A4.26
When King Mu was about to conquer Quanrong, Duke Jigong Moufu advised him against it, saying, "Don't do that. What the ancient kings displayed was the manifest of virtues not the exhibit of brutal forces. The army should lie low and only go out when necessary. When it goes out, it must show its power. Showing off military force would be a blasphemy against the army, which has absolutely no power of deterrence on the enemy. Therefore, the eulogy of Duke Wen of Zhou says: ‘I have put away my weapons, I have laid aside my bows and arrows, I want to seek virtue, and have it spread around throughout the time, so the kingdom will be forever preserved.’ The ancient kings treated their people by fostering their virtues and enriching their natures, by enriching their wealth and making their tools useful. They made it clear that where the benefits and harms were and cultivated them with culture, so that they would pursue benefits and avoid harm, cherish virtue and respect power. Thus they were able to preserve the country and make it prosperous. In the past, our ancestors served as Hou Ji for generations to serve Yu Shun and Xia Yu. When the Xia Dynasty declined, and the post of Hou Ji was abandoned, and agriculture was no longer valued. Our ancestor Buzhu lost his official position and fled to the Rongdi area. He did not dare to slack off in agriculture, often promoted the virtues of Hou Ji, followed and inherited his cause, practiced his teachings and laws, was respectful and diligent from morning till night, and always followed his principles with a loyal and honest attitude. The virtues of the past generations should not be disgraced. During the reigns of King Wen and King Wu, they carried forward the brightness of the past virtues with additional peace and kindness, worshipped the gods and protected the people, and no one in the world was not happy. King of Shang the emperor Xin Zhou the Tyrant committed heinous crimes against his people. The people could not bear it anymore but happily supported King Wu. So there was an war in Muye, a suburb of Shang. Therefore, the ancient kings did not advocate the use of force, but diligently sympathized with the sufferings of the people and eliminated harm for them. According to the system of the ancient kings, the area within the state capital was called Dianfu, the area outside the state capital was called Houfu, the area guarded by the princes was called Binfu or Suifu, the area where the barbarians lived was called Yaofu, and the area where the Rongdi people lived was called Huangfu. Those princes as Dianfu had to offer sacrifices to the emperor's father and ancestors, those as Houfu had to offer sacrifices to the emperor's great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather, those as Binfu had to offer sacrifices to the emperor's distant ancestors, those as Yaofu had to offer tribute regularly, and those as Huangfu had to come to pay homage to the emperor. There were daily sacrifices by Dianfu princes, monthly sacrifices by Houfu, seasonal offerings by Binfu, annual tributes by Yaofu, and the Huangfu being an audience with the king once in a lifetime. According to the teachings of the ancient kings, the Dianfu princes should reflect on their thoughts if they do not offer sacrifices, the Houfu princes should reflect on their words if they do not offer sacrifices, the Binfu princes should revise their system if they do not offer sacrifices, the Yaofu princes should have their status corrected if they do not offer sacrifices, the Huangfu princes should reflect on their virtues if they do not to come to the emperor for audience, and if all of these are done but the princes still fail to fulfill their duties, they should be punished. Then the royal family can punish the princes in the Dianfu who do not offer sacrifices, attack the princes in the Houfu who do not offer sacrifices, conquer the princes in the Binfu who do not offer sacrifices, rebuke the princes in the Yaofu who do not offer tribute, and warn the princes in the Huangfu who do not pay homage to the king. Hence there are regulations about punishments, there are armies for attacking, there are weapons for conquering, there are commands for reprimanding, and there are vocabulary for proclamations. If issuing written orders still fails to make the princes perform their duties, we must further reflect on our moral conduct and not wear the people out on expeditions. Therefore, there was not a single neighboring prince who did not obey, and not a single one in the distance who did not submit. Now, since the death of Dabi and Boshi, the Quanrong clan has fulfilled their duty and come to the King for the audience, the Son of Heaven said, ‘I must conquer them for not offering sacrifices, and show off my military strength to them.’ Isn't this abandoning the teachings of the previous kings? Isn't the King about to get into trouble? I heard that the Quanrong clan advocates a culture of honesty and follows the virtues of their predecessors. If they can persist in this way, they will have enough power to resist us. " In the end, King Mu still sent the conquering troops, and only captured four white wolves and four white deer. From then on, the barbaric tribes stopped coming to pay homage to the emperor.
穆王将征犬戎，祭公谋父谏曰：“不可。先王耀德不观兵。夫兵戢而时动，动则威，观则玩，玩则无震。是故周文公之颂曰：‘载戢干戈，载櫜弓矢，我求懿德，肆于时夏，允王保之。’先王之于民也，茂正其德而厚其性，阜其财求而利其器用，明利害之乡，以文修之，使之务利而辟害，怀德而畏威，故能保世以滋大。昔我先王世后稷以服事虞、夏。及夏之衰也，弃稷不务，我先王不窋用失其官，而自窜于戎狄之闲。不敢怠业，时序其德，遵修其绪，修其训典，朝夕恪勤，守以敦笃，奉以忠信。奕世载德，不忝前人。至于文王、武王，昭前之光明而加之以慈和，事神保民，无不欣喜。商王帝辛大恶于民，庶民不忍，欣载武王，以致戎于商牧。是故先王非务武也，劝恤民隐而除其害也。夫先王之制，邦内甸服，邦外侯服，侯卫宾服，夷蛮要服，戎翟荒服。甸服者祭，侯服者祀，宾服者享，要服者贡，荒服者王。日祭，月祀，时享，岁贡，终王。先王之顺祀也，有不祭则修意，有不祀则修言，有不享则修文，有不贡则修名，有不王则修德，序成而有不至则修刑。于是有刑不祭，伐不祀，征不享，让不贡，告不王。于是有刑罚之辟，有攻伐之兵，有征讨之备，有威让之命，有文告之辞。布令陈辞而有不至，则增修于德，无勤民于远。是以近无不听，远无不服。今自大毕、伯士之终也，犬戎氏以其职来王，天子曰‘予必以不享征之，且观之兵’，无乃废先王之训，而王几顿乎？吾闻犬戎树敦，率旧德而守终纯固，其有以御我矣。”王遂征之，得四白狼四白鹿以归。自是荒服者不至。
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