汉王南渡平阴津，至洛阳新城。The King of Han crossed the Pingyin Ford southward and arrived at Xincheng in Luoyang.
三老董公遮说王曰：An elder named Dong Gong stopped the king and said,
“臣闻‘顺德者昌，逆德者亡’；‘兵出无名，事故不成’。"Your servant has heard that 'Those who follow virtue will thrive, and those who oppose it will perish'; 'If an army is dispatched without a just cause, nothing will be accomplished'.
故曰：‘明其为贼，敌乃可服。’项羽为无道，放杀其主，天下之贼也。Therefore, it is said: 'Only when it is made clear that the opponent is a villain can the enemy be subdued.' Xiang Yu is unjust. He exiled and killed his sovereign and is a villain of the world.
夫仁不以勇，义不以力，大王宜率三军之众为之素服，以告诸侯而伐之，Benevolence does not rely on brute force, and righteousness does not rely on strength. Your Majesty should lead the entire army to wear mourning clothes, inform the feudal lords, and then attack him.
则四海之内莫不仰德，此三王之举也。”Then, throughout the country, there will be no one who does not look up to Your Majesty's virtue. This is the behavior of the Three August Ones (the three ancient sage-kings)."
于是汉王为义帝发丧，袒而大哭，哀临三日，发使告诸侯曰：Thereupon, the King of Han held a funeral for Emperor Yi, bared his chest, and wept bitterly. He mourned for three days and sent envoys to inform the feudal lords, saying,
“天下共立义帝，北面事之。今项羽放杀义帝江南，大逆无道！"The whole country jointly established Emperor Yi, and we served him facing north. Now Xiang Yu exiled and killed Emperor Yi south of the Yangtze River. This is a heinous and unjust act!
寡人悉发关中兵，收三河士，南浮江、汉以下，愿从诸侯王击楚之杀义帝者！”I will send out all the troops from Guanzhong and recruit soldiers from the regions of Sanhe. I will sail south along the Yangtze and Han rivers and below. I hope to follow the kings of the feudal lords to attack the one who killed Emperor Yi among the Chu forces!"
使者至赵，陈馀曰：“汉杀张耳，乃从。”When the envoy arrived in Zhao, Chen Yu said, "If the Han kills Zhang Er, I will follow."
于是汉王求人类张耳者斩之，持其头遗陈馀；馀乃遣兵助汉。So the King of Han found someone who looked like Zhang Er, beheaded him, and sent his head to Chen Yu. Then Chen Yu sent troops to assist the Han.
田荣弟横收散卒，得数万人，起城阳，夏，四月，立荣子广为齐王，以拒楚。Tian Rong's younger brother Tian Heng gathered the scattered soldiers and got tens of thousands of them. He rose up in Chengyang. In summer, in the fourth month, he established Tian Rong's son Tian Guang as the King of Qi to resist Chu.
项王因留，连战，未能下。虽闻汉东，既击齐，欲遂破之而后击汉。King Xiang thus stayed and fought continuously but could not capture it. Although he heard that the Han was in the east and had already attacked Qi, he wanted to first defeat Qi and then attack the Han.
汉王以故得率诸侯兵凡五十六万人伐楚。到外黄，彭越将其兵三万馀人归汉。For this reason, the King of Han was able to lead the feudal lords' troops, a total of 560,000 people, to attack Chu. When they arrived at Waihuang, Peng Yue led his more than 30,000 troops to join the Han.
汉王曰：“彭将军收魏地得十馀城，欲急立魏后。今西魏王豹，真魏后。”The King of Han said, "General Peng has recovered more than ten cities in the Wei region and wants to quickly establish a descendant of Wei as the king. Now the King of Western Wei, Wei Bao, is the genuine descendant of Wei."
乃拜彭越为魏相国，擅将其兵略定梁地。汉王遂入城，收其货宝、美人，日置酒高会。So he appointed Peng Yue as the prime minister of Wei and allowed him to lead his troops to subdue the Liang region. Then the King of Han entered the city, confiscated the treasures and beautiful women, and held feasts every day.
项王闻之，令诸将击齐，而自以精兵三万人南，从鲁出胡陵至萧。When King Xiang heard of this, he ordered his generals to attack Qi and himself led 30,000 elite troops southward, came out from Lu through Huling to Xiao.
晨，击汉军而东至彭城，日中，大破汉军。汉军皆走，相随入穀、泗水，死者十馀万人。In the morning, he attacked the Han army and reached Pengcheng in the east. At noon, he severely defeated the Han army. The Han army all fled and followed each other into the Gu and Sishui rivers. More than 100,000 people died.
汉卒皆南走山，楚又追击至灵壁东睢水上；The Han soldiers all fled southward into the mountains. The Chu army pursued them again to the east of Lingbi on the Sui River.
汉军却，为楚所挤，卒十馀万人皆入睢水，水为之不流。The Han army retreated and was pushed by the Chu army. More than 100,000 soldiers all fell into the Sui River, and the water was blocked and could not flow.
围汉王三匝。会大风从西北起，折木，发屋，扬沙石，The Chu army surrounded the King of Han three times. Coincidentally, a strong wind blew from the northwest, breaking trees, blowing off the roofs of houses, and raising sand and stones.
窈冥昼晦，逢迎楚军，大乱坏散，而汉王乃得与数十骑遁去。It was so dark that it was like night during the day. The wind blew against the Chu army, causing great chaos and scattering them. Thus, the King of Han was able to escape with dozens of cavalry.
欲过沛收家室，而楚亦使人之沛取汉王家。He wanted to pass through Pei to take his family with him, but the Chu also sent people to Pei to capture the King of Han's family.
家皆亡，不与汉王相见。汉王道逢孝惠、鲁元公主，载以行。His family had all fled and he could not meet them. On the way, the King of Han met Prince Xiaohui and Princess Luyuan and took them with him in the carriage.
楚骑追之，汉王急，推堕二子车下。滕公为太仆，常下收载之。The Chu cavalry chased after them. The King of Han was in a hurry and pushed the two children out of the carriage. Lord Teng was the grand charioteer and often got off to pick them up.
如是者三，曰：“今虽急，不可以驱，奈何弃之！”故徐行。This happened three times and he said, "Although it's urgent now, we can't drive fast. How can we abandon them?" So they walked slowly.
汉王怒，欲斩之者十馀；滕公卒保护，脱二子。The King of Han was so angry that he wanted to behead Lord Teng more than ten times. But Lord Teng finally protected the two children and saved them.
审食其从太公、吕后间行求汉王，不相遇，反遇楚军。楚军与归，项王常置军中为质。Shen Yiji accompanied the Duke of Tai and Empress Lu and walked through by-paths to look for the King of Han. They did not meet him but instead met the Chu army. The Chu army took them back and King Xiang often kept them as hostages in the army.
是时，吕后兄周吕侯为汉将兵，居下邑。汉王间往从之，稍稍收其士卒。At that time, Empress Lu's elder brother, Marquis Zhou Lü of the Han, was leading troops and stationed in Xiayi. The King of Han secretly went to him and gradually gathered his soldiers.
诸侯皆背汉，复与楚。塞王欣、翟王翳亡降楚。The feudal lords all turned their backs on the Han and again sided with the Chu. The King of Sai, Xin, and the King of Di, Yi, defected and surrendered to the Chu.
田横进攻田假，假走楚，楚杀之。横遂复定三齐之地。Tian Heng attacked Tian Jia. Tian Jia fled to Chu and the Chu killed him. Thus, Tian Heng regained the territory of the Three Qi.
汉王问群臣曰：“吾欲捐关以东，等弃之，谁可与共功者？”The King of Han asked his courtiers, "I want to give up the land east of the Pass and abandon it. Who can share this great task with me?"
汉王问群臣说：“我想舍弃函谷关以东地区作为封赏，你们看有谁可以与我共同建功立业呀？”
张良曰：“九江王布，楚枭将，与项王有隙；彭越与齐反梁地；此两人可急使。Zhang Liang said, "The King of Jiujiang, Ying Bu, is a fierce general of Chu and has a feud with King Xiang. Peng Yue is rebelling in the Liang region together with Qi. These two people can be urgently dispatched.
张良道：“九江王黥布，是楚国的一员猛将，他同项王之间有些隔阂；另外彭越正联合齐王田荣在梁地起兵反楚。这两个人可以立即使用。
而汉王之将，独韩信可属大事，当一面。即欲捐之，捐之此三人，则楚可破也！”And among the King of Han's generals, only Han Xin can be entrusted with important matters and can take charge of one front. If you want to give up the land, give it to these three people, and then Chu can be defeated!"
再就是汉王您的将领中，唯有韩信可以托付大事，独当一面。如果您要把关东的地方作为赏地，赏给这三个人，楚国即可以打败了！”
