Yu Jin poem

于将军 【孔平仲】
General Yu, by Kong Pingzhong
长安遣兵百胜强，意气何有汉中王。

七军之心俱猛鸷，虎兕插羽将翱翔。

Chang’an sent an army of indomitable champions; what resolve does the King of Hanzhong have?

The Seven Armies all had hearts as fierce as falcons; tigers and rhinos would have feathers put on them, and high they would soar.

睥睨荆益可席卷，白帝城高如堵墙。

秣马蓐食朝欲战，雷声殷殷山之阳。

They looked with disdain upon Jing and Yi, they’d sweep it up as theirs; but the walls of Baidicheng make for a high barrier.

They got prepared, they were on guard for battle; but thunder boomed from south of the mountain.

沉阴苦雨十馀日，汉水溢出高腾骧。

苍黄不暇治步伍，攀缘蹙踏半死伤。

From the cloudy sky a heavy rain poured bitterly for more than ten days; the Han River flooded, waves crashing overhead.

In a flurried panic, there was no time for organized mobilization; in their frenzied climbing, half were trampled to death.

计穷岂不欲奔走，四望如海皆茫茫。

鼍鸣鱼跃尚恐惧，万一敌至谁敢当。

When out of ideas, would you not desire to escape?[?] But looking around, the sea was vast in all directions.

Even the turtles cried and the fish leapt about with fright; if the enemy arrived, who would dare fight?

遥观大船载旗鼓，闻说乃是关云长。

蒙冲直绕长堤下，劲弩强弓无敌者。

In the distance is seen a large ship carrying banners and drums; they heard tell it was Guan Yunchang.

The warship came straight around to the base of the embankment; in it were crossbows and bows of unparalleled might that could never be overcome.

虽有铁骑何所施，排空白浪如奔马。

将军拱手就絷缚，咋舌无声面深赭。

Even if they had elite cavalry, what use would they be? The white wavecrests billowed into the sky like galloping horses.

The General bowed with palm over fist, then was shackled and bound; silent in shame with his face a deep ochre.

捷书一日到锦城，只轮不返皆西行。

将军畴昔负朋友，若此昌豨犹得生。

The report of victory took one day to reach Jincheng; not even a chariot’s wheel returned, for they were all sent west.

Long ago, the General had betrayed a friend - such that Chang Xi’s fate would befit him, as if brought back to life. [In the past, Yu Jin had betrayed a friend - had he treated Chang Xi in the same way, Chang Xi would still be alive.]

循环报复虽天意，壮士所惜惟功名。

曹瞒相知三十年，临危不及庞明贤。

Although divine retribution is the will of Heaven, heroic men all nevertheless hold their reputations dear.

Cao Cao’s dear companion of 30 years; in the moment of truth, he could not measure up to Pang [De]’s wisdom and judgement.

归来头白已憔悴，泣涕顿首尤可怜。

高陵画像何诡谲，乃令惭痛入九泉。

He returned with white hair, withered with exhaustion; that he wept while kowtowing is particularly worthy of pity.

At Gaoling, that treacherously humiliating painting! With shame and sorrow did it send him to the underworld.

淯水之师勇冠世，英雄成败皆偶然。

At the Yu River did he rise with peerless valor; a hero’s success or failure is all a matter of circumstance.

King of Hanzhong = Liu Bei who had like JUST declared himself this
Jing and Yi = The provinces, even though this wasn’t an offensive campaign
Baidi[cheng] = famous temple built in Western Han Dynasty, White Emperor’s City, where Liu Bei was fabled to have died (but wasn’t where he actually died)
Jincheng = another name for Chengdu.
Not even a Chariot’s wheel returned = “none of the Wei soldiers returned home because they all went to Shu” (this, of course, did not actually happen, but there’s no mention of Guan Yu’s defeat at the hands of Wu in this poem: me thinking there was caused a good chunk of my mistakes first time around)
Chang Xi = The first translation is what I think it is; the bracketed translation is what LadyWu thinks it is. She’s 95% likely to be right that the poet is judging Yu Jin along the lines of Pei Songzhi’s commentary, but the insinuation that Chang Xi’s fate was worse than Yu Jin’s is a little hard for me to throw myself behind, especially in the context of this poem.
Gaoling = Cao Cao’s mausoleum.
Yu River = the place where Yu Jin famously defended against Zhang Xiu’s surprise attack while also dealing with the Qingzhou Bandits