鐔津文集 13.33

13.33

孔明始躬耕於隆中時。每自比於管仲樂毅。時人莫有許者。惟崔州平徐庶以為然。吾考孔明事迹。其以天下至公為心。欲并強魏而復漢社稷。與管仲九合諸侯一匡天下。樂毅不屠莒即墨之城。欲專以王道一歸天下。其道豈異哉。劉備三往乃見。孔明方與備畫計。何其工也。及備軍敗身遁夏口而孔明往說孫權。得兵為援。破曹操於赤壁。此與樂毅說趙楚魏。使趙噉秦以伐齊之利。而毅并獲楚魏五國之兵伐齊。破之濟西。而其才略奇偉與樂埒也。率諸軍北駐漢中。臨發上疏。與樂毅報遺燕惠之書。其忠義相類。但其遇主遭時。不如管仲之得志耳。使孔明逢盛時。天不奪其壽。得以始終其事。復漢而并一天下興崇王道。則管夷吾樂毅殆不及也。惜其輕用馬謖。遂敗於街亭害其能事。然諸葛孔明賢豪俊傑。猶暗於知人如此。況非如孔明者。乃輕信乎。利口之人而用之。不亦易乎。戒之哉戒之哉。

When Kongming first tilled the fields by his own hand in Longzhong, he would often compare himself to Guan Zhong and Yue Yi. Among the people of that time, none assented to this, except Cui Zhouping and Xu Shu, who considered it true. When I examine Kongming's deeds, his heart was set on what was entirely public under Heaven: he wished to annex the mighty Wei and restore the altars of the Han dynasty. How did his way differ from Guan Zhong's uniting the feudal lords nine times and rectifying all under Heaven once, or Yue Yi's not sacking the cities of Ju and Jimo in his wish to unify all under Heaven solely through the Kingly Way? Only after Liu Bei went to him three times did they meet; just as Kongming was laying out his plans for Bei—how masterful it was! And when Bei's army was defeated and he fled to Xiakou, Kongming went to persuade Sun Quan, secured troops as reinforcement, and crushed Cao Cao at the Red Cliffs. In this, he was equal to Yue Yi, who persuaded Zhao, Chu, and Wei, caused Zhao to entice Qin with the advantage of attacking Qi, and brought together the troops of the five states, including Chu and Wei, to attack Qi and crush it west of the Ji River: in extraordinary military genius, he was equal to Yue [Yi]. Leading the various armies north, he was stationed in Hanzhong; the memorial he submitted on the eve of departure was akin in loyalty and righteousness to Yue Yi's letter in reply to King Hui of Yan. It was only that in meeting his ruler and encountering his time, he did not attain his ambitions as Guan Zhong did. Had Kongming encountered a flourishing age, had Heaven not deprived him of longevity, and had he been able to carry his enterprise through from beginning to end, restoring the Han, uniting all under Heaven, and raising up and exalting the Kingly Way, then Guan Yiwu and Yue Yi would hardly have matched him. What is regrettable is that he rashly employed Ma Su, and was consequently defeated at Jieting, impairing his great enterprise. If even a worthy and pre-eminent hero such as Zhuge Kongming was so benighted in knowing men, how much more so with those who are not like Kongming: are they not all the more prone to lightly trust and employ glib-tongued people with such ease? Beware of this! Beware of this!