Chapter 21 Chapter 20 It Takes Three Drums to Win a Battle

In 684 BC, the army of the State of Qi had invaded the territory of the State of Lu, and the border guards of the State of Lu were vulnerable and collapsed one after another.Duke Zhuang of Lu was so anxious that he took ten catties of medicine to dispel fire a day.There was a commoner named Cao GUI in the state of Lu. Seeing this situation, he wanted to help his country very much, so he planned to meet Duke Zhuang of Lu and give him advice. Cao GUI's fellow countrymen advised him, "Let those big men who eat meat all day long take care of these things. Why worry about it?" Only after the age of 70 can people eat meat.

Cao GUI said: "The meat-eating people only know how to eat, and they have eaten their brains. How can they be counted on?" So he went to see Duke Zhuang of Lu.It stands to reason that the monarch cannot be seen by anyone who wants to see it, so although Cao GUI's status is a commoner (the so-called "common man"), he still belongs to the distant branch of the nobles.As we said earlier, at that time the capitals of the vassal states were called "countries", the big cities outside the capitals were called "capitals", and the small cities were called "city". The boundary between the city and the "city" is not very clear, and sometimes it is also called "the capital" (it seems that some residential areas without city wall facilities are also called cities, and we will not go into detail here).

Residents living in the capital are called "countrymen". Most of these people are distant branches of the nobility, and many of them are even somewhat close to the monarch.Some of the people in the country served the state institutions, the public, and the nobles (of course, officials at all levels were included among these people), and many were self-cultivating farmers. Their land was generally in the suburbs, not far from the country.There are still merchants engaged in commerce in the city. At this time, there is no policy of "emphasizing agriculture and suppressing commerce", so the status of merchants is not low.

There is another category of people that needs attention, that is, urban handicraftsmen. Although they also live in cities, they do not have the political rights that Chinese people should have.Because the craftsmen in the Zhou Dynasty were all slaves and directly belonged to the state, they were called "Hundred Craftsmen", and they had to engage in the same industry from generation to generation, so they basically had no personal freedom. Chinese people have a certain right to participate in and discuss state affairs, and their attitude can even determine the abolition of a monarch. For example, King Zhou Li, the tyrant of the Western Zhou Dynasty, was kicked out of power because he offended the people of the country and caused the famous "Chinese people's riots".Therefore, even the king should be polite to the people of the country.At the same time, compatriots are also the main component of the country's military power and are obliged to perform military service.Don't think that military service and war are hard work, which just forms the basis of the political rights of the people of the country.Isn't the power of the monarch embodied in the army?If the monarch does not coax the people of the country well, and the army will not obey the command of the monarch, then the monarch will become a poor commander?It can be seen that in the Spring and Autumn Period, the rights and obligations of Chinese people were balanced.

The areas outside the city are called "wild", and the residents of these areas are called "savages". (It is not the same thing as the savages in Shennongjia).Savages are not considered official citizens of the country and have no right to participate in politics. At the same time, they are not obliged to serve the country in the military.The savages are all farmers by profession, and they produce food, part of which is handed over to the country and part for themselves (strictly speaking, it is a kind of labor rent, which will not be discussed in detail here).It is precisely because they have no political rights that savages generally have no sense of belonging to their own country, and often make up songs in different ways to satirize the monarch and nobles.Many of the poems in it come from this way.

It seems that having a city hukou is still different. Some people use the theory of the division of five social forms produced in Europe to forcefully apply China's history, insisting that this period should be a slave society.It is true that there were slaves in this period, but we can’t see from the historical data that the slaves played a leading role in production, especially in agriculture. The people who cultivated the land were basically free people, even savages with low political status , and did not lose their personal freedom.Therefore, it is still inappropriate to use Western theories to enforce Chinese reality.

This Cao GUI should be a Chinese with suffrage.For the people of the country, the king dare not underestimate him, so Duke Zhuang of Lu received him.As soon as they met, Duke Zhuang of Lu couldn't wait to ask Cao GUI about the strategy to control the enemy, but Cao GUI took his time and asked Duke Zhuang of Lu instead. Cao GUI asked: "Now that the Qi State is invading, what do you think you can do to fight Qi State?" Lu Zhuanggong said: "I don't dare to enjoy food and clothing to myself. I have to share some with the people below. I think everyone will support me." One, but you can’t take care of everyone, so the common people won’t support you.” Lu Zhuanggong thought for a while, and then said: “I never dare to falsify the sacrifices to the gods. I write as much as I have. I think the gods may bless you.” Let's go." Cao GUI still shook his head, and said, "This kind of sincerity is nothing, and the gods will not bless you." Duke Lu Zhuang blushed, thinking about it, but he couldn't think of what else he could do I had no choice but to tell Cao GUI: "Although I may not be able to clearly understand all cases, large and small, I will definitely handle them as appropriate." Cao GUI smiled and said: "This is a performance of doing our best for the people. Based on this, please take me to the front line." Lu Zhuanggong was still worried, and asked: "Is it okay to just go like this? Don't you need to make a battle plan?" Cao GUI said: "The situation on the battlefield is changing rapidly. Sticking to the plan often leads to mistakes. Let’s adapt accordingly.” In this way, Duke Zhuang of Lu and Cao GUI took a chariot together and headed for Changshao (the place name of Lu State, some people say it is in the northeast of Laiwu, Shandong today, and some people think it is in the northeast of Laiwu, Shandong Province today. north of Qufu) to block the Qi army.Duke Huan of Qi led the army to Changshao. Seeing that the Lu army was ready for battle, he set up his formation.Duke Huan of Qi raised his arms and shouted, encouraging the soldiers to say: "In front of us is the Lu army that was defeated by us last year. They were terrified in the battle last year. Let's charge together and give them a good lesson!" If so, beat the drums.According to the regulations in the army, beating drums means marching, and beating gold means withdrawing troops.As soon as the drums sounded, the soldiers of Qi State rushed towards the Lu army's position like a tide.

Lu Zhuanggong ordered: "Hurry up and beat the drums, and compete with the Qi army." Cao GUI hurriedly stopped Lu Zhuanggong: "My lord, you are too impatient, don't rush to beat the drums, the enemy is in full swing now, we are not suitable to fight with them head-on." After hearing Cao GUI's words, Lu Zhuanggong was skeptical, but still followed According to Cao GUI's opinion, the drums were not beaten, and the Lu soldiers did not charge. The soldiers of the State of Qi rushed to the front of the army of the State of Lu, but the Lu army stood still, and the army of the State of Qi could not rush in, so they retreated.Duke Huan of Qi saw that this was not going to work, the attack could not be stopped, so he ordered the drums to be beaten again, and the Qi army launched a second attack on the Lu army.

But Lu Jun still didn't respond this time.The Qi army withdrew again.Duke Huan of Qi was also very surprised, what happened to the Lu army, don't they want to fight?Why don't they beat the drums?But the offensive on his side still had to continue, so he beat the drum for the third time.This time the soldiers of Qi State also learned to be good, knowing that the Lu army would not attack, so they charged symbolically, waved their weapons a few times, and then withdrew. Seeing that the Qi army was lazily retreating, Cao GUI said to Lu Zhuanggong, "Okay, you can beat the drums." The drums were loud.After three charges by the Qi army just now, the soldiers of the Lu army were all mentally suffocated, and they were all released this time.The soldiers of the State of Lu rushed towards the Qi army like fierce tigers descending from the mountain.

Qi Jun obviously did not expect that Lu Jun would take advantage of this opportunity to attack, and was caught off guard.The Qi army was in disarray and retreated in a panic.Duke Huan of Qi had no choice but to retreat. Duke Zhuang of Lu saw that he had defeated the mighty State of Qi, how excited he was.He raised the battle flag and shouted: "Hurry up, don't let Marquis Qi run away, we have to capture a few of their doctors before we can be ashamed!" Cao GUI hurriedly stopped Lu Zhuanggong who was about to run away, and said: "Don't rush to chase." Then he got off the car and looked at the ruts on the ground, then boarded the wooden board in front of the car, looked into the distance, and then turned to Lu Zhuang. Gong said: "Now you can let go and chase."

Only then did the Lu army pursue and attack, causing the Qi army to flee in all directions, in a panic. This is written in almost all books, but I always feel that there is something confusing about it. According to historical records, the Battle of Qilu Long Spoon was a battle in which the armies of both sides faced off in a plain area.The State of Lu did not rely on fortifications and firepower to defend there, so there should be no problem that the State of Qi could not attack the positions of the State of Lu but could not rush in.Because the soldiers of Lu State did not have fortified bunkers to cover them, even if the Qi army rushed over, they stood still, but they would still die if they were hacked with knives or pierced with spears.Therefore, the Qi army rushed to the front of the Lu army and then withdrew, which is also inexplicable.If the Lu army doesn't beat the drums to charge, then just chop them off. Are they made of steel and iron?When more people from the Lu army died, their positions would naturally become chaotic. The Qi army was not stupid, so why did they retreat? Therefore, the understanding of the phrase "Qi people three drums" in "Zuo Zhuan" has become the key. There is an opinion that in the war at that time, soldiers lined up in neat squares and advanced forward.Every time you hit the drum, you move forward for a certain distance, and then you have to stop and adjust the queue.When the adjustment is completed, beat the drum again and move forward.Generally speaking, if both sides of the war beat drums at the same time, as long as one drum or two drums are played, the armies of both sides can exchange fire, and then it depends on who can break through the opponent's formation first, and whoever wins.In this way, the so-called drumming three times actually only represents the three stages of an attack. In the battle of Changshao, the Qi army beat the drum first, but the Lu army did not move, and the armies of both sides did not make contact.Then the Qi army beat the drum for the second time, and the Qi soldiers walked to the front of the Lu army. At this time, the Qi army's formation was already in chaos, so they had to beat the third drum to adjust the formation.Just as the Qi army adjusted its formation, the Lu army took the opportunity to launch an attack.The Qi army dragged their heavy weapons and walked to the front of the Lu army. They were already tired, and the formation was not neat, so failure was inevitable. The author believes that this is the truth of the battle of long spoons.Duke Zhuang of Lu led the victor back home, but he was still a little confused about how the battle was won.He asked Cao GUI: "Why didn't you let me beat the drums earlier? Why didn't you let me chase after the victory?" So, there was the famous "Cao GUI Controversy": "A husband fights with courage. Fight with all your might. , and then decline, and three to exhaust. The other exhausts and I fill, so restrain it." This means that war is fought with courage.Drumming can inspire courage. When the drum is played for the first time, the soldiers go forward bravely, but when the drum is played for the second time, the courage is weakened, and for the third time, the courage is simply gone.At this time, our morale is high, and we can naturally defeat the Qi army. That's how the idiom "all at once" came about. As for why he didn't pursue immediately, Cao GUI's explanation was as follows: "It takes a long-term mind to fight against a big country. I saw that their ruts were messed up and their flags were crooked, so I was sure they weren't in an ambush, so That’s why I’m relieved to let you pursue it.” When Lu Zhuanggong heard it, it turned out that this was the case. Cao GUI is really a talent.So he rewarded Cao GUI heavily and appointed him as a doctor. Since then, Cao GUI has also become a person who can eat meat. The Battle of the Long Spoon ended with the defeat of Qi State.Although the scale of this battle was small, it left a lot of talk, and it can be regarded as a famous battle in the history of Chinese warfare.It not only left behind the idiom of "one effort", but also reminded future politicians and military strategists that war is a continuation of politics, and that to win a war, one must first obtain the support of the domestic people.If you want to win the support of the people in the country, you must cultivate your politics and be diligent in government affairs. According to historical records, after the Battle of Changshao, the Qi army did not retreat back home immediately.Duke Huan of Qi invited the State of Song to invade the State of Lu with him. Later, the army of the State of Song was defeated by the army of the State of Lu in Chengqiu (northwest of Ziyang, Shandong today). thoughts.However, the state of Lu actually defeated the attacks of the two great powers of Qi and Song with the power of one country. It can be seen that the strength of the state of Lu in the early Spring and Autumn Period was also strong enough. When Duke Huan of Qi returned to China, he felt quite humiliated.Thinking about Guan Zhong's persuasive words, they are really eloquent.It seems that we still need to accumulate strength first! So Duke Huan of Qi entrusted all state affairs to Guan Zhong, and also called Guan Zhong "Father Zhong" to show respect.In order to elevate Guan Zhong's status, Duke Huan of Qi also ordered that the whole country is not allowed to call Guan Zhong by his first name "Yiwu", but to use the honorific title "Zhong". Guan Zhong got the full trust of Duke Huan of Qi, so he reformed the internal affairs of Qi State and flexed his muscles.Qi's take-off began from this.