1
魏豹者，故魏諸公子也。 其兄魏咎，故魏時封為寧陵君。 秦滅魏，遷咎為家人。 陳勝之起王也，咎往從之。 陳王使魏人周市徇魏地，魏地已下，欲相與立周市為魏王。 周市曰：「天下昏亂，忠臣乃見。 今天下共畔秦，其義必立魏王後乃可。」 齊、趙使車各五十乘，立周市為魏王。 市辭不受，迎魏咎於陳。 五反，陳王乃遣立咎為魏王。
Wei Bao was a prince of the royal house of Wei. His elder brother, Wei Jiu, had been enfeoffed as the Lord of Ningling during the days of the old Wei state. When Qin conquered Wei, Jiu was reduced to the status of a commoner. When Chen Sheng rose in rebellion and declared himself king, Jiu went to join him. The King of Chen sent Zhou Shi, a man of Wei, to pacify the old Wei territories. Once those lands had submitted, the people wished to make Zhou Shi the King of Wei. Zhou Shi said, "It is only when the world falls into darkness and chaos that loyal ministers make themselves known. Now all the world has risen against Qin. By any measure of righteousness, we must first restore a descendant of the Wei royal line to the throne." Qi and Zhao each sent fifty chariots in support of installing Zhou Shi as King of Wei. Zhou Shi refused the title and traveled to Chen to welcome Wei Jiu. After five round trips of entreaty, the King of Chen finally released Jiu and established him as King of Wei.
2
章邯已破陳王，乃進兵擊魏王於臨濟。 魏王乃使周市出請救於齊、楚。 齊、楚遣項它、田巴將兵隨市救魏。 章邯遂擊破殺周市等軍，圍臨濟。 咎為其民約降。 約定，咎自燒殺。
After Zhang Han had defeated the King of Chen, he advanced his forces to attack the King of Wei at Linji. The King of Wei sent Zhou Shi to seek reinforcements from Qi and Chu. Qi and Chu dispatched Xiang Ta and Tian Ba to lead troops in Zhou Shi's wake to relieve Wei. Zhang Han attacked and routed Zhou Shi's forces, killing Zhou Shi among others, and laid siege to Linji. Jiu negotiated a surrender to spare his people. Once the terms of surrender were settled, Jiu immolated himself.
3
魏豹亡走楚。 楚懷王予魏豹數千人，復徇魏地。 項羽已破秦，降章邯。 豹下魏二十餘城，立豹為魏王。 豹引精兵從項羽入關。 漢元年，項羽封諸侯，欲有梁地，乃徙魏王豹於河東，都平陽，為西魏王。
Wei Bao fled to Chu. King Huai of Chu gave Wei Bao several thousand troops to reclaim the Wei territories. After Xiang Yu had defeated Qin and accepted Zhang Han's surrender. Bao captured more than twenty cities in the Wei lands, and he was established as King of Wei. Bao led his best troops to follow Xiang Yu through the passes into the heartland of Qin. In the first year of the Han dynasty, when Xiang Yu parceled out domains among the lords, he coveted the Liang territory for himself and relocated King Bao of Wei to Hedong, with his capital at Pingyang, designating him King of Western Wei.
4
漢王還定三秦，渡臨晉，魏王豹以國屬焉，遂從擊楚於彭城。 漢敗，還至滎陽，豹請歸視親病，至國，即絕河津畔漢。 漢王聞魏豹反，方東憂楚，未及擊，謂酈生曰：「緩頰往說魏豹，能下之，吾以萬戶封若。」 酈生說豹。 豹謝曰：「人生一世閒，如白駒過隙耳。 今漢王慢而侮人，罵詈諸侯群臣如罵奴耳，非有上下禮節也，吾不忍復見也。」 於是漢王遣韓信擊虜豹於河東，傳詣滎陽，以豹國為郡。 漢王令豹守滎陽。 楚圍之急，周苛遂殺魏豹。
When the King of Han returned to pacify the Three Qin and crossed the river at Linjin, King Bao of Wei submitted his kingdom and joined in the attack on Chu at Pengcheng. After the Han defeat, when they had retreated to Xingyang, Bao asked for leave to visit an ailing relative. Upon reaching his own domain, he promptly severed the river crossings and turned against Han. When the King of Han learned of Wei Bao's rebellion, he was preoccupied with the threat from Chu to the east and could not spare forces for an attack. He said to Li Yiji, "Go and talk Wei Bao into submission. If you succeed, I shall grant you a fief of ten thousand households." Li Yiji went to persuade Bao. Bao rebuffed him, saying, "A man's life in this world passes as swiftly as a white colt glimpsed through a crack in the wall. The King of Han is arrogant and abusive, cursing his lords and ministers as though they were slaves, with no regard for the proprieties between ruler and subject. I cannot bear to face him again." The King of Han then dispatched Han Xin to attack and capture Bao in Hedong. Bao was escorted under guard to Xingyang, and his kingdom was converted into a commandery. The King of Han assigned Bao to the defense of Xingyang. When Chu pressed the siege fiercely, Zhou Ke put Wei Bao to death.
5
彭越者，昌邑人也，字仲。 常漁鉅野澤中，為群盜。 陳勝、項梁之起，少年或謂越曰：「諸豪桀相立畔秦，仲可以來，亦效之。」 彭越曰：「兩龍方鬬，且待之。」
Peng Yue was a native of Changyi, and his courtesy name was Zhong. He often fished in the marshes of Juye and led a band of outlaws. When Chen Sheng and Xiang Liang rose in revolt, some of the young men said to Yue, "The heroes everywhere are setting themselves up and rebelling against Qin. You could join them and follow their example, Zhong." Peng Yue replied, "Two dragons are locked in battle. Let us wait and see how it turns out."
6
居歲餘，澤閒少年相聚百餘人，往從彭越，曰：「請仲為長。」 越謝曰：「臣不願與諸君。」 少年彊請，乃許。 與期旦日日出會，後期者斬。 旦日日出，十餘人后，後者至日中。 於是越謝曰：「臣老，諸君彊以為長。 今期而多後，不可盡誅，誅最後者一人。」 令校長斬之。 皆笑曰：「何至是？ 請後不敢。」 於是越乃引一人斬之，設壇祭，乃令徒屬。 徒屬皆大驚，畏越，莫敢仰視。 乃行略地，收諸侯散卒，得千餘人。
After more than a year, over a hundred young men from the marshes banded together and went to Peng Yue, saying, "We ask that you be our leader, Zhong." Yue declined, saying, "I have no wish to join you." The young men persisted in their entreaties until he finally agreed. He set a time for them to assemble at sunrise the following day, declaring that anyone who arrived late would be beheaded. At sunrise the next day, more than ten men arrived late, with the last straggler appearing at noon. Yue then addressed them: "I am getting old, and you insisted on making me your leader. Now many of you arrived late. I cannot execute all of you, so I shall execute the one who arrived last." He ordered his adjutant to behead the man. They all laughed and said, "Surely there is no need for that? We swear we will never be late again." Yue had the man dragged out and beheaded, set up an altar to make a sacrifice, and then issued orders to his followers. His followers were all terrified. They feared Yue so deeply that none dared to look up at him. He then set out to seize territory, rallying scattered soldiers from across the land until he had gathered more than a thousand men.
7
沛公之從碭北擊昌邑，彭越助之。 昌邑未下，沛公引兵西。 彭越亦將其眾居鉅野中，收魏散卒。 項籍入關，王諸侯，還歸，彭越眾萬餘人毋所屬。 漢元年秋，齊王田榮畔項王，（漢）乃使人賜彭越將軍印，使下濟陰以擊楚。 楚命蕭公角將兵擊越，越大破楚軍。 漢王二年春，與魏王豹及諸侯東擊楚，彭越將其兵三萬餘人歸漢於外黃。 漢王曰：「彭將軍收魏地得十餘城，欲急立魏後。 今西魏王豹亦魏王咎從弟也，真魏後。」 乃拜彭越為魏相國，擅將其兵，略定梁地。
When the Lord of Pei marched north from Dang to attack Changyi, Peng Yue came to his aid. Before Changyi fell, the Lord of Pei withdrew his forces and headed west. Peng Yue likewise kept his men in the Juye marshes, gathering Wei soldiers who had been scattered. When Xiang Ji entered the passes, installed the lords as kings, and departed, Peng Yue's force of more than ten thousand men remained without allegiance to any lord. In the autumn of the first year of Han, when King Tian Rong of Qi rebelled against the King of Xiang, Han sent an envoy to bestow upon Peng Yue the seal of a general and ordered him to take Jiyin and attack Chu. Chu dispatched Lord Xiao Jiao to lead forces against Yue, but Yue routed the Chu army. In the spring of the King of Han's second year, when he marched east with King Bao of Wei and the other lords to attack Chu, Peng Yue led his thirty thousand troops to submit to Han at Waihuang. The King of Han said, "General Peng has recovered the Wei territories and taken more than ten cities, and he is eager to see a descendant of Wei restored to the throne. King Bao of Western Wei is a cousin of King Jiu of Wei and a true heir of the Wei royal line." He then appointed Peng Yue as the Chancellor of Wei, granting him sole command of his forces to conquer and pacify the Liang region.
8
漢王之敗彭城解而西也，彭越皆復亡其所下城，獨將其兵北居河上。 漢王三年，彭越常往來為漢游兵，擊楚，絕其後糧於梁地。 漢四年冬，項王與漢王相距滎陽，彭越攻下睢陽、外黃十七城。 項王聞之，乃使曹咎守成皋，自東收彭越所下城邑，皆復為楚。 越將其兵北走穀城。 漢五年秋，項王之南走陽夏，彭越復下昌邑旁二十餘城，得穀十餘萬斛，以給漢王食。
When the King of Han was defeated at Pengcheng and fell back to the west, Peng Yue lost all the cities he had captured and withdrew his forces northward to take up a position along the Yellow River. In the King of Han's third year, Peng Yue ranged back and forth as a mobile force for Han, raiding Chu and severing its supply lines in the Liang region. In the winter of the King of Han's fourth year, while the King of Xiang and the King of Han were locked in a standoff at Xingyang, Peng Yue attacked and captured seventeen cities, including Suiyang and Waihuang. When the King of Xiang learned of this, he left Cao Jiu to hold Chenggao and marched east in person to reclaim the cities Peng Yue had taken, restoring them all to Chu. Yue led his forces northward and withdrew to Gucheng. In the autumn of the fifth year of Han, when the King of Xiang retreated south to Yangxia, Peng Yue once again captured more than twenty cities around Changyi and seized over a hundred thousand bushels of grain to provision the King of Han.
9
漢王敗，使使召彭越并力擊楚。 越曰：「魏地初定，尚畏楚，未可去。」 漢王追楚，為項籍所敗碧陵。 乃謂留侯曰：「諸侯兵不從，為之柰何？」 留侯曰：「齊王信之立，非君王之意，信亦不自堅。 彭越本定梁地，功多，始君王以魏豹故，拜彭越為魏相國。 今豹死毋後，且越亦欲王，而君王不蚤定。 與此兩國約：即勝楚，睢陽以北至穀城，皆以王彭相國； 從陳以東傅海，與齊王信。 齊王信家在楚，此其意欲復得故邑。 君王能出捐此地許二人，二人今可致； 即不能，事未可知也。」 於是漢王乃發使使彭越，如留侯策。 使者至，彭越乃悉引兵會垓下，遂破楚。 （五年）項籍已死。 春，立彭越為梁王，都定陶。
After the King of Han suffered a defeat, he sent a messenger to summon Peng Yue to join forces against Chu. Yue replied, "The Wei territory has only just been pacified. We still fear Chu and cannot yet afford to leave." The King of Han pursued Chu but was defeated by Xiang Ji at Guling. He said to the Marquis of Liu, "The armies of the other lords will not come to my aid. What should I do?" The Marquis of Liu replied, "The King of Qi, Han Xin, was installed without Your Majesty's approval, and he himself feels insecure in his position. Peng Yue was the one who originally pacified the Liang territory and rendered great service, yet because of Wei Bao, Your Majesty initially appointed Peng Yue merely as Chancellor of Wei. Now that Bao is dead and has left no heir, Yue naturally desires a kingship of his own, yet Your Majesty has not moved to settle the matter. Make a compact with these two men: once Chu is defeated, all the territory from Suiyang northward to Gucheng shall be granted to Chancellor Peng as his kingdom; and the territory from Chen eastward to the sea shall be given to the King of Qi, Han Xin. The King of Qi's ancestral home is in Chu, and his heart's desire is to recover his old homeland. If Your Majesty can part with these territories and promise them to these two men, both can be won over; If you cannot bring yourself to do this, the outcome of the war remains uncertain." The King of Han accordingly dispatched an envoy to Peng Yue, following the strategy of the Marquis of Liu. When the envoy arrived, Peng Yue marshaled all his forces and converged on Gaixia, where they defeated Chu. In the fifth year, Xiang Ji was dead. In the spring, Peng Yue was installed as the King of Liang, with his capital at Dingtao.
10
六年，朝陳。 九年，十年，皆來朝長安。
In the sixth year, he attended court at Chen. In the ninth and tenth years, he came to attend court at Chang'an.
11
十年秋，陳豨反代地，高帝自往擊，至邯鄲，徵兵梁王。 梁王稱病，使將將兵詣邯鄲。 高帝怒，使人讓梁王。 梁王恐，欲自往謝。 其將扈輒曰：「王始不往，見讓而往，往則為禽矣。 不如遂發兵反。」 梁王不聽，稱病。 梁王怒其太仆，欲斬之。 太仆亡走漢，告梁王與扈輒謀反。 於是上使使掩梁王，梁王不覺，捕梁王，囚之雒陽。 有司治反形己具，請論如法。 上赦以為庶人，傳處蜀青衣。 西至鄭，逢呂后從長安來，欲之雒陽，道見彭王。 彭王為呂后泣涕，自言無罪，願處故昌邑。 呂后許諾，與俱東至雒陽。 呂后白上曰：「彭王壯士，今徙之蜀，此自遺患，不如遂誅之。 妾謹與俱來。」 於是呂后乃令其舍人彭越復謀反。 廷尉王恬開奏請族之。 上乃可，遂夷越宗族，國除。
In the autumn of the tenth year, Chen Xi rebelled in the region of Dai. The Emperor himself marched to attack, and upon reaching Handan, he summoned the King of Liang to send troops. The King of Liang pleaded illness and sent a general to lead his troops to Handan in his stead. The Emperor was furious and sent an envoy to rebuke the King of Liang. The King of Liang grew fearful and wished to go in person to offer his apologies. His general Hu Zhe said, "Your Majesty chose not to go at first. Now that you have been rebuked, if you go, you will be seized. It would be better to raise your army and rebel outright." The King of Liang refused to listen and continued to plead illness. The King of Liang grew enraged at his Grand Coachman and wanted to have him executed. The Grand Coachman fled to the Han court and reported that the King of Liang and Hu Zhe were plotting rebellion. The Emperor sent men to seize the King of Liang by surprise. Caught unawares, the King of Liang was arrested and imprisoned at Luoyang. The officials assembled the evidence of rebellion and petitioned for him to be sentenced according to the law. The Emperor pardoned him, reduced him to a commoner, and banished him to Qingyi in Shu. As he was being escorted westward and reached Zheng, he chanced upon Empress Lu, who was traveling from Chang'an toward Luoyang. She encountered King Peng on the road. King Peng wept before Empress Lu, protesting his innocence and begging to be allowed to live out his days in his old home of Changyi. Empress Lu promised to help and brought him east with her to Luoyang. Empress Lu told the Emperor, "King Peng is a formidable warrior. Banishing him to Shu will only leave us with a future menace. It would be better to execute him outright. I have taken the precaution of bringing him back with me." Empress Lu then had one of Peng Yue's own retainers accuse him of plotting a fresh rebellion. The Commandant of Justice, Wang Tiankai, petitioned for the extermination of Peng Yue's entire clan. The Emperor approved the petition. Yue's clan was wiped out, and his kingdom was abolished.
12
太史公曰：魏豹、彭越雖故賤，然已席卷千里，南面稱孤，喋血乘勝日有聞矣。 懷畔逆之意，及敗，不死而虜囚，身被刑戮，何哉？ 中材已上且羞其行，況王者乎！ 彼無異故，智略絕人，獨患無身耳。 得攝尺寸之柄，其雲蒸龍變，欲有所會其度，以故幽囚而不辭云。
The Grand Historian remarks: Though Wei Bao and Peng Yue were once men of low station, they swept across a thousand li of territory, faced south as sovereign lords, and won renown through victory after blood-soaked victory. Yet when they harbored rebellious intent and met with defeat, they did not die fighting but were taken captive and subjected to execution. Why was this? Even a man of middling ability would be ashamed of such conduct, let alone one who had been a king! There was no other reason for this: their cunning and strategic brilliance surpassed those of ordinary men, and their sole concern was to preserve their own lives. Having once grasped even a sliver of power, they had soared like clouds and transformed like dragons, always hoping for some chance to fulfill their grand designs. That is why they submitted to imprisonment without protest.