酈食其說降陳留
Li Yiji Persuades the Surrender of Chenliu
酈生食其者，陳留高陽人也。好讀書，家貧落魄。後聞沛公將兵略地陳留郊。酈生見沛公方倨床使兩女子洗足。酈生入，長揖不拜，曰：“足下欲助秦攻諸侯乎？且欲率諸侯破秦也？”沛公罵曰：“豎儒！”酈生曰：“必聚徒合義兵誅無道秦，不宜倨見長者。”於是沛公輟洗，起攝衣，延酈生上坐。酈生因言六國從橫時。沛公喜。遣酈生說陳留令，遂下陳留。號酈食其為廣野君。
Li Yiji was a man of Gaoyang in Chenliu. He loved reading but was destitute. When he heard the Duke of Pei was campaigning near Chenliu, he sought an audience. The Duke was lounging on a bed having two women wash his feet. Li Yiji entered, gave a standing bow without kneeling, and said: "Does your lordship intend to help Qin attack the lords, or to lead the lords and destroy Qin?" The Duke cursed: "You wretched scholar!" Li Yiji said: "If you mean to raise a righteous army and destroy lawless Qin, you should not receive an elder so rudely." The Duke stopped the foot-washing, straightened his robes, and invited Li Yiji to the seat of honor. Li Yiji then discussed the alliances and strategies of the Six States period. The Duke was delighted. He sent Li Yiji to persuade the magistrate of Chenliu to surrender, and the city fell. Li Yiji was given the title Lord of Guangye.
Notes
Li Yiji (酈食其, d. 203 BC), also known as Li Sheng, was a Confucian persuader who became one of Liu Bang's key diplomatic agents. He famously called himself 'the drunkard of Gaoyang' (高陽酒徒). He was boiled alive by the King of Qi after Han Xin's surprise attack undermined his diplomatic mission.
The confrontation between the foot-washing warlord and the indignant scholar became one of the most beloved scenes in the Shiji — it established both Liu Bang's earthy pragmatism and Li Yiji's fearless directness.