为魏谓楚王
Someone Had a Talk with Chu’s King on Wei’s Behalf
【原文】
为魏谓楚王曰索攻魏于秦，秦必不听王矣，是智困于秦而交疏于 魏也。楚、魏有怨，则秦重矣。故王不如顺天下，遂伐齐，与魏（便）[更] 地，兵不伤，交不变，所欲必得矣。”
【今译】
有人为魏国对楚王说要求秦国进攻魏国，秦国一定不会听从大 王的。这样一来，智谋在秦国就得不到施展，而且跟魏国的交情也会疏 远了。楚国和魏国有仇，秦国的地位就重要了口所以大王不如顺应天 下各国，立即攻打齐国，跟魏国交换土地，兵力不会损伤，交情不会改 变，所有的愿望必定都能实现了。”
On behalf of the state of Wei，someone had a talk with the king of the state of Chu and said，“If you ask the state of Qin to attack the state of Wei, it certainly won’t listen to you. If this is the case，not only will your plan not be carried out by the state of Qin, but you will also harm the relations with Wei. If Chu and Wei are at odds with each other，the state of Qin will become more powerful and influential. Hence，it would be better if you join other states in the world in launching a concerted attack against the state of Qi immediately. Then you can exchange some territory with the state of Wei without causing any casualties to your army or damaging the relations with Wei. So all your wishes will certainly be fulfilled, ”