鲁仲连邹阳列传 — Shiji

King Anlixi of Wei sent General Jin Bi to aid Zhao, but Jin Bi feared Qin and halted at Dangyin, refusing to advance. The King of Wei then sent General Xin Yuan Yan through secret channels into Handan, who conveyed through Prince Pingyuan to the King of Zhao: "Qin's urgent reason for besieging Zhao is that previously it competed with King Min of Qi for supremacy and claimed the imperial title, then later relinquished it. Now that Qi has grown ever weaker, Qin alone dominates the realm. Its intentions are not simply to take Handan—it seeks to reclaim the imperial throne. If Zhao were to send an envoy formally recognizing King Zhaoxiang of Qin as emperor, Qin would surely be pleased and withdraw its forces." Prince Pingyuan remained undecided, unable to reach a conclusion.

At that moment, Lu Zhonglian happened to be visiting Zhao during the siege. Learning that a Wei general intended to have Zhao recognize Qin as emperor, he went to see Prince Pingyuan and asked, "What can be done about this situation?" The prince replied, "How could I dare speak of such matters? We have already lost over four hundred thousand soldiers abroad, and now Handan itself is besieged with no way to break free. The King of Wei has sent General Xin Yuan Yan to demand that we elevate Qin to emperor, and that man is already here. How could I presume to speak of these matters!"

Xin Yuanyan asked, "What harm would there be if Qin declared itself emperor?" Lu Zhonglian replied, "In the past, King Wei of Qi once practiced benevolence and righteousness, leading the feudal lords to pay homage to the Zhou court. At that time the Zhou royal house was poor and weak, and none of the lords went to pay court—only Qi did. After a little over a year, King Lie of Zhou passed away. Qi arrived late for the funeral. The Zhou court was furious and sent this message to Qi: ‘Heaven collapses and the earth splits; the Son of Heaven has left his mat to observe mourning. The minister from the eastern vassal—because Qi arrived late—shall be executed.’ King Wei of Qi burst into rage and cried, ‘Bah! You are the child of a slave girl!’ In the end, he became a laughingstock for all under heaven. So while Zhou was alive he paid court to the Son of Heaven, but once Zhou was dead he cursed him; truly he could not bear those demands. The Son of Heaven has always been that way—there is nothing surprising about it."

Xin Yuan Yan asked, "How might you assist Zhao?" Lu Zhonglian answered, "I will have Liang and Yan come to its aid. As for Qi and Chu, they will certainly help of their own accord." Xin Yuan Yan said, "As for Yan, I might persuade them to comply. But as for Liang—you yourself are a man of Liang. How could you possibly make Liang aid Zhao?"

Lu Zhonglian said, "In former times, King Wei of Qi pursued righteousness and benevolence. He led the lords of the realm in paying respects to Zhou. Zhou was poor and weak, and no other lord would pay court, yet Qi alone honored its obligations. After more than a year, King Lie of Zhou died, and Qi arrived late. Zhou was furious and sent word to Qi: 'The heavens have split open and the earth has torn asunder—the Son of Heaven has left his couch. The eastern border's minister arrived after Qi, and so he shall be executed.' King Wei of Qi flew into a rage and cried, 'A curse upon you, you base creature!' In the end, he became a laughingstock throughout the realm. Thus Qi would honor Zhou while the king lived, yet curse him after his death—it simply could not bear Zhou's demands. The emperor's position is what it is, and there is nothing strange about this."

Xin Yuan Yan said, "Sir, have you never observed a servant? When ten men follow one master, is it because their strength is insufficient or their wisdom lacking? They do so out of fear." Lu Zhonglian replied, "Alas! Do you equate Liang with Qin as you would a servant?" Xin Yuan Yan answered, "Yes."

Lu Zhonglian said, "Then I will have the King of Qin boil and pickle the King of Liang." Xin Yuan Yan was displeased and said, "Ah, but you go too far, sir! How could you possibly have the King of Qin boil and pickle the King of Liang?" Lu Zhonglian replied, "Very well, I shall explain. In ancient times, there were the Lords of Jiu, E, and the King of Wen—three ministers of Zhou. The Lord of Jiu had a beautiful daughter whom he presented to Zhou. Zhou found her displeasing and so had the Lord of Jiu hashed. The Lord of E remonstrated vigorously and quickly, and so was sun-dried. When the King of Wen heard of this, he sighed deeply, and was consequently imprisoned for a hundred days in the prison of Youli, nearly dying. Why should men share the title of king only to end up as dried meat or pickled paste?

"When King Min of Qi traveled to Lu, a man named Yi Weizi accompanied him as his attendant. Yi Weizi said to the Lu people, 'How do you intend to receive our lord?' The Lu people replied, 'We will receive him with ten ceremonial oxen.' Yi Weizi said, 'What manner of courtesy is that for our lord? Our lord is the Son of Heaven. When the Son of Heaven makes a circuit of inspection, all lords must vacate their quarters, hand over their pipe and key, bow and attend to the meals in the hall below while the Son of Heaven dines, and only then withdraw to conduct court business.' The Lu people would not accept this and barred their gates. Thus King Min could not enter Lu, so he proceeded to Xue, passing through Zou. At that time, the Lord of Zou had died. King Min wished to enter and offer condolences. Yi Weizi told the young lord of Zou, 'When the Son of Heaven pays a condolence visit, the host must place the coffin on the opposite side, set it facing north with the Son of Heaven to the south—and only then may he offer his respects.' The officials of Zou replied, 'If we must submit to such treatment, we will die by the sword rather than allow the Son of Heaven to enter Zou.' Thus King Min did not enter Zou.

"The officials of Zou and Lu, who in life could not serve their lords or provide for them, and in death could not offer funeral rites or gifts—these officials nevertheless wished to impose the rites of the Son of Heaven upon their lords, and the officials of Zou and Lu refused to comply.

"Now Qin is a great state with ten thousand chariots, and Liang is also a state with ten thousand chariots. Both are powerful states, each bearing the title of king. Yet if one of them wins a single battle and the other wishes to follow suit by declaring Qin emperor, this would reduce the ministers of the Three Jin states to the level of servants and concubines in Zou and Lu.

"Moreover, if Qin persists and finally becomes emperor, it will certainly replace the ministers of the various states. It will remove those it deems unworthy and promote those it favors, displace those it despises and favor those it loves. It will also place its daughters and calumniating concubines as consorts and noble ladies in Liang's palace. How then could the King of Liang enjoy peace? And you, General—how could you retain your former favor?"

At these words, Xin Yuan Yan rose, bowed twice, and apologized: "At first I thought you were an ordinary man. Only now do I know you are a true scholar of the realm. I shall depart and speak no more of making Qin emperor."

When the Qin general heard of this, he withdrew his forces fifty li. It happened that Prince Wuji of Wei, seizing control of Jin Bi's army, came to Zhao's aid. He attacked the Qin forces, which then withdrew.

Prince Pingyuan wished to grant Lu Zhonglian a fief, but Lu Zhonglian refused three times and would not accept. Prince Pingyuan then held a banquet. When the wine flowed freely, he rose and approached Lu Zhonglian, offering a thousand pieces of gold. Lu Zhonglian laughed and said, "What makes a scholar of the realm valuable is that he removes troubles, resolves difficulties, settles disputes—without taking anything in return. Should he take something, that would be mere merchant's business, and I cannot bring myself to do that." He declined Prince Pingyuan's gifts and departed, never to be seen again.

More than twenty years later, a general of Yan captured Liaocheng. Some of the people there slandered the general to Yan, and the Yan general feared punishment. He therefore defended Liaocheng and dared not return home. Tian Dan of Qi attacked Liaocheng for over a year. Many of his soldiers died, yet the city would not fall. Lu Zhonglian composed a letter and, tying it to arrows, shot it into the city, sending it to the Yan general. The letter read:

"I have heard that the wise do not act against the times to pursue gain, the brave do not shrink from death to preserve their name, and the loyal do not place themselves before their lord. Now you act on a moment's wrath, giving no thought to the King of Yan's lack of ministers—this is not loyalty. You have killed yourself and lost Liaocheng, yet your authority is not honored in Qi—this is not courage. Your endeavors have failed and your name is ruined, with none in later ages to speak of you—this is not wisdom. Men of these three qualities are not employed by rulers, and wise counselors do not record their deeds. Thus the wise make no second plans, and the brave do not fear death.

"Now life and death, honor and disgrace, high and low status—these opportunities do not come again. I urge you to consider carefully and not act as the common people do.

"Moreover, Chu attacks Qi's southern territories while Wei attacks the northern plains, yet Qi has no desire to expand southward. Believing that the harm of losing the southern territories is small compared to the advantage of retaining the north, Qi has made its decision accordingly. Now if Qin would descend upon us, Wei would not dare advance eastward. If the balance tips toward Qin, Chu's position becomes precarious. Qi discards its southern territories and abandons the western border to secure the north—its decision is already made. And since Qi is determined to take Liaocheng, do not deliberate further.

"Moreover, Yan is in great turmoil. The king and ministers have lost their counsel and are bewildered. General Liezhi, with an army of a hundred thousand, was defeated five times abroad. A state of ten thousand chariots is besieged by Zhao, its territory shrinking, its ruler distressed, and laughed at by the realm. The state is exhausted and troubles are many; the people have no heart to turn to.

"Nevertheless, for your own sake, it would be better to preserve your troops and report to Yan. If you return with your army intact, the King of Yan would surely rejoice. You yourself would return in safety to your country, and the people would regard you as a parent. Your companions would speak of you throughout the realm, and your achievements would be manifest. You could assist the orphaned ruler in controlling his ministers, nurture the common people to win over counselors, reform the state's institutions, and establish your fame and merit. Or you might abandon Yan and leave the world behind, traveling east to Qi. You could claim land and title, become as wealthy as Tao and Wei, and your name would endure with Qi's own longevity—this is another option.

Master Zou was originally a worthy scholar of Qi. Because he remonstrated bluntly, he offended the powerful and was subsequently framed by treacherous sycophants as a rebel and thrown into prison. Facing interrogation by prison officials, Zou showed no trace of fear. With a loyal heart, he spoke fervently, clarifying his own innocence and exhorting the prison officer not to blindly follow the wicked and powerful. His words revealed a deep concern for the fate of the state, hoping that his loyalty and wisdom might move the officer, so that he would not, for selfish gain, subvert the foundations of the law. The prison officer listened, and something stirred in his heart.

At the time when the King of Qi was inspecting the regions, he heard of Master Zou’s story and summoned him in person, praising his forthright counsel and unwavering loyalty. The King then ordered that his offenses be pardoned and appointed him to important office, so that he could assist in governing the state and carrying out benevolent rule. The common people thereby enjoyed benefits, and the kingdom became stable and secure. Master Zou’s loyalty and wisdom at last shone brilliantly in that tumultuous age, becoming a model for ministers of later generations and showing that the path of loyalty is never obsolete. His deeds were recorded in the Records of the Grand Historian and transmitted through the ages. Later generations revere him and forever take him as the standard to emulate.