咎犯對曰:「服義之君,不足於信;服戰之君,不足於詐。
君其詐之而已矣。
He responded as follows: “When serving a righteous ruler, no amount of trustworthiness is too great; when serving a ruler who is at war, no amount of deception is too great—in sum, Your Lordship should use deception against them.” Lord Wen then consulted with Yong Ji, who responded as follows: “If you burn a forest to hunt prey, you will get a great many animals, but there will be no repetition of that success the following year.
」君問於雍季。
If you drain a pond to catch fish, you will obtain a great many fish, but there will be no repetition of that success the following year.
雍季對曰:「焚林而因,得獸雖多,而明年無復也;乾澤而漁,得魚雖多,而明年無復也。
詐猶可以偷利,而後無報。
Deception can be used to steal a profit, but no good will come of it later on.” Lord Wen of Jin then fought with Chu and obtained a great victory.
」遂與荊軍戰,大敗之。
When it came time to distribute rewards, Lord Wen acknowledged Yong Ji’s contribution before turning to Jiu Fan. His attendants said, “Our success at Chengpu was due to the schemes of Jiu Fan.” Lord Wen said, “Yong Ji’s ideas are applicable for a hundred years, whereas those of Jiu Fan are good only for a particular crisis.
及賞,先雍季而後咎犯。
侍者曰:「城濮之戰,咎犯之謀也。
I have already adopted both.”109 106 Lord Wen of Jin: see 1.22, n. 80.
」君曰:「雍季之言,百世之謀也;咎犯之言,一時之權也。
寡人既行之矣。」
The battle of Chengpu 城濮 occurred in 632.