When I was a child guessing word puzzles, someone always mentioned "Nanyang Zhuge Liang, sitting firmly in the Chinese military tent." Set up a gossip array, and catch the flying general. "This riddle, although it is a guessing animal, the mystery is: spider, but it is properly connected with the military master Zhuge Liang.
In fact, in the eyes of the people, there is no difference in nature between this front-line capture of the enemy and the predation of spiders.
Among them, the "Chinese army" is the exquisite point of ancient combat, which is the place where the general sits, basically in the middle of the army, there are soldiers around the circle, not only can combat orders be issued quickly, but more importantly, the safety of this position is very high. In ancient times, wars were not like today, and now communication technology is developed, which allows generals to line up thousands of miles away. In ancient times, generals were to move with the army, and as the "center" of the entire army, the general had the responsibility to keep himself from being harmed, and the subordinates also had the responsibility to defend their leadership.
From the Tang Dynasty to the Song Dynasty, the law clearly stipulates that if a person in the army abandons the commander and runs away, he will be beheaded; if the commander is killed or captured in battle, all officers in the army will be reduced to civilian positions, while ordinary soldiers are directly exiled for thousands of miles. The two armies are at war, as long as the commander is there, the conclusion of victory or defeat is not at the last moment, and no one dares to jump to conclusions. Therefore, protecting the life and safety of the commander is an important task of the whole army, otherwise everyone will be punished. It is said that when Liu Bang ordered Han Xin to attack the State of Qi, the number of men and horses led by Han Xin was very large and that of the other side, and he took a plan:
Let the elite light horse cut the path overnight to go to the other camp, and the next day he lured the troops to go deeper, and when the enemy army pressed on, this cavalry planted all the Han flags all over the Qi army camp. At this time, Han Xin had "no way to retreat", behind him was a big river, I saw him turn the horse's head, straight to the other side to rush to kill, his soldiers were also brave forward, the battlefield situation suddenly changed the direction of the wind, when the Qi soldiers turned back again, only to see the han flag of the big camp fluttering in the wind, and suddenly the army's heart was scattered. Some people don't understand the ancient combat, at that time it was mostly hand-to-hand combat, why were the soldiers still so desperate?
Just like this "backwater war", good water can be completely escaped, so why do they have to play so desperately?
It is their task to go into battle and kill the enemy, and it is their task to defend the manager. Everyone's fate is tied together, even if the battle is lost, as long as the manager is still there, it is not a big deal to go back and be punished, but once the manager is gone, they can only be deserters, otherwise the end will be more miserable.
Therefore, in ancient times, when fighting, it was very important to pay attention to how to find the flaws of the other side, and it was best to take down the opponent's general in one fell swoop, so that the other side basically lost without a fight. When Zhuge Liang died of illness, he ordered the withdrawal of troops before his death, he knew that his death would make the army uneasy, and the opponent was Sima Yi, who had a deep heart, so he let Yang Yi go back first without sending a message.
Looking at the general's ability is not simply to look at his strength in fighting alone, but the key is to look at his wisdom in coordinating and dispatching troops and his skill in managing the army. Even if there are guards around, if the enemy army is surprised, the probability of the general breaking the sword is still very high. Cao Cao fought countless battles and lost many battles in his life, the most famous of which was the Battle of Chibi. And the heaviest loss he suffered was the time when Zhang Xiu rebelled, and the eldest son Cao Ang and Dianwei were gone. So, don't think that "running for your life" is a shameful thing.
If Liu Bei had not been resourceful, he would have been able to escape at every critical moment, and where would he have been in the great cause of the Shu Kingdom later. It can be said that the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is a "history of escape" by Liu Bei. Even, several times in the process of running, even the wife, children, and relatives were "gone." On the battlefield, even if the defeat was very miserable, he had to escort the commander to escape, like Zhao Yun, he also turned back to look for Lady Gan and Ah Dou, which was relatively rare, if it were not for Zhang Fei's roar to suppress Cao Jun, the story behind it was estimated that There would be no Liu Bei.
In ancient times, there were also many wars in the area around the Two Rivers Valley, and the kings at that time had to lead the troops to fight, and the mainstream view was that the king of Urnam was killed on the battlefield, and one of his achievements was to compile the world's first code. In the history of China, there is no shortage of imperial conquests, that Ming Yingzong, almost cut off the Ming Dynasty's imperial court team to the hands of the Wallachians, and Zhao Guangyi was also wounded by an arrow when attacking the Liao State, and almost hung up. Like these emperors, they didn't think about it, in case they had an accident, what would happen to the army? What about the country?
Therefore, if you listen to some book reviews, you should only listen to them lively, and the real strategist general will not easily "show his face", he will only send a vanguard officer or a deputy general to meet the enemy, and his personal safety is not only related to the survival of the army, but even affects the direction of a country. As the commander of the army, the role of the general is more reflected in the fact that he is the soul of the army, he is like the flag, as long as he is there, the army is there, so that the guards around him will desperately try to protect him no matter what.
This is the reason why the probability of the death of the main general on the battlefield in ancient times was less, and the army without the general could not operate normally, which was the truth that was understood from top to bottom, so everyone would protect their own commander like a baby. Of course, there will be accidents, and if the manager loses his heart, his subordinates will also turn against him.
Resources:
【Book of Han", "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", "Romance of the Three Kingdoms"】