战城南 by 李白

去年战,桑乾源,今年战,葱河道。 洗兵条支海上波,放马天山雪中草。 万里长征战,三军尽衰老。 匈奴以杀戮为耕作,古来唯见白骨黄沙田。 秦家筑城避胡处,汉家还有烽火然。 烽火燃不息,征战无已时。 野战格斗死,败马号鸣向天悲。 乌鸢啄人肠,衔飞上挂枯树枝。 士卒涂草莽,将军空尔为。 乃知兵者是凶器,圣人不得已而用之。

Fighting in the south of the city (literal translation of Li Bai’s poem)

Last year, the battle was at the source of the Sanggan River. This year, the battle is at the Cong River. Wash the soldiers on the waves of the Tiaozhi Sea, and let the horses go on the snowy grass of the Tianshan Mountains. The long march of thousands of miles has made the three armies old and weak. The Xiongnu used killing as farming, and since ancient times, only bones and yellow sand fields have been seen. The Qin family built a city to avoid the Hu people, and the Han family still had beacons. The beacons are burning, and the wars never stop. Fighting in the field, the defeated horses neighed to the sky. The kites pecked at people’s intestines and flew up to hang on dry branches. The soldiers were lying in the grass, and the generals were doing nothing. So we know that weapons are dangerous tools, and sages use them only when they have no choice.