鹿 战

The Decoy Deer

戴希

Dai Xi

　　不知道是哪个年代的故事了,反正当时诸侯割据,群雄鼎立。时间一长,各诸侯国有盛有衰,其中北方的齐国与南方的楚国势均力敌,齐王与楚王都成为当世两大霸主。齐王是个有野心的人,他一心想独霸天下。要称霸必须除楚,但楚国军事力量强大，想用武力征服，并无胜算把握。为此,齐王常常食不甘味,夜不能寐,长了一嘴的燎泡。

　　I don’t know what age this story took place in. Anyhow by then fief-lords had established separatist regimes and heroes rose like the three legs of a tripod. Time elapsed. Some principalities thrived and some waned. Among them, the State of Qi in the north and the State of Chu in the south were equally powerful. Their kings were both hegemon-kings in the world. The King of Qi was very ambitious and obsessed with global domination. If he wanted to dominate the whole world, he must get rid of Chu. However, Chu was a military power. He wasn’t sure if he would succeed if he tried conquest by force. Therefore, the King of Qi often could neither savour the sweetness of the dinner-table nor sleep well at night and his lips became chapped with fever blisters.

　　有一次,齐王与大臣仲渊闲聊,聊着聊着就聊到了齐楚关系上。齐王说：“齐楚之战是迟早的事。他楚国战将如云、军力强悍,两国开战，还不知鹿死谁手。您智谋过人，可有良策?”

　　One day, the King of Qi was chit-chatting with his Prime Minister, Zhongyuan, and their topic wandered to the relations between Qi and Chu. The King of Qi said: “A war is unavoidable between Qi and Chu. Nonetheless, generals are as plentiful as the clouds in the State of Chu and their military force is formidable. If the two states went to war, it is anybody’s guess which deer would be the quarry destined to die in the hands of the hunter. You are very resourceful. Do you have any good manoeuvres?”

　　“«孙子兵法»上说，不战而屈人之兵，善之善者也。”仲渊献策说，“大王，您就高价收购楚国特产的鹿吧?”

　　“The Art of War states that the best method is to subdue an enemy without going to war.” Zhongyuan offered up a stratagem and suggested: “My king, then shouldn’t you purchase the local deer from the Chu at a high price?”

　　“高价收购楚国特产的鹿?”齐王大吃一惊，“此招管用?”

　　“Purchase local deer from the Chu at a high price?” The King of Qi was greatly surprised. “Will it work?”

　　“大王放心，管用!”

　　“Let your heart rest easy, my king. It will work!”

　　仲渊是名相，谋略过人,深得齐王信赖,虽齐王心存疑惑,见仲渊胸有成竹,便依计行事。

　　Zhongyuan was a prestigious Prime Minister full of strategies and tactics and the King of Qi trusted him very much. Thus, even though he harboured some doubts, upon seeing that Zhongyuan was so confident, the King of Qi followed his plan.

　　听说齐国要高价收购楚国的活鹿，这可乐坏了楚王。他迫不及待地招来宰相敖安，眉飞色舞地说：“钱这东西人人喜欢，也是国家生存和发展必需的。而活鹿，楚国多如牛毛。退一万步而言，即使压根儿没有也无所谓，此物不过是禽兽耳。现在，齐国高价收购活鹿，这是楚国的福音、福音啊!齐王这个大傻冒儿心甘情愿地让我们占便宜，此乃天赐良机!你赶紧发布命令，动员全国各地火速猎捕活鹿吧!我们一定要尽快把齐国人的钱都赚进楚国人的口袋，赚得满满当当的!你看呢?”敖安听得连连点头、随声附和。

　　Hearing that Qi wanted to purchase live deer from the Chu at a high price, the King of Chu was in raptures. He immediately summoned his Prime Minister, Ao’an, and said to him with dancing eyebrows and a radiant face: “Everyone likes money. It’s a necessity for the survival and development of a nation. As for live deer, they are as numerous in Chu as the hairs on a bull. We might step backwards ten thousand paces to talk about it again: it is nothing serious though we don’t have even one deer. They are nothing more than animals. Now, the Qi are purchasing our live deer at a high price. This is a piece of good news for us! A piece of good news! The moronic King of Qi does us a favour willingly. This is an opportunity bestowed upon us by Heaven! Hurry, spread out my decree and mobilise the whole country to go and hunt for live deer! We should pocket Qi’s money at the earliest interval until our pockets bulge! What do you reckon?” Ao’an nodded his head and echoed incessantly.

　　很快，楚国大地风起云涌，掀起捕捉活鹿的高潮。

　　Soon afterwards, the wind kicked up and clouds soared through the territory of the Chu and the live deer hunting was in full swing.

　　目睹一批接一批的楚国人送来一群又一群的活鹿，仲渊窃喜。

　　Seeing that batch after batch of the Chu people were sending herd after herd of live deer to Qi, Zhongyuan congratulated himself secretly.

　　“大王，您再赏赐赏赐捕鹿有功的楚国人吧?”仲渊又向齐王进言。

　　“My king, please reward these Chu deer hunters for their meritorious service?” Zhongyuan submitted a request to the King of Qi.

　　“赏赐?我们已经是天价收购啦!”齐王大愣,“为什么还要加赏赐?”

　　“Reward them? We are already purchasing at a prohibitive price!” The King of Qi was stunned. “Why should I still reward them?”

　　“要加赏赐。凡一次向齐国出售二十只活鹿者，赏银十两;一次出售两百只者，赏银一百两……”仲渊掷地有声地说,却并不解释缘由。

　　“You should. Anyone who sells twenty live deer to Qi in one go will be rewarded ten ounces of silver; anyone who sells two hundred in one go will be rewarded one hundred ounces …” Zhongyuan responded; his resolute words seemed to bounce on the floor. However, he didn’t explain why.

　　齐王欲言又止,心想: 仲渊啊仲渊,你这葫芦里到底卖的什么药?

　　The King of Qi wanted to question this but held his tongue. He said to himself in his mind: “Zhongyuan, Zhongyuan, what medicine is being sold in your gourd bottle?”

　　虽然心中不解,齐王还是表现得很慷慨,“好,依丞相所言,给楚人赏赐!”

　　Though he couldn’t work out why, the King of Qi was still magnanimous. “Fine. As the Prime Minister has requested, give the Chu people a reward!”

　　于是，接踵而至的楚国人押着一群又一群的活鹿风风火火急赴齐国，接踵而至的楚国人领了赏银,招摇过市返回楚国。

　　Therefore, the Chu followers hastened to Qi like whistling winds and raging fires with herds and herds of live deer. After receiving their reward of silver, they swaggered across the markets and went back to Chu.

　　楚国沸腾了!无论男女老少，无论官员百姓，皆激情燃烧,倾巢出动。皇亲国戚、公子王孙也跃跃欲试，一窝蜂地进山捕鹿。漫山遍野都是鹿们在惊恐地奔逃，漫山遍野都是铆足了劲捕鹿的人群……

　　The State of Chu was fired up! Be they men or women, old or young, be they officials or commoners, they all poured out of their nests in soaring spirits. Imperial relatives, princes and dignitaries were all eager to try and finally charged into the depths of the mountains like a swarm of bees to hunt the deer. All over the mountains and fields horrified deer were stampeding; all over the mountains and fields, people were hunting them down for all they were worth …

　　楚国虽然盛产野鹿,但毕竟数量有限。没多久，山林里的鹿就捕光了，可齐国仍在敞开大门高价收购,且加大了赏赐的力度。

　　Even though the State of Chu was rich in wild deer, their number was finite. Within a short period, every last deer from the forest-strewn mountains had been captured. Notwithstanding, the State of Qi was still purchasing at a high price with her gate wide open and moreover, the hunters were being rewarded more magnanimously.

　　鹿价高企, 种草养鹿一本万利。很快,老百姓都自觉地开始了种草养鹿。楚国全境又人声鼎沸，掀起毁田种草、弃农养鹿的热浪。待楚王和敖安感觉不对时,楚国大部分的良田都摇身一变，成了像模像样的养鹿场。

　　The price of the deer was high and growing grass to raise them would reap a great profit with only a small sum of investment. Soon, all the people started to cultivate grass and raise deer voluntarily. Again, there was a hubbub of noise like a boiling tripod throughout the territory of Chu. Waves of destroying farmland to grow grass and deserting farming for deer-raising raged on. By the time the King of Chu and Ao’an smelt a rat, most of the fertile farmland in Chu had changed into sizeable deer farms.

　　仲渊闻信大喜,赶紧向齐王进言：“大王，现在停止收购楚国鹿!”

　　Hearing the news, Zhongyuan was heartened greatly and immediately submitted a memorial to the King of Qi: “My king, please stop purchasing deer from the Chu now!”

　　“下一步怎么做?”齐王追问。

　　“What’s our next move?” the King of Qi shot a prying question.

　　“准备伐楚!”仲渊斩钉截铁地说。

　　“Prepare for a punitive expedition against the Chu!” Zhongyuan answered resolutely.

　　“伐楚?”齐王皱眉。

　　“A punitive expedition against the Chu?” The King of Qi furrowed his brow.

　　“对，伐楚!”

　　“That’s right. A punitive expedition against the Chu!”

　　“说说你的理由。”

　　“Tell me your reasons.”

　　“这么长的时间啊，楚国上下都在捕鹿养鹿，他们既毁良田，又误农时，现在已是人心散漫,粮库空虚!”

　　“For such a long time, all the Chu people have been hunting and raising deer. They have both destroyed their fertile farmland and missed the farming season. Now their hearts are disoriented and their granaries are empty.”

　　“可他们卖鹿赚大了，国库里有的是钱!”

　　“However, they have earned profuse profits from selling deer and their national treasury is piled high with money!”

　　“如果咱们让他们买不到粮呢……”

　　“What if we make them unable to lay their hands on grain …”

　　“唔，好主意!”

　　“Wuh, that’s a good move!”

　　“大王想一想,我国是楚国最大的邻国,我国粮食储备充足，当然不会卖粮给楚国。而楚国向来以大国自居,周边其他小国家早对楚王恨之入骨,只要我们发出伐楚号令,他们就算不愿与我国合作,也必然会封锁城门,不会出手援救楚国,到时候我们再发精兵拦截楚国的运粮军队……”仲渊的陈述有板有眼，齐王听得频频颔首。

　　“My king, please think about it. We are the Chu’s biggest neighbour and we have a plentiful store of grain. Of course we won’t sell grain to the Chu. The Chu has always proclaimed itself a big power and from long ago those small countries which neighbour it have hated the King of Chu to their marrow. As soon as we have declared a punitive expedition against Chu, those states will clamp their city gates shut and even if they don’t cooperate with us they still won’t lend a hand to the Chu. At that time, we dispatch our crack troops to intercept Chu’s grains-transporting armies …” Zhongyuan’s narration was logical. The King of Qi nodded his head again and again.

　　风云突变、灾祸临头，楚国一下乱了方寸。

　　The wind and clouds altered out of the blue and a disaster befell. The State of Chu was flung into chaos.

　　卖鹿?再便宜齐国也不买了。买粮?出再高的价齐国也不卖。楚王派人四处购粮，一出境就被齐军拦截……粮荒导致楚国人心不稳,社会动荡。未出三年，就有近半的楚国难民逃往齐国。一年之后,楚国元气大伤,战力锐减，不得不委曲求全，向齐国俯首称臣。

　　Sell the deer? The Qi won’t purchase them no matter how cheap they are. Purchase grain? The Qi won’t sell to us no matter how high the price is. The King of Chu dispatched his men to purchase grain everywhere, but they were intercepted by the army of Qi whenever they stepped out of their national territory … The critical shortage of grain displaced the hearts of the Chu people and caused social disturbances. Within three years, half of the fugitives from the State of Chu had fled to Qi. One year after that, Chu’s essential force was deflated greatly and their troops were debilitated severely. They had to save the general situation by making concessions and bending their heads to address themselves as “Your vassal” before the Qi.

　　（原载2012年9月29日《常德社会组织》，转载于《小小说选刊》2012年第24期、《领导文萃》2013年3月上半月刊、《小小说月刊》2013年第4期、《微型小说选刊》2013年第5期、《小说选刊》2016年第4期(转载时题目改为《屈人之兵》)，入围“2012中国小小说排行榜”）