魏將與秦攻韓，朱己謂魏王曰：「秦與戎、翟同俗，有虎狼之心，貪戾好利而無信，不識禮義德行。苟有利焉，不顧親戚兄弟，若禽獸耳。此天下之所同知也，非所施厚積德也。故太后母也，而以憂死；穰侯舅也，功莫大焉，而竟逐之；兩弟無罪，而再奪之國。此於其親戚兄弟若此，而又況於仇讎之敵國也!
「今大王與秦伐韓而益近秦，臣甚或之，而王弗識也，則不明矣。群臣知之，而莫以此諫，則不忠矣。今夫韓氏以一女子承一弱主，內有大亂，外安能支強秦、魏之兵，王以為不破乎?韓亡，秦盡有鄭地，與大梁鄰，王以為安乎?王欲得故地，而今負強秦之禍也，王以為利乎?
「秦非無事之國也，韓亡之後，必且便事；便事，必就易與利；就易與利，必不伐楚與趙矣。是何也?夫越山逾河，絕韓之上黨而攻強趙，則是復閼與之事也，秦必不為也。若道河內，倍鄴、朝歌，絕漳、滏之水，而以與趙兵決勝於邯鄲之郊，是受智伯之禍也，秦又不敢。伐楚，道涉而谷行三十里，而攻危隘之塞，所行者甚遠，而所攻者甚難，秦又弗為也。若道漢河外，背大梁，而右上蔡、召陵，以與楚兵決於陳郊，秦又不敢也。故曰，秦必不伐楚與趙矣，又不攻衛與齊矣。韓亡之後，兵出之日，非魏無攻矣。
「秦故有懷地刑丘、之城垝津，而以臨河內，河內之共、汲莫不危矣。秦有鄭地，得垣雍，決滎澤，而水大梁，大梁必亡矣。王之使者大過矣，乃惡安陵氏於秦，秦之欲許之久矣。然而秦之葉陽、昆陽與舞陽、高陵鄰，聽使者之惡也，隨安陵氏而欲亡之。秦繞舞陽之北，以東臨許，則南國必危矣。南國雖無危，則魏國豈得安哉?且夫憎韓不受安陵氏可也，夫不患秦之不愛南國，非也。
「異日者，秦乃在河西，晉國之去梁也，千里有餘，河山以蘭之，有周、韓而間之。從林軍以至於今，秦十攻魏，五入國中，邊城盡拔。文台墮，垂都焚，林木伐，糜鹿盡，而國繼以困。又長驅梁北，東至陶、衛之郊，北至平闞，所亡乎秦者，山北、河外、河內，大縣數百，名都數十。秦乃在河西，晉國之去大梁也尚千里，而禍若是矣。又況於使秦無韓而有鄭地，無河山以蘭之，無周、韓以間之，去大梁百里，禍必百此矣。異日者，從之不成矣，楚、魏疑而韓不可得而約也。今韓受兵三年矣，秦撓之以講，韓知亡，猶弗聽，投質於趙，而請為天下雁行頓刃。以臣之觀之，則楚、趙必與之攻矣。此何也?則皆知秦之無窮也，非盡亡天下之兵，而臣海內之民，必不休矣。是故臣願以從事乎王，王速受楚、趙之約，而挾韓、魏之質，以存韓為務，因求故地於韓，韓必效之。如此，則士民不勞而故地得，其功多於與秦共伐韓，然而無與強秦鄰之禍。
「夫存韓安魏而利天下，此亦王之大時已。通韓之上黨於共、莫，使道已通，因而關之，出入者賦之，是魏重質韓以其上黨也。共有其賦，足以富國，韓必德魏、愛魏、重魏、畏魏，韓必不敢反魏。韓是魏之縣也。魏得韓以為縣，則衛、大梁、河外必安矣。今不存韓，則二周必危，安陵必易。楚、趙楚大破，衛、齊甚畏。天下之西鄉而馳秦，入朝為臣之日不久。」
Wei plans to join Qin in attacking Han. Zhu Ji says to the King of Wei:
"Qin shares customs with the Rong and Di barbarians. It has the heart of a tiger and wolf — greedy, violent, profit-seeking, and faithless, knowing nothing of ritual, righteousness, or virtue. Where there is profit, it disregards kinship and brotherhood, like a beast. All-Under-Heaven knows this; Qin is not a state with which one builds deep bonds of trust. Its own Queen Dowager was a mother, yet died of grief; the Marquis of Rang was an uncle whose merits were unsurpassed, yet was driven out; two brothers were innocent, yet had their fiefs stripped twice. If Qin treats its own family this way, how much worse for enemy states!
"Now Your Majesty would join Qin to attack Han, bringing Qin closer — I am deeply troubled by this. If Your Majesty does not see the danger, that is a failure of discernment. If your ministers see it but do not remonstrate, that is a failure of loyalty.
"Han now has a single woman managing affairs for a weak ruler, with great disorder internally — how can it withstand the combined armies of Qin and Wei? Does Your Majesty think it will survive? When Han falls, Qin will possess all of Zheng's territory and border Daliang directly — does Your Majesty think that is secure? Your Majesty wants to recover old territory but will bear the burden of mighty Qin's enmity — does Your Majesty think that is profitable?
"Qin is not a state that rests idle. After Han falls, it will seek its next easy target. The easy and profitable target will not be Chu or Zhao. Why? To cross mountains and the Yellow River, cut through Han's Shangdang, and attack strong Zhao — that repeats the disaster of Eyu. Qin will not do it. To march through Henei, bypass Ye and Zhaoge, cross the Zhang and Fu rivers, and fight Zhao's armies before Handan — that invites the catastrophe of Zhi Bo. Qin will not dare. To attack Chu by winding through valleys for thirty li to assault a narrow, dangerous pass — the march is too long and the target too hard. Qin will not do it. To march along the Han River beyond the Yellow River, with Daliang at its back, and fight Chu's armies before Chen — Qin will not dare. Therefore Qin will certainly not attack Chu or Zhao, nor will it attack Wey or Qi. After Han falls, on the day Qin deploys its armies, the only target will be Wei.
"Qin already holds Huai, Xingqiu, and the city of Guijin, overlooking Henei — Gong and Ji in Henei are all in danger. If Qin holds Zheng's territory and gains Yuanyong, it can breach the Xing marshes and flood Daliang. Daliang will be destroyed.
"In former days, Qin was west of the River, and old Jin was more than a thousand li from Daliang, with mountains and the River between them, and Zhou and Han as buffers. From the battle of Lin to the present day, Qin has attacked Wei ten times and penetrated the interior five times. Every border city has fallen. The Wen Terrace was toppled, Chui capital burned, forests cut down, deer herds destroyed, and the state reduced to exhaustion. Qin then drove north of Daliang, east to the outskirts of Tao and Wey, north to Pingkan — territory lost to Qin includes the northern mountains, beyond the River, and the River interior: hundreds of major counties, dozens of named cities. And that was when Qin was still on the west side of the River, a thousand li away. How much worse when Qin has no Han as buffer, holds all of Zheng's territory, with no mountains or rivers as barriers, no Zhou or Han as screens, and sits a mere hundred li from Daliang — the disaster will be a hundred times greater.
"Previously the coalition failed because Chu and Wei were suspicious and Han could not be secured. Now Han has endured war for three years, Qin has pressured it with peace offers, and Han knows it will perish — yet still refuses to submit. It has sent hostages to Zhao and asks to serve as All-Under-Heaven's vanguard. In my view, Chu and Zhao will certainly join the fight. Why? Because they all know Qin's appetite is limitless — that Qin will not rest until it has destroyed every army in All-Under-Heaven and subjected all people within the seas.
"Therefore I urge Your Majesty to pursue the coalition strategy. Accept Chu and Zhao's alliance quickly, hold hostages from Han and Wei, and make preserving Han the priority. Then demand the return of your old territory from Han — Han will certainly hand it over. This way, your soldiers and people are not exhausted, your old territory is recovered, the achievement exceeds that of jointly attacking Han with Qin, and you avoid the disaster of bordering mighty Qin.
"To preserve Han, secure Wei, and benefit All-Under-Heaven — this is Your Majesty's great opportunity. Connect Han's Shangdang to Gong and Mo, establish the road, then levy tolls on traffic. This makes Wei the gatekeeper of Han's Shangdang. The customs revenue alone is enough to enrich the state. Han will be grateful to Wei, loyal to Wei, respectful of Wei, and fearful of Wei. Han will not dare turn against Wei. Han becomes Wei's county. With Han as its county, Wei's hold on Wey, Daliang, and the territory beyond the River is secure.
"If you do not preserve Han, the two Zhous will be endangered, Anling will change hands, Chu and Zhao will be shattered, Wey and Qi will be terrified. The day when All-Under-Heaven faces west and races to Qin, entering court as its vassals, will not be far off."
