穆王將征犬戎，祭公謀父諫曰：「不可。先王燿德不觀兵。夫兵戢而時動，動則威，觀則玩，玩則無震。是故周文公之頌曰：『載戢干戈，載櫜弓矢，我求懿德，肆于時夏，允王保之。』先王之於民也，茂正其德而厚其性，阜其財求而利其器用，明利害之鄉，以文修之，使之務利而辟害，懷德而畏威，故能保世以滋大。昔我先王世后稷以服事虞、夏。及夏之衰也，棄稷不務，我先王不窋用失其官，而自竄於戎狄之閒。不敢怠業，時序其德，遵修其緒，修其訓典，朝夕恪勤，守以敦篤，奉以忠信。奕世載德，不忝前人。至于文王、武王，昭前之光明而加之以慈和，事神保民，無不欣喜。商王帝辛大惡于民，庶民不忍，訢載武王，以致戎于商牧。是故先王非務武也，勸恤民隱而除其害也。夫先王之制，邦內甸服，邦外侯服，侯衛賓服，夷蠻要服，戎翟荒服。甸服者祭，侯服者祀，賓服者享，要服者貢，荒服者王。日祭，月祀，時享，歲貢，終王。先王之順祀也，有不祭則修意，有不祀則修言，有不享則修文，有不貢則修名，有不王則修德，序成而有不至則修刑。於是有刑不祭，伐不祀，征不享，讓不貢，告不王。於是有刑罰之辟，有攻伐之兵，有征討之備，有威讓之命，有文告之辭。布令陳辭而有不至，則增修於德，無勤民於遠。是以近無不聽，遠無不服。今自大畢、伯士之終也，犬戎氏以其職來王，天子曰『予必以不享征之，且觀之兵』，無乃廢先王之訓，而王幾頓乎？吾聞犬戎樹敦，率舊德而守終純固，其有以御我矣。」王遂征之，得四白狼四白鹿以歸。自是荒服者不至。 (周本纪)
It's not uncommon to see noble houses take over the throne in succession. House Chow, after generations of peaceful regime, began to decline when the heir Mu Chow became the new lord of the kingdom. To shield the kingdom from being divided or invaded by nomadic races, Lord Mu made the decision to start a war with the threatening race of Quanrong. Ji, the hand of the king disagreed with the tentative war, saying that -- "Our kings always advocated virtues instead of wars. Warriors are enlisted to fight in the right time for the rightful war. They are not there for games. My lord, your ancestor Dan pursued to develop virtues of civilians, raise them money for righteous use, cultivate people with education, lead them to avoid evil, and long live the kingdom! We cannot forget how we got here. All these institutions have proved their capacity. Do not break the cord with those houses in exile. And do not forget our ancestors' legacy." Lord Mu neglected his pledge and started the war. He won the game and brought four white wolves and four white deer back to the throne as his triumph. Never again did those nomadic races come to worship Chow. And all those regulations claiming the legitimacy of Kingdom Chow over the nomadic races lost their effects.
That's not a compliment for the war. Nevertheless, it seems also impossible to stop a young and ambitious lord provoking a fight just by historical conventions or spirits.
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