China’s Famous War (1)
1. The Battle of Zhuolu, about 4,600 years ago, the Yellow Emperor tribe united with the Yandi tribe to fight against the Chiyou tribe of the Dongyi Group ① A great battle was fought in the Zhuoxian area of ??present-day Hebei Province. The purpose of the "war" was for the two sides to compete for the Central Plains areas suitable for grazing and shallow farming. It was also the earliest "war" recorded in the history of our country, and had a significant impact on the transformation of the ancient Chinese people from the barbaric era to the civilized era. At Dongyi Group. The evidence is sufficient, let’s follow it now.
War is a social and political phenomenon, and it itself has experienced stages of development from scratch, from childishness to gradual maturity, with the evolution of social civilization. As early as the middle and late primitive society, armed conflicts occurred between various clans and tribes for the purpose of protecting their own living space and carrying out blood revenge. Since such conflicts are not yet aimed at plundering the means of production and engaging in class enslavement, they are not wars in the scientific sense, but are merely the seeds of war. But for the convenience of description, we still refer to it as "war". The legendary Shen Nong's attack on the axe, the Battle of Banquan between the Yellow Emperor and Emperor Yan, the Battle of Zhuolu when the Yellow Emperor defeated Chi You, and the war between the Communists and Zhuan Xu are the historical relics of this kind of "war". Among them, the Battle of Zhuolu is the most typical one. In the middle and late primitive society, the three major groups of Huaxia, Dongyi and Miaoman gradually formed in the vast area at that time. Among them, the Huaxia Group is centered on the two tribes of Huangdi and Yandi. They respectively arose in today's Guanzhong Plain, southwestern Shanxi and western Henan. After integration, it developed along the north and south banks of the Yellow River to the western part of the present-day North China Great Plains. At the same time, the Jiuyi tribe (a branch of the Dongyi Group) that arose in the lower reaches of the Yellow River in the junction area of ??today's Hebei, Shandong, Henan, Jiangsu, and Anhui, also under the leadership of its famous leader Chi You, based in today's Shandong, It develops from east to west and begins to enter the North China Plain. In this way, an armed conflict between the Huaxia Group and the Dongyi Group is inevitable. It was against this historical background that the Battle of Zhuolu broke out.
The outcome of the Battle of Zhuolu effectively laid the foundation for the Huaxia Group to occupy the vast Central Plains area, and played a catalytic role in further integrating various clans and tribes. The tribal leader Huangdi who won this war has since become the common ancestor of the Chinese nation and has been gradually deified. It can be seen that the Battle of Zhuolu was indeed a historic "war" that determined the basic outlook of our Chinese nation in the early days.
2 In the Battle of Mingtiao, "The Tang-Wu Revolution was in accordance with nature and in accordance with man."
"Yi Ge·Yun Ci" contains: "The Tang-Wu Revolution was in accordance with nature. The famous saying “Heaven responds to man”. The "Tang" mentioned here is Shang Tang Tianyi, the founder of the second ruling dynasty in Chinese history. He once led the Shang tribe and other allied tribes that resisted the brutal rule of the Xia Dynasty, and used violent means of war to overthrow the dying and decadent Xia Dynasty in one fell swoop and establish a new ruling order. What he did objectively promoted the development of history and conformed to the wishes of the people, so he was affirmed and praised by future generations. In this revolution, the Battle of Mingtiao was a key move.
Shangtang's "revolution" was a progressive move in politics, and the Battle of Mingtiao was a glorious masterpiece in the military history of our country. It is the earliest successful example of a quick victory in war in ancient China through the comprehensive application of "strategy", "diplomacy", "attacking troops" and "using time". It will contribute to the development of war and the construction of military theory in later generations. All have had a profound impact.
3 Battle of Muye "The Battle of Muye is vast,... the eagles are flying in the time, and King Wu of Liangbi is attacking the great merchants, and the meeting is Qingming"
The Battle of Muye is the occasion of the Shang and Zhou Dynasties. With the assistance of Lu Wang and others, King Wu led his army directly to Chaoge, the capital of Shang (now Qixian County, Henan Province), and defeated the Shang army in Muye (the area south of today's Qixian County and north of Weihe River), which was a strategic decisive battle to destroy the Shang Dynasty.
The Battle of Muye is a famous example of chariot warfare in the early days of ancient my country. It ended the 600-year rule of the Yin and Shang dynasties, established the Zhou dynasty’s rule over the Central Plains, and laid the foundation for the Western Zhou Dynasty’s slavery ritual and music civilization. It opened the way for all-round prosperity and had a profound impact on the development of later generations of history. The strategy and combat art it embodies also have significance for the development of ancient military thought that cannot be underestimated.
4 The Battle of Suige and the demise of "The Conquest of Ritual and Music came from the Emperor"
The Battle of Suige, which broke out in the 13th year of King Huan of Zhou Dynasty (707 BC), was one of the most important events in the Spring and Autumn Period. In the early days, in order to dominate the Central Plains, Zheng State defeated the Zhou Dynasty's coalition forces in a counterattack at Yige (now Changge North, Henan Province). This was also a counterattack by the Zhou Dynasty after history entered the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. The Zhou Dynasty weakened and vassal states rose up. They did not obey the emperor's orders and competed for hegemony. One of the most prominent symbols in the military field.
5 The Battle of the Changshao was stopped by silence, an immortal example of the weak defeating the strong.
The Battle of the Changshao took place in the spring of the thirteenth year of King Zhouzhuang (684 BC). , it was a chariot battle between the two vassal states of Qi and Lu in the early Spring and Autumn Period. It was also a famous example in the history of our country where the weak defeated the strong with a late strike.
At that time, the State of Lu occupied the eastern and southern regions of present-day Shandong and its capital Qufu (today’s Qufu, Shandong). It retained more of the ritual and music traditions of Zongzhou society and occupied a second-class status among the states of the Spring and Autumn Period. , compared with Qi State in terms of territory and national strength, it was at a relative disadvantage.
As for the State of Qi, it was the fiefdom of Lu Wang, Jiang Taigong. It governed a vast area in today's northeastern Shandong Province, and its capital was Linzi (now northeast of Zibo City, Shandong Province). The land there is fertile and rich in fishing and salt. After Taigong came to power, he promoted a series of policies such as "following the customs and simplifying the rituals", "adapting to local conditions and developing the economy", "cultivating talents to achieve merit", "cultivating Taoism", and using both rituals and laws. With correct policies, it has a developed economy and strong strength. From the Western Zhou Dynasty to the Spring and Autumn Period, it has become the leading power in the East. The Battle of Long Lao broke out under this background of strong Qi and weak Lu.
In the winter of 686 BC, a turmoil broke out within the Qi court. Gongsun Wuwu, cousin of Duke Xianggang of Qi, killed Duke Xiang and established himself as king. A few months later, Qi minister Yong Lin killed Gongsun Wuwu, so the throne of Qi became vacant. At that time, the exiled prince Xiaobai and his brother prince Jiu both wanted to take the opportunity to return to the country and inherit the throne, so a struggle for the throne broke out. As a result, it was the young master Xiaobai who took the lead and entered the country first to seize the throne. He was the famous Duke Huan of Qi in history. Prince Jiu, on the other hand, had bad luck and lost his life in this power struggle. His important adviser Guan Zhong was also recruited to work for Duke Huan of Qi, and later became an important founder of Duke Huan of Qi's hegemony.
Lu State stood on the side of Gongzi Jiu in this internal struggle of Qi State, and once publicly sent troops to support Gongzi Jiu in returning to the country to fight for the throne. But the result was that in the first battle at Qianshi, he lost his troops and generals, and returned with a great defeat. The actions of the Lu State further intensified the conflicts between Qi and Lu. Qi Huangong himself was even more resentful about this and refused to let it go, which finally led to the outbreak of the Battle of the Changshao.
In the spring of 684 BC, after consolidating his throne, Duke Huan of Qi relied on his strength and decided to attack Lu despite Guan Zhong's advice, in order to retaliate against the Lu State for supporting the prince to restore the country a year ago. , trying to conquer the State of Lu in one fell swoop and expand the power of the State of Qi outwards. At that time, Duke Zhuang of Lu was in power. When he heard that the Qi army was coming to attack, he decided to mobilize the whole country to fight against the Qi army. Just when Duke Zhuang of Lu was preparing to send troops to fight, there was a man named Cao GUI in the state of Lu who believed that the people in power were mediocre and incompetent and failed to make long-term plans. He couldn't bear to see his country being ravaged by the Qi army, so he went to see Duke Zhuang and asked to participate in the war.
Based on the objective situation that Qi was strong and Lu was weak, the Lu army met the invading Qi Che at Changshao (now northeast of Laiwu). Both armies were ready for a decisive battle. After the formation was completed, Duke Zhuang of Lu prepared to send orders to beat drums and attack the Qi army, hoping to strike first. Upon seeing this, Cao GUI hurriedly dissuaded him and suggested that Duke Zhuang stick to his position, wait for work, and wait for opportunities to defeat the enemy. Duke Zhuang of Lu accepted Cao GUI's suggestion and held back his troops for the time being. The Qi army was eager to win, and relied on its strong military advantage to launch a fierce attack on the Lu army. However, its three consecutive attacks were frustrated by the Lu army's tight defense. It failed to achieve the purpose of preemptive combat, but instead caused its own combat power to decline and its fighting spirit to be depressed. Cao GUI saw that the time had come and suggested that Zhuang Gong make a decisive counterattack. Duke Zhuang listened to his advice and ordered the Lu army to attack on all fronts. The Lu army then relied on their high morale to rush towards the enemy quickly and heroically, breaking through the Qi army's chariot formation and defeating the Qi army. Seeing the Qi army's retreat, Duke Zhuang was anxious to order a pursuit, but was dissuaded by Cao GUI. Cao GUI got out of the car and took a closer look, and found that the tracks of the Qi army were in disorder; he got on the car and looked into the distance, and saw the flags of the Qi army swaying this way and that. He concluded that the Qi army was indeed defeated, and then he suggested to Duke Zhuang of Lu to pursue. Duke Zhuang then ordered to pursue the Qi army, further inflicting heavy losses on the Qi army and driving it out of the Lu state. The Lu army thus won the final victory in the Battle of Changshao.
After the war, Duke Zhuang of Lu asked Cao GUI about the reason for winning the battle. Cao GUI replied: "Warriors rely on courage. When you beat the drums for the first time and charge, the morale is the strongest; when you beat the drums for the second time, the morale declines; when you beat the drums for the third time, the morale disappears completely. . The morale of the Qi army has been completely depleted after three rounds of drumming. On the contrary, the morale of our army is very strong. If we launch a counterattack at this time, we will naturally defeat the Qi army in one fell swoop." Then Cao GUI explained the reason for not launching an immediate pursuit: Qi is a powerful country after all, and should not be taken lightly, but should be careful to prevent it from pretending to be defeated and setting up ambushes to avoid undue defeats. Later, when I saw that their tracks were in disorder and their flags were crooked, I boldly suggested a battlefield pursuit. After what he said, Duke Lu Zhuang was sincerely convinced and nodded in agreement.
The Battle of Changshao was a rare setback in the history of Qi Huangong's struggle for hegemony, and it was also a rare victory for Lu in the long-term struggle between Lu and Qi. It had a certain influence on Duke Huan of Qi in adjusting and improving his strategic policy for hegemony.
6 The Battle of Hongshui broke the dream of fans of the old "military ceremony"
The Battle of Hongshui occurred in the early winter of the fourteenth year of King Xiang of Zhou Dynasty (638 BC). A battle between the Song and Chu countries for hegemony in the Central Plains was also one of the typical examples of failure in the history of ancient Chinese wars due to conservative thinking and adherence to rules.
After the death of Duke Huan of Qi, the first overlord of the Central Plains during the Spring and Autumn Period, the princes of various countries suddenly lost their leaders and became a piece of loose sand. The state of Qi was in decline due to civil strife. Jin and Qin also had their own difficulties and were temporarily unable to interfere with the Central Plains. In this way, Chu, a powerful southern country that had long been restrained by Duke Huan of Qi, attempted to seize the opportunity to enter the Central Plains and seize hegemony.
The northward advance of the Chu State, known as the "barbarian state" among the Central Plains countries, caused uneasiness among the small countries in the Central Plains. Therefore, Song Xianggong, who always advertised his benevolence and righteousness, wanted to use the Song Dynasty as a principality, the most prestigious title and the leadership of the princes. After quelling the Qi rebellion, he stepped forward to lead the princes to fight against the Chu State, inherit Qi Huangong's dominant position, and then wait for an opportunity to restore the old business of the Yin Shang Dynasty. However, at that time, the national power of the Song State was far inferior to that of the Chu State. Song Xianggong's overestimation of his own capabilities caused the conflict between Song and Chu to become highly intensified. The Chu State had no choice but to deal with Song Xianggong at that time. But he was very capable, so he deliberately tried to teach Song Xianggong a lesson, which finally led to the outbreak of the Battle of Hongshui.
Let us say that Duke Xianggang of the Song Dynasty devoted himself to striving to become the leader of the alliance. Although he was ambitious, his national power was limited after all. Therefore, he could only simply imitate the practice of Duke Huan of Qi and use "benevolence and righteousness" as a political call to convene the princes to hold alliance meetings to promote his alliance. Improve your reputation. However, his tricks were not only ignored by many small countries, but also scheming by the kings and ministers of Chu State. At the alliance meeting in Yudi (now northwest of Sui County, Henan Province), Duke Xianggang of the Song Dynasty refused to bring more military chariots proposed by the prince Muyi in advance to prevent the unexpected Jianhan Dynasty. His troops captured him alive.
The Chu army was advancing towards Song in the territory of Chen. In order to block the Chu army in the border area, Song Xianggong stationed troops north of Hongshui (a tributary of the Guo River, flowing southeast between Shangqiu and Zhecheng in present-day Henan), waiting for the arrival of the Chu army. On the first day of November, the Chu army advanced to the south bank of Hongshui and began to cross the river. By this time, the Song army had already set up its formation. In view of the huge disparity between the numbers of the Chu and Song armies, but the fact that the Song army had the upper hand, Song Dynasty's Great Sima Gongsun Gu suggested that Song Xianggong seize the opportunity and attack the Chu army when it crossed to the middle of the river.
However, Song Xianggong flatly refused, allowing the Chu army to successfully cross the Hong River. After the Chu army crossed the river, they began to form their formation. At this time, Gongsun Gu advised Song Xianggong to launch an attack while the Chu army had not completed its formation and the line was undecided, but Song Xianggong still refused to accept it. Waiting until the Chu army formed its formation and everything was ready, Song Xianggong beat the drums and attacked the Chu army. However, it was already too late at this time. The weak Song army was no match for the powerful Chu division. After a period of fighting, the Song army was severely damaged. Song Xianggong himself was also seriously injured in the thigh. His elite imperial guards (menguan) ) were all annihilated by the Chu army. Only with the desperate cover of Gongsun Gu and others, Song Xianggong was able to break through the siege and escape back to the Song Dynasty in embarrassment. The Battle of Hongshui ended with Chu's victory and Song's defeat.
Although the Battle of Hongshui was not very large, it had a certain significance in the history of the development of ancient Chinese wars. It marks the end of the "war of etiquette and justice" that has been characterized by "lining up and drumming" since the Shang and Zhou dynasties, and a new type of combat method dominated by "deceit and cunning" is emerging. The so-called "war of etiquette and righteousness" refers to the way of fighting that "focuses on partial warfare and despises deceitful warfare". It is an inevitable requirement for the old dense square formation combat. However, at this time, due to the increasingly sophisticated weapons and equipment and the continuous development of vehicle formation warfare, it has begun to fail to meet the needs of war practice and is gradually declining. Song Xianggong ignored this change in the situation and adhered to the old military doctrines such as "no drums, no formations" and "no obstructions", and suffered a tragic failure. It was really inevitable. This is just like what "Huainanzi" said: "In ancient times, when conquering a country, Huangkou was not killed and no two cents were obtained. In ancient times, it was righteousness, but today it is a smile. What was considered honorable in ancient times is considered humiliating today." ”
All in all, in the Battle of Hongshui, although the Song Army was at a relative disadvantage in terms of strength comparison, if the Song Army could rely on the advantage of occupying the danger of Hongshui and adopt the "half-attack" The flexible and ingenious tactics of "crossing and attacking" and striking first, can defeat the Chu army with a small number and a large number. Regrettably, Song Xianggong pursued "stupid pig-like benevolence and righteousness" (Mao Zedong's words), neither paying attention to strength building, nor lacking the necessary command skills. In the end, he overthrew his army and wounded his troops, making the world laugh.
As a result of the Battle of Hongshui, the Song Dynasty was unable to recover. Chu's power further expanded to the Central Plains, and the war for hegemony in the Spring and Autumn Period entered a new stage.
7 The Battle of False Way to Destroy Guo - "The winning troops must hide"
The Battle of False Way to Destroy Guo was the result of the Jin State deceiving the Yu State to take advantage of the road in the early Spring and Autumn Period. Killing two birds with one stone, he defeated two small countries, Guo and Yu, in one battle. Although the scale of this war was small, it revealed some important laws of military struggle and left important revelations and lessons for future generations.
Duke Xian of Jin targeted the two small countries to the south, Guo and Yu, for annexation. However, it was not easy for Jin to successfully achieve this goal. Although the two countries of Guo and Yu are small and sparsely populated and weak in national power, they share the same surname and are adjacent to each other and have an alliance. If the Jin State starts a war with any of these countries, it means that it must contend with the divisions of both countries at the same time. How to break up the alliance between Guo and Yu and avoid being trapped in a two-front war is the first problem that Jin must solve in its military operation to annex the two countries.
Finally, Xun Xi, the official of the Jin State, came up with a clever plan that killed two birds with one stone: bribed the Duke of Yu with generous gifts and treasures, broke up the alliance between Guo and Yu, and attacked the Guo State through false roads. Yu State fell into the trap and Guo State was defeated and then tried to move forward.
Soon, Xun Xi brought fine horses, jade and other rare treasures to the Yu State as an envoy. After arriving there, Jin met Duke Yu, presented his treasures, and formally proposed to Duke Yu to use the road to attack Guo.
The Duke of Yu was greedy for profit and accepted good horses and jade, but he did not dare to offend the Jin State easily, so he allowed the Jin army to pass through the Yu State's land to conquer the Guo State, and expressed his willingness to send troops to assist the Jin State in fighting.
In the summer of 658 BC, the Jin officials, Rick and Xun Xi, led the Jin army to attack the Guo State through the land of the Yu State. As promised, the Duke of Yu sent his army to join the Jin army, and then cooperated with the Jin army to launch a military campaign. action. With the active cooperation of the Yu army, the Jin army made smooth progress and quickly captured Xiayang of the Guo state (today's Pinglu, Shanxi), taking control of the strategic location between Guo and Yu in one fell swoop. Three years later, Duke Xian of Jin personally led his army to attack Guo State via the Yu State. Guo State was destroyed by the Jin army, and Guo Gong Chou fled to the capital (today's Luoyang) in a hurry. The Jin army then returned triumphantly, and when they were stationed in the land of Yu, they took advantage of its unpreparedness to launch a surprise attack, captured the Duke of Yu alive, and easily destroyed the state of Yu, ultimately achieving the goal of annexing the two countries.
The Battle of False Dao to Destroy Guo embodies the rich and profound art of military struggle, so it has been widely valued by military strategists of all ages. The famous military book "Thirty-Six Strategies" once established it as a strategy to summarize such an important law in military struggle: war leaders deliberately conceal their true intentions and take advantage of the enemy's greed for profit, fear and other weaknesses to attack the third party. Take advantage of the situation to infiltrate your own power and control the other party. As soon as the time is right, he will launch an attack with lightning speed, destroy or subdue the opponent in one fell swoop, and achieve the goal of killing two birds with one stone. In history, the false Taoist attack on Guo was often imitated by some people, and became a common strategic method in the process of taking advantage of the strong and the weak, and swallowing up the small. For example, in 963 AD, Zhao Kuangyin of the Northern Song Dynasty "falsely traveled to Jinghu", attacked and occupied Jinghu, and destroyed the separatist forces of Nanping and Wuping. This is a notable example. Of course, another layer of truth reflected in this battle also provided useful inspiration for the struggle practice of weak countries uniting to fight against powerful countries in later generations.
8 The Battle of Chengpu "Stand back and strike later"
The Battle of Chengpu took place in the 28th year of Duke Xi of Lu (632 BC). The first strategic decisive battle between Chu and Chu countries for hegemony in the Central Plains. In this war, the Chu army had an advantage in strength, but because the Jin army was good at "plotting" and "attacking diplomatic relations", and adopted the correct policy of exploiting strengths, avoiding weaknesses, and striking after the enemy in battle guidance, they finally defeated the invincible The Chu army "seized power and determined hegemony" and dominated the Central Plains.
Jin Wengong saw that the Chu army was approaching Taoqiu, the capital of Cao. In order to avoid the Chu army's sharp edge, he chose a favorable moment for a decisive battle to lure the enemy deeper and strike later. He then ordered the troops to take the initiative to "retreat to three houses" and withdraw to a predetermined location. The battlefield - Chengpu (now Pucheng, Henan) area.
The Jin army's "retreat" was actually an important move for Duke Wen of Jin to defeat the enemy. It gained the political initiative (Gong Wen once took refuge in Chu State. When he left, the King of Chu Asked how he would repay the Chu State in the future, he said that if war broke out, he would stay away) - "If the king retreats and his ministers commit crimes, it will be over there." This won the sympathy of public opinion. It created military advantages - it was easier to join forces with Qi, Qin and other allied countries to concentrate their forces; it stimulated the Jin army's officers and men to fight vigorously; they occupied the battlefield first and waited for work in leisure, etc. This laid a solid foundation for the Jin army to strike later and win the decisive battle. Regarding the Jin army's active retreat, many people in the Chu army felt that something was fishy and advocated waiting cautiously and stopping the pursuit. However, the headstrong Ziyu believed that this was a good opportunity to annihilate the Jin army and recapture Cao and Wei, so he sent troops to follow them to Chengpu.
Related links: Stay away
During the Spring and Autumn Period, Duke Xian of Jin believed the slander and killed the prince Shen Sheng, and sent people to capture Shen Sheng's younger brother Chong'er. After hearing the news, Chong'er escaped from Jin and lived in exile for more than ten years. When Xi Qi was the king of Jin for a short time, he was killed by his subordinates. Qin supported Yi Wu to return to Jin and become king. Later Jin Huigong attacked Qin, was defeated, and was pardoned by Qin.
After many hardships, Chong'er came to the state of Chu (after the death of Yiwu, Duke Hui of Jin), the state of Qin took Chong'er from the state of Chu to the state of Qin. When he was ill, he was sent back to the state of Jin and established as a prince. The king of Jin is also Jin Wenjun). King Cheng of Chu thought that Chong'er would do great things in the future, so he welcomed him with the courtesy of a nation and treated him like a distinguished guest.
One day, the King of Chu hosted a banquet in honor of Chong'er. The two drank and talked, and the atmosphere was very harmonious. Suddenly the King of Chu asked Chong'er: "If you return to Jin one day and become the king, how will you repay me?" Chong'er thought for a while and said: "You have beautiful women, precious silks, precious bird feathers, ivory and animal skins, etc. The land of Chu is rich in products. How can the Jin Kingdom offer any rare items to the king? "The king of Chu said: "You are too modest, but you should show me something, right?" Chong'er smiled and replied. : "With your blessing, I would like to be friendly with your country if I can return to power. If one day there is a war between Jin and Chu, I will definitely order the army to retreat three units (one unit is equal to thirty miles). If there is still a war, If I can't get your forgiveness, I will fight with you again."
Four years later, Chong'er really returned to Jin and became the king, the famous Duke Wen of Jin in history. The Jin State became increasingly powerful under his governance.
In 633 BC, the armies of Chu and Jin met in battle. In order to fulfill his promise, Duke Wen of Jin ordered the army to retreat ninety miles and stationed in Chengpu. When the Chu army saw the Jin army retreating, they thought the Jin army was afraid and immediately pursued it. The Jin army took advantage of the Chu army's weakness of being arrogant and underestimating the enemy, concentrated its forces, defeated the Chu army, and won the battle of Chengpu.
9 The Battle of Bi, the second battle between Jin and Chu for hegemony in the Central Plains
The Battle of Bi was a famous battle in the middle of the Spring and Autumn Period, between the two most powerful princes at the time. The second major contest between Jin and Chu for hegemony in the Central Plains. During the battle, the Chu army took advantage of the Jin army's internal differences, weak command and other weaknesses to attack at the right time and defeat its opponents, thus overcoming the humiliation of defeat in the Battle of Chengpu and temporarily gaining the upper hand in the struggle for hegemony in the Central Plains. As for King Chuzhuang himself, due to his victory in this battle, he was indisputably ranked among the "Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period" praised by history.
The failure of the Jin army was due to the late dispatch of the troops to aid Zheng; internal disunity of opinions; the commander Xun Linfu lacked prestige and was hesitant in times of trouble; he believed the Chu army's request for peace and relaxed They were on alert, giving the enemy an opportunity; when the war broke out, they panicked and rashly ordered a retreat across the river, putting themselves in danger; they failed to implement proper defenses when crossing the river, leading to chaos. As a result, they lost the initiative in the war and fell into defeat.
The victory of the Chu army lies in the superb combat guidance. King Zhuang of Chu personally led the Chu army, and the command was centralized and unified, unlike the Jin army, which acted independently. Before the war, he repeatedly sent envoys to investigate the actual situation of the Jin army, and pretended to sue for peace in order to gain political initiative and relax the Jin army's defense. During the battle, he challenged and responded to the challenge, turning the small battle into a big battle. He quickly launched a surprise attack and defeated the Jin army in one fell swoop. As for commentators, most believe that the Chu army did not carry out a fierce pursuit and thus failed to achieve greater results.
This is actually a misunderstanding that in the Spring and Autumn Period, battles followed the military etiquette principle of "running not far away".
Under the rules of military etiquette at that time, the Chu army could only "not be poor", and could not gather and annihilate the Jin army without being separated from the specific historical conditions.
10 The Battle of Yanling, the last scene of the Jin-Chu struggle for hegemony
The Battle of Yanling took place in the Yanling area (now Yanling, Henan) in June of the 11th year of King Jian of Zhou Dynasty (575 BC) southwest). In this battle, the Jin army was good at observing fighter opportunities and commanding cleverly, defeating its old rival Chu in the Central Plains competition, further consolidating its dominant position in the Central Plains region. After this war, both Jin and Chu gradually lost their strong momentum to compete for hegemony in the Central Plains with force, and the battlefield in the Central Plains began to fall silent. In this sense, the Battle of Yanling can be regarded as the last act of the Jin-Chu struggle for hegemony at that time.
The reasons why the Chu army suffered a defeat in this battle can be summarized as follows:
(1) The army was raised in a hurry and marched too hastily. "("Zuo Zhuan: The Sixteenth Year of Chenggong"), causing fatigue in the army; (2) blindly emphasizing on rushing to fight the Jin army before the troops of Qi, Lu and other countries arrived, which was too hasty; (3) failing to judge the Jin army's battle clearly intention, and took corresponding actions; (4) lack of adaptability during the battle, resulting in being passively beaten; (5) commander Zifan failed to observe military discipline, was drunk and made mistakes, causing King Chu to lose confidence in fighting again.
The Jin army showed high combat guidance capabilities in this battle: it dispatched troops in a timely manner, "occupied the battlefield first and waited for the enemy", and gained a certain amount of initiative. In the battle, he can not only make decisions based on the Chu army's formation and terrain characteristics, but also make preemptive strikes. He also changed his deployment in time, strengthened the two wings, weakened first and then became strong, thus defeating the Chu army in one fell swoop.
China’s Famous War (2)
11 The Chicken Father’s War: A wonderful scene in Wu Chu’s battle for Jianghuai
The Chicken Father’s War broke out in the first year of King Zhou Jing’s reign In the summer of 519 BC, it was an important battle between Wu and Chu in Jifu, Chu (now southeast of Gushi, Henan) to compete for hegemony in the Jianghuai River Basin. In this battle, the Wu army unexpectedly won and defeated the Chu army, thus gradually seizing the initiative in the Wu-Chu war.
The State of Wu was an emerging country. During the more than 60 years from Shoumeng to King Liao of Wu, the two countries had frequent wars with each other winning and losing. However, the general trend was that the State of Chu was weakened day by day, and the State of Wu was increasingly aggressive. gain the upper hand. The Battle of Chicken Father was an important battle in the long-term battle between Wu and Chu.
The Battle of Chicken Father was a heavy blow to Chu State. Shortly after the war, Chu Sima Chuan Yue committed suicide out of fear of guilt because Mrs. Chu left Wu State. The mediocre and incompetent Nang Wa assumed the important position of Ling Yin. From then on, the Chu army rarely took the initiative to attack the Wu army, and basically adopted passive defensive measures, gradually becoming passive in the Wu-Chu war pattern.
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12 The Battle of Baiju, “Destroying Chu in a Thousand Miles and Entering Ying in Five Battles”
"Historical Records" "The Biography of Sun Tzu Wu Qi" contains: "(Wu State) defeated the powerful Chu in the west and entered Ying; it defeated Qi and Jin in the north and became famous among the princes. Sun Tzu and Wu Qi were powerful!" What is said here is "the country of Wu defeated the powerful Chu in the west and entered Ying" One incident is the famous Battle of Wu and Chu Baiju that broke out in the 14th year of King Zhou Jing at the end of the Spring and Autumn Period (506 BC).
The Battle of Baiju was a large-scale, flexible and far-reaching battle in the late Spring and Autumn Period. The Wu army was flexible and maneuverable. Due to the enemy's use of troops, the Wu army used the tactics of roundabout attacks, retreating to tire the enemy, looking for opportunities for decisive battles, and far-reaching pursuits. They defeated Chu, their long-time rival, in one fell swoop. They dealt a very heavy blow to Chu, which had been the lord for a long time, and thus effectively changed the state of Chu. The entire strategic pattern in the late Spring and Autumn Period laid a solid foundation for the further rise of Wu State and its struggle for hegemony in the Central Plains.
Wu Jun's victory was first of all the result of revising politics, developing production, and enriching armaments.
Secondly, it is also a product of being good at "cutting off diplomatic relations" and gaining support from Jin and assistance from Tang and Cai. The third, and most important, point lies in his skill in combat guidance. The first is to adopt the correct strategy of tiring Chu and mislead Chu, which makes the Chu army exhausted and relaxed; the second is to correctly choose the favorable direction of attack, "taking detours as the straight line", taking advantage of the opportunity to carry out long-distance strategic attacks, making the Chu army Respond hastily to the battle in a very passive situation; the third is to seize the favorable opportunity for a decisive battle, strike first, and defeat the main force of the Chu army in one fell swoop; the fourth is to conduct a strategic pursuit in a timely manner, not giving the Chu army any chance to regroup and counterattack, and finally successfully win the war. victory.
The political and diplomatic reasons for the Chu army's failure lay in its political corruption, internal turmoil, disharmony between generals, enemies on all sides, and isolation. From a military point of view, it lies in the fact that it was negligent and suffered a surprise attack; it lies in the fact that its general is greedy and incompetent and lacks skills in battle; it lies in its reckless decisive battle and collapse in a single defeat.
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13 In the battle between Yue and Wu, "I have to lie down on the firewood and taste my gall. Lessons from the Years"
The Battle of Wu and Yue was the last war for hegemony between the two vassal states Wu and Yue on the lower reaches of the Yangtze River in the late Spring and Autumn Period. It started in 510 B.C. and lasted until 475 B.C., lasting for 35 years, including the Battle of Jiali when Wu conquered Yue, the Battle of Fujiao when Yue conquered Wu, the Battle of Lize and the siege of Gusu. , and finally ended with the death of Wu and the victory of Yue.
Wu Jun was besieged in Gusu for three years. Finally, exhausted, he broke out and fled to Zhansu Tai, but was immediately surrounded again. Fu Chai tried to imitate Gou Jian's old tricks and sued for peace. However, the Gou Jian at this time was not the Fu Chai of 20 years ago. In order to avoid indulging the enemy and causing trouble, Gou Jian flatly rejected Fu Chai's request. Fu Chai committed suicide in despair, and the state of Wu was destroyed. Yue took the remaining power from Wu's destruction and crossed the Huaibei River to form an alliance with the princes, finally realizing the last dream of hegemony in the Spring and Autumn Period.
The Wu-Yue War was a long-term contest between the two sides, full of twists and turns and full of drama. The story of Fan Li and Xi Shi has been passed down from generation to generation, and it is a good story for thousands of years; Gou Jian endured hardships while sleeping on the firewood, gathered together for ten years, and learned lessons for ten years, which is inspiring.
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14 The Battle of Jinyang (455 BC) unveiled the "three families" The historical curtain of "Jin"
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16 Battle of Jixi and Jimo; hold on To defend, implement the "Fire Bull Formation"
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18 Qin unified the six kingdoms Fighting the earliest unification war in Chinese feudal society
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19 Cheng Gao's Battle against Chu The Ending of the Han War
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China’s Famous War (3)
Pingxingguan Battle On September 25, 1937, the Eighth Route Army fought against the Japanese invasion of Pingxingguan. At that time, the Japanese Itagaki Division that invaded northern Shanxi invaded the Pingxing Pass and Yanmen Pass areas in northeastern Shanxi. The 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army set up ambushes on both sides of the mountain road that the Japanese army must pass through. After the Japanese army entered the ambush circle, they suddenly launched a fierce attack. After a day of fierce fighting, more than 1,000 enemies were wiped out, more than 100 vehicles were destroyed, and a large number of weapons and equipment were seized. This was the first major victory for the Chinese army since the beginning of the Anti-Japanese War.
Liaoshen Campaign From September 12 to November 2, 1948, our army launched a large-scale offensive campaign against the Kuomintang troops in the Northeast region. The War of Liberation was in its third year. The total strength of the Kuomintang army in the Northeast region was 550,000, which were concentrated in three isolated areas of Changchun, Shenyang, and Jinzhou. In accordance with the decisive battle deployment of the Central Military Commission and Comrade Mao Zedong, our Northeast Field Army concentrated more than 700,000 troops to first attack Jinzhou, then fight in western Liaoning, and liberate Shenyang and Yingkou. In this battle, the Communist Party of China annihilated more than 470,000 enemies and liberated the entire Northeast, bringing a new turning point in the national military situation.
The Battle of Huaihai took place from November 6, 1948 to January 10, 1949. With Xuzhou as the center, our army started from Haizhou in the east, ended at Shangqiu in the west, started from Lincheng in the north, and reached the vast area of ????Huaihe River in the south. , a large-scale offensive campaign launched against the Kuomintang army. At that time, there were 800,000 Kuomintang troops gathered in this area. Our army participated in the war, with more than 600,000 armed rebels from the Second Field, Third Field and some local areas.
During the battle, our army first surrounded and annihilated more than 170,000 Huang Botao Corps in the Xin'an Town and Nianzhuang areas east of Xuzhou, then surrounded and annihilated 120,000 Huang Wei Corps in Shuangduiji in the southwest of Suxian County, and surrounded and annihilated Du Yuming in the northeastern area of ??Yongcheng County. The three corps of the army annihilated more than 550,000 enemies in this battle, and the Kuomintang's reactionary group fell into a state of disintegration.