“Now Zhao intends to gather troops to target Qin and sends envoys to ask passage through Han, claiming it will attack Qin. In reality, Zhao will inevitably strike Han first before moving against Qin.
Moreover, I have heard the ancient saying: When the lips are gone, the teeth grow cold. Qin and Han inevitably share common dangers, and this situation is clear to see.
Wei plans to send troops to attack Han, while Qin also dispatches envoys to your state. Now the King of Qin has sent me, Li Si, yet I cannot obtain an audience with Your Majesty. I fear your ministers may repeat the mistakes of former treacherous courtiers, bringing Han once more the peril of lost territory.
If I fail to meet you and request to return and report, the alliance between Qin and Han will surely break off.
I come on this mission to please the King of Qin and offer beneficial strategies. Is this how Your Majesty rejects me? I only beg for one audience to present my humble plans. Even if I face cruel execution afterward, I accept it willingly. I hope Your Majesty will understand my sincerity.
If you kill me in Han now, Your Majesty will gain no strength from it. If you ignore my advice, disaster will surely come. Qin will send troops without delay, and Han’s ancestral state will be in peril.
If my body is exposed in Han’s marketplaces, even if Your Majesty later wishes to examine my loyal counsel, it will be too late. When borders are ruined and cities stand under siege, with war‑drums ringing in your ears, it will be far too late to adopt my strategies.
Furthermore, Han’s military weakness is well‑known across the realm. Now you turn against powerful Qin. Once cities fall and armies are defeated, internal rebels will seize the chance to attack your strongholds. If all cities are lost, people will scatter, and no army will remain.
If you defend cities stubbornly, Qin will surely send troops to besiege one of your capitals. With transportation cut off, your plans cannot be carried out and rescue will be impossible. Your ministers’ schemes will be useless. I beg Your Majesty to consider carefully.
If my words prove untrue, I ask Your Majesty to let me finish my statement in your presence before sentencing me to punishment.
The King of Qin now finds no joy in food or travel, for his mind is fixed on conquering Zhao. He sent me to speak with you, hoping to meet you personally and discuss urgent strategies.
If I am denied access, Qin cannot judge Han’s sincerity. Qin will surely abandon its threat from Zhao and shift its troops to attack Han. I beg Your Majesty to reconsider carefully and grant me a clear reply to report back.”
Note
This passage fully displays Legalist diplomatic tactics: using ancient proverbs to reason, pointing out fatal geopolitical risks, mixing loyalty rhetoric with direct military threat, to compel a weak state to submit unconditionally to a stronger one.
Li Si
Legalist statesman and prime minister of Qin. Sent as envoy to Han, he used both persuasion and threat to force Han into submission, protecting Qin’s strategic interests.
King of Han
Ruler of the weak Central Plains state Han, caught between powerful Qin, Zhao and Wei, facing diplomatic and military pressure constantly.
Zhao
Military‑strong Warring States state seeking to unite eastern states against Qin. Zhao was accused by Han Fei of attempting to first attack and seize the state of Han first as a stepping‑stone before plotting to contend with the state of Qin.
Wei
Another eastern state hostile to Han and Qin.
Idiom: When the lips are gone, the teeth grow cold (唇亡齿寒)
A famous ancient Chinese political proverb, warning that neighboring states share common survival interests; if one falls, the other faces danger. Widely used in interstate diplomacy of the Warring States Period.
Hostile Geopolitics of Central Plains
Smaller states like Han were squeezed between great powers, often forced to choose sides, with betrayal leading to swift military retaliation.
Diplomatic Coercion
Powerful states used envoys to threaten weaker ones: promising protection for submission, threatening war for defiance. This was standard Warring States diplomatic practice.
Execution as Political Warning
Executing an envoy from a powerful state was a serious political provocation that would trigger immediate military conflict.
今赵欲聚兵士，卒以秦为事，使人来借道，言欲伐秦，其势必先韩而后秦。且臣闻之：‘唇亡则齿寒。’夫秦、韩不得无同忧，其形可见。魏欲发兵以攻韩，秦使人将使者于韩。今秦王使臣斯来而不得见，恐左右袭曩奸臣之计，使韩复有亡地之患。臣斯不得见，请归报，秦韩之交必绝矣。斯之来使，以奉秦王之欢心，愿效便计，岂陛下所以逆贱臣者邪？臣斯愿得一见，前进道愚计，退就葅戮，愿陛下有意焉。今杀臣于韩，则大王不足以强，若不听臣之计，则祸必构矣。秦发兵不留行，而韩之社稷忧矣。臣斯暴身于韩之市，则虽欲察贱臣愚忠之计，不可得已。边鄙残，国固守，鼓铎之声于耳，而乃用臣斯之计，晚矣。且夫韩之兵于天下可知也，今又背强秦。夫弃城而败军，则反掖之寇必袭城矣。城尽则聚散，则无军矣。城固守，则秦必兴兵而围王一都，道不通，则难必谋，其势不救，左右计之者不用，愿陛下熟图之。若臣斯之所言有不应事实者，愿大王幸使得毕辞于前，乃就吏诛不晚也。秦王饮食不甘，游观不乐，意专在图赵，使臣斯来言，愿得身见，因急于陛下有计也。今使臣不通，则韩之信未可知也。夫秦必释赵之患而移兵于韩，愿陛下幸复察图之，而赐臣报决。”
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