初見秦

I have heard it said: "To speak without knowledge is unwise; to know and not speak is disloyal." A minister who is disloyal deserves death; one who speaks inappropriately also deserves death. Be that as it may, I wish to say all that I have heard, and leave it to Your Majesty to judge my offense.

I have heard that All-Under-Heaven is secretly courting Yan, openly courting Wei, linking with Chu, cementing ties with Qi, and drawing in Han to form the Vertical Alliance, with the intent of turning westward to challenge mighty Qin. I cannot help but laugh at this. There are three paths to ruin in the world, and the allied states have taken every one of them. As the saying goes: "Those who attack order with disorder perish; those who attack righteousness with depravity perish; those who attack the compliant with the rebellious perish."

Today, the treasuries of the allied states are not full, their granaries stand empty. They conscript all their people and muster armies numbering in the millions, yet among those who bow their heads and wear feathered caps as generals, not even a thousand are truly resolved to die in the front lines -- they merely talk of dying. With bare blades before them and executioners' axes behind them, they still turn and flee, unable to face death. It is not that their soldiers and people cannot die; it is that their rulers cannot inspire them to do so. They promise rewards but do not deliver; they threaten punishments but do not carry them out. When rewards and punishments lack credibility, soldiers and people will not fight to the death.

Now Qin issues orders and enforces rewards and punishments: the meritorious and the unmeritorious are treated accordingly. Its people, brought forth from their parents' bosoms, have never in their lives even seen an enemy. Yet when they hear of battle, they stamp their feet, bare their arms, charge into naked blades and tread upon burning coals -- all resolved to die in the front lines. Choosing certain death over choosing life: the difference could not be greater, yet the people embrace it, because they prize the honor of fighting to the death. One man resolved to die can stand against ten; ten against a hundred; a hundred against a thousand; a thousand against ten thousand; and ten thousand can conquer All-Under-Heaven.

Today, Qin's territory, trimming the long sides to fill the short, measures several thousand li on each side, with renowned armies numbering in the millions. Qin's system of orders, rewards, and punishments, and the advantages of its terrain -- nothing under Heaven compares. With these, to contend against All-Under-Heaven: All-Under-Heaven is not enough to annex and possess. Thus Qin has never fought without conquering, never attacked without taking, never faced an enemy without breaking them, opening up thousands of li of territory. These are great achievements indeed.

And yet the armor and weapons are worn out, the soldiers and people are exhausted, the stores are depleted, the fields lie fallow, the granaries stand empty, the neighboring lords do not submit, and the name of hegemon-king remains unachieved. There is no other reason for this: Qin's counselors have none of them given their full loyalty.

I dare to state my case. In the past, Qi broke Chu in the south, broke Song in the east, subdued Qin in the west, broke Yan in the north, and made Han and Wei serve it in the center. Its territory was vast and its armies strong; it conquered in battle and took what it attacked, issuing commands to All-Under-Heaven. The clear Ji River and the turbid Yellow River were sufficient as boundaries; the Great Wall and massive ramparts were sufficient as barriers. Yet Qi was a state that had fought five wars, and after losing just one, there was no more Qi. From this we can see: for a state of ten thousand chariots, war is a matter of survival or extinction.

Moreover, the saying goes: "When cutting down a tree, leave no roots behind; do not dwell beside misfortune, and misfortune will not exist." Qin fought with Chu, dealt Chu a devastating defeat, raided Ying, and seized the Dongting, the Five Lakes, and all the territory south of the Yangtze. The king and ministers of Chu fled east and submitted at Chen. At that moment, had Qin pursued Chu with its army, Chu could have been taken entirely. With Chu taken, its people could have been absorbed and its land exploited. In the east, this would have weakened Qi and Yan; in the center, it would have dominated the Three Jin. Thus in a single stroke, the name of hegemon-king could have been achieved and the neighboring lords could have been made to pay court.

But the counselors did not act. They withdrew the army and made peace with Chu once again. They allowed the people of Chu to recover their lost state, reassemble their scattered people, establish a new lord over the altars of soil and grain, and restore the ancestral temples, so that Chu could lead All-Under-Heaven westward to oppose Qin. This was the first time the path to hegemon-king was lost.

Then All-Under-Heaven allied together and encamped at Hua. Your Majesty by royal command defeated them, and the army reached the outer wall of Daliang. Had they besieged Daliang for a few more weeks, it could have been taken. With Daliang taken, Wei could have been annexed. With Wei annexed, the resolve of Chu and Zhao would have been broken. With their resolve broken, Zhao would be endangered; with Zhao endangered, Chu would waver in indecision. In the east, this would have weakened Qi and Yan; in the center, it would have dominated the Three Jin. Thus in a single stroke, the name of hegemon-king could have been achieved and the neighboring lords could have been made to pay court.

But the counselors did not act. They withdrew the army and made peace with Wei once again. They allowed Wei to recover its lost territories, reassemble its scattered people, establish a new lord over the altars of soil and grain, and restore the ancestral temples, so that Wei could lead All-Under-Heaven westward to oppose Qin. This was the second time the path to hegemon-king was lost.

Previously, when the Marquis of Rang governed Qin, he used one state's army yet tried to achieve the work of two states. As a result, the troops were exposed in the field their entire lives, while soldiers and people were exhausted at home. The name of hegemon-king was not achieved. This was the third time the path to hegemon-king was lost.

Zhao is a state at the center of the realm, inhabited by mixed peoples, whose populace is flighty and difficult to employ. Its commands are not well administered, its rewards and punishments lack credibility, its terrain is disadvantageous, and its rulers cannot fully harness the strength of their people. It bears all the marks of a doomed state. Yet without concern for its people, Zhao mustered all its soldiers and civilians to encamp at Changping, contending for the Shangdang territory of Han. Your Majesty by royal command defeated them and took Wu'an.

At that time, the upper and lower ranks of Zhao were estranged, and the noble and the common did not trust one another. Handan therefore could not have held. Had Qin taken Handan, controlled the territory east of the mountains and between the rivers, then marched west to attack Xiuwu, crossed the Hua Mountains, and subdued Dai and Shangdang -- Dai's forty-six districts and Shangdang's seventy districts would have become Qin's without donning a single suit of armor or troubling a single soldier. Dai and Shangdang would have fallen to Qin without a fight; Dongyang and the lands beyond the Yellow River would have reverted to Qi without a fight; Zhongshan and the territory north of the Hutuo River would have fallen to Yan without a fight.

With Zhao thus annexed, Han would perish. With Han gone, Chu and Wei could not stand alone. With Chu and Wei unable to stand, then in a single stroke Han would be ruined, Wei would be hollowed out, Chu would be uprooted, Qi and Yan would be weakened in the east, and the breach at Baima could flood Wei's lands. In a single stroke, the Three Jin would be destroyed and the Vertical Alliance defeated. Your Majesty could have sat with arms folded, waiting, while All-Under-Heaven fell into line and submitted. The name of hegemon-king could have been achieved.

But the counselors did not act. They withdrew the army and made peace with Zhao once again.

With Your Majesty's brilliance and Qin's military power, you abandoned the enterprise of hegemon-king, failed even to gain territory, and ended up being deceived by a state on the verge of ruin. This is the incompetence of your counselors. When Zhao should have perished but did not, and Qin should have achieved hegemony but did not -- that was the first time All-Under-Heaven took the measure of Qin's counselors.

Then Qin mustered all its soldiers to attack Handan but could not take it, abandoning armor, weapons, and crossbows, trembling in battle and retreating. That was the second time All-Under-Heaven took the measure of Qin's strength.

The army then withdrew and regrouped at Fu. Your Majesty once again combined forces and arrived, but engaged the enemy and could not overcome them, nor could the army return -- it disbanded and departed. That was the third time All-Under-Heaven took the measure of Qin's strength.

Internally, they have assessed our counselors; externally, they have tested the limits of our military power. From this perspective, I believe the Vertical Alliance against us can hardly be broken. Internally, our armor and weapons are worn out, our soldiers and people are exhausted, our stores are depleted, our fields lie fallow, our granaries stand empty. Externally, all the states under Heaven are united with great determination. I beg Your Majesty to give this careful thought.

Moreover, I have heard it said: "Trembling with fear, more cautious with each passing day -- if one is careful in one's course, All-Under-Heaven can be possessed." How do I know this to be so?

In former times, Zhou of Shang was Son of Heaven, commanding the armored soldiers of All-Under-Heaven, a million strong. When his army's horses drank on the left from the Qi River and on the right from the Huan River, the Qi ran dry and the Huan ceased to flow. With this force he opposed King Wu of Zhou. Yet King Wu led a mere three thousand in plain armor, fought for a single day, destroyed Zhou's state, captured his person, seized his territory and took his people, and none under Heaven mourned.

Zhibo led the combined forces of three states to attack Lord Xiang of Zhao at Jinyang. He diverted the river to flood the city for three months, and the city was on the verge of falling. Lord Xiang consulted the tortoise shell and yarrow stalks to divine his fortunes and determine to which state he might surrender. He then dispatched his minister Zhang Mengtian, who slipped out of the city in secret, reversed Zhibo's alliance, won over the armies of the two other states, and attacked Zhibo, capturing his person and restoring Lord Xiang's original position.

Today Qin's territory, trimming the long sides to fill the short, measures several thousand li on each side, with renowned armies numbering in the millions. Qin's system of orders, rewards, and punishments, and the advantages of its terrain -- nothing under Heaven compares. With these, it is possible to annex and possess All-Under-Heaven.

I risk death to request an audience with Your Majesty, to present the strategy for breaking the Vertical Alliance of All-Under-Heaven, annexing Zhao, destroying Han, making vassals of Chu and Wei, winning over Qi and Yan, and thereby achieving the name of hegemon-king and making the neighboring lords pay court.

If Your Majesty truly heeds this counsel, and yet in a single campaign the Vertical Alliance is not broken, Zhao is not annexed, Han does not perish, Chu and Wei do not submit, Qi and Yan do not yield, the name of hegemon-king is not achieved, and the neighboring lords do not pay court -- then let Your Majesty behead me and parade my corpse through the state, as a warning to those who counsel the king without loyalty.