Attack cities and strongholds, destroy cauldrons and boats, destroy captives and annihilate enemies.
Sentence lexicon analysis:
To break the cauldron and sink the boat is a Chinese idiom, which first came from "Historical Records·The Benji of Xiang Yu".
This idiom refers to breaking the rice pot and scuttling the ferry. It is a metaphor for leaving no escape route and acting decisively. Generally used as predicate, object, and adverbial in sentences. Also written as "a broken cauldron sinks a ship" and "a broken boat sinks a broken cauldron".
Idiom meaning:
This idiom means determination to fight to the end and never retreat. Although it is safe and secure to leave a way out, it can also easily make people slack off and not strive for progress. On the contrary, when a person is forced into a desperate situation, his desire to survive will stimulate all the energy hidden deep in his heart in order to fight and achieve greater victory.