Is Song Xianggong benevolent or stupid? Song Xianggong was a benevolent and righteous man, and at the same time his benevolence and righteousness also achieved his reputation for stupidity, which many people still see this way today.
In 638 BC, the Song and Chu armies fought at Hongshui. When the Chu army began to cross the river, Sima Zi, a minister under Song Xianggong, advised him to take advantage of the Chu army's half-crossing to defeat the Chu army in one fell swoop. Song Xianggong did not allow it, saying, "A righteous gentleman should not take advantage of the danger of others." ”
When the Chu army crossed the river and landed, when the position was unstable, Sima Zi again suggested that Song Xianggong attack. Song Xianggong said: "No drums, no columns", we must wait for them to line up and fight a battle with them, this is what a gentleman does.
As a result, in the end, the Song kingdom was defeated, and Song Xianggong was also poisoned by an arrow and died a few months later.
Song Xianggong
In the Huainan Zi, it is said: "The ancients cut down the country, did not kill huangkou, did not get ermao, and in the ancient times they were righteous, and now they are laughing." So according to the ancient rites, Song Xianggong was "benevolent and righteous".
In the Spring and Autumn Period, the soldiers of the army were mainly the children of the nobles at that time, and the armies of various countries were not very many, and fighting wars was more like a "game" between nobles, whether it was a formation, the battle obeyed a set of fixed rules.
In the war at that time, the emphasis was not on "tactics", but on etiquette. The wars in the Spring and Autumn Period were all car battles, and the two sides agreed on a time and place. After arriving, line up, beat the drums, and the two sides drive to attack each other, and then divide the victory and defeat.
At that time, not only the children of the nobles, but also the monarchs often fought in person. For example, Jin Huigong was captured because he went into battle, and the same was true of the clan, and the younger brother of Jin Mourning Duke joined the army at the age of fifteen or sixteen, because he was too young to disturb the army.
In the spring and autumn when the war was fought, in the eyes of the present people, it is inevitable that there will be some child's play, the left biography records that the Jin state and the Chu state fought, lost, the Jin army fled, the soldiers of the Chu state chased after it, chased for a while, the Jin state's chariot fell into the pit and could not run, the chasing Chu army stopped chasing, and the Jin army said that you dismantled the big horizontal wood in front of the car to try, demolished, the car can move, but the car is still in the pit, the Chu army then gives an idea, you dismantle the big banner to try, the result is that the car comes out of the pit, the Jin army continues to run, the Chu army continues to chase.
As the Jin people ran, they turned back and said, "We still don't have as much experience as your big country in fighting and escaping." ”
Song Xianggong followed the "rites" of ancient warfare, so Sima Qian said, "When Song Xianggong was in power, he practiced benevolence and righteousness, and wanted to be an ally of the princes... After Xianggong lost the battle in Hongshui, some gentlemen thought it was commendable. Everyone lamented the lack of courtesy and righteousness in the countries of the Central Plains, so they commended him, because Song Xianggong still had the spirit of courtesy. ”
Song Xianggong was later seen as "stupid" for two main reasons.
One reason is that he is a false "benevolence", and Su Shi said that he did not cultivate morality, and that he was bent on thinking about how to help his people ascend to the position of overlord of the princes. Saying that his so-called "no drum, no column" and so on are all for the sake of selling fame and reputation, cheating and stealing the world. The result was not played well, and the eyes appeared. Su Che is also about the same point of view.
Another reason is that the concept of "soldiers, devious ways" is becoming more and more dominant, fighting wars, based on the principle of being able to win and winning, and if Song Xianggong pays attention to "tactics", he can win. The battle that could be won was lost by the "benevolence" in his mouth, and the man died. Isn't he stupid and what is he?
The "Left Biography" records the war, except for all kinds of red tape, there are not many killings. War does not depend on how many people kill or injure. From the late Spring and Autumn Period when Wu Chu and Wu Yue opened the war to destroy the country, to the Warring States, the Spring and Autumn Period and the ideas of "aristocratic spirit" and "war etiquette" have long been thrown out of the cloud of nine clouds, the purpose of the war is to attack the other side, all countries are trying their best to reward beheading, heads can be exchanged for knighthoods, and prisoners are killed in large numbers of pits and densely appear in the history books.
I think that people in later generations think that Song Xianggong is stupid, and he was stimulated, such as the Battle of Wuyue, the King of Wu did not kill the King of Yue, and as a result, the King of Wu did not kill the King of Yue, but instead destroyed the State of Wu, and he relied on everything for victory.
The wars of later generations are more and more wars between one's own and foreign nations, wars of aggression and counter-aggression, and wars of the Spring and Autumn Period are not of the same nature. For example, Song and Liao, if they still abide by the ancient war rituals of the Spring and Autumn Period, what is not stupidity? Originally, it is between the enemies, and of course, it is for the purpose of victory. In fact, this has nothing to do with benevolence or injustice, and is determined by the nature of war.
If we put Song Xianggong into the era he was in to evaluate him, he is not stupid, nor is he the only one who did it, the Battle of Qilu Long Spoon, in fact, Qi Huangong's approach is similar to Song Xianggong's, the Lu army does not move, the Qi army did not take the opportunity to rush to kill, but retreated, the result is again and again, three exhaustion. At this time, the Lu army attacked and won the war.
The times have changed, the nature of the war has changed, and if we treat the war like Song Xianggong at this time, we will really be stupid.
Then again, in any era, there are still rules to be observed in that era, such as the protection of civilians, the non-mistreatment of prisoners of war, the prohibition of the use of chemical weapons, and other rules of international law that everyone must abide by.
This does not contradict the emphasis on strategy and tactics in war. At any time, "benevolence" should not be seen as stupid. People are still good with integrity.
If some people want to ridicule those who follow the rules and compete fairly are the "stupidity" of Song Xiang's formula, and those who do not follow the rules and succeed by playing improper means are regarded as examples and models, then I really don't know what to say.