Postscript Translation of Yue Fei's An Example

Considering that cao thief and China could not coexist and one side could not revive, the first emperor entrusted me with the task of conquering cao thief. My talent is measured by the wisdom of my late emperor. He knew I was going to conquer cao thief, and I had poor talent and strong enemies. But if we don't conquer cao thief, what he has created will also be lost, and he will do nothing. How can it be compared with attacking the enemy? So, the first emperor did not hesitate to entrust me to crusade against cao thief. After I accepted death, I couldn't sleep and eat well every day. I thought that to conquer the enemy in the north, I would first go to the south to pacify the counties, so I led my troops across the Lushui River in May and went deep into areas where there were no plants and grains growing, so that the food for the next day could be eaten for two days. It's not that I don't care about myself. It's just that I think Wang Ye of Shu Han can never settle in Shu, so I risked my life to carry out the legacy of my late emperor. But some people who talk about it say it is not the best policy. Now cao thief is just tired in the west and trying to fight Sun Wu in the east. Sun Tzu's Art of War said that he would attack the enemy when he was tired. Now is the time to invade. I respectfully state some things to your majesty as follows: Gao Di is as wise as the sun and the moon, and his advisers are profound and far-reaching, but they are safe after suffering, trauma and crisis. Now your majesty has not caught up with Gaudi, and his advisers are not as good as Sean and Chen Ping, but he wants to adopt a long-term stalemate strategy to win and pacify the world. This is the first point I don't understand. Liu You and Wang Lang, who each occupy a county, always quote classics and put forward various strategies when talking about how to settle down. They are full of questions, and their chests are full of questions. They won't fight this year and next year, making Sun Ce safe and powerful, so they annexed Jiangdong. This is the second point I don't understand. Cao Cao's wisdom is far superior to others. He used soldiers such as Sun Bin and Wuqi, but he was once trapped in Nanyang, dangerous Wuchao, dangerous Qilian Mountain, forced Liyang, almost defeated the mountain, and almost died in Tongguan. Later, it appeared to be stable for a while. Besides, my talent is weak, but I intend to settle in the world without experiencing danger. This is the third point I don't understand. Cao Cao attacked Changba five times and failed to cross Chaohu Lake four times, and appointed Li Fu, but Li Fu tried to kill him and appointed Xia, but Xia was defeated and killed. The first emperor often praised Cao Cao as a talented man, but he still made these mistakes. Besides, if I am mediocre, where will I win? This is the fourth point I don't understand. It's only been a year since I arrived in Hanzhong, but I lost Zhao Yun, Yang Qun, Ma Yu, Yan Zhi, Li Ding, Bai Shou, Liu Tai, Deng Tong and others, as well as the leader of the trilogy, the resident generals, the generals who never stopped charging, Yi and Qiang soldiers, and various styles of cavalry 1000 people. In a few years, the whole army will lose two thirds. What power will be used to destroy the enemy? This is the fifth point I don't understand. Now the people are poor and the soldiers are tired, but the war cannot stop. The war cannot be stopped, and the hard work and expenses paid by the army to stay and fight the enemy are exactly the same. In this case, we don't consider taking the north now, but want to use a state land to hold a long-term stalemate with cao thief. This is the sixth point I don't understand. It is difficult to judge what is happening in the world. Once upon a time, the first emperor was defeated in the battle of Chu. At this time, Cao Cao clapped his hands and cheered, thinking that the world had been decided by him. Later, the first emperor joined hands with wuyue in the east, captured Bashu in the west and sent troops to the north to conquer. Xia was killed, which Cao Cao never expected, and the great cause of reviving the Han Dynasty was about to succeed. Later, Soochow changed its attitude and violated the Covenant. Guan Yu was defeated and killed, and the first emperor made a mistake in Zigui, and Cao Pi proclaimed himself emperor. Everything is like this, it is difficult to predict. I carefully dedicated all my strength to my country until I died. As for whether my career is successful or not, and whether it is smooth or not, it is beyond my wisdom.