The Battle of Ai Ling was a famous battle in which the State of Wu defeated the Qi army in the Ai Ling region in 484 BC. In the 36th year of King Jing of Zhou, the combined forces of Wu and Lu annihilated 100,000 Qi troops at Ailing (present-day southeast of Laiwu, Shandong). As far as the State of Wu was concerned, its territory was located in the southern part of the Yangtze River in present-day Jiangsu and Anhui Provinces, as well as in the northern part of Zhejiang around Taihu Lake, and the Taihu Lake Basin was the core of the State of Wu. The capital of the State of Wu was located in Meili (present-day Meicun, Wuxi) in the early period and in the later period in Wu (present-day Suzhou, Jiangsu), and was one of the most powerful princely states in the middle and late Spring and Autumn Period, reaching its peak during the reign of King Wu and Fu Cha. During the reign of King Lu of Wu, the State of Wu defeated the State of Chu at the Battle of Baiju and invaded the capital of the State of Chu.
After The Reign of King Wu, King Fuchai of Wu naturally hoped to dominate the Central Plains and become the Overlord of the Spring and Autumn Period such as the Duke of Qi Huan, the Duke of Jin Wen, and the King of Chu Zhuang. Therefore, in the late Spring and Autumn Period, Wu Wang Fuchai attacked the State of Qi and fought the Battle of Ailing with the Qi army. In this battle, the State of Wu won a victory, and it can even be said that it was a heavy blow to the State of Qi. However, after the Battle of Ai Ling, Fu Cha did not continue to attack the State of Qi. So, the question is, in the Battle of Ai Ling, the State of Qi lost 100,000 troops, why didn't the State of Wu take advantage of the situation to destroy the State of Qi?
One
First, in 489 BC, the State of Wu attacked the State of Chen, and the following year attacked the State of Lu. By 484 BC, Wu Wang Fuchai learned of the death of Qi Jinggong and saw it as a good opportunity to attack the State of Qi. Thus, on May 27, 484 BC, the State of Wu united with the State of Lu to launch the Battle of Ailing. In this battle, the strength of the wu and other princely states reached 100,000 people, while the strength of the state of Qi was almost 100,000. The two sides fought a great war, and as a result, the State of Qi suffered defeat. In the Battle of Ai Ling, the Wu army captured the commander of the State of Qi, Guo Shu, and the grand masters Gongsun Xia, Lu Qiuming, Chen Shu, dong guo shu, etc., and received 800 cars and 3,000 jia.
The Battle of Ai Ling was a larger and more thorough encirclement and annihilation battle in the Spring and Autumn Period, because in this battle, the State of Qi lost 100,000 troops at once. As a result, the State of Qi, which lost 100,000 troops, could be said to have suffered a heavy blow. However, after the Battle of Ai Ling, the State of Wu did not continue to attack the State of Qi. In 483 BC, King Fuchai of Wu summoned the lu and Wei monarchs to meet at tuó (橐, camel) Gao. In this regard, in the author's opinion, after the Battle of Ai Ling, the reason why the State of Wu did not take advantage of the situation to eliminate the State of Qi was mainly divided into the following points. On the one hand, this is because in the Spring and Autumn Period, the elimination of major powers needed to bear relatively great pressure.
Two
During the Spring and Autumn Period, many weak and small princely states were eliminated one after another, such as the Jin State and the Chu State annexed many small surrounding states, thus becoming the two most powerful princely states in the Spring and Autumn Period. However, if you want to eliminate a big country, in addition to having the corresponding strength of your own, you also need to take into account the attitude of the Zhou royal family and other big powers. For the State of Wu, although it was a princely state surnamed Ji, because of its remote location and the usurpation of the title of king, the relationship between the State of Wu and the Zhou royal family was not necessarily close to the Qi state and the Zhou royal family. On this basis, if the State of Wu wanted to destroy the State of Qi, it would naturally not gain the support of the Zhou royal family. As for the great powers of the Jin, Qin, and Chu states, they were also unwilling to see the result of the destruction of the State of Qi, because it meant the rapid expansion of the power of the State of Wu, and thus they would compete with the above princely states for hegemony in the Central Plains.
Therefore, for Wu Wangfuchai, if the State of Qi is forcibly destroyed, it is likely to be opposed by the surrounding powers. As early as the reign of King Lu of Wu, the State of Wu defeated the State of Chu at the Battle of Baiju and invaded the capital of the State of Chu. As a result, because the State of Qin sent troops to help the State of Chu and other reasons, the State of Wu eventually retreated from the State of Chu and could not further capture the territory of the State of Chu. In the same way, Wu WangFucha naturally did not want to repeat the same mistakes.
Three
On the other hand, although the State of Qi lost 100,000 troops, the State of Qi, as a traditional State of Qi in the Spring and Autumn Period, still had the strength of a war. For the State of Qi, its territory was mainly in the area of present-day Shandong Province. Because of the boiling salt reclamation field and the rich side, the State of Qi was able to take the lead in the early Spring and Autumn Period, and gave birth to the Duke of Qi Huan, the head of the Spring and Autumn Five Hegemons. Although in the Battle of Ai Ling, the State of Qi lost 100,000 troops. However, this is not the entire strength of the State of Qi. If Wu Wang Fuchai continued to attack the State of Qi, he would still encounter fierce resistance.
On this basis, once the Wu army has been trapped in the battlefield of the State of Qi for a long time, it is not so easy to withdraw in time. In the eyes of many historians, the monarch of Wu WangFucha does seem to have a sober strategic vision in terms of strategy: when the Wu army annihilated the Qi army, it was able to calmly control the development of the war situation, decisively stop the war, and take the initiative to withdraw from the Qi state. This not only did not lead to deep resentment toward Qi, but also took into account the dangerous situation that Chu and Yue might attack the State of Wu from behind, and really played a role in intimidating the State of Jin, which was a clever move for far-sighted consideration.
Four
Finally, further, if Wu Wang Fuchai left the main force in the battlefield of the State of Qi for a long time, I am afraid that the State of Chu and the State of Yue behind it may take advantage of the opportunity to attack the State of Wu. As we all know, in the late Spring and Autumn Period, there was a long-term war between the State of Wu and the State of Chu, and the contradictions between the two sides were relatively deep. If there is an opportunity to weaken the State of Wu, the State of Chu will naturally not miss this opportunity. In the same way, there was also a long-term war between the Yue and Wu kingdoms. For example, after being defeated, The King of Yue, after being defeated, tried his best and prepared to launch a fatal blow against the State of Wu. Therefore, if Wu Wang Fuchai wanted to take advantage of the situation to destroy the State of Qi, then the State of Wu would probably be destroyed by the State of Yue and the State of Chu before the fall of the State of Qi.
In 482 BC, Fu Cha personally led a large army to the north, and met with the princes at Huangchi, Gou Jian took advantage of the fact that the elite troops of the State of Wu were outside, and suddenly attacked, and 5,000 Yue soldiers engaged wu soldiers. Cheng shu captured the prince of Wu. Ding Hai, the Vietnamese army entered the kingdom of Wu. From this, it is very obvious that two years after the Battle of Ai Ling, the Yue King Gou Jian did indeed sneak attack the State of Wu. However, Because Wu WangFuchai did not listen to Wu Zixu's advice, he was naturally defenseless, which led to the successful invasion of the State of Wu by the Yue army. In 476 BC, Gou Jian attacked Wu again. In 475 BC, Yue soldiers besieged the state of Wu. In November 473 BC, the State of Yue defeated the State of Wu. Soon after, Wu Wangfu almost committed suicide, and the state of Wu, a princely state surnamed Ji, was eventually wiped out by the state of Yue. Because the State of Wu was continuously at war with the surrounding powers, when the State of Yue destroyed the State of Wu, the latter could be described as a rebellion and separation, and could only accept the end of being destroyed.