存韓

Han has served Qin for over thirty years. Abroad, it has served as a shield and buffer; at home, it has been a mat laid out for Qin's convenience. Whenever Qin dispatches crack troops to seize territory, Han follows behind -- the resentment of All-Under-Heaven falls on Han, while the merit accrues to mighty Qin. Moreover, Han pays tribute and performs its obligations no differently from a commandery or county.

Today, I have privately learned of a plan by your honored ministers to raise an army and attack Han. Now, Zhao has been assembling soldiers, cultivating adherents of the Vertical Alliance, and seeking to unite the armies of All-Under-Heaven, making clear that unless Qin is weakened, the ancestral temples of every state will be destroyed. Zhao intends to turn westward and impose its will -- this is no scheme of a single day.

To set aside the threat of Zhao and instead attack Han, which is already an inner vassal, will only make plain to All-Under-Heaven the wisdom of Zhao's strategy.

Han is a small state, yet it has endured attacks from all four directions under Heaven. Its ruler has borne humiliation and its ministers have suffered; high and low have shared the same anxieties for a long time. They have maintained their defenses, armed against powerful enemies, built up stores, and fortified their city walls. If we attack Han now, we cannot destroy it in a single year. If we take one city and then withdraw, our prestige will be diminished throughout All-Under-Heaven, and the states will crush our army's reputation.

If Han rebels, Wei will support it. Zhao will use Qi as its base of support. In that case, Han and Wei's resources would bolster Zhao, which would borrow Qi's strength to cement the Vertical Alliance and contest supremacy with us. That would be Zhao's blessing and Qin's disaster.

If we advance to strike Zhao but cannot take it, and retreat to attack Han but cannot capture it, then our elite troops will be worn down in field battles and our supply corps exhausted in sieges. We would then face a coalition of weakened but desperate enemies with a combined strength of twenty thousand chariots -- this is no way to fulfill the ambition of destroying Zhao.

If we follow your honored ministers' plan to its conclusion, Qin will surely become a hostage to the armies of All-Under-Heaven. Even if Your Majesty were to wear out metal and stone in the effort, the day of unifying All-Under-Heaven will never come.

Now, this humble minister's foolish plan is as follows: send an envoy to Chu, lavishing gifts on its influential ministers, and expose how Zhao has been deceiving Qin. Exchange hostages with Wei to reassure them. Then, bringing Han along as an ally, attack Zhao. Even if Zhao and Qi stand as one, they need not be feared. Once the business with these two states is concluded, Han can be settled with a single dispatch. Thus in one stroke, two states face the prospect of ruin, and Chu and Wei will inevitably submit of their own accord.

As the saying goes: "Weapons are instruments of ill omen" -- they must not be used without careful deliberation. With Qin and Zhao evenly matched, and Qi added to the balance, if we now also turn against Han without having secured the commitment of Chu and Wei -- then a single battle lost, and disaster takes root.

Strategy is the means by which affairs are settled; it demands the utmost scrutiny. The relative strength of Han and Qin hangs on this very year. Zhao has been plotting with the other lords in secret for a long time. To make one move and be weakened before the lords -- that is perilous. To adopt a strategy that gives the lords reason to suspect our intentions -- that is the height of danger. To reveal two vulnerabilities is no way to maintain strength over the lords.

I humbly beg Your Majesty to consider this carefully! Once an attack is launched and the members of the Vertical Alliance learn of it, there will be no undoing the consequences.

An edict sent down the memorial submitted by the guest from Han, whose letter argues that Han should not be taken, to your minister Si for review. I strongly disagree.

Qin's possession of Han is like a person afflicted with a disease of the heart and belly: when at rest it seems manageable, as if one merely dwells in a damp place, but the illness clings and will not depart. Once one exerts oneself to the utmost, it flares up. Although Han nominally serves Qin, it has never ceased to be a source of affliction. If a sudden crisis arises, Han cannot be trusted.

Qin is contending with Zhao. Jing Su has been sent as envoy to Qi, and the outcome is uncertain. In my assessment, the alliance between Qi and Zhao will not necessarily be broken by Jing Su. If it is not broken, then we face the full strength of Zhao supported by a coalition of twenty thousand chariots.

Han submits to Qin not out of conviction in Qin's righteousness, but out of submission to Qin's strength. If we now focus entirely on Qi and Zhao, Han will inevitably become a disease of the heart and belly that erupts. If Han conspires with Chu and the other lords respond, Qin will surely face the peril of Xiao Pass once again.

Han Fei's reason for coming here is quite likely because his ability to preserve Han makes him valued by Han. With clever arguments and polished phrases, he glosses over wrongs and concocts deceptive schemes to fish for advantage at Qin's court, while using Han's interests to probe Your Majesty's intentions. If the alliance between Qin and Han grows closer, then Han Fei becomes more important -- this is a plan for his own convenience.

I have examined Han Fei's words: the elegance of his extravagant arguments and ornate rhetoric reveals considerable talent. But I fear that Your Majesty may be seduced by Han Fei's eloquence and heed his treacherous heart, thereby failing to examine the facts of the matter closely.

Now, in my humble opinion: if Qin mobilizes its army without announcing the target, the officials in charge in Han will adopt serving Qin as their policy. I, your minister Si, request permission to go and see the King of Han, and have him come to present himself at court. When Your Majesty receives him, detain his person and do not let him leave. Then gradually summon the ministers who control Han's altars of soil and grain, and use them as bargaining chips with the people of Han -- thus Han can be deeply carved up.

Meanwhile, order Xiang Wu to mobilize the troops of the Eastern Commandery and station the army threateningly on the border without announcing its destination. The people of Qi will grow afraid and follow Su's plan. Thus, before our troops have even marched, we will have seized a weakened Han through intimidation and brought a powerful Qi to heel through diplomatic leverage.

When the other lords hear of this, Zhao will be terror-stricken and Chu will waver with indecision -- they will surely reconsider their strategies. If Chu does not move, Wei is not worth worrying about. Then the lords can be devoured one by one like silkworms eating mulberry leaves, and Zhao can be properly confronted as an enemy. I beg Your Majesty to examine your foolish minister's plan and not disregard it.

Qin thereupon dispatched Li Si as envoy to Han.

Li Si went to deliver the royal message to the King of Han but was unable to obtain an audience. He therefore submitted a letter, which read:

"In former times, Qin and Han joined forces with one purpose, agreeing not to invade each other. No state under Heaven dared to transgress against either. This arrangement lasted for several generations. Previously, when five lords joined together to attack Han, Qin dispatched troops to rescue it. Han sits in the center of the realm, its territory not even a thousand li in extent, yet the reason it has been able to maintain its rank among the lords of All-Under-Heaven, with ruler and ministers preserving each other, is the strength that comes from generations of serving Qin.

"Yet earlier, when five lords joined together to attack Qin, Han reversed course and joined the lords, forming the vanguard in goose-wing formation to advance on Qin's army at the pass. The lords' troops were exhausted and at the end of their strength, and could do nothing, so they withdrew. Du Cang, as chancellor of Qin, raised troops and dispatched generals to repay the resentment of All-Under-Heaven, and first attacked Chu. The Chief Minister of Chu was distressed and said: 'Han considered Qin unjust, yet as a sworn brother of Qin, it joined in afflicting All-Under-Heaven. Then it betrayed Qin and led the vanguard in attacking the passes. Han sits in the center of the realm and shifts allegiances unpredictably.'

"All-Under-Heaven jointly carved away ten cities from Han's best territory to apologize to Qin and resolve the military crisis. Han once betrayed Qin, and its state was pressed, its territory encroached upon, its army weakened down to this day. The reason for this is that it heeded the empty talk of treacherous ministers and did not weigh the facts. Thus, even though it executed those treacherous ministers, it could not restore Han's strength."

"Now Zhao intends to assemble its soldiers, ultimately to make Qin its target. It has sent envoys to borrow passage through Han, saying it wishes to attack Qin, but its inevitable course is first Han, then Qin. Moreover, as the saying goes: 'When the lips are gone, the teeth grow cold.' Qin and Han cannot but share the same anxieties -- the pattern is plain to see.

"Wei intends to launch an attack on Han. Qin has sent me to escort envoys to Han. Now the King of Qin has sent your minister Si here, yet I am unable to obtain an audience. I fear that those around you are repeating the schemes of treacherous ministers past, and will cause Han once again to suffer the disaster of lost territory.

"If I, your minister Si, cannot obtain an audience, I shall return and report, and the alliance between Qin and Han will assuredly be severed. I have come as envoy to fulfill the King of Qin's goodwill, wishing to offer a plan of mutual benefit. Is this truly the way for Your Majesty to receive a humble envoy? I, your minister Si, wish only for a single audience: to step forward and present my humble plan, and then to step back and accept execution if it fails. I beg Your Majesty to give this your attention."

"If you kill me here in Han, it will not be enough to make Your Majesty strong. If you do not heed my plan, disaster will assuredly take root. Once Qin dispatches its army without delay, the altars of soil and grain of Han will be in peril. If my body is exposed in the marketplace of Han, then even if you later wish to examine this humble minister's plan of foolish loyalty, it will be impossible.

"When the border towns have been overrun and ravaged, and the state retreats to its inner defenses, and the sound of war drums and bells fills your ears -- to adopt my plan then will be too late. The strength of Han's army is well known throughout All-Under-Heaven; now to also turn against mighty Qin? If you abandon your cities and your army is defeated, then rebels from within will surely seize those cities. When all cities are lost, the population will scatter, and there will be no army left. If the cities hold firm, then Qin will surely raise an army to besiege Your Majesty's single capital. When the roads are cut off, crisis will follow upon crisis, the situation will be beyond rescue, and the plans of your advisors will go unheeded.

"I beg Your Majesty to consider this carefully. If anything I have said does not accord with the facts, I ask only that Your Majesty graciously allow me to finish speaking in your presence -- it will not be too late to hand me over to the executioner afterward.

"The King of Qin finds no pleasure in food or drink, no enjoyment in excursions. His mind is focused entirely on the campaign against Zhao. He has sent your minister Si to speak with you, wishing for a personal audience, because he has an urgent plan to share with Your Majesty. If you now refuse to receive his envoy, then Han's good faith becomes uncertain. Qin will surely set aside the problem of Zhao and redirect its army against Han. I beg Your Majesty to examine and reconsider, and to grant me your reply and decision."