苏秦为赵合从说楚威王
Su Qin Advocated Hezong on Behalf of Zhao and Went to Persuade King Wei of Chu
【原文】
苏秦为赵合从，说楚威王曰广楚，天下之强国也；大王，天下之贤王 也。楚地西有黔中、巫郡，东有夏州、海阳，南有洞庭、苍梧，北有汾陉之 塞、郇阳。地方五千里，带甲百万，车千乘，骑万匹，粟支十年。此霸王 之资也。夫以楚之强与大王之贤，天下莫能当也。今乃欲西面而事秦， 则诸侯莫不南面而朝于章台之下矣！秦之所害于夭下，莫如楚。楚强 则秦弱，楚弱则秦强，此其势不两立。故为王至计，莫如从亲以孤秦-大王不从亲，秦必起两军：一军出武关，一军下黔中。若此，则鄢、郢动矣！臣闻，治之其未乱，为之其未有也；患至而后忧之，则无及巳！故愿大王之早计之。
【今译】
苏秦为赵国推行合纵的计策，游说楚咸王说：“楚国是天下的强国， 大王您是天下贤明的君主。楚国的土地，西面有黔中、巫郡，东面有夏 州、海阳，南面有洞庭湖、苍梧山，北面有汾丘、陉山、郇阳等要塞。领土 方圓五千里，有一百万武装的士卒、一千辆战车、一万匹战马，粮食足以 支撑十年，这是成就王霸大业的资本。凭借着楚国的强大和大王的贤 能，天下没有哪个国家可以匹敌。现在却打算向西侍奉秦国，那样各国 诸侯就都将到西方去，在章台下面朝拜秦王了。天下各国中，秦国最担 心的就是楚国。楚国强盛了，秦国就会衰弱；楚国亵弱了，秦国就会强 盛。秦国跟楚国势不两立。所以为大王您着想，不如推行合纵的策略 来孤立秦国。大王如果不合纵，秦国一定会派出两支军队：一支从武关出发，一支直捣黔中.这样一来，鄢和郢就会动荡不安了。我听说，应 当在国家没有出现动乱之前就把它治理好，在事情没有发生前就把它 谋划好，等到祸患出现了再去担心，就来不及了。所以希望大王尽早 考虑这件事。
Su Qin advocated Hezong on behalf of Zhao and went to persuade King Wei of Chu. He said，“Chu is the most powerful state in the world. Your Majesty is a wise and capable sovereign. Chu has Qianzhong and Wujun in the west，Xiazhou and Haiyang in the east, the Dongting Lake and Mount Cangwu in the south, and the passes of Fenqiu， Mount Xing and Huanyang in the north, Chu owns five thousand square li of land, one million armed troops, one thousand chariots and ten thousand war horses. Moreover， your store of grain can support the state for ten years. Based on these factors, you can unify the whole world or at least establish one of the most powerful states. As for the might of Chu and the wisdom of Your Majesty，there is no match anywhere in the world. However, you are going to serve Qin, Thus all other states will go to the west to show their respect to Qin at Zhangtai. What the state of Qin fears raost is Chu, If Chu is strengthened, Qin will be weakened. On the other hand, if Chu is weakened, Qin will be strengthened. These two states are at daggers drawn. Hence，the best thing for you is to carry out Hezong to isolate Qin. If not, Qin will dispatch two armies. One will be sent from Wuguan and the other will approach Qianzhong, As a result，the city of Yan and the capital of Ying will be in danger, I heard that one should keep the state in order before chaos occurs and be well prepared for things that might happen. If you start to worry after troubles come，it will be too late to take action. So I hope you make plans as early as possible,"
【原文】
“大王诚能听臣，臣请令山东之国奉四时之献，以承大王之明制；委 社稷宗庙，练士厉兵，在大王之所用之。大王诚能听K之愚计，则韩、 魏、齐、燕、赵、卫之妙音美人，必充后宫矣；赵、代良马橐他，必实于外 厩。故从合则楚王，横成则秦帝。今释霸王之业，而有事人之名，臣窃 为大王不取也。
【今译】
“大王果真能听我的，我就让山东的国家进献四季时鲜的物产，奉 行大王的指令，把国家委托给楚国，并训练自己的军队供大王调遣。大 王果真能采纳我愚蠢的计策，那么韩国、魏国、齐国、燕国、赵国、卫国优 美的音乐和美丽的女子一定会充满您的后宫，赵国和代郡出产的駿马 和骆驼一定会挤满您的畜棚。所以，合纵成功了，楚国就会一统夭下； 连横成功了，秦王就会称帝。如今放弃了王霸大业，还有侍奉别国的名 声，我私下为大王感到不可取。
Su Qin continued, “If you take my advice，I will ask all the stales located east of Mount Xiao to offer their produce of all four seasons to you and carry out your orders. They will train their troops and have them ready to follow your orders. If you listen to me and use my tactics, you can enjoy fine tunes from the states of Han, Wei, Qi，Yan，Zhao and Wei, And your inner palace will also be crowded with beautiful women from these states. Moreover, all of your stalls will be full of swift horses and camels from Zhao and Dai. So，if Hezong is carried out successfully, Chu will unify the world, If Lianheng is put into practice，Qin will become the ruler. Now you are planning to give up this great chance to establish the most powerful state or unify the world，and submit to Qin’s authority. 1 personally think it will be an unwise policy of Your Majesty. ”
【原文】
“夫秦，虎狼之国也，有吞天下之心。秦，天下之仇雠也，横人皆欲 割诸侯之地以事秦，此所谓养仇而奉雠者也。夫为人臣而割其主之地， 以外交强虎狼之秦，以侵天下，卒有秦患，不顾其祸。夫外挟强秦之威以内劫其主，以求割地，大逆不忠，无过此者。故从亲，则诸侯割地以事 楚；横合，则楚割地以事秦。此两策者，相去远矣，有亿兆之数！两者大 王何居焉？故弊邑赵王使臣效愚计、奉明约，在大王命之。”
【今译】
“秦国是如同虎狼一般贪婪的国家，有着吞并天下的野心。秦国是 天下各国共同仇恨的敌人，主张连#的人都想割让别的国家的土地来 侍奉秦国，这就是所谓的豢养仇敌、侍奉仇敌啊。作为人而割让自己 的君主的土地，来向外结交强大的虎狼一般的秦国，让它侵呑别的国家。如果秦国突然入侵，他们就不顾本国遭受的灾祸。在外面凭借着 强大的秦国的威势，在国内要挟自己的君主，来求得割让给秦国土地， 再没有比这更大逆不道、不忠于自己的国家的了。所以，合纵成功了， 诸侯就会割让土地来侍奉楚国；连横成功了，楚国就会割让土地来侍奉 秦国。这两个计策相差得太远了，相差有亿兆的距离^在这两者之间， 大王如何作出选择呢？所以我们赵王派我来献上自己愚蠢的计策、奉 上明确的誓约，全凭大王您下令了。”
Su Qin said further, “Qin is as covetous and brutal as tigers and wolves and wants to annex all the states in the world. Qin is the common enemy of all states. Those who advocate Lian Heng all want to cede some land to Qin to serve it. That’s simply supporting and serving the enemy. As for those court officials, they want to cede some land to Qin and thus consort with the greedy Qin and help it annex other states. If Qin suddenly attacked their states, they would ignore the trouble suffered by their own states. With Qin’s might，they can coerce their own sovereigns into conferring fiefs on them. Nothing could be more despicable and condemnable. Now，if Hezong is successfully practiced, other states will cede their territory to Chu. If Lianheng is carried out，Chu will cede its territory to Qin. These two tactics are greatly divergent with each other. Which one do you prefer? Therefore, our king sent me here to present my views and give you our pledge. It’s all up to Your Majesty. ”
King Wei of Chu said, “My state shares the same border with Qin in the west, Qin is thinking of occupying Ba and Shu and annexing Hanzhong. Qin is very covetous and brutal and I don’t feel close to it at all. However，Han and Wei are under Qin’s threat，so I cannot make big plans with them. I am afraid that some traitors in those two states might inform Qin about it. As a result，my state will be in danger even before we take action. I think Chu might not be able to defeat Qin alone. And I cannot plan with my own court officials since I don ’ t think they are that capable and reliable. Accordingly, I cannot sleep well at night. Nor can I enjoy my meals during the day. I feel uncertain and cannot rely on anything. Now you are going to unify the world，safeguard all the sovereigns and consolidate the threatened states. So I am going to lead my state to follow you. ”
【原文】
楚王曰：“寡人之国，西与秦接境，秦有举巴蜀、并汉中之心。秦，虎 狼之国，不可亲也。而韩、魏迫于秦患，不可与深谋，恐反(人）以人于 秦，故谋未发而国已危矣。寡人自料，以楚当秦，未见胜焉；内与群臣 谋，不足恃也。寡人卧不安席，食不甘味，心摇摇如悬旌而无所终薄。 今君欲一天下，安诸侯，存危国，寡人谨奉社稷以从
【今译】
楚威王说我的国家西边跟秦国接壤，秦国有攻打巴、蜀，呑并汉 中的野心。秦国是虎狼一般贪婪残暴的国家，不能跟它亲近。而韩国 和魏国受到秦国的成胁，不可以跟它们谋划大事，恐怕反叛的人会把楚 国的谋略告诉给秦国，从而谋略还没有实施，国家就已经陷入危险境地 了。我自己认为，凭楚国跟秦国抗衡，不见得能够取胜。在国内跟大臣 们一起谋划，他们又不足以依靠6我眭觉也不安稳，吃饭也不香，心神 不宁，无所适从。如今您有意一统天下，安定诸侯，使瀕临危亡的国家得以保全，我带领楚国服从您的安排