Duke Zhao's 5th Year
In the fifth year, in spring, in the first month of the Zhou calendar, the central army was disbanded.
Chu killed their great official Qu Shen.
Duke Zhao of Lu went to Jin.
In summer, Mou Yi of Ju came with Mou Lou, Fang, and Zi to flee and defect to Lu.
In autumn, in the seventh month, Duke Zhao of Lu returned from Jin to Lu.
On the day Wuchen, Shu Shuai led troops and defeated the army of Ju at Fenquan.
The Earl of Qin died.
In winter, the Viscount of Chu, the Marquess of Cai, the Marquess of Chen, the Master of Xu, the Viscount of Dun, the Master of Shen, a man of Xu, and a man of Yue attacked Wu.
In the fifth year, in spring, in the first month of the Zhou calendar, the central army was disbanded. This was to diminish the status of the ducal house. The disbandment was carried out at the Shi family's place, and completed at the Zang family's. When the central army was first established, the ducal house was divided into three parts, each taking one portion. Ji took taxes from all the ducal people, Shusun made the ducal sons and younger brothers his own servants, and Meng took only half. When the central army was disbanded, the ducal house was divided into four parts: Ji took two portions, the other two families each took one, and all levied full taxes, then presented them to the ducal house. Ji sent Du Xie with a document to report at the funeral chamber, saying, "The former lord originally wished to disband the central army; now it has been disbanded, so I come to report." Du Xie said, "It was precisely because he did not wish to disband the central army that he swore an oath at the gate of the Duke Xi temple and cursed at the Five-Father Crossroads." Du Xie accepted the document, then threw it on the ground, and led the officers in weeping.
Shu Zhongzi said to Ji Sun, "I received orders from Zishusun: 'When burying the dead, go out through the West Gate.'" Ji Sun ordered Du Xie. Du Xie said, "For a high minister, the funeral procession goes out through the court gate; this is the ritual of Lu. You hold state power and have not changed the ritual, yet you now wish to change it. All the ministers fear death and dare not act on their own." After the burial, Du Xie left.
Zhong returned from Qi, and Ji Sun wished to establish him as heir. Nan Yi said, "If the Shusun clan becomes strong, then the Ji clan will weaken. In their house there has indeed been calamity; if you do not get involved, is that not permissible?" Nan Yi sent men from the capital to help Shu Niu attack Zhong in the courtyard of the Grand Treasury. The Palace Steward shot him with an arrow, hitting his eye, and he died. Shu Niu took thirty cities from the eastern border and gave them to Nan Yi.
Zhaozi assumed his position and summoned his household retainers, saying, "Shu Niu brought disaster to the Shusun clan, disturbed the great proper order, killed the legitimate son and established a son by a concubine; he also divided the cities and tried to atone for his crimes with this. No crime is greater than this. He must be killed quickly." Shu Niu became afraid and fled to Qi. Meng and Zhong's son killed him outside the Saiguan Pass and threw his head into the thorn bushes at Ningfeng. Confucius said, "That Shusun Zhaozi did not reward Shu Niu is something ordinary men cannot do. Zhou Ren had a saying: 'The ruler does not reward private merits nor punish private grievances.' The Book of Songs says: 'Having upright virtue, the four quarters come to submit to him.'"
Initially, when Muzi was born, Zhuangzhuang used the Zhouyi for divination, obtaining the hexagram Mingyi changing into Qian. He showed the hexagram image to Bu Chuqiu. Bu Chuqiu said, "This person will travel, then return and become your sacrificial host. He will bring back a slanderer, whose name will be Niu, and he will ultimately die of hunger." Mingyi is the sun. The number of the sun is ten, so there are ten periods, also corresponding to ten ranks of nobility. From the king downward, the second is the duke, the third is the high minister. When the sun rises, it is at the zenith; the period of eating is the second, and dawn is the third. Mingyi changing into Qian: bright but not luminous; it probably corresponds to the dawn period, hence it says, 'He will become your sacrificial host.' The sun changing into Qian corresponds to a bird, hence it says, 'Mingyi is in flight.' Bright but not luminous, hence it says, 'It droops its wings.' Symbolizing the sun's movement, hence it says, 'The gentleman is on a journey.' Dawn corresponds to the third position, hence it says, 'For three days he does not eat.' Li is fire; Gen is mountain. Li is fire; fire burns the mountain, and the mountain will be destroyed. Corresponding to humans, this is speech; destroying speech becomes slander, hence it says, 'If he goes forward, the host will have words'—the words must be slander. The pure Li hexagram symbolizes an ox; when the world is chaotic and slander prevails, the prevailing will return to Li, hence it says, 'His name is Niu.' Qian is insufficiency; flying but unable to soar high, drooping wings so cannot fly high, wings cannot be broad, hence it says, 'He will probably be your successor, sir.' You are a secondary high minister; it is only that he probably will not end well."
The Viscount of Chu killed Qu Shen because he had two minds towards Wu. He appointed Qu Sheng as Mo'ao and sent him together with the Lingyin Zi Dang to Jin to welcome a bride. When they passed through Zheng, the Earl of Zheng entertained Zi Dang at Fan and entertained Qu Sheng at Tushi. The Marquess of Jin saw the daughter off at Xingqiu. Zichan assisted the Earl of Zheng to meet the Marquess of Jin at Xingqiu.
Duke Zhao of Lu went to Jin. From the welcome at the suburbs to the presentation of gifts, there was no breach of ritual. The Marquess of Jin said to Nü Shuqi, "Does not the Marquess of Lu also understand ritual?" Nü Shuqi replied, "How could the Marquess of Lu understand ritual?" The Marquess of Jin said, "Why? From the welcome at the suburbs to the presentation of gifts, there was nothing contrary to ritual—why do you say he does not understand?" He replied, "These are ceremonies; they cannot be called ritual. Ritual is what is used to guard his state, to implement his government, and not to lose his people. Now government orders come from the great officials' houses and cannot be retrieved; there are men like Zijia Ji, yet he cannot employ them; he violates the covenants with great states, bullies and mistreats small states; he takes advantage of others' calamities, unaware of his own danger. The ducal house has already been divided into four parts, and the people rely on the great officials for their sustenance. The people's hearts are not with the ruler, and they do not consider his end. As a ruler, calamity is about to descend upon him, yet he does not worry about his situation. The root and branches of ritual are embodied here, yet he anxiously studies these trivial details of ceremony. To say he is good at ritual—is that not too far off?" The gentleman considered that Nü Shuqi understood ritual in this matter.
Han Xuanzi of Jin went to Chu to escort the bride, with Shu Xiang as his deputy. Zipi and Zitai of Zheng entertained them at Suoshi. Zitai said to Shu Xiang, “The king of Chu is excessively extravagant; you must be wary of him.” Shu Xiang replied, “Excessive extravagance brings disaster upon himself—how can it implicate others? If we present our gifts with care, maintain our dignity with caution, guard ourselves with trustworthiness, and act according to ritual; begin respectfully and consider the outcome, we will ultimately receive a proper response. Be compliant without losing propriety, respectful without losing authority; use the teachings of former kings as guidance, adhere to established statutes, examine precedents from former kings, and weigh the relations between the two states. Even if he is excessively extravagant, what can he do to us?”
When they arrived in Chu, the king addressed his ministers at court, saying, “Jin is our enemy. If we can satisfy our desires, there is no need to worry about anything else. Now the envoys they have sent are a senior minister and a senior grand master. If I make Han Qi a gatekeeper and Yangshe Xi a palace steward, that would be enough to humiliate Jin and satisfy my wishes. What do you think?” None of the ministers replied. Qizi Jiang said, “It is possible. If there are preparations, why not? Humiliating an ordinary person still requires preparation—how much more so humiliating a state? Therefore, the sage kings devoted themselves to promoting ritual and did not seek to humiliate others. At court audiences, there were gui jade tablets; at feasts and audiences, there were zhang jade tablets. Minor states presented reports, while major states conducted tours of inspection. Tables were set but not leaned on; goblets were filled but not drunk. Banquets had fine gifts, evening meals had accompaniments; at the border, there was welcome entertainment, and on departure, gifts were given. This is the ultimate form of ritual. When a state declines, it loses these ways, and chaos arises. In the campaign at Chengpu, Jin was unprepared for Chu, so it was defeated at Bi. In the campaign at Bi, Chu was unprepared for Jin, so it was defeated at Yan. Since the battle at Yan, Jin has never lost its preparedness, and has added ritual and harmony. Therefore, Chu cannot retaliate and must seek friendship. Since you have already obtained a marriage alliance, wanting to humiliate them invites enmity. How can you prepare against that? Who can bear this responsibility? If there is such a person, humiliating them is permissible. If there is no such person, my lord should consider it carefully. Jin serves my lord—your subject believes it is sufficient: they summon the lords, and they come; they seek a marriage, and they present a bride; my lord personally escorts her, and a senior minister and senior grand master accompany her. If you still want to humiliate them, my lord must certainly have preparations. Otherwise, what can be done? Below Han Qi are Zhao Cheng, Zhonghang Wu, Wei Shu, Fan Yang, Zhi Ying; below Yangshe Xi are Qi Wu, Zhang Ti, Ji Tan, Nü Qi, Liang Bing, Zhang Ge, Fu Luo, Miao Benhuang—all are talents selected from among the lords. Han Xiang is a clan grand master; Han Xu received a mission and went abroad; Ji Xiang, Xing Dai, Shu Qin, Shu Jiao, Zi Yu are all great clans. The seven towns from which the Han clan collects taxes are all large districts. The four branches of the Yangshe clan are all powerful lineages. If the people of Jin lose Han Qi and Yangshe Xi, the five ministers and eight grand masters will assist Han Xu and Yang Shi, relying on their ten clans and nine districts, with nine hundred war chariots. The remaining forty districts, with four thousand chariots left in defense, will rouse their strength and anger to avenge this great humiliation. Bohua will plan, Zhonghang Bo and Wei Shu will lead, and nothing will fail. My lord will exchange a marriage bond for enmity, truly inviting enemies through lack of ritual, and without preparation, sending your ministers to their deaths to satisfy your heart—what is impossible about that?”
The king of Chu said, “This is my fault. Let the grand master say no more.” He then treated Han Qi with great ceremony. The king wanted to mock Shu Xiang with things he did not know, but could not, so he also treated him with great ceremony. When Han Qi returned, the Earl of Zheng entertained him at Yu. Han Qi declined to meet him, which was in accordance with ritual.
Hanku of Zheng went to Qi and married a wife from the Ziyu family. Yanzi received him many times. Chen Huanzi asked why, and he replied, “He can employ good people; he is the master of the people.”
In summer, Mouyi of Ju fled to Lu with Mou, Fang, and Zi lands. Mouyi was not a minister, but the Spring and Autumn records his name to honor these lands. The people of Ju complained to Jin. The Marquis of Jin wanted to detain Duke Zhao of Lu. Fan Xianzi said, “No. Detaining him when he comes to court is deceit; not sending an army but achieving your goal through deceit is laxity. As the leader of the alliance, committing these two faults is probably not permissible. I beg you to let him go, and wait for an opportunity to use the army to punish him.” So they let Duke Zhao of Lu return. In autumn, in the seventh month, Duke Zhao of Lu returned from Jin to Lu.
The people of Ju came to attack, but Lu was unprepared. On the day of Wuchen, Shu Gong defeated them at Fenquan, before the Ju forces had deployed.
In winter, in the tenth month, King Ling of Chu led the lords and the armies of the Eastern Yi to attack Wu, avenging the campaigns at Ji, Li, and Ma. Wei She led the forces of Fanyang and joined them at Xiayu. Changshou Guo, a grand master of Yue, led his forces and joined King Ling of Chu at Suo. Hearing that the Wu army had set out, Qizi Jiang led his forces to pursue them, but in his haste, he was unprepared, and Wu defeated him at Que’an. King Ling of Chu rode a relay chariot to Luogou. The king of Wu sent his younger brother Jue You to console the Chu army. The Chu people captured him and prepared to use his blood to daub their drums. King Ling of Chu sent someone to ask him, “Was your divination for coming auspicious?” Jue You replied, “Auspicious. My lord heard that my lord intended to drill his army in our town, so he divined with the tortoise shell, saying: ‘I will quickly send someone to console the army, and ask to observe the urgency of my lord’s anger, so as to prepare accordingly, and perhaps know the outcome.’ The tortoise shell showed auspiciousness, saying: ‘Victory can be known.’ If my lord joyfully receives the envoy, it will increase our town’s complacency and ease, and forget the threat of death, so destruction will come soon. Now my lord is full of wrath and violence, seizing the envoy and preparing to use him for the drum sacrifice. Then Wu will know how to prepare. Though our town is weak, if we diligently complete our preparations, we can stop the army. With preparation for both difficulty and ease, this can indeed be called auspicious. Moreover, we divined for the fate of the state—was it for me alone? If the envoy can be used for the drum sacrifice, and our town knows to prepare against unexpected events, what greater auspiciousness could there be? The state’s sacred tortoise—what cannot be divined? One time auspicious, one time inauspicious—who can always be constant? The omen of the Chengpu campaign was fulfilled in the Bi campaign. Now, on this journey, could there also be an intention of fulfillment?” So King Ling of Chu did not kill him. The Chu army crossed the Luogou. Shenyin Chi joined King Ling of Chu and camped at Laishan. Wei She led the Fanyang forces and entered Nanhuai first. The Chu army followed them and reached Ruqing. The Wu forces could not break in. King Ling of Chu then reviewed the troops at Diji Mountain. In this campaign, Wu had long prepared, and Chu achieved nothing, returning with Jue You. King Ling of Chu feared Wu and sent Shenyin She to await orders at Chao, and Qizi Jiang to await orders at Yulou. This was in accordance with ritual.
Houzi of Qin returned to Qin, because Duke Jing of Qin had died.