Duke Cheng's Second Year
In the second year of spring, the Marquis of Qi attacked our northern border.
In summer, on the day bingxu of the fourth month, Sun Liangfu of Wei led his army and engaged the Qi army at a newly built fortification; the Wei army was severely defeated.
On the day guiyou of the sixth month, Ji Sunxingfu, Zang Sunxu, Shu Sunqiaoqiu, and Gongsun Yingqi led our army, joining forces with Xi Ke of Jin, Sun Liangfu of Wei, and Gongzi Shou of Cao, and fought the Marquis of Qi at An; the Qi army was severely defeated.
In autumn, in the seventh month, the Marquis of Qi sent Guo Zuo to the allied camp. On the day jiyou, they formed a covenant with Guo Zuo at Yuanlou.
On the day renwu of the eighth month, the Duke of Song, Bao, died.
On the day gengyin, the Marquis of Wei, Su, died.
Our army seized the fields of Wenyang.
In winter, armies of Chu and Zheng invaded Wei.
In the eleventh month, the Duke of Lu met with Gongzi Yingqi of Chu at Shu.
On the day bingshen, the Duke of Lu formed a covenant with the men of Chu, Qin, Song, Chen, Wei, Zheng, Qi, Cao, Zhu, Xue, and Zeng at Shu.
In the second year of spring, the Marquis of Qi attacked our northern border and besieged Long. The Marquis of Qi's favored minister, Lupu Jiuqie, attacked the city gate, and the people of Long captured him. The Marquis of Qi said, "Do not kill him. I will swear a covenant with you not to enter your territory." The people of Long did not listen; they killed him and displayed his corpse on the city wall. The Marquis of Qi personally beat the drum, and his soldiers scaled the walls. After three days, they captured Long. Then they advanced southward, reaching Chaoqiu.
The Marquis of Wei sent Sun Liangfu, Shi Ji, Ning Xiang, and Xiang Qin to prepare an invasion of Qi, but they encountered the Qi army. Shi Ji wanted to retreat, but Sunzi said, "No. Leading an army to attack another, only to retreat upon meeting their forces—how will we answer to our lord? If we knew we could not fight, it would have been better not to have set out. Now that we have encountered them, it is better to fight." In summer, there was... Shi Chengzi said, "The army is defeated. If you, my lord, do not pause for a moment, the soldiers will likely all be lost. If you lose the army, with what will you return to report?" No one answered. He then said, "You are a high minister of the state. Losing you would be a disgrace to the state. You lead the main force in retreat, and I will stay here. Also, inform them that many chariots are arriving from the rear." The Qi army then halted and encamped at Juju. Zhongshu Yuxi of the Xinju region saved Sun Huanzi, so Huanzi was spared capture. Afterwards, the men of Wei rewarded him with a city, but he declined it, requesting instead permission to use the qixuan musical arrangement and fanying tassels for his horses when attending court, which the Lord of Wei granted. When Zhongni heard of this, he said, "What a pity! It would have been better to give him more cities. Only vessels and titles must not be lent to others—these are what the lord controls. Titles generate trust; trust guards the vessels; vessels embody ritual; ritual promotes righteousness; righteousness produces benefit; and benefit governs the people—this is the key to governance. If one lends these to others, it is like giving away the government itself. When government is lost, the state follows, and this cannot be stopped." Sun Huanzi returned to Xinju but did not enter the city; instead, he went to Jin to request troops.
Zang Xuanzi also went to Jin to request troops. Both stayed with Xi Xianzi. The Marquis of Jin promised him seven hundred war chariots. Xi Zi said, "This is the number of troops used at the Battle of Chengpu. At that time, there was the wisdom of the late lord and the reverence of the former great officers, so victory was achieved. Compared to the former great officers, I am not even fit to be their servant. Please grant me eight hundred chariots." The Marquis of Jin agreed. Xi Ke commanded the central army, Shi Xie the upper army, Luan Shu the lower army, and Han Jue served as Marshal, to rescue Lu and Wei. Zang Xuanzi welcomed the Jin army and acted as their guide. Ji Wenzi led our army to join them. When they reached the borders of Wei, Han Xianzi was about to execute a man. Xi Xianzi drove his chariot at full speed to save him, but when he arrived, the man had already been executed. Xi Zi quickly sent someone to parade the corpse around as a warning, and told his attendant, "I did this to share the blame." The army caught up with the Qi army at Shen. On the day renshen of the sixth month, the army reached the foot of Mount Miji. The Marquis of Qi sent a messenger to challenge them, saying, "You, sir, lead the lord's army to visit our humble state. Though our humble state's army is not strong, we request to meet you tomorrow morning." The reply was: "Jin and Lu and Wei are brother states. They came and told us, 'Great states spend all day venting their resentment in our lands.' Our unworthy lord could not bear this, and sent us, his ministers, to request of the great states that our army not stay long in your territories. We can only advance, not retreat. You need not issue any command." The Marquis of Qi said, "The great officer agrees to battle—this is exactly my wish. Even if he did not agree, I would still insist on meeting." Gao Gu of Qi entered the Jin army, picked up a stone and threw it at the Jin soldiers, captured a Jin soldier, mounted his chariot, tied mulberry roots to the chariot, and paraded before the Qi camp, saying, "Those who want courage can come and buy my surplus courage." On the day guiyou, the two armies drew up their battle formations at An. Bingxia drove the chariot for the Marquis of Qi, with Feng Choufu as the right-hand guard. Xie Zhang of Jin drove for Xi Ke, with Zheng Qiu Huan as the right-hand guard. The Marquis of Qi said, "I will annihilate these men before eating breakfast." He did not put armor on his horses before charging. Xi Ke was hit by an arrow, and blood flowed down to his shoes, but he never stopped beating the drum, saying, "I am wounded." Xie Zhang said, "From the very beginning of the battle, an arrow pierced my hand and elbow. I broke off the arrow and continued driving, and the left wheel has turned dark red. How dare I speak of being wounded? You, sir, must endure it." Zheng Qiu Huan said, "From the start, whenever we encountered difficult terrain, I got down to push the chariot. Did you, sir, know nothing of this? Yet indeed, you are wounded." Xie Zhang said, "The army's ears and eyes depend on our flags and drumbeats; advance and retreat follow them. This chariot, with one man holding it, can accomplish great things. How can we ruin the lord's great enterprise because of a wound? When we don armor and take up weapons, we are already committed to death. The wound is not yet fatal. You, sir, must strive on." Then he gathered the reins in his left hand, took the drumstick in his right hand, and beat the drum. The horses galloped uncontrollably, and the army followed in the charge. The Qi army was severely defeated. The Jin army pursued the Qi army, circling Mount Huabuzhu three times.
Han Jue dreamed that his father, Zi Yu, said to him: "Tomorrow morning, avoid the left and right positions of the chariot." So he took the central position, driving the chariot to pursue the Marquis of Qi. Bing Xia said: "Shoot the driver; he is a gentleman." The Marquis of Qi replied: "To call him a gentleman and then shoot him is contrary to propriety." So they shot the man on Han Jue's left, who fell from the chariot; they shot the man on his right, who died in the chariot. Qi Mu Zhang lost his own chariot and followed Han Jue, saying: "Please let me ride in your chariot." After boarding, Han Jue used his elbow to push him, making him stand behind himself. Han Jue bent down to secure the body of the deceased chariot-right on his right. Feng Choufu exchanged positions with the Marquis of Qi. As they were about to reach Hua Spring, the side horses became entangled in a tree and stopped. Feng Choufu had previously slept in a covered wagon; a snake crawled out from under him, and he struck it with his arm, injuring himself but not speaking of it. Thus, at this moment, he could not push the chariot and was overtaken. Han Jue, holding a hobbling rope, stood before the horses, bowed twice, touched his head to the ground, and presented a cup with a jade disk, saying: "Our lord sent us ministers to make a request on behalf of Lu and Wei, saying: 'Do not let the army penetrate deeply into your territory.' I, your humble servant, am unfortunate to have just happened to be serving in the army, with no place to flee and hide, and I fear that fleeing and avoiding would bring disgrace to the lords of both states. I am unworthy of my position as a soldier and presume to inform you that my ability is insufficient, and I merely fill this role due to a lack of personnel." Feng Choufu had the Marquis of Qi descend the chariot to fetch water from Hua Spring. Zheng Zhoufu drove the secondary chariot, with Wan Fei as the chariot-right, and they carried the Marquis of Qi away. Han Jue presented Feng Choufu. Xi Xianzi wanted to kill him. Feng Choufu cried out: "Until now, there has been no one who endured hardship in place of his lord. Is there one here, and yet he is to be killed?" Xi Zi said: "A man who does not consider it difficult to die to save his lord from calamity—killing him would be unlucky. Spare him, to encourage those who serve their lords." So he spared him.
After the Marquis of Qi escaped capture, he searched for Feng Choufu, charging into the Jin army three times and breaking out three times. Each time he broke out, the Qi troops clustered around the commander and retreated. When he charged into the Di infantry, the Di soldiers all drew their spears and shields to cover him as he entered the Wei army. The Wei army also protected him. Thus, he entered the capital of Qi through Xu Pass. The Marquis of Qi saw the city guards and said: "Strive on! The Qi army has been defeated." He also told a woman to get out of the way. The woman asked: "Has the lord escaped disaster?" The reply was: "He has escaped." She asked again: "Has the Rui Marshal escaped disaster?" The reply was: "He has escaped." The woman said: "If the lord and my father have both escaped disaster, what is there to worry about?" Then she ran off. The Marquis of Qi thought she understood propriety. Later, upon inquiry, he learned that she was the wife of the Bi Marshal, and he granted her Shi Jiao as a fief.
The Jin army pursued the Qi army, entering Qi from Qiu Yu and attacking Ma Xing. The Marquis of Qi sent Bin Meiren to present the Ji Yan, the jade chime, and land as bribes to Jin, saying: "If they do not agree, then let them act as they please." Bin Meiren presented the bribes, but the Jin people did not accept, saying: "We must have Xiao Tong Shuzi as a hostage, and all the fields within Qi must be made to run east-west." The reply was: "Xiao Tong Shuzi is none other than the mother of our lord. If we consider equal status, she is also the mother of the lord of Jin. You issue great commands to the various lords, yet say that you must take another's mother as a hostage to secure trust—how does this accord with the command of the Son of Heaven? Moreover, this is to command the lords with unfilial conduct. The Book of Songs says: 'The filial heart of the filial son is without end; forever bestow it on your kind.' If you command the lords with unfilial conduct, I fear this is not in the category of virtue, is it? The former kings demarcated boundaries, governed the land, examined what was suitable for the soil, and then arranged it to obtain profit. Thus, the Book of Songs says: 'I demarcated boundaries, governed the land, opening fields either southward or eastward.' Now you demarcate the boundaries of the lords and govern their land, saying only 'make all fields east-west,' which is merely to benefit the galloping of your chariots, disregarding the suitability of the soil—I fear this is not the command of the former kings, is it? To violate the command of the former kings is unrighteous; on what basis can one be the covenant leader? Jin indeed has its flaws. The Four Kings achieved kingly rule by establishing virtue and satisfying the common desires of the lords; the Five Hegemons achieved hegemonic rule by diligently pacifying the lords to execute the commands of the Son of Heaven. Now you seek to assemble the lords to satisfy insatiable desires. The Book of Songs says: 'If governance is lenient and gentle, all blessings will gather.' You are truly not lenient, and thus you cast aside all blessings—what harm does this do to the lords? If you do not agree, our lord sent me with another message, saying: 'You lead the lord's army to grace our humble state, and we use meager goods to reward your followers. In awe of your majesty, our army has been defeated. You deign to come and seek Qi's blessing, not to destroy our altars of land and grain, allowing us to continue our former friendly relations. Then we dare not begrudge our former lord's broken vessels and land. If you still do not agree, then please allow us to gather our remaining troops, back against the city wall, and fight to the death. If our humble state is fortunate enough to win, we will still submit to your state; moreover, if we are unfortunately defeated, how dare we not obey your commands?'" Lu and Wei advised, saying: "Qi is very resentful toward us. Those who died are all close associates of the Marquis of Qi. If you do not agree, they will surely hate us even more. Then what more can you seek? You have obtained their state treasures, we have obtained land, and the calamity has been removed—this glory is already great. Both Qi and Jin are granted by Heaven; is it necessarily Jin alone that can prevail?" The Jin people agreed. They replied: "We led the army for the sake of Lu and Wei. If we can have an excuse to return and report to our lord, this is your lord's kindness. How dare we not obey your commands?" Qin Zheng went from the army to welcome the Duke of Lu.
In the autumn, in the seventh month, the Jin army and Guo Zuo of Qi formed an alliance at Yuan Lou, and they made the Qi people return the fields of Wenyang to our state. The Duke of Lu met the Jin army at Shang Ming, granting the three commanders the first road and three-order chariot and robes, while the Sima, Sikong, Yushi, Houzheng, and Yalü all received one-order chariot and robes.
In the eighth month, Duke Wen of Song died. They began lavish burials, using clamshells and charcoal, increasing the number of chariots and horses, starting human sacrifice, and increasing the number of burial items. The inner and outer coffins were made with the four-eave shape, and the coffins had decorations such as han and hui. The junzi considered Hua Yuan and Le Ju to have lost the way of ministers in this matter. Ministers are those who govern the state's chaos and remove the lord's delusions, thus not hesitating to die in remonstration. Now these two men, while the lord was alive, indulged his delusions, and after his death, they abetted his extravagance—this is to abandon the lord in evil deeds; what kind of ministers are they?
In the ninth month, Duke Mu of Wei died. The three generals of Jin (Xi Ke, Shi Xie, and Luan Shu) returned from the battlefield to offer condolences, weeping outside the great gate. The people of Wei welcomed them, and the women wept inside the gate, doing the same when seeing them off. Thereafter, this became a standard practice for funerals.
When Chu attacked the Xia clan in Chen, King Zhuang of Chu wanted to take Xia Ji for himself. Shen Gong Wuchen said: "It cannot be done. Your Majesty summoned the feudal lords to punish the guilty. Now to take Xia Ji is to covet her beauty. Coveting beauty is licentiousness, and licentiousness invites great punishment. The 'Book of Zhou' says: 'Promote virtue and be cautious in punishment.' This is the principle by which King Wen established the Zhou dynasty. To promote virtue means to strive to exalt it; to be cautious in punishment means to strive to avoid it. If you mobilize the feudal lords only to incur great punishment, this is not being cautious. I beg you to consider this." The king then abandoned the idea. Zifan also wanted to marry her, but Wuchen said: "She is an unlucky person. She caused Zinan to die young, Yushu to be killed, Duke Ling of Chen to be assassinated, Xianan to be executed, Kong Ning and Yixingfu to flee, and the state of Chen to be destroyed. What could be more inauspicious than this? Life is full of hardship—can she even hope for a natural death? There are many beautiful women in the world; why must it be her?" Zifan then desisted. The king gave her to Lianyin Xianglao. Xianglao died in battle at Bi, and his corpse could not be found. His son Heiyao then committed adultery with Xia Ji. Wuchen sent someone to hint to Xia Ji, saying: "Return to Zheng, and I will marry you." He also sent someone from Zheng to summon her, saying: "The corpse can be found; you must come to receive it." Xia Ji reported this to King Zhuang. The king asked Qu Wu (i.e., Wuchen). Qu Wu replied: "This matter is credible. The father of Zhi Ying is a favorite minister of Duke Cheng and the younger brother of Zhonghang Bo (Xun Linfu). He has recently assisted the central army and is on good terms with Huangxu of Zheng, and he dotes on this son. He will surely use the return of the prince (referring to Prince Guchen of Chu) and Xianglao's corpse through Zheng in exchange for Zhi Ying. The people of Zheng fear the Battle of Bi and want to curry favor with Jin, so they will certainly agree." The king then allowed Xia Ji to return to Zheng. As she was about to depart, Xia Ji said to those seeing her off: "If I do not obtain the corpse, I will not return." Wuchen sought a marriage alliance with Zheng, and the Earl of Zheng agreed. When King Gong of Chu ascended the throne and was planning the Battle of Yangqiao, he sent Qu Wu on a mission to Qi, also to inform them of the date for the campaign. Wuchen took his entire household with him. Shenshu Xi, accompanying his father on the way to Yingdu, met Wuchen and said: "How strange! This man has both the caution of a military envoy and the joy of a tryst in the mulberry grove—he is likely one who will abscond with his wife." When they reached Zheng, Wuchen had his deputy return to Qi with the betrothal gifts, while he himself took Xia Ji and left. He planned to flee to Qi, but the Qi army had just been defeated, so he said: "I will not stay in a state that cannot triumph." Thus he fled to Jin, and through the connection of Xi Zhi, he became a minister there. The people of Jin made him the steward of Xing. Zifan requested that a heavy bribe be used (with Jin) to secure his permanent banishment. King Gong of Chu said: "Enough! Although he was wrong in his own plans, he was loyal in his counsel to the former king. Loyalty is the foundation of the state and can cover many faults. Moreover, if he can benefit Jin, even if we send heavy bribes, will Jin agree? If he is of no use to Jin, they will abandon him on their own; why trouble ourselves to banish him?"
When the Jin army returned, Fan Wenzi (Shi Xie) was the last to enter the capital. His father, Wuzi (Shi Hui), said: "Do you not know that I was waiting for you?" Fan Wenzi replied: "The army has won a victory, and the people are joyfully welcoming them. If I entered first, I would attract everyone's attention, which would mean taking the credit for the commander, so I dared not." Wuzi said: "I know now that you will be able to avoid disaster in the future." Xi Bo (Xi Ke) had an audience with Duke Jing of Jin, who said: "This is your achievement!" Xi Bo replied: "This is due to your Majesty's instructions and the efforts of the various great officers; what achievement is mine?" Fan Shu (Shi Xie) had an audience, and Duke Jing comforted him as he had Xi Bo. Fan Shu replied: "This was Xun Geng's command and Xi Ke's direction; what achievement is mine, Shi Xie?" Luan Bo (Luan Shu) had an audience, and Duke Jing said the same to him. Luan Bo replied: "This was Shi Xie's guidance, and the soldiers followed orders; what achievement is mine, Luan Shu?"
Duke Xuan of Lu sent an envoy to seek friendship with Chu. King Zhuang of Chu died, and Duke Xuan also passed away, so the alliance was not concluded. After Duke Cheng of Lu ascended the throne, he accepted a covenant with Jin and participated in Jin's campaign against Qi. The people of Wei, who had not sent envoys to Chu, also accepted a covenant with Jin and followed in the attack on Qi. Therefore, Zizhong, the prime minister of Chu, launched the Battle of Yangqiao to rescue Qi. When about to march, Zizhong said: "The ruler is young, and the ministers are not as capable as the former grandees; the army must be large in numbers. The 'Book of Songs' says: 'With talent in abundance, King Wen found peace.' Even King Wen relied on the multitude, let alone men like us. Moreover, the former king, King Zhuang, instructed: 'If you cannot attract distant states through virtue, it is better to show kindness to the people and use them well.'" Thus they conducted a large-scale census, remitted debts, cared for widowers, relieved the needy, pardoned criminals, mobilized the entire army, and all the king's personal guards accompanied them. Peng Ming drove the chariot, Duke Jing of Cai served as the left charioteer, and Duke Ling of Xu as the right charioteer. Both rulers were young and had to undergo the capping ceremony hastily. In winter, the Chu army invaded Wei, then invaded our army (Lu) at Shu. Lu sent Zang Sun (Zang Xuan Shu) to meet them, but he declined, saying: "The Chu army has come a long way and stayed long; they were about to withdraw anyway. To accept fame without merit, I dare not." The Chu army reached Yangqiao, and Meng Sun (Meng Xianzi) requested to bribe them, sending a hundred carpenters, a hundred tailors, and a hundred weavers, with Gongheng as a hostage, to seek a covenant. The Chu people agreed to make peace. In the eleventh month, Duke Cheng of Lu, together with Prince Yingqi of Chu, the Marquis of Cai, the Count of Xu, the Right Grandee Yue of Qin, Hua Yuan of Song, Gongsun Ning of Chen, Sun Liangfu of Wei, Prince Quji of Zheng, and a grandee of Qi, formed a covenant at Shu. The 'Spring and Autumn Annals' does not record the names of the ministers because this was an insincere covenant. At that time, Lu feared Jin and secretly made a covenant with Chu, hence it is called "insincere." The Marquis of Cai and the Count of Xu are not recorded because they rode in Chu's war chariots, which is called losing their station. The superior man says: "Can one be careless about station? Once the rulers of Cai and Xu lost their station, they could not be listed among the feudal lords, let alone those beneath them. The 'Book of Songs' says: 'Be diligent in office, and the people will find rest.' This speaks of such a principle, does it not?"
When the Chu army reached Song, Gongheng fled back to Lu. Zang Xuan Shu said: "Hengfu could not endure a few years of hardship and thus abandoned Lu. What will become of the state? Who will bear this responsibility? Later generations will surely suffer this calamity! The state is abandoned." In this campaign, Jin avoided Chu because they feared the numbers of the Chu army. The superior man says: "The power of the people cannot be ignored. Even when a grandee governs, he can rely on the people to prevail, let alone a wise ruler who uses the people well? The 'Great Declaration' says that the hundreds of millions of Shang people were of divided hearts, while the ten men of Zhou were of one mind—this speaks of the power of the people."
Duke Jing of Jin sent Gong Shuo to present captives from the state of Qi to the Zhou royal court. King Ding of Zhou refused to receive him, sending Shan Xianggong to decline, saying: "The Man, Yi, Rong, and Di tribes do not obey the commands of the Son of Heaven; they indulge in wine and lust, corrupting the proper norms. The Son of Heaven orders punitive campaigns against them, and only then is there a ritual of presenting captives. The Son of Heaven personally receives and rewards those who present them, thereby punishing disrespect and encouraging merit. As for states that are brothers or maternal relatives, if they violate and corrupt the Son of Heaven's laws, and the Son of Heaven orders punitive campaigns, it suffices merely to report the military matters; there is no need to present spoils of war. This is to show respect for relatives and to prohibit evil deeds. Now, the uncle (referring to Duke Jing of Jin) has achieved success in the state of Qi, yet he has not sent a royal command minister to soothe the royal house. The person sent to comfort me is merely an officer like Gong Bo (Gong Shuo). He holds no office in the royal court and has violated the former kings' ritual system. Though I wish to favor Gong Bo, how dare I abandon the old statutes and thus disgrace the uncle? The state of Qi is a maternal relative of the Son of Heaven and also the descendant of Tai Gong, Jiang Shang. Could it be that Qi did not indulge its private desires and thus angered the uncle? But could it not be that it might be admonished and instructed?" Shi Zhuangbo (Gong Shuo) could not answer. King Ding of Zhou referred the matter to the Three Dukes and received him with the ritual of a feudal lord sending a great officer to announce a victory, reducing it one rank below the ritual for a minister. King Ding of Zhou feasted with Gong Bo, privately giving him gifts, and instructed the attendant to tell him: "This is not in accordance with ritual; do not record it."