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。

114 You Yu and Liao

A5.33 

King Rong sent You Yu as an envoy to Qin. You Yu's ancestors were from Jin and fled to Rong, but You Yu could still speak the Jin dialect. When King Rong heard that Duke Mu was wise, he sent You Yu to Qin to investigate. Duke Mu of Qin showed You Yu the palaces and wealth of Qin. You Yu said: "Even if the ghosts and gods were asked to build these palaces, they would feel tired. If we let people build it, the people will suffer too much.” Duke Mu was surprised and asked, "China the Central Kingdom use poetry, books, rituals, music and laws to govern the country, but there are still frequent disasters. Now you Rongyi don't have these things, how are you going to govern your country? Isn't this very difficult?" You Yu smiled and said, “This is why disasters often occur in the Central Kingdom. The ancient sage Huangdi established the laws of rites, music and personally took the lead in implementing them, but he only achieved a small peace. In later generations, kings became increasingly arrogant and extravagant. Relying on the power of the law, the monarch harshly criticizes and supervises the subjects below. The subjects below are exhausted to the extreme and will resent the monarch and hope that benevolence and righteousness will be practiced. In this way, the monarch and the lower classes will resent each other, which will lead to usurpation of the throne, regicide, and even the extermination of the entire family. Disasters are caused by this kind of reasons. But it is not the case with the Rongyi. The superior treats the inferior with kindness, and the inferior serves the superior with loyalty. Governing the country is like taking care of one's own body. There is no need to know how to govern. This is the way a true sage governs a country. " After the court session, Duke Mu asked the Internal Historian Liao, "I heard that if a sage appears in a neighboring country, it will be a threat to the enemy country. Now You Yu is too virtuous and will become a disaster for me, what should I do? " Liao, the Internal Historian, said: "King Rong lives in a remote place and has never heard the music of the Central Kingdom. You can try to send entertaining girls to King Rong to weaken his will, and then ask for credit on behalf of You Yu to alienate their relationship. You can also keep You Yu from going back and delay his return deadline. This way it would certainly make King Rong feel strange and start to suspect You Yu. Once a gap is created between the monarch and his subjects, they can be captured. Besides, if the King of Rong falls in love with the music of the Central Kingdom, he will definitely neglect state affairs.” Duke Mu said, "Okay." So he sat around with You Yu, toasted each other, and ate together. He asked You Yu about the topography and military situation in Rong land, and then asked the Internal Historian Liao to send sixteen entertaining girls to the King of Rong. King Rong was very happy accepting those entertaining girls, and he was so obsessed with them that he totally ignored the state affairs from then on. Only then did the State of Qin allow You Yu to return home. You Yu advised King Rong many times, but King Rong would not listen. Duke Mu sent people to secretly invite You Yu many times, so You Yu left Rongyi and defected to the State of Qin. Duke Mu received him as a guest and asked him about his strategy for conquering the Rong people. 

戎王使由余于秦。由余，其先晋人也，亡入戎，能晋言。闻缪公贤，故使由余观秦。秦缪公示以宫室、积聚。由余曰：“使鬼为之，则劳神矣。使人为之，亦苦民矣。”缪公怪之，问曰：“中国以诗书礼乐法度为政，然尚时乱，今戎夷无此，何以为治，不亦难乎？”由余笑曰：“此乃中国所以乱也。夫自上圣黄帝作为礼乐法度，身以先之，仅以小治。及其后世，日以骄淫。阻法度之威，以责督于下，下罢极则以仁义怨望于上，上下交争怨而相篡弑，至于灭宗，皆以此类也。夫戎夷不然。上含淳德以遇其下，下怀忠信以事其上，一国之政犹一身之治，不知所以治，此真圣人之治也。”于是缪公退而问内史廖曰：“孤闻邻国有圣人，敌国之忧也。今由余贤，寡人之害，将奈之何？”内史廖曰：“戎王处辟匿，未闻中国之声。君试遗其女乐，以夺其志；为由余请，以疏其间；留而莫遣，以失其期。戎王怪之，必疑由余。君臣有间，乃可虏也。且戎王好乐，必怠于政。”缪公曰：“善。”因与由余曲席而坐，传器而食，问其地形与其兵势尽察，而后令内史廖以女乐二八遗戎王。戎王受而说之，终年不还。于是秦乃归由余。由余数谏不听，缪公又数使人间要由余，由余遂去降秦。缪公以客礼礼之，问伐戎之形。