Once upon a time, the State of Chu planned to attack the State of Song.

古时候，有一次，楚国准备进攻宋国.

But the Yong River was the natural barrier against its surprise attack at night.

而瘫河是楚国夜间偷袭宋国的天然障碍。

To overcome this obstacle, the State of Chu sent men to secretly measure the depth of the Yong River and make marks for wading¹ across the river at night.

为了越过这个障碍，楚国派人悄悄地去测量滩水的深度，并且做好了夜间涉水过河的标记。

But when night came, the water in the Yong River suddenly rose;

谁知到了夜里，滩河的水暴涨，水位升一高。

yet the Chu army still tried to stealthily cross the river according to the marks made in the daytime.

但是，楚国人却仍然按照白天做的标记偷渡。

As a result, over 1,000 soldiers were drowned.

结果淹死了一千多人。

There was utter chaos² of desperate cries and shoutings on the river.

河面上哭声喊声一片混乱。

All at once, the army collapsed³ like a fallen building, and was routed.

顿时，队伍就像房屋倒塌一样，溃不成军。

According to the marks, the Chu army would have been able to cross the Yong River during the day;

按照所做的标记，楚军白天是可以渡过滩河的;

but the rising water changed the situation in the night.

然而，夜间水情已经发生变化。

Yet the Chu army still tried to wade⁴ across the river according to the marks made in the daytime,

楚军却仍然按照白天的标记渡河，

so naturally they failed.

自然他们要失败了