Yan Entitled Rong Fen from Song as Lord Gaoyang
燕封宋人荣贫为高阳君
The state of Yan entitled Rong Fen,a man from the state of Song,as Lord Gaoyang and then ordered him to lead troops to attack the state of Zhao. The state of Zhao then ceded three cities located east of the Jishui River along with fifty-seven other cities and towns in the areas of Lu, Gaotang and Pingyuan to the state of Qi. Then Zhao asked Qi to send Lord Anping to Zhao to act as Commander-in-Chief to confront the enemy troops. Lord Mafu had a talk with Lord Pingyuan and said，“Don’t we have any capable people in our state? Why did His Majesty invite Lord Anping from Qi to be Commander-in-Chief and cede those three cities located east of the Jishui River along with fifty-seven other cities and towns to the state of Qi? These areas were obtained from enemy states after you annihilated the enemy troops and killed their generals. Now His Majesty has presented them to Qi and also invited Lord Anping to be Commander-in-Chief of our state. Do we really have no capable people here in our state? Why doesn’t he designate me to be Commander-in-Chief? To atone for my misconduct，I used to live in the state of Yan. Yan appointed me to be officer to defend Shanggu. I am familiar with all the big valleys and important fortifications of the state of Yan, If I were appointed, I could defeat Yan within one hundred days before the allied forces of other states of the world were mobilised. So why did His Majesty invite Lord Anping to be our Commander-in-Chief?” Lord Pingyuan said, “Please don’t mention this again, I told His Majesty to do so，and fortunately, he has taken my advice. Please don’t disagree with me.” Lord Mafu said，“You are wrong! The reason that Zhao invited Lord Anping to be our Commander-in-Chief lies in the fact that Qi and Yan bear deep enmity towards each other. But I don’t agree with you in this matter. If Lord Anping is stupid，he certainly cannot defeat Rong Fen. If he is wise, he won’t engage the troops of Yan horse and foot. Surely either of these two descriptions must suit Lord Anping. If Lord Anping is wise, why would he exert himself to strengthen the state of Zhao? If Zhao becomes powerful,it will be impossible for the state of Qi to establish the most powerful state in the world. Now that he can use the troops of the powerful Zhao to counterattack those of Yan, he will prolong the war and make it last for several years. Thus our officers and men will become exhausted due to battles fought in the open. Our chariots， armour and flags will become worn. Our depots and granaries will become empty, and both sides will be done for. He won’t withdraw our troops till then. He want to exhaust the troops of both sides. Nothing could be clearer. ” Under Lord Anping’s leadership，Zhao occupied three cities. But none of these citiesy protective walls was more than one hundred zhi in length. As expected? Lord Mafu’s words turned into reality.
【原文】
燕封宋人荣贫为高阳君，使将而攻赵。赵王因割济东三城（令）庐、 高唐、平原陵地城邑市五十七，命以与齐，而以求安平君而将之.马服 君谓平原君曰国奚无人甚哉！君致安平君而将之，乃割济东三（令) 城市邑五十七以与齐。此（夫子）与敌国战，覆军杀将之所取、割地于敌 国者也。今君以此与齐，而求安平君而将之，国奚无人甚也！且君奚不将奢也？奢尝抵罪居燕，燕以奢为上谷守，燕之通谷要塞，奢习知之。 百日之内，天下之兵未聚，奢已举燕矣。然则君奚求安平君而为将乎？” 平原君曰将军释之矣，仆巳言之仆主矣,仆主幸以听仆也，将军无言 已。”马服君“君过矣！君之所以求安平君者，以齐之于燕也，茹肝涉 血之仇耶。其于奢不然。使安平君愚，固不能当荣坌；使安平君知，又 不肯与燕人战。此两言者，安平君必处一焉。虽然，两者有一也，使安 平君知，则奚以赵之强为？赵强，则齐不复霸矣.今得强赵之兵以杜 燕，将旷日持久数岁，令士大夫余子之力尽于沟垒，车甲羽毛裂敝，府库仓廪虚，两国交（以习之）[敝]，乃引其兵而归。夫尽两国之兵，无明此 者矣。”（夏军也县釜而炊）[巳而]得三城也，城大无能过百雉者。果如 马服之目也。
【今译】
燕国封宋国人荣贫为高阳君，派他为将领进攻赵国。于是赵王命 令割让济水以东的三座城邑以及卢、高唐、平原一带地势较高的五十七 座城邑给齐国，请求齐国派安平君率领赵国军队进行对抗。马服君对 平原君说广难道国内没有能人了吗？国君想让安平君来做将领，于是 割让济水以东的三座城邑以及其他五十七座城邑给齐国.这些地区是 您跟敌国作战，击溃敌军、斩杀敌将所夺取的，是从敌国割获的土地。 如今国君把它们都给了齐国，而且还请求让安平君做大将，难道国内确实没有人了吗！再说了，国君为什么不让我做大将军呢？我曾经为抵 罪而住在燕国，燕国安排我做上谷的守将^燕国大的山川和要塞，我非 常熟悉。一百天之内，天下各国的军队还没有集合起来，我就已经攻克 燕国了。然而为什么国君要请求让安平君来做将领呢？”平原君说将 军别提了。我已经跟国君说过这件事了.有幸国君听从了我的建议， 将军不要再说了。”马服君说您错了办国君之所以请求让安平君做我 们大将领，是因为齐国跟燕国是不共戴天的敌人。我却不这么认为， 假如安平君愚蠢，他当然不能抵挡荣贫；假如安平君聪明，就又不肯跟 燕国人交战。我说的这两种情形，安平君必定属于其中的一种。虽然 如此，他在这两者中居其一，假如安平君聪明，那他为什么要让赵国强 大起来呢？赵国强大了，齐国就不能重新称霸了。如今得以用强大的 赵国的军队来对抗燕国，他将进行旷日持久、长达几年的战争，让士大夫、散卒的力气在沟壑中消耗殆尽，战车、铠甲、旗帜破碎，国库粮仓空虚，两国兵力都筋疲力尽，才退兵回来。他想把两个国家的兵力都拖 垮，没有什么比这更明显的企图了。”不久，占领了三座城邑，再大的城 邑的城墙也不超过一百雉，果然像马服君所说的那样。