Annotations to Canon IV:—
The King of Wey once said to the King of Chêng[32]
:
"In origin Chêng and Liang[33]
were one state and later
separated from each other. We hope we will recover Chêng
and annex it to Liang." Worried over this, the Ruler of
Chêng summoned all the ministers and consulted with
them about the measures against Wey. "It is very easy to
cope with Wey," said a prince of Chêng to the Ruler of
Chêng. "May Your Majesty tell the Weys that if Chêng
is regarded as a former part of Wey and can now be annexed
at all, our humble kingdom would like to annex Liang to
Chêng, too." Hearing this, the King of Wey gave up the
threatening plan.
King Hsüan of Ch`i ordered men to play the Yü instrument
and always had three hundred men in the orchestra. Thereupon
private gentlemen from the southern suburbs of the
capital asked to play the same music for the King. Delighted
at them, the King fed several hundreds of them. Upon the
death of King Hsüan, King Min ascended the throne and
wanted to listen to each one of them. The men went away.
One day Marquis Chao of Han remarked, "The Yü players
are so numerous that I cannot by any means tell the good
ones." In reply T`ien Yen said, "By listening to them
each by each."
Chao sent men out to ask for reinforcements from Han
through the good office of Shên Tzŭ in order thereby to
attack Wey. Shên Tzŭ wanted to speak to the Ruler of
Han but was afraid lest His Highness should suspect him
of accepting bribes from foreign authorities. Yet if he did
not do so, he feared lest he should incur hatred from Chao.
Thereupon he sent Chao Shao and Han Ta to see the
moves and looks of His Highness before he started speaking.
Thus at home he could foretell the opinion of Marquis Chao
and abroad could render meritorious service to Chao.
When the allied forces of the three states[34]
arrived at the
Armour[35]
Gorge, the King of Ch`in[36]
said to Lou Yüan,
"The allied forces of the three states have entered deep
into our line. I, the King, am thinking of ceding the territory
east of the Yellow River to them and thereby sue for peace.
How is the idea?" In reply the latter said: "Indeed, to
cede the territory east of the River is a great cost, but to
rescue our country from a calamity is a great merit.
Nevertheless, to make any decision as such is the duty of
the royal uncles and brothers. Why does Your Majesty not
summon Prince Ch`ih
[37]
for consultation?" The King,
accordingly, sent for Prince Ch`ih
[38]
and told him the dilemma.
In reply the Prince said: "It will involve a regret either to
sue for peace or not to sue for peace. Supposing Your
Majesty now ceded the territory east of the River and the
allies turned homeward, Your Majesty would certainly say,
`The allies from the beginning intended to withdraw.
Why should we have given them three cities purposely?'
Supposing Your Majesty refused to sue for peace, then the
allies would enter the Armour
[39]
Gorge and seize our whole
country in a panic. Then Your Majesty will certainly regret
a great deal, saying,
[40]
`That is because we would not cede
the three cities to them.' Therefore, thy servant says,
`Your Majesty will regret either suing for peace or not
suing for peace.' " "If I have to regret either way at all,"
said the King, "I prefer to lose the three cities and regret
therefor. As it will involve no danger but regret, I decide
to sue for peace."
Marquis Ying said to the King of Ch`in: "Your Majesty
already conquered the districts of Yüan-yeh, Lan-t`ien, and
Yang-hsia, held under control the land within the River
boundaries, and dominated the affairs of Liang and Chêng.[41]
But because Chao has not yet been subdued, Your Majesty
has not yet attained supremacy over All-under-Heaven. Now,
to loosen the garrison at Shang-tang is to give up our hold
of one district only. But if we thereby march our main
column toward Tung-yang, then Han-tan, capital of Chao,
will become as precarious as a flea in the mouth while Your
Majesty will be able to fold his hands and reign over Allunder-Heaven.
Later, subdue the Chaos with troops.
However, Shang-tang has peace and joy, and is very wealthy.
Thy servant is, therefore, afraid that though he proposes to
loosen the garrison there, Your Majesty might not listen.
Then what else can be done?" "Certainly, the garrison
there shall be loosened," said the King.
