| | 僖公二十... : |
二十有六年春，王正月己未，公會莒子、衛寧速，盟於向。公不會大夫，其曰寧速何也？以其隨莒子，可以言會也。齊人侵我西鄙。公追齊師，至巂，弗及。人，微者也。侵，淺事也。公之追之，非正也。至巂，急辭也。弗及者，弗與也，可以及而不敢及也。其侵也曰人，其追也曰師，以公之弗及大之也。弗及，內辭也。 |
| | In the twenty-sixth year of his reign, spring, on the Jiwu day of the first lunar month, the ruler met with Juzi and Wei Ningsu and formed an alliance at Xiang. The ruler did not meet with a high-ranking official; why is it called Ning Su? Because he followed Juzi, it can be said that they met. The people of Qi invaded the western outskirts of our territory. The ruler pursued the army of Qi, reaching Xu, but did not catch up with them. A person is a minor being. An invasion is a relatively minor affair. The ruler's pursuit of them was not proper. Reaching Xu is an urgent statement. "Not catching up" means not engaging, meaning it was possible to catch up but they dared not do so. When describing the invasion, it is called "people," and when describing the pursuit, it is called an "army," in order to emphasize that the ruler did not catch up. "Not catching up" is an internal statement.
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| | 僖公二十... : |
夏，齊人伐我北鄙。衛人伐齊。公子遂如楚乞師。乞，重辭也。何重焉？重人之死也，非所乞也。師出不必反，戰不必勝，故重之也。 |
| | In summer, the people of Qi attacked the northern outskirts of our territory. The people of Wei attacked Qi. Gongzi Sui went to Chu to request military assistance. "To beg" is a term of great emphasis. Why such emphasis? It emphasizes the value of human lives, which is not something to be begged for. An army sent out may not necessarily return, and a battle may not necessarily result in victory; therefore, it is given great weight.
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| | 僖公二十... : |
秋，楚人滅夔，以夔子歸。夔，國也。不日，微國也。以歸，猶愈乎執也。 |
| | In autumn, the people of Chu annihilated Kuí and brought back Kuizi. Kuí is a state. No specific date is given, indicating it was a minor state. Bringing him back implies he was treated better than being captured and detained.
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| | 僖公二十... : |
冬，楚人伐宋，圍閔。伐國不言圍邑，此其言圍何也？以吾用其師目其事也，非道用師也。公以楚師伐齊，取谷。以者，不以者也。民者，君之本也。使民以其死，非其正也。公至自伐齊。惡事不致，此其致之何也？危之也。 |
| | In winter, the people of Chu attacked Song and besieged Min. When attacking a state, it is not usually mentioned that a town was besieged; then why is the siege mentioned here? It refers to how we used their army in describing the event, which does not conform to proper use of military force. The ruler, with the army of Chu, attacked Qi and captured Gu. The word "yi" (with) implies that it was not done voluntarily. The people are the foundation of a ruler. To send the people to die for such purposes is not proper. The ruler returned from his expedition against Qi. Unfavorable events are usually not recorded as having occurred; then why is this one recorded? To emphasize the danger involved.
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