Traditional Chinese idioms, condensing the essence of history; winding paths, meet a different "China".
This "reluctant" war, known as the Battle of Yanling, took place in 575 BC and was fought against the old rivals jin and chu, as well as their respective allies.
Battle Report: The State of Jin once again defeated the State of Chu and its allies, captured the Duke of Chu, and shot the King of Chu in the eye, further consolidating its hegemonic position in the Central Plains. Zheng Guoda's general Tang Gou died on the battlefield to protect the monarch Zheng Chenggong. On the Jin side, the general Wei Zheng, who had wounded the King of Chu, was shot and killed by the sharpshooter Yang Yuji.
Follow-up to the war: On the chu side, the drunken and misguided prince committed suicide. Shi Xie, a major minister of the Jin Dynasty, deeply felt that the state was not in the right place, and died of anxiety.
The far-reaching effects of the war: Both the Jin and Chu countries have since been relatively weak, and the Central Plains have entered a long-lost period of tranquility.
Or Sun Wuzi's words: Soldiers, the great affairs of the country, the place of death and life, and the way of survival, must not be ignored.
(Above) Zheng Guo became the "wall head grass"
Throughout the ages, there has been a very interesting phenomenon that the really strong and powerful big countries are often not the initiators of wars, but on the contrary, some small countries that are not very popular, for their own ambitions or some trivial matters, have to send troops to intervene or take advantage of the opportunity to fish in the water, resulting in the war burning more and more vigorously.
The Battle of Yanling in the Spring and Autumn Period of Jinchu was such a war.
It is said that in 580 BC, the Duke of Jin Jing died of illness, and his son Zhou Pu succeeded to the throne as the Duke of Jin.
In May of the following summer, under the mediation of Shangqing Huayuan of the Song State, the Jin and Chu states concluded a peace treaty outside the West Gate of the Song State, and the parties were also the Jin Allies, the Zheng State.
But Zheng Guo soon tore up the armistice.
In August 577 BC, Gongzi Han, a chancellor of the State of Zheng, attacked the State of Chu's ally, the State of Xu, and suffered defeat. Subsequently, Zheng Chenggong personally went out on horseback and attacked the outer city of Xu Du, and Xu was forced to cut off the land and seek peace.
In March 576, the State of Jin and seven other countries, including the State of Zheng, the State of Lu, and the State of Qi, formed an alliance in Qidi.
Seeing that the "international influence" of the Jin state was getting bigger and bigger, the state of Chu could not sit still. In 575 BC, the King of Chu led an army to attack the "wall-headed grass" Zheng Guo.
The Chu army drove straight into and occupied the tyrannical tunnel, and then attacked weiguo, reaching its first stop. While resisting the Chu army, Zheng Guo sent Zihan to attack the Chu state and occupy Xinshi.
At this time, the Jin State adopted the strategy of sitting on the mountain and watching the tiger fight.
In the spring of 575 BC, seeing that the State of Zheng was temporarily difficult to conquer, the King of Chu adopted a policy of Huairou and sent Gongzi Cheng from Wucheng to ask the State of Zheng for peace with Ruyin's tutian. Zheng Guo saw that Li had forgotten his righteousness and betrayed the Jin state again, and Zheng Chu formed an alliance.
After allying with Chu, Zheng Guo did not stop, and soon sent Zihan Shuai to attack the Song and defeat the Song army. In order to please the Jin state, Wei Guo sent troops to attack Zheng and occupy Mingyan.
Finally, Jin Ligong could not sit still, decided to teach Zheng Guo a lesson, and sent Hao Yi to borrow troops from Wei Guo and Qi Guo.
When Zheng Guoren heard this, he immediately poured out cold water and hurriedly sent people to ask for help from the State of Chu.
Looking at the map, you can see that although Zheng Guo is small, his military and strategic position is too important.
War between the two "superpowers" is inevitable.
(Middle) Knowing the bottom is afraid of fellow countrymen
It is said that on June 29, 575 BC, at the end of the month, it was the "obscure day", when there was a conventional rule of "obscure soldiers", but the Chu state did not pay attention to this stubble, taking advantage of the fact that the sky was not clear, it preemptively laid down a position in the place close to the Jin army camp, and for a time people shouted with joy and horses, which had already alarmed the Sleeping Jin army.
The Jin army was secretly alarmed, because in this way, they could no longer pose as usual, and fell into a passive situation of being beaten.
Everyone was anxious, and Fan Zhao (gai), the son of Shi Xie (Fan Wenzi), came to offer a plan and said: "Don't be afraid, please ask the marshal to order the camp gate to be firmly guarded, and then quickly fill in the well stove, we set up a position in the army, and the Chu army's plan will fail." ”
Seeing that Fan Zhao had such a wisdom at a young age, Luan Shu was very happy and ordered to follow the plan. But Fan Zhao's father was angry, because he was always reluctant to fight between the two countries.
Shi Xie grabbed a changge and scolded while chasing after his son: "The survival of the country is all providence, what does your child's family know?" When the crowd saw the situation, they rushed to block it, and Fan Zhao took the opportunity to escape.
The king of Chu Gong directly forced the Jin army camp to lay down the array, thinking that he was unexpected, the Jin army must panic and chaos, but after waiting for half a day, the other side did not have much movement, so he boarded the building car to look at the Jin army camp, and standing next to us was our old acquaintance, BoZhou Plough, the son of Bozong, the jin doctor, who fled to the Chu state and was appointed as a Dazai.
The so-called "know the bottom is afraid of fellow countrymen." The following is a dialogue recorded in the Zuo Chuan, from which the combat regulations of the Jin state can be seen in the Spring and Autumn Period.
King of Chu: The Jin soldiers galloped, left or right, why is that?
Bo State Plough: In gathering officers.
King Chu: These people are all gathered in the Chinese army.
Bozhou Plough: This is discussed together.
King Chu: The curtain is open.
Bozhou Plough: This is the prayerful divination before the divine throne of the previous kings.
King of Chu: The curtain has been removed.
Bozhou Plough: The order is about to be issued.
King Chu: The noise was so loud that the dust rose (very noisy).
Bozhou Plough: This is to fill in the well stove to open the position.
King Chu: They all boarded the chariot. The general and the right side of the car both got out of the car with weapons.
Bozhou Plough: This is the announcement order.
King of Chu: Are they going to fight?
Bozhou Plough: Not yet known.
King chu: The Jin army all got on the chariot, and the general and the right side of the car got off again.
Bozhou Plough: This is a prayer before the war.
In addition, Bozhou Plough reported the situation of the Jin Li Gong's relatives to the King of Chu one by one.
At the same time, Emperor Miao ben, the son of Douyue Pepper (see the idiom story "Wolf Ambition"), who fled from the Jin state to the Chu state, also stood next to the Jin LiGong and reported the situation of the Chu Gong's relatives to the Jin Li Gong.
The battle began in the morning and was not over at dusk. There were casualties on both sides, but the Chu state suffered heavier losses, after all, Gongzi Ping was captured, and the king of Chu was shot blind in one eye.
However, as soon as the battle began, it was difficult to end easily, and the two sides were fiercely armed and prepared to continue the battle tomorrow.
The Jin army deliberately released several Chu prisoners, and told the King of Chu about the deployment and combat will of the Jin army.
The Jin people were full of morale, and there were still allied troops coming to help in the battle, and the King of Chu was very worried, so he sent someone to call the Marshal of the Chinese Army to discuss the strategy of advancing and retreating.
But at this time, Zi Was tempted by the good wine sent by his subordinates, and he could not hold on to it for a while, and he was drunk and drunk. The King of Chu sighed and said, "This is heaven wanting me to fail the Chu Kingdom, and I can't wait any longer." "Flee with his soldiers overnight.
After he woke up, the son knew that his sin was not light, but the king of Chu did not blame him, but instead took the blame on himself. However, Ling Yin Zizhong took the opportunity to fall into the well and instigate Zi to commit suicide to apologize, and the King of Chu sent people to dissuade him, and before the people arrived, Zi Zi committed suicide.
In fact, long before Zi Wei tore up the Jin-Chu Covenant, Uncle Shen, who was due to his old age, predicted that Zi Wei would suffer disasters because he did not keep his promises.
(Part 2) Shi Xie asked for a quick death
At the Battle of Yanling, the Jin Dynasty won a great victory, and the whole country rejoiced and rejoiced, but Fan Wenzi was worried, and after returning from Yanling, he sent someone to find his Zhuzong to pray that he would die sooner.
When the crowd heard this, they were terrified and asked him why he had made such a decision, and Fan Wenzi sighed and said, "Although our monarch is not very old, he is arrogant and extravagant, and this time he has defeated the powerful Chu state, and he does not know that the sky is high and the earth is thick." This is a problem that Heaven has increased his, and our Jin kingdom is about to be in trouble. If you really cherish me, curse me fiercely, let me die quickly, and don't be in trouble, which is also Fan's blessing. ”
On the ninth day of The first month of June in 574 BC, Fan Wenzi died of illness.
Sure enough, soon after returning from Yanling, Jin Ligong decided to get rid of all the doctors and set up his own cronies as doctors.
The first unlucky one is San Hao (see the previous story "The Thief hates the master").
Later, Jin Ligong was killed by Luan Shu and others who were lucky enough to survive.
The 14-year-old Sun Zhou succeeded him as king of the Jin dynasty as the Duke of Jin.
The Duke of Jin was young and promising, knew people well, and in just a few years, the national strength and "international influence" of the Jin State were greatly enhanced.
However, it is difficult to let go of the fact that some people need to rely on early death to avoid disaster, and how much significance does it make such a country strong or not?
Appreciation of Sinology Classics:
In June, Jin and Chu met at Yanling...
At noon, Chu Chen suppressed the Jin army and Chen. Military officials suffered. Fan Zhao tended to advance, saying: "Saijing Yizao, Chen Yu in the army, and the head of the line." What was taught by Jin and Chu Weitian? Wen Zi chased after him, saying: "The survival of the country, the heavens also." What does the boy know? ”......
Chu Zi climbed the nest car to look at the Jin army, and Zi Zhong made Dazai Bozhou plow the queen. Wang Yue: "Left and right, why not?" "Summoning military officials also." "They are all gathered in the army!" A: "Conspiracy also." "Zhang Muyi." Yue: "Pious To the Ancestors." "Through the scene!" "Will be destined also." "It's loud, and it's dusty!" A: "Destroy the well and do it." "All take advantage of each other, and the troops from left and right will go down!" Yue: "Listen to the oath also." "Warlike?" A: "Unknowable also." "Multiply and go down left and right!" "Prayer also." "The Plough of Bozhou sued the king as a pawn. Emperor Miao, who was on the side of the Marquis of Jin, also reported him as a pawn.
- "The Sixteenth Year of Zuo Chuan Chenggong"