| | Those who seek to rescue and defend should first and foremost do so through persuasion; if that fails, then by means of military force. By persuasion, one must gain the support of many people. Day and night, one should think deeply about it, with utmost sincerity in mind and meticulous attention to detail. Upon rising, one recites it; upon lying down, one dreams of it. From now on, even at the cost of parched lips and weary lungs, expending spirit and harming the soul, one cites above the achievements of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors to please their minds, and below, the strategies of the Five Hegemons and renowned scholars to substantiate the matter. Early in the morning until late at night, one informs those who command troops, speaking persuasively before the people to clarify the way. When persuasion has been fully explained but not followed, then military force must inevitably be resorted to. When resorting to military force, there must inevitably be conflict and strife; this necessarily involves killing people. It means killing innocent civilians in order to support the unjust and unrighteous. If those who are unjust and unrighteous remain in power, this prolongs the harm to all under heaven and halts its benefits. Even if one wishes for a fortunate victory, calamity will only begin to grow. The laws of the ancient kings stated: "Those who do good are rewarded, and those who do evil are punished"—this is the ancient way, which cannot be changed. Nowadays, if one does not distinguish between righteousness and unrighteousness but hastily seeks to rescue and defend, there is no greater injustice, and no greater harm to the people of all under heaven. Therefore, waging war for conquest is impermissible; unless conquest is unavoidable, it must not be undertaken. Seeking to rescue and defend without justification is also impermissible; unless defense is absolutely necessary, it too must not be pursued. Only a just military force is permissible. If the use of military force is righteous, then both waging war and defending are acceptable. If the use of military force is unrighteous, then neither waging war nor defending is permissible. That Xia Jie and Yin Zhou became so unjust as to reach this state was due to fortune; that Wu Fuchai and Zhi Bo Yao became so aggressive in their seizing of power as to reach this state was also due to fortune; that Jin Li, Chen Ling, and Song Kang became so wicked as to reach this state was likewise due to fortune. If Xia Jie and Yin Zhou had known that their country would surely perish, they themselves would die, and be utterly exterminated without descendants, I wonder whether they would have persisted in such unjust ways as to reach this point; if King Wu Fuchai and Zhi Boyao had known that their states would surely become mounds of ruins, and they themselves would suffer execution, I wonder whether they would still have persisted in their wicked, unjust acts of aggression to reach this point; if Jin Li had known he would surely die at the hands of Jiang Lishi, Chen Ling knew he would certainly be killed by Xia Zhengshu, and Song Kang knew he would inevitably perish in Wen, I wonder whether they still would have acted so wickedly as to reach this end. These seven rulers committed great acts of injustice and unrighteousness: the number of innocent civilians they brutally killed is beyond count in the tens of thousands; the dead among the strong, the vigorous, the elderly, the young, and even the unborn filled vast plains; they blocked deep ravines and vast valleys, rushed into great waters, piled up ashes, filled ditches and perilous obstacles, braved flying arrows, stepped on gleaming blades, and were further afflicted by the sufferings of cold, hunger, starvation, and exposure. As a result, up to this present age, such atrocities have become even more severe; hence, the number of exposed bones and corpses is immeasurable, piling up like hills and mountains. The world has upright rulers and benevolent scholars who deeply reflect on this; they too may feel profound sorrow, and indeed, great grief. Examining the origin of these events, they arise from the abandonment of those who uphold righteousness and the unchecked actions of those who are unjust. The unchecked actions of the unrighteous stem from fortune. Therefore, the calamities of the world do not lie in rescuing or defending, but rather in the misfortune that befalls the unworthy. When doctrines of rescue and defense emerge, the unworthy become even more fortunate, while the virtuous grow increasingly doubtful. Therefore, those who bring great chaos to all under heaven are those who hastily seek rescue and defense without considering righteousness.
|
