡等不識所守，但知拜謝，臣亦不解。」太宗深愧之。
In the eighth year of Zhenguan, Fang Xuanling, the left vice director of the Department of State Affairs, and Gao Shilian, the right vice director, met Dou Desu, the director of the palace workshops, on the road, and asked what was being built of late at the North Gate. Desu reported this. Taizong then said to Xuanling:
"You need only know the business of the Southern Court. I am building a little at the North Gate. What has that to do with you?"
Xuanling and the others bowed and begged pardon. Wei Zheng came forward and said:
"Your servant does not understand Your Majesty's rebuke, nor do I understand why Xuanling and Shilian bowed and begged pardon. Xuanling holds the charge of a great minister, and so he is Your Majesty's arms and legs, your ears and eyes. If something is being built, how can it be allowed that he should not know? You rebuke him for asking the office in charge, and your servant does not understand it.
"Moreover, in what is done there is benefit and harm, and in the labor employed there is much and little. If what Your Majesty does is good, he should help Your Majesty bring it about; if what you do is not right, then even while it is being built he should report to Your Majesty and have it stopped. This is the way in which a ruler uses his minister and a minister serves his ruler. Xuanling and the others were without guilt in asking, and yet Your Majesty rebuked them, and your servant does not understand it; and Xuanling and the others did not know what they should hold to, but knew only to bow and beg pardon, and this your servant does not understand either."
Taizong was deeply ashamed.
貞觀十年，越王，長孫皇後所生，太子介弟，聰明絕倫，太宗特所寵異。或言三品以上，皆輕蔑王者，意在譖侍中魏徵等，以激上怒。上御齊政殿，引三品已上入坐定，大怒作色而言曰：「我有一言，向公等道。往前天子，即是天子。今時天子，非天子耶？往年天子兒，是天子兒。今日天子兒，非天子兒耶？我見隋家諸王，達官已下，皆不免被其躓頓。我之兒子，自不許其縱橫，公等所容易過，得相共輕蔑。我若縱之，豈不能躓頓公等！」玄齡等戰栗，皆拜謝。徵正色而諫曰：「當今群臣，必無輕蔑越王者。然在禮，臣、子一例，《傳》稱，王人雖微，列於諸侯之上。諸侯用之為公，即是公；用之為卿，即是卿。若不為公卿，即下士於諸侯也。今三品已上，列為公卿，並天子大臣，陛下所加敬異。縱其小有不是，越王何得輒加折辱？若國家紀綱廢壞，臣所不知。以當今聖明之時，越王豈得如此。且隋高祖不知禮義，寵樹諸王，使行無禮，尋以罪黜，不可為法，亦何足道？」太宗聞其言，喜形於色，謂群臣曰：「凡人言語理到，不可不伏。朕之所言，當身私愛。魏徵所論，國家大法。朕鄉者忿怒，自謂理在不疑。及見魏徵所論，始覺大非道理。為人君言，何可容易！」召玄齡等而切責之，賜徵絹一千匹。
In the tenth year of Zhenguan, the Prince of Yue, borne by Empress Zhangsun and younger brother of the Heir Apparent, was of surpassing brightness, and Taizong loved him with a special favor. Someone said that all those of the third rank and above slighted the prince; the intent was to slander Wei Zheng, the director of the Chancellery, and the others, and so to stir the emperor's anger. The emperor went to the Qizheng Hall, drew in those of the third rank and above and had them seated, and then in great anger, with his color changed, he said:
"I have a word to say, and I say it to you. The Son of Heaven of former days was the Son of Heaven; is the Son of Heaven of today not the Son of Heaven? The son of the Son of Heaven in years past was the son of the Son of Heaven; is the son of the Son of Heaven today not the son of the Son of Heaven? I look at the princes of the house of Sui, and from the high officials down none escaped being brought low by them. I do not allow my own son to do as he pleases, and so you pass it off lightly and slight him among you. If I gave him rein, could he not bring you low as well?"
Xuanling and the others trembled and all bowed and begged pardon. Wei Zheng set his face straight and remonstrated:
"Among the ministers today there is surely none who slights the Prince of Yue. But in the rites, minister and son are of one rule. The Commentary says, 'A man of the king, though lowly, is ranked above the feudal lords.' If a feudal lord uses him as a duke, he is a duke; if he uses him as a minister of state, he is a minister of state. If he is neither duke nor minister of state, then he is a lower officer to the feudal lords.
"Now those of the third rank and above are ranked as dukes and ministers of state, and they are all great ministers of the Son of Heaven, whom Your Majesty honors and treats with special regard. Even if there were some small wrong in them, how can the Prince of Yue break them down and shame them? If the bonds and rules of the state had gone to ruin, your servant would not know of it; but in a time as sage and bright as this, how can the Prince of Yue do such a thing? Moreover Gaozu of the Sui did not know the rites and right; he favored and raised up his princes and let them do what was improper, and soon he cast them out for their crimes. He cannot be taken as a model, and what is there in him worth speaking of?"
When Taizong heard his words, joy showed in his face, and he said to the body of ministers:
"Whenever a man's words reach the reason of a thing, one cannot but yield to them. What I said was my own private love; what Wei Zheng argued is the great law of the state. Just now I was angry and thought my reason was beyond doubt, and only on seeing what Wei Zheng argued did I begin to see that it was greatly against right. How can one who is a ruler speak lightly?"
He called in Xuanling and the others and rebuked them earnestly, and gave Wei Zheng a thousand rolls of silk.
貞觀十一年，所司奏淩敬乞貪之狀。太宗責侍中魏徵等濫進人。徵曰：「臣等每蒙顧問，常具言其長短。有學識，強諫諍，是其所長。愛生活，好經營，是其所短。今淩敬為人作碑文，教人讀《漢書》，因茲附托，回易求利，與臣等所說不同。陛下未用其長，惟見其短，以為臣等欺罔，實不敢心伏。」太宗納之。
In the eleventh year of Zhenguan the office in charge reported the state of Ling Jing's greed. Taizong rebuked Wei Zheng, the director of the Chancellery, and the others for recommending men carelessly. Wei Zheng said:
"Whenever your servants have been asked, we have always stated both his long points and his short. That he has learning and remonstrates firmly is his long point; that he is fond of his living and likes to manage things is his short point. Now Ling Jing has written an inscription for another and taught men to read the Han shu, and leaning on this has traded about seeking profit, and this is not the same as what your servants said. Your Majesty has not used his long point but has seen only his short, and takes it that your servants deceived you, and truly we cannot bow to this in our hearts."
Taizong accepted it.
貞觀十二年，太宗謂魏徵曰：「比來所行得失政化，何如往前？」對曰：「若恩威所加，遠夷朝貢，比於貞觀之始，不可等級而言。若德義潛通，民心悅服，比於貞觀之初，相去又甚遠。」太宗曰：「遠夷來服，應由德義所加。往前功業，何因益大？」徵曰：「昔者四方未定，常以德義為心，旋以海內無虞，漸加驕奢自溢。所以功業雖盛，終不如往初。」太宗又曰：「所行比往前何為異？」徵曰：「貞觀之初，恐人不言，導之使諫。三年已後，見人諫，悅而從之。一二年來，不悅人諫，雖勉強聽受，而意終不平，諒有難色。」太宗曰：「於何事如此？」對曰：「即位之初，處元律師死罪，孫伏伽諫曰：『法不至死，無容濫加酷罰。』遂賜以蘭陵公主園，直錢百萬。人或曰：『所言乃常事，而所賞太厚。』答曰：『我即位來，未有諫者，所以賞之。』此導之使言。也徐州司戶柳雄於隋資妄加階級。人有告之者，陛下令其自首，不首與罪。遂固言是實，竟不肯首。大理推得其偽，將處雄死罪，少卿戴胄奏法止合徒。陛下曰：『我已與其斷當訖，但當與死罪。』胄曰：『陛下既不然，即付臣法司。罪不合死，不可酷濫。』陛下作色遣殺，胄執之不已，至於四五，然後赦之。乃謂法司曰：『但能為我如此守法，豈畏濫有誅夷。』此則悅以從諫也。往年陜縣丞皇甫德參上書大忤聖旨，陛下以為訕謗。臣奏稱上書不激切，不能起人主意，激切即似訕謗。於時雖從臣言，賞物二十段，意甚不平，難於受諫也。」太宗曰：「誠如公言，非公無能道此者。人皆苦不自覺，公向未道時，都自謂所行不變。及見公論說，過失堪驚。公但存此心，朕終不違公語。」
In the twelfth year of Zhenguan, Taizong said to Wei Zheng:
"How do the government and the teaching of these later days, their gains and losses, compare with former days?"
He answered:
"If we speak of bounty and majesty reaching out and the distant tribes bringing tribute, it is beyond any degrees of comparison with the beginning of Zhenguan. If we speak of virtue and right quietly getting through and the hearts of the people gladly yielding, it is again very far from the beginning of Zhenguan."
Taizong said:
"The distant tribes come and yield, and that should come from virtue and right being added to. Why then has the work of former days grown greater?"
Wei Zheng said:
"In the old days the four quarters were not yet settled, and you always made virtue and right your heart. Then, when there was no trouble within the seas, arrogance and luxury little by little brimmed over of themselves. So although the work is flourishing, in the end it is not what it was at first."
Taizong said again:
"How does what is done now differ from former days?"
Wei Zheng said:
"At the beginning of Zhenguan you feared that men would not speak, and you led them on to remonstrate. After the third year, when you saw men remonstrate, you were glad and followed them. In the last year or two you have not been glad when men remonstrate; though you force yourself to hear and receive it, your mind is not at ease in the end, and there is truly a look of difficulty."
Taizong said:
"In what matters is it so?"
He answered:
"At the beginning of your reign you sentenced Yuan Lüshi to death, and Sun Fujia remonstrated, saying, 'The law does not go so far as death; a cruel punishment must not be added at will.' You then gave him the garden of the Princess of Lanling, worth a million cash. Someone said, 'What he said was an ordinary matter, and the reward was too rich.' You answered, 'Since I ascended the throne there had been no one who remonstrated, and that is why I rewarded him.' This was leading them on to speak.
"Liu Xiong, revenue manager of Xuzhou, falsely added grades to his record of service under the Sui, and someone accused him. Your Majesty had him confess of himself, and said that if he did not confess he would be punished. But he insisted that it was true and would not confess in the end. The Court of Judicial Review probed and found out his falsehood and was about to sentence Xiong to death, when Dai Zhou, the vice minister, reported that by law it went no further than penal labor. Your Majesty said, 'I have already settled the matter with him, and he must simply be given the death penalty.' Zhou said, 'If Your Majesty will not have it so, then hand it over to your servant's court of law. The crime does not merit death, and it must not be made cruel and excessive.' Your Majesty changed color and sent to have him killed, and Zhou held to it without ceasing, four and five times over, and then you pardoned him. Then you said to the court of law, 'If you can keep the law for me like this, why should I fear that men will be put to death at will?' This was being glad and following remonstrance.
"Last year Huangfu Decan, assistant magistrate of Shan county, sent up a document that greatly crossed your sagely will, and Your Majesty took it for slander. Your servant reported that a document sent up cannot rouse a ruler's mind if it is not sharp and earnest, and that if it is sharp and earnest it seems like slander. At that time, though you followed your servant's words and rewarded him with twenty lengths of goods, your mind was much ill at ease, and it was hard for you to receive remonstrance."
Taizong said:
"It is truly as you say. Without you there is no one who could say this. All men suffer from not perceiving themselves; before you had spoken, everyone thought that what was done was unchanged. Only on seeing your argument do I find my faults startling. Only keep this heart, and I will never go against your words."