The State of Qin suffered a crushing defeat in the Battle of Kun, and not only was the entire army destroyed, but the three commanders were also captured by the State of Jin.
Qin Mugong was dressed in plain clothes and greeted the defeated army in the suburbs, as if it were a funeral, what a desolate scene! After all, it was originally a strong and neat military appearance, and now there are very few soldiers left who can return to China together.
"Eastern Zhou Kingdoms, Spring and Autumn" Qin Mugong stills
Such a big blow completely shattered the hope of the Qin state to march eastward and chase the central plains. For Qin Mugong, who had always been far-sighted, his efforts to dominate the Central Plains had been completed, but he had not received any return.
In the author's opinion, the current Qin State no longer has any good opportunities, and the military strength of the Qin State after the war has been greatly reduced, so everything has to start from scratch.
The great defeat in this battle can be said to be Qin Mugong's own fault. His "gambling" strategic failure to attack Zheng Guo made it impossible for his desire to dominate the Central Plains to be realized. Although this is unexpected, it is also a helpless result.
The "Battle of Kun" opened the beginning of a vicious war between Qin and Jin. In the next four years, the Qin and Jin countries fought four consecutive wars, and not only that, but even in the next seventy years, the two countries were in a state of war. For the two peoples, the "nightmare of war" cannot be dissipated for a long time.
Due to the great defeat in the "Battle of Kun", the State of Qin had to regain face no matter what, especially Meng Mingshi. However, any accusation against Meng Mingshi is actually an accusation against Qin Mugong. Even if Meng Mingshi's back was supported by Qin Mugong, he also had to give an account to the nobles in the Qin State, otherwise how could he sit in the position of commander? However, Meng Ming's ability to lead the troops was indeed very problematic.
Starting from the "Battle of Kun", in four years, except for the "Battle of Wang Guan" led by Qin Mugong himself, the rest of the battles were led by Meng Mingshi. However, except for the "Battle of Wangguan", which the Qin state won without a fight, the rest of the battles were defeated by the Jin state. That is to say, The Meng Mingshi that Qin Mugong had repeatedly reused was actually a general who had never won a battle and had been defeated repeatedly!
Meng Mingshi was not found in historical sources before the Qin state attacked the Zheng state; it is suspicious that after the death of Qin Mugong, Meng Mingshi also disappeared. It can be seen from this that Meng Mingshi was completely hand-pulled by Qin Mugong. Whether his ability is competent or not does not seem to be the key to the matter.
Even though Meng Ming regarded his troops as invincible, Qin Mugong continued to reuse him despite the opposition of his subjects. If it weren't for the fact that Qin Mugong really couldn't find a qualified manager to replace him, then Qin Mugong's mind might have other plans.
The commander of a country, if he is an overly strong person, then he is likely to be above the monarch, just as the so-called "high merit shock lord", he may even directly threaten the status of the monarch, Jin Xianggong and Xianxun are the best examples. After sixteen years of waiting, Duke Mu of Qin was able to inherit the throne. Just think, if he became a puppet monarch like the Duke of Jinxiang, wouldn't his efforts over the years be in vain?
We can't help but ask, what is the reason why Qin Mugong repeatedly reused Meng Mingshi regardless of victory or defeat?
Meng Mingshi was not a strong manager, at least he was not like Xianxun, because he had a considerable number of battle achievements, he was promoted to the position of "General of the Middle Army". In fact, Meng Ming regarded him as a general who was very different from Xianxun.
Meng Mingshi was the son of Bai Lixi, the Grand Master of the Qin Kingdom, and it was probably because of this layer of relationship that he could become the commander-in-chief. In the author's eyes, Meng Mingshi is most praised for his character and unremitting efforts.
Two years ago, Meng Mingshi returned with the defeated army, Qin Mugong shouldered all the responsibilities, and at the same time he stressed that the fault was not Meng Mingshi, and he would not replace the position of the commander Meng Mingshi, so the "Left Biography" mentioned that Qin Mugong kept his promise and continued to reuse Meng Mingshi. Meng Mingshi's famous saying is "three years will be given by the king". However, in order to retaliate for the defeat of the "Battle of Kun", he once again led an army to attack the Jin, but unexpectedly, the Qin state not only tasted defeat again, but also made the Jin people laugh at him because of his famous words.
Surprisingly, Meng Mingshi, who had been defeated again and again, was still valued by Qin Mugong. For Meng Mingshi, of course, it is necessary to devote himself more wholeheartedly to the cultivation of Ming government affairs in order to repay Qin Mugong's appreciation and give the people more favorable benefits to win the support of the people.
It is of course a good thing to be able to serve the king and the people with virtue, and even the enemy of the Qin state, Zhao Wan, the grand master of the Jin state, praised it, and quoted the Book of Poetry, saying that the army led by a person like Meng Mingshi who cultivated virtue was irresistible and invincible, and even said that if the Qin army attacked again, the Jin state would avoid its attack.
However, although virtue is helpful to the people to live a better life, it does not mean that they can win the war, and there can be no equivalence between the two. It is only from what Zhao Wan said that Meng Mingshi's personality traits seem to be relatively close to those of a gentleman with benevolence and virtue, and it is precisely because of this that he has been shaped into the image of "the benevolent invincible".
Therefore, we will see that when Qin Mugong repeatedly reused him, what he did was not the militarized training of the soldiers and horses, but the image of a gentleman who was diligent in government and loved the people. A commander like Meng Mingshi, his strength is not in slashing and killing, his outstanding point lies in his obedience to the monarch, which will be much higher than that of the generals with outstanding military achievements.
Because of this, as long as the monarch's request is not to win the battle, usually such a commander will be deeply loved by the monarch, which is why Meng Ming regards defeating the battle every day and can continue to be used by Qin Mugong.