1
朝鮮王滿者，故燕人也。 自始全燕時嘗略屬真番、朝鮮，為置吏，筑鄣塞。 秦滅燕，屬遼東外徼。 漢興，為其遠難守，復修遼東故塞，至浿水為界，屬燕。 燕王盧綰反，入匈奴，滿亡命，聚黨千餘人，魋結蠻夷服而東走出塞，渡浿水，居秦故空地上下鄣，稍役屬真番、朝鮮蠻夷及故燕、齊亡命者王之，都王險。
Wiman, the king of Joseon, was originally a man of the state of Yan. In the early days, when Yan was still whole, it had conquered and laid claim to Zhendan and Joseon, appointing officials there and constructing border fortifications. After the Qin destroyed Yan, the region was placed under the outer frontier of Liaodong. When the Han dynasty arose, the court considered the territory too remote and difficult to defend. They restored the old Liaodong border fortifications, setting the Pae River as the boundary, and placed the region under the Kingdom of Yan. When Lu Wan, the King of Yan, rose in rebellion and fled to the Xiongnu, Wiman went into exile. He gathered more than a thousand followers, tied up their hair in the fashion of the eastern barbarians, donned barbarian clothing, and fled east beyond the frontier passes. After crossing the Pae River, he settled in the abandoned Qin territories between the upper and lower fortifications, and gradually brought the barbarians of Zhendan and Joseon under his rule, along with refugees from the former states of Yan and Qi. He made himself their king and established his capital at Wanggeom.
2
會孝惠、高后時天下初定，遼東太守即約滿為外臣，保塞外蠻夷，無使盜邊； 諸蠻夷君長欲入見天子，勿得禁止。 以聞，上許之，以故滿得兵威財物侵降其旁小邑，真番、臨屯皆來服屬，方數千里。
It happened that during the reigns of Emperor Hui and Empress Dowager Gao, when the empire had only just been pacified, the Governor of Liaodong made an agreement with Wiman to serve as an outer vassal. He was charged with keeping the barbarians beyond the frontier in check and preventing them from raiding the border. In return, any barbarian chieftains who wished to travel to the capital for an audience with the Son of Heaven were not to be obstructed. When this arrangement was reported to the throne, the emperor approved it. Armed with this mandate, Wiman used his military power and wealth to invade and subjugate the smaller settlements around him. Before long, Zhendan and Lintun had all submitted to his authority, and his domain stretched over several thousand li.
3
傳子至孫右渠，所誘漢亡人滋多，又未嘗入見； 真番旁眾國欲上書見天子，又擁閼不通。 元封二年，漢使涉何譙諭右渠，終不肯奉詔。 何去至界上，臨浿水，使御刺殺送何者朝鮮裨王長，即渡，馳入塞，遂歸報天子曰「殺朝鮮將」。 上為其名美，即不詰，拜何為遼東東部都尉。 朝鮮怨何，發兵襲攻殺何。
The throne passed to his son and then to his grandson, Ugeo. Under Ugeo's rule, ever more Han fugitives were lured into the kingdom, yet he never once traveled to court to pay his respects. When the neighboring states near Zhendan wished to send memorials requesting an audience with the Son of Heaven, Ugeo blocked their way and refused to let them through. In the second year of the Yuanfeng era, the Han court dispatched the envoy She He to rebuke Ugeo, but the king stubbornly refused to obey the imperial edict. As She He departed and reached the border at the Pae River, he ordered his chariot driver to stab and kill the Joseon deputy king, Chang, who had been escorting him. He then immediately crossed the river and galloped back through the frontier passes to report to the Son of Heaven: 'I have slain a Joseon general.' The emperor, pleased by the impressive claim, did not investigate the matter further and appointed She He as the Commandant of the Eastern Division of Liaodong. The Joseon court, outraged by this treachery, dispatched troops to attack and kill She He.
4
天子募罪人擊朝鮮。 其秋，遣樓船將軍楊仆從齊浮渤海； 兵五萬人，左將軍荀彘出遼東：討右渠。 右渠發兵距險。 左將軍卒正多率遼東兵先縱，敗散，多還走，坐法斬。 樓船將軍將齊兵七千人先至王險。 右渠城守，窺知樓船軍少，即出城擊樓船，樓船軍敗散走。 將軍楊仆失其眾，遁山中十餘日，稍求收散卒，復聚。 左將軍擊朝鮮浿水西軍，未能破自前。
The Son of Heaven recruited convicted criminals to form an army against Joseon. That autumn, the emperor dispatched the General of the Tower Ships, Yang Pu, to sail from Qi across the Bohai Sea. With a combined force of fifty thousand men, and the Left General, Xun Zhi, marching overland from Liaodong, they set out to punish Ugeo. Ugeo deployed his troops to hold the mountain passes. The Left General's battalion commander, Duo, led the Liaodong troops in an early charge, but they were routed and scattered. Many of the men fled in retreat, and Duo was executed under military law. The General of the Tower Ships led seven thousand Qi soldiers and reached Wanggeom first. Ugeo held fast within the city walls. When he perceived that the Tower Ships force was small in number, he sallied forth to attack them. The Tower Ships army was defeated and scattered in flight. General Yang Pu lost his men and fled into the mountains, where he hid for more than ten days. Gradually, he managed to round up his scattered soldiers and reassemble them. The Left General attacked the Joseon forces west of the Pae River but could not break through their front lines.
5
天子為兩將未有利，乃使衛山因兵威往諭右渠。 右渠見使者頓首謝：「願降，恐兩將詐殺臣； 今見信節，請服降。」 遣太子入謝，獻馬五千匹，及饋軍糧。 人眾萬餘，持兵，方渡浿水，使者及左將軍疑其為變，謂太子已服降，宜命人毋持兵。 太子亦疑使者左將軍詐殺之，遂不渡浿水，復引歸。 山還報天子，天子誅山。
Since neither general had gained the upper hand, the Son of Heaven sent Wei Shan to use the might of the army as leverage and persuade Ugeo to submit. Ugeo received the envoy and bowed his head in apology. 'I am willing to surrender,' he said, 'but I fear the two generals will use treachery to kill me.' 'Now that I have seen the imperial credential, I am ready to submit.' He sent his crown prince to make a formal apology, presenting five thousand horses and supplies of grain for the army. The prince arrived with a retinue of more than ten thousand men, all bearing arms, and was about to cross the Pae River. The envoy and the Left General, suspecting a ruse, told the prince that since he had already agreed to surrender, his people should lay down their weapons. The crown prince, in turn, suspected that the envoy and the Left General were plotting to kill him, and so refused to cross the Pae River. He led his men back the way they had come. Wei Shan returned and reported on the failed negotiations. The Son of Heaven had him executed.
6
左將軍破浿水上軍，乃前，至城下，圍其西北。 樓船亦往會，居城南。 右渠遂堅守城，數月未能下。
The Left General defeated the forces on the upper Pae River, then pressed forward to the city walls and laid siege to the northwest. The General of the Tower Ships also came to join the siege, stationing his forces south of the city. Ugeo dug in and stubbornly defended the city. After several months, it still could not be taken.
7
左將軍素侍中，幸，將燕代卒，悍，乘勝，軍多驕。 樓船將齊卒，入海，固已多敗亡； 其先與右渠戰，因辱亡卒，卒皆恐，將心慚，其圍右渠，常持和節。 左將軍急擊之，朝鮮大臣乃陰閒使人私約降樓船，往來言，尚未肯決。 左將軍數與樓船期戰，樓船欲急就其約，不會； 左將軍亦使人求閒卻降下朝鮮，朝鮮不肯，心附樓船：以故兩將不相能。 左將軍心意樓船前有失軍罪，今與朝鮮私善而又不降，疑其有反計，未敢發。 天子曰將率不能，前（及）［乃］使衛山諭降右渠，右渠遣太子，山使不能剸決，與左將軍計相誤，卒沮約。 今兩將圍城，又乖異，以故久不決。 使濟南太守公孫遂往（征）［正］之，有便宜得以從事。 遂至，左將軍曰：「朝鮮當下久矣，不下者有狀。」 言樓船數期不會，具以素所意告遂，曰：「今如此不取，恐為大害，非獨樓船，又且與朝鮮共滅吾軍。」 遂亦以為然，而以節召樓船將軍入左將軍營計事，即命左將軍麾下執捕樓船將軍，并其軍，以報天子。 天子誅遂。
The Left General had once served as an attendant at court and enjoyed the emperor's favor. He commanded soldiers from Yan and Dai—fierce men flushed with victory—and his army had grown arrogant. The General of the Tower Ships, commanding troops from Qi who had crossed the sea, had already suffered heavy losses. In their earlier battle against Ugeo, his forces had been humiliated and his men killed, leaving the troops fearful and the general ashamed. During the siege, he frequently brandished the standard of peace. While the Left General pressed the attack, the senior ministers of Joseon secretly dispatched envoys to negotiate a private surrender to the General of the Tower Ships. Messages passed back and forth, but no final agreement was reached. The Left General repeatedly scheduled joint attacks with the Tower Ships forces, but the Tower Ships general, eager to finalize his private agreement with Joseon, failed to appear. The Left General also sent agents to secretly persuade the Joseon court to surrender to him, but they refused, their loyalty inclined toward the Tower Ships general. For this reason, the two commanders could no longer work together. The Left General harbored suspicions: the Tower Ships general had previously committed the offense of losing his army and was now secretly colluding with Joseon while refusing to compel their surrender. He suspected the man of harboring treasonous designs but dared not act. The Son of Heaven declared that the generals were incompetent. He had previously sent Wei Shan to negotiate Ugeo's surrender, and Ugeo had dispatched his crown prince in response, but Wei Shan failed to handle the matter decisively, his actions clashed with the Left General's plans, and in the end the agreement fell through. Now the two generals were besieging the city yet remained at odds, and for this reason the campaign dragged on without resolution. He dispatched Gongsun Sui, the Governor of Jinan, to set matters right, granting him full authority to act as he saw fit. When Gongsun Sui arrived, the Left General told him, 'Joseon should have fallen long ago. That it has not is for a reason.' He described how the Tower Ships general had repeatedly failed to keep their battle appointments, laid out all his longstanding suspicions, and said, 'If we do not act now, I fear the consequences will be dire. The Tower Ships general may not only refuse to fight—he may join forces with Joseon to destroy our army.' Gongsun Sui agreed. Using the imperial tally, he summoned the General of the Tower Ships to the Left General's camp to discuss strategy. Once there, he ordered the Left General's officers to seize and arrest the Tower Ships general, absorbed his troops, and sent a report to the Son of Heaven. The Son of Heaven had Gongsun Sui executed.
8
左將軍已并兩軍，即急擊朝鮮。 朝鮮相路人、相韓陰、尼谿相參、將軍王唊相與謀曰：「始欲降樓船，樓船今執，獨左將軍并將，戰益急，恐不能與，（戰）王又不肯降。」 陰、唊、路人皆亡降漢。 路人道死。 元封三年夏，尼谿相參乃使人殺朝鮮王右渠來降。 王險城未下，故右渠之大臣成巳又反，復攻吏。 左將軍使右渠子長降、相路人之子最告諭其民，誅成巳，以故遂定朝鮮，為四郡。 封參為澅清侯，陰為荻苴侯，唊為平州侯，長［降］為幾侯。 最以父死頗有功，為溫陽侯。
Having now combined both armies under his command, the Left General launched an all-out assault on Joseon. The Joseon Chancellor Lu Ren, Chancellor Han Yin, the Chancellor of Nixi, Shen, and General Wang Xia plotted together. 'We had intended to surrender to the Tower Ships general,' they said, 'but now he has been arrested. The Left General alone commands both armies, the fighting grows fiercer by the day, and we fear we cannot hold out—yet the king still refuses to surrender.' Han Yin, Wang Xia, and Lu Ren all deserted and surrendered to the Han. Lu Ren died on the road. In the summer of the third year of the Yuanfeng era, Shen, the Chancellor of Nixi, sent men to assassinate King Ugeo of Joseon and came to surrender. But the fortress of Wanggeom had not yet fallen. Cheng Ji, one of Ugeo's former ministers, raised another rebellion and turned his forces against the Han officials. The Left General ordered Ugeo's son, Chang, to surrender and had Lu Ren's son, Zui, issue a proclamation to the people. He executed Cheng Ji, and with this, Joseon was at last pacified and divided into four commanderies. Shen was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Huaqing, Han Yin as the Marquis of Diqu, Wang Xia as the Marquis of Pingzhou, and Chang as the Marquis of Ji. Zui, because his father had died in loyal service and earned considerable merit, was made the Marquis of Wenyang.
9
左將軍徵至，坐爭功相嫉，乖計，棄市。 樓船將軍亦坐兵至洌口，當待左將軍，擅先縱，失亡多，當誅，贖為庶人。
The Left General was recalled to the capital. He was charged with disputing credit, jealousy toward his colleague, and disobedience of orders, and was publicly executed. The General of the Tower Ships was also charged: when his troops reached the mouth of the Lie River, he should have waited for the Left General but instead launched an unauthorized attack, suffering heavy losses. He deserved execution but was permitted to pay a fine and was reduced to the rank of commoner.
10
太史公曰：右渠負固，國以絕祀。 涉何誣功，為兵發首。 樓船將狹，及難離咎。 悔失番禺，乃反見疑。 荀彘爭勞，與遂皆誅。 兩軍俱辱，將率莫侯矣。
The Grand Historian remarks: Ugeo trusted in his fortifications, and his state was destroyed, its sacrifices cut off. She He fabricated his exploits and so lit the fuse for war. The General of the Tower Ships was a man of narrow vision, and when trouble came, he could not escape blame. Regretting his failure at Panyu, he swung to the opposite extreme and fell under suspicion. Xun Zhi quarreled over credit, and together with Gongsun Sui, both were put to death. Both armies were disgraced, and not a single general was enfeoffed.