During the Chu-Han conflict, Liu Bang ordered his general Han Xin to lead an army to attack the State of Zhao. King Zhao led an army of 200,000 men to meet the attack at Jingxing Pass in the Taihang Mountains.
At that time, Han Xin only brought twelve thousand men and horses.
In order to defeat the Zhao army, he stationed 10,000 people on the river and lined up a backwater array, and sent another 2,000 light horses to lurk around the Zhao army camp.
After the battle, Zhao Ying's 200,000-strong army slaughtered the 10,000 Han army by the river, and the Han army faced a great enemy, and there was no way back, so it could only fight to the death.
At this time, the two thousand soldiers lurking took advantage of the false attack into the Zhao camp, and the Zhao army was caught between the front and back, and was quickly defeated by Han Xin.
After the war, someone asked Han Xin: "It is a taboo for soldiers to line up behind the water, why did the general knowingly commit a crime?" ”
Han Xin smiled and said, "Leaving it to death and being born later, this is also recorded in the Soldier's Book." ”?
This is the famous backwater battle in history, and after Sima Qian's brilliant pen was born, this story became a classic. The average person believes that Han Xin fights a powerful and creative way.
In fact, this is not Han Xin's modesty, there is indeed a record in the BingShu, this story occurred in the Spring and Autumn Period, and the origin of the story originated from the record in the "Zuo Chuan Wen Gong Three Years": "Qin Bo cut down the Jin Dynasty, and the JiHe Burned Boats." ”
What kind of experience is this?
During the reign of MuGong of Qin, the Grand Master of the Qin State, Bai LiShi, that is, Meng Mingshi, was originally the son of Baili Xi.
In his early years, Bai Lixi went out to seek official duties, leaving his wife and son Bai Li to guard the family.
But this Bailishi did not like to do farm work since he was a child, and gathered a group of young people all day long, and everyone together made guns and sticks, and his mother, although old and frail, still had to provide him with food and drink.
Later, he could not stay in the Yu Kingdom any longer, and Bai Lishi went into exile with his mother to the Qin Kingdom. By chance, he found his father, who had been lost for more than forty years, and at this time, his father Baili Xi had become the Xiangguo of the Qin Kingdom.
After their mother and son came to the Qin Kingdom, they were received by Mu Gong of Qin, who saw that he was strong in martial arts and worshiped him as a doctor.
In the winter of 628 BC, Duke Mu of Qin decided to recruit Zheng Guo, with Bai Baili as a general and Xi Qishu and Bai Yibing as his deputy generals.
When Bai Lishi led a large army to the state of Shui (in present-day southeast of Yanshi, Henan Province), he was bumped into by a cattle dealer named Xiang Gao in zheng guo.
Xiang Gao was a patriotic merchant, and on his way to Luoyang to do business, he was very anxious to hear that the Qin soldiers were going to attack their country. But at this time, it was too late to go back and report the letter.
So on the one hand, he told people to quickly return to Zheng Guo to report the letter, and he drove the cattle to meet the army of the Qin state.
Posing as Zheng Guo's envoys, he brought four cooked cowhides and twelve cows to comfort the Qin army.
He said to Bai Lishi, "Our monarch has heard that three generals are going to our country, so he quickly sent me to comfort your army." Although our country is not rich, we are willing to provide you with daily necessities, and if we are to pull out, we are willing to keep vigil for you and defend you on the eve of your departure. ”
The inexperienced Bai Lishi was deceived by the rhetoric of the cattle dealer String Gao, who thought that Zheng Guo had really heard the news and was prepared for defense, so he did not dare to attack Zheng Guo again.
However, after a long journey, the soldiers finally arrived at Zheng Guo, so the laborers came to Zheng Guo, because they were afraid of Zheng Guo's resistance and returned empty-handed, how to send a bus to Qin Mu after they returned?
Or, Zheng Guo can't fight, so change a soft persimmon to pinch it. So the army changed its objectives and destroyed the smaller princely states.
The army snatched a lot of jade, grain, and men and women' population, filled hundreds of large carts, and returned by road.
On April 14, his army reached the dangerous terrain of Kunshan (崤山, in present-day eastern Shaanxi County, Henan), where he was completely annihilated by the Jin army that had long been ambushed there, and he and the two deputy generals Xi Qishu and Bai Yibing were also taken prisoner.
Not only did all the loot they stole return to the Jin State, but they also made themselves prisoners.
Duke Xiang of Jin planned to take a few of them to the Temple of Taimiao and slaughter them as sacrifices, but his mother Wen Wei (daughter of Duke Mu of Qin) heard that the State of Qin had lost the battle, and the three generals of the State of Qin were also arrested by the State of Jin, and they were worried that the enmity between jin and Qin was getting deeper and deeper, so they rushed to the Duke of Jin.
She gave her son an idea: "Bai Lishi saw that these people wanted to fight for power, which hurt qin and Jin, and I think Qin Bo must hate them very much, if he can get them, even if he eats their flesh, he is not willing, so why condescend to punish them!" Therefore, it is better to let them go back and let Qin Bo take them to the Fa-rectification, so as to dispel the anger in their hearts. What do you think? ”
Jin Xianggong heeded his mother's advice and released the three of them.
Bai Li returned to the Qin kingdom with a gray head and a dirty face, recuperated for several years, and finally could not hold back in 625 BC, so he requested the Duke of Qin Mu to send an army to attack the Jin state to avenge the revenge of Kunshan.
Qin Mugong saw bailishi's fierce fighting momentum and felt that this time it would definitely be a great gain, so he agreed to their request.
This time, the three generals who led the troops were still Bai Lishi, Xi Qishu, and Bai Yibing, who led a total of 400 military vehicles to attack the Jin State.
The Duke of Jin Xiang sent the Chinese general Xian and Ju to defend, and the two armies met at Peng Ya in the western part of the Qin State.
After the two sides lined up, the Jin general of che right, Wolf Yao, led more than 200 of his men to rush into the enemy position first, killing the Qin army in chaos, and then the main force of the Jin army launched a fierce attack, and the Qin army was defeated.
Defeated again! Although this time it was not as bad as the last time in Kunshan, in baili's eyes, it felt even more ashamed than the last time. Because the last time was an ambush by the enemy, this time it was a face-to-face confrontation.
On the way back from defeat, BaiLishi had people tie him up and get into the prison cart. This time he was to bear the responsibility for the defeat and did not want Qin Mugong to forgive him for his sins.
However, Qin Mugong, who has rich experience, knows that those who always sail in the downwind are not necessarily good boatmen, and the country's big ship can only be assured by those who have endured the wind and waves for a long time, or even overturned the ship. He gave encouragement to Bai Lishi and continued to put him in command of the army.
In the summer of 624 BC, Bai Lishi again requested to attack the Jin state in order to avenge the year.
In ancient times, there was a saying that there were only three things, so this time when Bailishi asked Qin Mugong for war, he deliberately expressed his determination: "If I can't win the battle this time, I will never come back alive!" ”
This time, he personally selected the elite soldiers in the country, prepared five hundred military vehicles, and in order to encourage morale, Qin Mugong took out a large amount of money to appease the families of the soldiers who went on the expedition.
The general mobilization of the whole country this time is indeed different from the previous two times, and the morale of the soldiers and the people throughout the country is high, and they are unanimously determined to win the war.
When parents come to the army to send their sons, and when wives also come to the army to send their husbands, although the mood is different, the words of instruction are all the same meaning - "If you don't win the war, don't come back!" ”
So the Qin army was mighty and began to cross the Yellow River in the east.
After crossing the river, BaiLishi ordered the warriors to burn all the boats crossing the river.
This order of his surprise surprised all the soldiers, and everyone was puzzled--isn't this an obvious retreat?
Indeed it is.
Bai Lishi explained to the soldiers, "Let's come out this time, fight a battle with our backs, and we will advance or retreat!" ”
The scrappy Qin army captured the Jin dynasty official, and in the battle, it was a pioneer in the battle, bravely charged and killed, and within a few days recaptured the two cities that had been taken by the Jin army last time, and also laid down several large cities in the Jin state, known in history as the Battle of Wang Guan.
The Qin army was invincible and flaunted its might; in view of the fierceness of the Qin army, the Jin army insisted on holding the city and refusing to fight.
The Qin army was unable to fight, so it turned south to cross the Yellow River from Maojin to the old battlefield of Kunshan, buried the remains of the Qin soldiers who died in the battle here three years ago, and set up a sign to commemorate it.
After all these things were done, the army triumphed over the class division.
This military operation of Qin Mugong greatly enhanced the international prestige of the Qin state and broke the myth of the invincibility of the Jin army.
After this battle, the Duke of JinXiang succeeded his father the Duke of Jin wen as the overlord of Zhongyuan, and there was a vacillation, and the Duke of Qin Mu took over the power of the Spring and Autumn Overlord as his successor, leading the Qin State to begin to run across the princes.
Resources:
"Left Biography" Spring and Autumn Zuo Qiuming
"History" Han Sima Qian
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