King Huiwen of Zhao Had Been in Power for Thirty Years
赵惠文王三十年
Thirty years after King Huiwen of the state of Zhao came into power，Tian Dan，the then prime minister of Zhao, otherwise known as Lord Duping，said to Zhao She, “It is not that I don’t appreciate your tactics. The only thing I cannot admire you for is that you are commanding an oversize army. If too many people have been enlisted, there will not be enough people working in the fields any more. It will also be impossible to produce enough rations for our troops. This will simply cause self-damage. I wouldn’t act this way. I heard that Dis and Kings used to command no more than thirty thousand soldiers, and people all over the world submitted to their authority. Now you constantly command one hundred thousand soldiers or even two hundred thousand soldiers. That’s why I cannot admire you. ”
【原文】
赵惠文王三十年，相都平君田单问赵奢曰：“吾非不说将军之兵法 也，所以不服者，独将军之用众。用众者，使民不得耕作，粮食挽赁不可 给也。此坐而自破之道也，非单之所为也，单闻之，帝王之兵，所用者 不过三万，而天下服矣。今将军必负十万、二十万之众乃用之，此单之 所不服也。”
【今译】
赵惠文王即位后的第三十年，相国都平君田单对赵奢说广我并非 不喜欢将军您的兵法，我所不服的只是您带的兵太多。让太多的人当 兵，使人民不能耕作，不能供给军队足够的粮饷，这是坐待灭亡的做法 啊，我不会这么做的。我听说，帝王所用的兵，数目不会超过三万，而天 下人都会归附。如今您带兵一定要十万、二十万之多，这是我所不服气
Lord Mafu (referring to Zhao She) said, “Not only do you know nothing about tactics, but you are also not clear about the current situation. As for the best swords made in Wu and Gan，if you test them on flesh, they can cut cows and horses into pieces. If you test them against metal，they can slice plates and basins. However, if you lean a sword against a post and beat it，it will break into three parts. If you put a sword horizontally on a stone and beat it, it will break into hundreds of pieces. Now if we command thirty thousand soldiers to confront the troops of a powerful enemy state, it is similar to leaning a sword against a post or putting it on a stone and beating it* It is very difficult to obtain such swords. If the blade is not strong enough, the sword cannot stab into things. If the cutting-edge is not thin enough, the sword cannot slice things. If a sword has both a suitable blade and the correct cutting-edge but has no daisy chain， handle and the protruding part of the hane, when you try to stab an object, you will cut off your own hand before you reach the target. Instead of having more than one hundred or two hundred thousand soldiers, if you only command an army of thirty thousand soldiers? how can you attain your goal? In addition, in ancient times, the whole world was divided into about ten thousand states. The protective wall of the biggest city at that time was no longer than three hundred zhang and the city had no more than three thousand families. Wasn’t it easy to defeat such a city with thirty thousand soldiers? Now on the territory of those ten thousand ancient states，seven powerful states have come into being. If you want to conquer one of them，you need to concentrate hundreds of thousands of soldiers to launch attacks on it，and that takes years. You had witnessed this when you were still in the state of Qi. Qi sent two hundred thousand soldiers to attack the state of Chu, and the war was not finished until five years later. The state of Zhao dispatched two hundred thousand soldiers to invade the state of Zhongshan, and the troops didn’t return to Zhao until five years later. Now the state of Qi and the state of Han can match each other in terms of might. If the troops of these two states engage in a war，does anybody dare declare that he can rescue one side with thirty thousand soldiers? Nowadays，cities with protective walls as long as one thousand zhang and with ten thousand families can be found everywhere. If thirty thousand soldiers are ordered to besiege such a big city，they can barely block off one corner. And they are also not enough for field operations. What goal can you attain with that number of soldiers then?” Lord Duping groaned and said, “I am not as capable as you are, ”
【原文】
马服曰君非徒不达于兵也，又不明其时势。夫吴干之剑，肉试 则断牛马，金试则截盘薄之柱上而击之，则折为三；质之石上而击之，则碎为百,今以三万之众而应强国之兵，是薄柱击石之类也。且夫 吴干之剑材难，夫毋脊之厚，而锋不入；无脾之薄，而刃不断。兼有是两 者，无钓罕镡蒙须之便，操其刃而刺，则未人而手断。君无十余、二十万 之众而为此钓罕镡蒙须之便，而徒以三万行于天下，君焉能乎？且古 者，四海之内分为万国。城虽大，无过三百丈者；人虽众，无过三千家 者。而以集兵三万距，此奚难哉？今取古之为万国者，分以为战国七， 能具数十万之兵，旷日持久，数岁，即君之齐已。齐以二十万之众攻荆， 五年乃罢；赵以二十万之众攻中山，五年乃归。今者齐、韩相方，而国围攻焉，岂有敢曰我其以三万救是者乎哉？今千丈之城、万家之邑相望此何之？”都平君喟然太息曰单不至也！”
【今译】
马服君说广您不但不通晓用兵之道，而且不明时势。就说吴国的 干将宝剑，用来割肉能切断牛马，用来切割金属能截断盘医。把它们靠在柱子上敲击，就会断作三截；垫在石头上敲打，就会成为教以百计的碎片。如今用三万兵力来对抗强大敌国的军队，和把宝剑靠在柱子上 敲击或垫在石头上敲打是一样的。而且吴国干将宝剑很难得，如果剑 脊太薄，剑刃就不能切入物体；如果剑刃没有适宜的薄度，就不能斩断 东西。两者都具备了，如果没有剑环、剑柄、剑珥等的便利，拿起剑刃就 刺，还没有刺中对方，自己的手就被切断了。您如果没有十多万、二十 万大军，只有剑环、剑柄、剑珥的便利，只用三万兵力就想横行天下，您 怎么能做到呢？而且，古代四海之内被划分为上万的国家^城墙虽然 广大，也没有超过三百丈的；人口虽然众多，也没有超过三千家的。而 集中三万兵力攻城，这有什么难的吗？如今古代一万个国家所在的地 方被分为七个互相征战的国家，能够聚集几十万军队，旷日持久地作战 长达几年时间，您以前所在的齐国也是这样的情形啊,齐国派出二十万军队进攻楚国，用了五年时间才打完；赵国派出二十万军队进攻中山，五年后才撤军。如今齐国和韩国势均力敌，如果这两个国家互相进攻，难道会有人敢断言自己能率领三万军队营救它们吗？如今有着长 达千丈的城墙和一万户人家的城邑比比皆是，而要求用三万军队来围 困一座千丈的城邑，还不能包围它的一个角落，并且也不足以用于野 战。您还能用这点兵力做什么呢？”都平君感慨地长叹道：“我不如您 哪。”