94 Advisor Ma Fan and Zhou Zui

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In the 42nd year (273 BC), Qin broke the Huayang agreement with Wei (Liang). Ma Fan said to the King of Zhou: "Please send me to persuade Liang to build a city wall for Zhou." He said to the King Liang: "The King of Zhou is afraid that Qin will attack Zhou. If he dies of the fear, then I will also die. I am requesting to present the Nine Tripod Cauldrons of Zhou to you. You are going to look after me when you get them." King Liang said, "Okay." Later, he gave Ma Fan some soldiers, saying that they were going to guard the State of Zhou. Ma Fan then said to the King of Qin, that "Liang is not going to defend Zhou, but is preparing to attack Zhou. You can test it out by sending some troops to the border." So the Qin State indeed sent out its troops. Ma Fan said to King Liang: "The King of Zhou is very ill. Please allow me to report the matter of the Nine Tripod Cauldrons to him later. Now that you have sent soldiers to the State of Zhou, the princes have become suspicious, and you will not be able to convince them when you do things in the future. It would be better to let the soldiers build a city wall for the Zhou State as a cover-up." King Liang said, "Okay." He ordered his soldiers to build a city wall for the Zhou State.

In the forty-fifth year (270 BC), the King of Zhou went to the State of Qin. Someone said to Zhou Zui, "Why don't you praise the King of Qin for his filial piety and give him the land of Ying to the Queen Mother as her burial land. The King of Qin will be very happy and you will have a good relationship with Qin. If the two countries become friends, the King of Zhou will definitely credit it to you. If the two countries become enemies, the one who gets the blame will be the one persuaded the King of Zhou to enter Qin." When Qin was to attack Zhou, Zhou Zui said to the King of Qin: “For your sake, I suggest that you do not attack Zhou. Attacking Zhou will not gain much benefits, but it will give Qin a bad reputation for the world to fear. The whole world will be afraid of Qin moving east to be united with Qi. Once Qin's military strength was damaged in the process of attacking Zhou and the rest of the world would be united with Qi, Qin would not be the king unifying the world. The world wants to weaken and exhaust Qin, so they advise you to attack Zhou. If weakened and exhausted, the Qin State will no longer be able to command the world."

四十二年，秦破华阳约。马犯谓周君曰：“请令梁城周。”乃谓梁王曰：“周王病若死，则犯必死矣。犯请以九鼎自入于王，王受九鼎而图犯。”梁王曰：“善。”遂与之卒，言戍周。因谓秦王曰：“梁非戍周也，将伐周也。王试出兵境以观之。”秦果出兵。又谓梁王曰：“周王病甚矣，犯请后可而复之。今王使卒之周，诸侯皆生心，后举事且不信。不若令卒为周城，以匿事端。”梁王曰：“善。”遂使城周。

四十五年，周君之秦客谓周曰：“公不若誉秦王之孝，因以应为太后养地，秦王必喜，是公有秦交。交善，周君必以为公功。交恶，劝周君入秦者必有罪矣。”秦攻周，而周冣谓秦王曰：“为王计者不攻周。攻周，实不足以利，声畏天下。天下以声畏秦，必东合于齐。兵弊于周。合天下于齐，则秦不王矣。天下欲弊秦，劝王攻周。秦与天下弊，则令不行矣。”

93 Bai Qi and Yang Youji

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In the thirty-fourth year, Su Li said to the Lord of Zhou: "Qin conquered Han and Wei, defeated Xiwu, and seized Lin and Lishi from Zhao in the north. This was all due to Bai Qi's contribution. He is good at commanding battles and had the will of heaven. Now he is going to lead his army out of the border to attack Liang State. Once Liang State was conquered, Zhou State would be in danger. Why don't you send someone to lobby Bai Qi? To tell him that ‘there was a man named Yang Youji in the Chu state who is good at archery. He shot arrows at the willow leaves from a distance of 100 steps, and he hit the target 100 times. Thousands of people were watching, and they all said he was a good archer. There was a man standing beside him and said, "Good, you can be taught archery." Yang Youji was angry, put down his bow and grabbed his sword, saying, "How can a guest teach me how to shoot?" The guest said, "It is not my ability to teach you to bend left or right. You shoot your arrows at the willow leaf from a hundred steps away, and you hit it a hundred times out of a hundred times. But if you don’t rest well, after a while you will run out of strength and become tired. The bow will be crooked and the arrow will be bent. If one arrow misses the target, the previous hundred arrows will be wasted." You have already made great contributions by defeating the armies of Han and Wei, killing Shi Wu, and taking Lin and Lishi from Zhao in the north. Now you are going to lead your troops out of the border again, passing through the east and west, with Han at your back, to attack the State of Liang. If you fail in one battle, all your previous efforts will be wasted. It is better for you to claim illness and not go to the battle. "

三十四年，苏厉谓周君曰：“秦破韩、魏，扑师武，北取赵蔺、离石者，皆白起也。是善用兵，又有天命。今又将兵出塞攻梁，梁破则周危矣。君何不令人说白起乎？曰‘楚有养由基者，善射者也。去柳叶百步而射之，百发而百中之。左右观者数千人，皆曰善射。有一夫立其旁，曰“善，可教射矣”。养由基怒，释弓搤剑，曰“客安能教我射乎”？客曰“非吾能教子支左诎右也。夫去柳叶百步而射之，百发而百中之，不以善息，少焉气衰力倦，弓拨矢钩，一发不中者，百发尽息”。今破韩、魏，扑师武，北取赵蔺、离石者，公之功多矣。今又将兵出塞，过两周，倍韩，攻梁，一举不得，前功尽弃。公不如称病而无出’。”

92 Gaodu to Zhou

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When the Eastern Zhou and Western Zhou were at war, Han sent troops to rescue the Western Zhou. Someone persuaded the King of Han on behalf of the Eastern Zhou: "The Western Zhou was originally an angelic country with many valuable artifacts and treasures. If you do not take action, you can show favor to the Eastern Zhou and you will definitely get all the treasures of the Western Zhou." 

King Nan was called Cheng Jun. Chu surrounded Yongshi, and Han asked Eastern Zhou for soldiers and food. The Lord of Eastern Zhou was very scared and summoned Su Dai to tell him about the situation. Su Dai said: “Why do you worry about this? I can stop Han from requisitioning soldiers and food from Eastern Zhou, and I can also allow you to obtain Gaodu." The lord of Zhou said: "If you can really do it, this country will listen to you." Su Dai went to see the Prime Minister of Han and said to him: "Chu State has been besieging Yongshi. It was originally expected to take it down in three months, but now it has been five months and it has not been taken down. This shows that Chu State has suffered serious losses. Now the Prime Minister is calling on Eastern Zhou to send soldiers and food to announce to Chu that Han has also suffered heavy losses.” The Prime Minister of Han said, “You are right. But the messenger has already set out.” Su Dai said: "Why not give Gaodu to Dong Zhou?" The Prime Minister of Han was furious and said, "It is good enough that I do not ask Eastern Zhou for soldiers and food. Why should I give Gaodu to Eastern Zhou?" Su Dai said: "If we give Gaodu to Eastern Zhou, Eastern Zhou will turn to Han. When Qin hears about it, it will be furious and hate Eastern Zhou from then on and cut off ties with it. In this way, we can exchange the damaged Gaodu for a complete Eastern Zhou. Why not do that?” The Prime Minister said, "Okay." As expected, Gaodu was given to the Zhou State. 

东周与西周战，韩救西周。或为东周说韩王曰：“西周故天子之国，多名器重宝。王案兵毋出，可以德东周，而西周之宝必可以尽矣。”

王赧谓成君。楚围雍氏，韩徵甲与粟于东周，东周君恐，召苏代而告之。代曰：“君何患于是。臣能使韩毋徵甲与粟于周，又能为君得高都。”周君曰：“子苟能，请以国听子。”代见韩相国曰：“楚围雍氏，期三月也，今五月不能拔，是楚病也。今相国乃徵甲与粟于周，是告楚病也。”韩相国曰：“善。使者已行矣。”代曰：“何不与周高都？”韩相国大怒曰：“吾毋徵甲与粟于周亦已多矣，何故与周高都也？”代曰：“与周高都，是周折而入于韩也，秦闻之必大怒忿周，即不通周使，是以弊高都得完周也。曷为不与？”相国曰：“善。”果与周高都。

91 Shi Yan Said

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The State of Qin intended to borrow a road between the Eastern and the Western Zhou in preparation for attacking the State of Han. The Zhou had its fear, that there would be retaliation from Han if they do; or the retaliation would come from Qin if they don't. Shi Yan said to the Lord of Zhou: "Why don't you send someone to tell Duke Shu of Han: 'Qin dares to borrow the road from Zhou to attack Han because it trusts Eastern Zhou. Why don't you give Zhou some land and send a hostage to Chu?' The Qin State will certainly be suspicious of the Chu State, distrust the Zhou State, and will not attack the Han State anymore. Then he said to Qin, ‘Han State forcibly gave land to Zhou State in order to make Qin State suspicious of Zhou State, so Zhou State dared not refuse to accept it.’ Qin would have no reason to ask Zhou to reject the proposal, and thus it could obtain land from Han without arousing Qin's suspicion.“

The lord of Western Zhou was summoned by Qin, but he was unwilling to go. So he sent someone to tell the King of Han, “Qin summoned Western Zhou because it wanted Western Zhou to attack your Nanyang. Why don’t you send troops to Nanyang? The King of Zhou would use this as an excuse not to go to Qin. As long as Lord of Zhou does not go to Qin, Qin will not dare to cross the Yellow River to attack Nanyang."

秦借道两周之间，将以伐韩，周恐借之畏于韩，不借畏于秦。史厌谓周君曰：“何不令人谓韩公叔曰‘秦之敢绝周而伐韩者，信东周也。公何不与周地，发质使之楚’？秦必疑楚不信周，是韩不伐也。又谓秦曰‘韩强与周地，将以疑周于秦也，周不敢不受’。秦必无辞而令周不受，是受地于韩而听于秦。”

秦召西周君，西周君恶往，故令人谓韩王曰：“秦召西周君，将以使攻王之南阳也，王何不出兵于南阳？周君将以为辞于秦。周君不入秦，秦必不敢逾河而攻南阳矣。”

90 Su Dai Persuasion

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Prince Gong of Duke Wu of the Western Zhou died. He had five illegitimate sons and no legitimate son to serve as heir. Sima Jian said to the King of Chu: "Why not use the land to support Prince Ju and ask for the position of Crown Prince for him?" Zuo Cheng said: “No. If the Zhou disagrees, not only will your plan fail, but it will also alienate the relationship between Chu and Zhou. It would be better to ask Lord Zhou to secretly tell Sima Jian who he has in mind for the crown prince. Then let Sima Jian ask for permission for Chu to support him with land." As expected, the Zhou appointed Prince Ju as the crown prince.

In the eighth year (307 BC), Qin attacked Yiyang, and Chu came to rescue. Chu suspected that Zhou had helped Qin, so was preparing to attack Zhou. Su Dai persuaded the King of Chu on behalf of Zhou: "Why do you think Zhou is helping Qin? Those who said that Zhou helped Qin more than Chu wanted Zhou to completely ally with Qin, so there is a saying that "Zhou State helped Qin State." The State of Zhou knew that there was no escape, so it would definitely surrender to the State of Qin. This was a clever plan to help the State of Qin conquer the State of Zhou. I am just thinking for the king. If Zhou State leans towards Qin State, Chu State should treat Zhou State nice. If Zhou State does not lean towards Qin State, Chu State should also treat Zhou State nice. Only in this way can Zhou State and Qin State be alienated. If Zhou cuts off ties with Qin, it will certainly turn to Chu."

西周武公之共太子死，有五庶子，毋適立。司马翦谓楚王曰：“不如以地资公子咎，为请太子。” 左成曰：“不可。周不听，是公之知困而交疏於周也。不如请周君孰欲立，以微告翦，翦请令楚贺资之以地。”果立公子咎为太子。

八年，秦攻宜阳，楚救之。而楚以周为秦故，将伐之。苏代为周说楚王曰：“何以周为秦之祸也？言周之为秦甚于楚者，欲令周入秦也，故谓‘周秦’也。周知其不可解，必入于秦，此为秦取周之精者也。为王计者，周于秦因善之，不于秦亦言善之，以疏之于秦。周绝于秦，必入于郢矣。”

89 All Princes Became Kings

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In the 23rd year of King Weilie (403 BC), an earthquake struck the capital city where the Nine Tripod Cauldrons were located. King Weilie appointed Han, Wei, and Zhao as vassal states.

In the 24th year (402 BC), King Weilie died and his son Jiao took over the throne as King An. In this year, a thief killed King Sheng of Chu. 

King An reigned for twenty-six years and then died, and his son Xi succeeded him as King Lie. In the second year of King Lie (374 BC), Senior Historian of Zhou Taishi Dan met with Duke Xian of Qin and said: "Initially Zhou and Qin were united and later separated. After 500 years of separation, they will be united again. And after 17 years of unity, a hegemon will emerge." 

In the tenth year, King Lie died and his younger brother Bian ascended to the throne, becoming King Xian. In the fifth year of King Xian (364 BC), he congratulated Duke Xian of Qin and made him the overlord. In the ninth year (360 BC), King Xian sent the sacrificial meat of King Wen and King Wu to Duke Xiao of Qin. In the twenty-fifth year (344 BC), Qin met with the princes in Zhou. In the twenty-sixth year (343 BC), the Zhou granted the title of overlord to Duke Xiao of Qin. In the thirty-third year (336 BC), Zhou congratulated King Hui of Qin. In the thirty-fifth year (334 BC), King Xian sent the sacrificial meat of King Wen and King Wu to King Hui of Qin. In the forty-fourth year (325 BC), King Hui of Qin officially claimed the title of king. From then on, all princes became kings.

In the 48th year (321 BC), King Xian died and his son Ding succeeded him as King Shenjing. King Shenjing reigned for six years and then died. His son Yan succeeded him as King Nan. During the reign of King Nan, the Western and Eastern Zhou dynasties were independent. King Nan moved the capital to the Western Zhou.

威烈王二十三年，九鼎震。命韩、魏、赵为诸侯。

二十四年，崩，子安王骄立。是岁盗杀楚声王。

安王立二十六年，崩，子烈王喜立。烈王二年，周太史儋见秦献公曰：“始周与秦国合而别，别五百载复合，合十七岁而霸王者出焉。”

十年，烈王崩，弟扁立，是为显王。显王五年，贺秦献公，献公称伯。九年，致文武胙於秦孝公。二十五年，秦会诸侯於周。二十六年，周致伯於秦孝公。三十三年，贺秦惠王。三十五年，致文武胙於秦惠王。四十四年，秦惠王称王。其後诸侯皆为王。

四十八年，显王崩，子慎靓王定立。慎靓王立六年，崩，子赧王延立。王赧时东西周分治。王赧徙都西周。

88 Three Families Divided Jin State

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In the thirty-ninth year (481 BC), Tian Chang of Qi killed his lord, Duke Jian.

In the 41st year (479 BC), the State of Chu destroyed the State of Chen. Confucius died.

In the 43rd year (477 BC), King Jing died and his son Ren succeeded him as King Yuan. King Yuan died after eight years of reign, his son Jie succeeded him as King Ding.

In the 16th year of King Ding (453 BC), Zhao, Wei and Han, three families of Jin, together destroyed the Zhibo family of Jin and divided his land.

In the 28th year (441 BC), King Ding died and his eldest son Quji succeeded him, who was King Ai. King Ai reigned for three months, and his younger brother Shu Xi killed King Ai and established himself as King Si. King Si reigned for five months, and his younger brother Wei attacked and killed King Si and established himself as King Kao. These three kings were all sons of King Ding.

In the 15th year of King Kao (426 BC), he died and his son Wu succeeded him as King Weilie.

King Kao granted one of his younger brothers a fiefdom in Henan, and this was Duke Huan of western Zhou, the successor of Duke Zhou’s official position. When Duke Huan died, his son Duke Wei succeeded him. When Duke Wei died, his son Duke Hui succeeded him. And then he appointed his youngest son to serve the king in Gong, with the title of Duke Hui of Eastern Zhou.

三十九年，齐田常杀其君简公。

四十一年，楚灭陈。孔子卒。

四十二年，敬王崩，子元王仁立。元王八年，崩，子定王介立。

定王十六年，三晋灭智伯，分有其地。

二十八年，定王崩，长子去疾立，是为哀王。哀王立三月，弟叔袭杀哀王而自立，是为思王。思王立五月，少弟嵬攻杀思王而自立，是为考王。此三王皆定王之子。

考王十五年，崩，子威烈王午立。

考王封其弟于河南，是为桓公，以续周公之官职。桓公卒，子威公代立。威公卒，子惠公代立，乃封其少子於巩以奉王，号东周惠公。

87 King Jing of Zhou

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In the 21st year (586 BC), King Ding died and his son Yi succeeded him as King Jian. In the 13th year (573 BC), Jin killed its ruler Duke Li and welcomed Zi Zhou from the capital of Zhou, making him Duke Dao.

In the 14th year (572 BC), King Jian died and his son Xiexin succeeded him as King Ling. In the 24th year (548 BC), Cui Zhu of Qi killed its ruler, Duke Zhuang.

In the 27th year (545 BC), King Ling died and his son Gui succeeded him as King Jing. In the 18th year (527 BC), the queen and the crown prince Shou died early. In the 25th year (520 BC), King Jing loved his son Chao and wanted to make him the crown prince, but he died at this time (translator’s note: Shiji mistook it as the 20th). His son Gai and his followers competed with Prince Chao for the throne. The people of the country supported the eldest son Meng as king, so Prince Chao attacked and killed Meng. Meng was King Dao. The people of Jin attacked Prince Chao and made Gai the king instead, who was King Jing.

In the first year of King Jing (519 BC), the people of Jin sent King Jing back to the Zhou capital. But Prince Chao had already declared himself the king, so King Jing could not go back and lived in Zeyi instead. In the fourth year (516 BC), Jin led the princes to send King Jing back to the Zhou capital. Prince Chao became a minister, and the princes built the walls of the Zhou capital. In the sixteenth year (504 BC), Prince Chao's followers rebelled again, and King Jing fled to Jin. In the seventeenth year (503 BC), Duke Ding of Jin finally sent King Jing back to the Zhou capital.

二十一年，定王崩，子简王夷立。简王十三年，晋杀其君厉公，迎子周於周，立为悼公。

十四年，简王崩，子灵王泄心立。灵王二十四年，齐崔杼弑其君庄公。

二十七年，灵王崩，子景王贵立。景王十八年，后太子圣而蚤卒。二十年，景王爱子朝，欲立之，会崩，子丐之党与争立，国人立长子猛为王，子朝攻杀猛。猛为悼王。晋人攻子朝而立丐，是为敬王。

敬王元年，晋人入敬王，子朝自立，敬王不得入，居泽。四年，晋率诸侯入敬王于周，子朝为臣，诸侯城周。十六年，子朝之徒复作乱，敬王饹于晋。十七年，晋定公遂入敬王于周。

86 Hegemon Duke Wen of Jin

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At first, Queen Hui wanted to establish Prince Dai as the king, so she sent her followers to help the Di people, and the Di people attacked the Zhou capital. King Xiang fled to Zheng State, and Zheng settled King Xiang in Fanyi. Prince Dai was established as king, married Queen Di, who was deposed by King Xiang, and lived together in Wenyi. In the 17th year (635 BC), King Xiang asked Jin State for help, and Duke Wen of Jin accepted King Xiang and killed Shu Dai. King Xiang rewarded Duke Wen of Jin with jade scepter, sacrificial wine, bow and arrow, and appointed him as overlord, and rewarded Jin with the land of Henei. In the 20th year (632 BC), Duke Wen of Jin summoned King Xiang, and King Xiang met with him in Heyang and Jiantu. All the princes came to pay homage to him. To avoid the taboo, Shangshu the Ancient Book put it this way that "the heavenly king went to Heyang for inspection".

In the 24th year (628 BC), Duke Wen of Jin died.

In the 31st year (621 BC), Duke Mu of Qin died.

In the 33rd year (619 BC), King Xiang died, and his son Renchen succeeded to the throne as King Qing. After six years on the throne King Qing died, and his son Ban succeeded him as King Kuang. King Kuang also died after six years on the throne, and his younger brother Yu succeeded him, who was King Ding.

In the first year of King Ding (606 BC), King Zhuang of Chu attacked the Rong people of Luhun and stationed in Luoyi. He sent people to inquire about the size and weight of the Nine Tripod Cauldrons. King Ding sent Wang Sun Man, the grandson of King Xiang, to answer with such words that “it's about virtue, not about tripod” and the Chu army withdrew. In the tenth year (597 BC), King Zhuang of Chu surrounded the capital of Zheng, and Earl Zheng Bo surrendered, and soon the country was restored. In the sixteenth year (591 BC), King Zhuang of Chu died.

初，惠后欲立王子带，故以党开翟人，翟人遂入周。襄王出奔郑，郑居王于氾。子带立为王，取襄王所绌翟后与居温。十七年，襄王告急于晋，晋文公纳王而诛叔带。襄王乃赐晋文公珪鬯弓矢，为伯，以河内地与晋。二十年，晋文公召襄王，襄王会之河阳、践土，诸侯毕朝，《书讳》曰：“天王狩于河阳。”

二十四年，晋文公卒。

三十一年，秦穆公卒。

三十二年，襄王崩，子顷王壬臣立。顷王六年，崩，子匡王班立。匡王六年，崩，弟瑜立，是为定王。

定王元年，楚庄王伐陆浑之戎，次洛，使人问九鼎。王使王孙满应设以辞，楚兵乃去。十年，楚庄王围郑，郑伯降，已而复之。十六年，楚庄王卒。

85 Fu Chen‘s Advice

A4.48

In the 13th year (639 BC), Zheng attacked Hua. King Xiang sent Yousun and Bofu to plead for Hua, but the people of Zheng imprisoned them. Duke Wen of Zheng resented that King Hui restored the state but did not give Duke Li of Zheng the courtesy of wine and wine cups, and he also complained that King Xiang handed over the state of Hua to the state of Wei, so he imprisoned Bo Fu. The king was pissed and was going to use Di to attack Zheng. Fu Chen advised, "When our capital of Zhou was moved eastward, we had all the help from Jin and Zheng. When Prince Tui rebelled, it was also with the help of Zheng that we were able to put down the rebellion. How can we abandon Zheng now because of a small grudge?"The king did not listen. In the 15th year (637 BC), the king sent Di troops to attack Zheng. King Xiang was very grateful to the Di people and was going to choose a daughter from Di as his queen. Fu Chen advised him again,, "King Ping, King Huan, King Zhuang, and King Hui all received help from Zheng. Your Majesty, you should not abandon your close friends and get close to the Di people." King Xiang refused to listen. In the 16th year (636 BC), after King Xiang deposed Queen Di, the Di people came to question him and killed Tan Bo. Fu Chen said, "I have repeatedly advised the king but he didn't listen. If I don't go to war, the king will think that I hate him, right?" So he led his people to die in battle.

十三年，郑伐滑，王使游孙、伯服请滑，郑人囚之。郑文公怨惠王之入不与厉公爵，又怨襄王之与卫滑，故囚伯服。王怒，将以翟伐郑。富辰谏曰：“凡我周之东徙，晋、郑焉依。子穨之乱，又郑之由定，今以小怨弃之！”王不听。十五年，王降翟师以伐郑。王德翟人，将以其女为后。富辰谏曰：“平、桓、庄、惠皆受郑劳，王弃亲亲翟，不可从。”王不听。十六年，王绌翟后，翟人来诛，杀谭伯。富辰曰：“吾数谏不从。如是不出，王以我为怼乎？”乃以其属死之。