秦并赵北向迎燕
Qin united with the state of Zhao to attack the state of Yan in the north
【原文】
秦并赵，北向迎燕。燕王闻之，使人贺秦王。
【今译】
秦国联合赵国，向北进攻燕国.燕王听说了此事，派人向秦王表示 祝贺。
The state of Qin united with the state of Zhao to attack the state of Yan in the north* When the king of Yan heard of this，he sent someone to say congratulations to the king of the state of Qin*
【原文】
使者过赵，赵王系之。使者曰：“秦、赵为一，而天下服矣。之所以 受命于赵者，为秦也。今臣使秦而赵系之，是秦、赵有郄。秦、赵有郄， 天下必不服，而燕不受命矣。且臣之使秦，无妨于赵之伐燕也。”赵王以 为然而遣之。
【今译】
使者路过赵国，赵王拘留了他。使者说秦国和赵国联合起来，天 下各国都服从了。燕国之所以听从赵国的命令，是为了秦国。现在我 出使秦国而赵国拘留了我，这说明秦国和赵国之间有矛盾。秦国和起 国之间有矛盾，天下各国就一定不会服从，而且燕国也不会执行命令。 再说我出使秦国，对于赵国进攻燕国并没有什么妨碍啊。”赵王认为他 说得有道理，就放他走了。
As the emissary passed by the state of Zhao, the king of Zhao had him detained. The emissary said，“If the state of Qin and the state of Zhao build an alliance with each other， other states in the world will submit to you. Our state carries out the orders issued by your state on behalf of the state of Qin. Now I am on my way to the state of Qin on a diplomatic mission and you have detained me. This means that the state of Qin and the state of Zhao are at odds with each other. In this case，other states in the world will definitely not submit to you nor will our state continue to carry out your orders. Moreover, my visit to the state of Qin will cause no damage to your state’s aggression against the state of Yan at all,，， The king of Zhao thought the emissary was right，so he let him go.
【原文】
使者见秦王，曰燕王窃闻秦并赵，燕王使使者贺千金.’秦王曰: “夫燕无道，吾使赵有之，子何贺？”使者曰臣闻全赵之时，南邻为秦，下曲阳为燕，赵广三百里，而与秦相距五十余年矣。所以不能反胜秦 今王使赵北并燕，燕、赵同力，必不复受于秦矣!
【今译】
使者谒见秦王，说燕王私下里听说秦国和赵国联合起来了，派我 来献上一千镒黄金表示祝贺。”秦王说广燕国无道，我让赵国占领它，你为什么表承祝贺？”使者说我听说赵国处于全盛时期的时候，南面跟秦国为邻，北面的下曲阳跟燕国接壌，赵国的领土扩展了三百里，而跟 秦国相抗衡有五十多年了。之所以不能反过来战胜秦国，是因为国家 小而且没有办法夺取土地。现在大王让赵国向北呑并燕国，燕国和起 国协力，一定不会继续听从秦国的命令了。我私下为大王感到担忧 啊
The emissary went to see the king of the state of Qin and said，“The king of our state has secretly heard that your state and the state of Zhao have made an alliance with each other， so he sent me here to present you with one thousand yi of gold to celebrate it.，’ The king of Qin said, “The king of the state of Yan is unworthy, so I ordered the state of Zhao to occupy Yan. Why are you congratulating me for that?” The emissary said，“I heard that at the time when the power of the state of Zhao reached its zenith，it was adjacent to the state of Qin in the south, and its northern border area-^the Lower Quyang was adjacent to the state of Yan. Zhao enlarged its territory by three hundred square li, and thus it has contended with your state for more than fifty years. The reason that Zhao has not defeated Qin lies in the fact that it is a small state and is unable to enlarge its territory further. Now you are ordering Zhao to annex Yan in the north. Therefore,Zhao will be strengthened with the power of Yan, and as a result, it will no longer carry out your orders. I personally worry about that for you.，，
【原文】
秦王以为然，起兵而救燕，
【今译】
秦王认为他说得有道理，就起兵营救燕国。
The king of Qin thought the emissary's argument was reasonable，so he dispatched troops to the north to rescue Yan.