語句解説

Cao Cao saw that his troops were getting out of hand under this attack, so he called a council.
曹操は味方の軍が敵軍の攻勢に手を焼いているのを見ると、軍議を開いた
Let us make catapults and so destroy them
発石車を作り敵陣を潰しにかかりましょう
Cao Cao at once had models brought and set cunning workers to make these stone-throwing machines
曹操は直ちに模型を作らせると熟練工を用い投石車を製造させた。
They soon constructed some hundreds and placed them along the walls of the camp inside, just opposite the high ladders on the enemy's mounds
数百もの発石車がたちどころに作られ陣の城壁の内側に敵陣の土塁の櫓に対峙して配置された。
As soon as the archers began to shoot, all the catapults began to heave stone balls into the skies and they wrought great havoc
弩弓兵が弓を射掛けると全ての発石車がおびただしい数の石を天空に向かって投げ出し、相手方に与えた被害たるや甚大であった。
There was no shelter from the falling stones, and enormous numbers of the archers were killed.
降ってくる石の前に兵は逃れようもなく多くの弓兵が犠牲となった。
Yuan Shao's troops called these machines "Rumblers," and after their appearance the archers dared not ascend the mounds to shoot.
袁将軍の兵士はこの新兵器を霹靂車と呼び、それ以降弓兵はその兵器を恐れ誰も砦から弓を射ようとするものはなくなった。
He set troops to tunnel under the walls into the midst of Cao Cao's camp and called this corps "The Sappers"
審配は城壁の下をくぐるトンネルを掘り、曹操軍へと忍び込む「掘子軍」を編成した。
As Yuan Shao can no longer attack openly, he is attacking secretly and is tunneling a road under ground into the midst of our camp,"
というのはすでに袁紹軍は地上からの攻撃は出来なくなったので曹操軍の陣地の真っ只中に密かにトンネルを掘っていく以外なくなったのである。
We can surround the camp with a deep moat which renders their tunnel useless
陣地を深い堀で囲い掘子軍を無力化してしまうのです。

So a deep moat was dug as quickly as possible, and when the enemy sappers arrived thereat, lo! their labor had been in vain and the sap was useless.
直ちに深い堀が掘られたため堀に行き当たった掘子軍はその労力が無駄に終わったことを悟るのであった。