四国伐楚
Four States Attacked Chu
【原文】
四国伐楚，楚令昭雎将以距秦。楚王欲击秦，昭（侯）[雎]不欲。桓 臧为昭雎谓楚王曰雎战胜，三国恶楚之强也，恐秦之变而听楚也，必 深攻楚以劲秦。秦王怒于战不胜，必悉起而击楚。是王与秦相罢而以 利三国也。战不胜秦，秦进兵而攻。不如益昭雎之兵，令之示秦必战。 秦王恶与楚相弊而令天下，秦可以少割而收害也。秦、楚之合，而燕、赵、魏不敢不听，三国可定也。
【今译】
秦国、齐国、韩国和魏国一起进攻楚国，楚王命令昭雎率领军队抵 御秦国军队。楚王想对秦国军队发动进攻，昭雎不同意?桓臧为昭雎 对楚王说昭雎战胜的话，其他三个国家忌恨楚国的强大，担心秦国会 改变立场，转而投靠楚国，必定会猛烈进攻楚国来坚定秦国的立场；秦 王恼于没有战胜，必定动用全部兵力进攻楚国。这样一来，大王跟秦国 就会互相削弱，从而会对其他三个国家有利。如果不能战胜秦国，秦国 就会进兵攻击。不如增加昭雎的兵力，表现出一定要跟秦军决战的样 子。秦王讨厌跟楚国互相弄得疲弊而使天下各国得以保全，就可以少 割让一些土地来争取秦国了。秦国和楚国交好，燕国、赵国和魏国就不敢不听从，其他三个国家就会息兵了。’’
Four states—Qin, Yan, Zhao and Wei united with each other to attack the state of Chu. Chu appointed Zhao Ju as Commander-in-Chief to confront the troops of Qin. The king of Chu was about to launch attacks on the troops of Qin, but Zhao Ju didn’t want to do so. On behalf of Zhao Ju, Huan Zang had a talk with the king of Chu and said，“If Zhao Ju defeats the troops of Qin, since the other three states hate Chu’s power and fear that Qin might betray them and turn to make peace with Chu, they will launch fierce attacks on Chu to aid Qin. The king of Qin will also be angered because of losing the war, so he will dispatch all his officers and men to attack Chu. If this is the case, Qin and Chu will exhaust each other to the benefit of those three states. If Zhao Ju cannot defeat the troops of Qin, Qiny s troops will launch further attacks against Chu. It would be better if you reinforce Zhao Ju?s army and order him to show his determination to fight Qin. The king of Qin hates vying with Chu because that will exhaust both the two states and strengthen other states in the world. Hence, you can win over Qin by ceding a little land to it. If Qin and Chu establish good relations with each other， Yan， Zhao and Wei won’t dare to act against you, Therefore，the ohter three states will also cease their military actions."