115 The Passing of Duke Mu

A5.34|35

In the thirty-sixth year (624 BC), Duke Mu treated Meng Ming and others even better and let them lead the army to attack the State of Jin. After crossing the Yellow River, they set fire to their own ships and defeated the Jin army, captured Wangguan and Jiao of Jin, and avenged the defeat in the Battle of Mount Yao. The people of Jin defended the city and did not dare to send out troops. So Duke Mu personally crossed the Yellow River from Maojin, buried the soldiers who died in the battle of Mount Yao, held a funeral for them, and cried for three days. Then he gave the oath to the army: "Ah, soldiers! Everyone listen to me, don't make any noise, I swear to you. In ancient times, people often asked the elderly for advice before doing things so that they would not make mistakes. I want to state that it was because I did not adopt the advice of Jian Shu and Baili xiXi that I was defeated in the battle of Mount Yao. Therefore, I made this oath to let future generations remember my fault." When the gentlemen heard it, they all shed tears and said, "Oh! Duke Mu of Qin treated people with consideration and care, which ultimately led to the victory for Meng Ming and others." 

In the thirty-seventh year (623 BC), Qin adopted You Yu's suggestion to attack the King of Rong, conquered twelve countries, expanded its territory by a thousand lis, and thus dominated the Western Rong. The King of Zhou asked Duke Zhao to bring a golden drum to congratulate Duke Mu. In the thirty-ninth year, Duke Mu died and was buried in Yong. There were 177 people buried with him, including three good ministers of the Qin State, namely, Yanxi, Zhongxing and Zhenhu of the Ziyu clan, who were also among the burial companions. The Qin people were very sad and composed the poem "Yellow Bird" for them. The gentleman said: "Qin Mu openly expanded his territory, conquered the powerful Jin State in the east, and dominated the barbarians in the west, but he did not become the leader of the princes. This is natural. After his death, he abandoned the people and let the good ministers of Qin be buried with him. Moreover, when the ancient kings passed away, they left behind their good virtues and laws. How can later generations take away the good ministers who are loved and respected by the people? From this we can see that Qin can no longer march eastward.” Duke Mu had forty sons, and his crown prince Ying succeeded him, becoming Duke Kang.

十六年，缪公复益厚孟明等，使将兵伐晋，渡河焚船，大败晋人，取王官及鄗，以报殽之役。晋人皆城守不敢出。于是缪公乃自茅津渡河，封殽中尸，为发丧，哭之三日。乃誓于军曰：“嗟士卒！听无譁，余誓告汝。古之人谋黄发番番，则无所过。”以申思不用蹇叔、百里傒之谋，故作此誓，令后世以记余过。君子闻之，皆为垂涕，曰：“嗟乎！秦缪公之与人周也，卒得孟明之庆。”

三十七年，秦用由余谋伐戎王，益国十二，开地千里，遂霸西戎。天子使召公过贺缪公以金鼓。三十九年，缪公卒，葬雍。从死者百七十七人，秦之良臣子舆氏三人名曰奄息、仲行、针虎，亦在从死之中。秦人哀之，为作歌黄鸟之诗。君子曰：“秦缪公广地益国，东服强晋，西霸戎夷，然不为诸侯盟主，亦宜哉。死而弃民，收其良臣而从死。且先王崩，尚犹遗德垂法，况夺之善人良臣百姓所哀者乎？是以知秦不能复东征也。”缪公子四十人，其太子罃代立，是为康公。