Chapter 35 Section 3 What military issues are discussed in the military books of the past dynasties

The content of military books in the past dynasties of China is extensive and profound, and its discussion is grand. It includes not only the content of the relationship between war, military affairs, politics, economy, science and technology, but also the content of various aspects in the field of war and military affairs.There are mainly the following aspects. Chinese military strategists of all dynasties have always connected politics with each other when discussing war and military issues.Although their content and expression methods vary with the evolution of the times and the different situations we face, the basic views that war must obey the needs of politics and that politics is the primary factor in determining the outcome of a war remain unchanged.During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, in order to meet the political needs of the contending for hegemony, all the vassal states implemented the policy of enriching the country and strengthening the military.Sun Wu regards "Tao" (i.e. politics) and "Which one has the right to master" as the primary factors for ruling the hegemony and determining the outcome of a war.Helu accepted his words and achieved the dominant position of "breaking Chu in the west, entering Ying, and strengthening Qi and Jin in the north".Wu Qi suggested that Marquis Wei Wen should "cultivate culture and morality internally, govern military equipment externally", reform politics, and strengthen the military.Wenhou used his tactics to create a strong situation of "opening up the land on all sides and expanding the land for thousands of miles".After Wu arrived in Chu State, King Mourning of Chu used his tricks to shake the world. "Huainanzi Binglue Xun" believes that "a large area and a large number of people are not enough to be considered strong; strong armor and sharp soldiers are not enough to be considered victorious; high cities and deep pools are not enough to be considered solid; strict orders and heavy punishments are not enough to be regarded as prestige." within the borders, but admire his virtue from afar." Only then can the princes obey.It can be seen that the book regards the implementation of benevolent government as the fundamental condition for a strong country.

In the late Ming Dynasty, the maritime police and border troubles came together. In order to meet the political needs of defending the country and protecting the country, Zhao Shizhen went to the court and put forward the strategy of defending the sea and the border, resisting the Japanese and rejecting captives. , to "defeat the fierce front".Similarly, in the late Qing Dynasty, Western powers invaded China, and the Qing army was repeatedly defeated. In order to meet the political needs of resisting foreign aggression, Wei Yuan put forward the strategic policy of "learning from the barbarians to control the barbarians with their skills", and suggested building strong ships and making sharp guns. Train elite soldiers for the purpose of controlling barbarians.In the late Qing Dynasty, under the voice of saving the nation and saving the nation, the court implemented a policy of military self-strengthening in an attempt to achieve the purpose of maintaining the rule of the Qing Dynasty.

Human beings' understanding of the relationship between war and politics has deepened with the development of history. Although the essential connection between them was not scientifically revealed by the Prussian military strategist Clausewitz until the early 19th century, the Chinese military Scientists have conducted in-depth research on this more than 2,000 years ago, and have achieved certain results, which are admired by future generations. War is a contest of power, and the economy is the basis on which war is conducted.War will cause huge consumption of resources for the nation. Without sufficient manpower, material and financial resources, it is not only unimaginable to win the war, but also the danger of defeat. Food will perish, and military strategists of all dynasties have advocated the establishment of a strong army on the basis of a rich country.When Sun Bin discussed the issue of strengthening the army with King Qi Wei, he clearly stated that "rich country" is "urgent to strengthen the army".Guan Zhong pointed out in the chapter "Guanzi·Governing the Country": "The country is rich, the soldiers are strong, the soldiers are strong, and the conquerors have a wide land." That is, only when the country is rich can we build a strong army; Defeat the enemy; only by defeating the enemy can we defend the land and protect the people and expand the territory.Our country has long been based on agriculture, and the agricultural economy dominates. The so-called rich country usually refers to the scene of abundance of grains and abundant warehouses.Therefore, Li Quan said that in the age without war, the country should "persuade farmers and mulberry farmers, and farmers and mulberry farmers will make the country rich. Lawless land is not enough to make a country rich, and lawless tactics are not enough to make it strong."Zhu Yuanzhang (1328-1398 A.D.), the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, imitated Zhao Chongguo (137-52 B.C.), the great general of the Western Han Dynasty, and vigorously developed the cause of farmland, implementing the policy of integrating soldiers into agriculture, so that there would be "reserved people" in the border areas. The sergeants "have no fear of lack of food", which guaranteed the victory of the Jianming War and the Unification War.During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, monographs such as "Liaodong Military Pay" and "Military Supplies Regulations" appeared on logistics and military supplies.

Refers to people's views and attitudes towards war.In this regard, the military strategists of all dynasties have clear views, and they have been deepened with the development of history.In Sun Tzu's "Art of War: Calculation", Sun Tzu clearly pointed out: "It is a major event for the country to be a soldier", and those in power "must not ignore it", which clearly reflects his war concept of "preparing for war" and "cautious war".Wu Qi analyzed the five causes of war and asked people to treat them with different attitudes.Sima Rangju put forward such famous sayings as "stop war with war, even if war is possible"; , It fully reflects Sima Rangju's view of war that he advocates opposing unjust wars with just wars, condemns militarism, and warns that those who forget the war will be in danger.The bamboo slips "Sun Bin's Art of War" expounded Sun Bin's dialectical viewpoint of "victorious and strong", and "those who enjoy soldiers perish".Xu Jianyin pointed out that the aggression nature of the great powers who disregarded their military arguments, used their power to claim troops, and bullied the weak, strongly called on "the whole country to pay attention to military science, train troops and prepare for war" in order to repel the aggression of the great powers.These expositions fully reflect the virtues of the literati of the Chinese nation who love peace, oppose war, do not fear war, and oppose unjust wars with just wars.

Looking at the works of military writers in the past dynasties, when discussing the issue of building and governing the army, almost all of them advocated that the country must establish an elite army led by good generals.The good generals they praise should not only be wise and courageous, both civil and military, but also have excellent qualities and cultivations such as wisdom, faith, benevolence, courage, strictness, loyalty, reason, preparedness, fruitfulness, precepts, and covenant.The army they admire is composed of well-selected soldiers, well-trained, strict discipline, fair rewards and punishments, obedience to orders, unity of heart, high morale, bravery in combat, desperate service, risking their lives and forgetting their homes, and daring to take risks. Wait for the spirit.An army composed of such generals and soldiers can be invincible in the world. The "Yue Family Army" and "Qi Family Army" are examples of this type of army.

From "Sun Tzu's Art of War" to "New Book of Military Science", all put forward the guiding principles of combat that meet the needs of the times, both general and special.To sum up, there are generally planning and deployment before the war, contingency measures during the battle, and aftermath handling at the end of the war.The planning before the war requires the war director to make careful deployment and contingency measures on the basis of fully evaluating and analyzing the power balance between the enemy and the enemy, that is, "knowing the enemy and knowing ourselves", and grasping the initiative to win the war; The highest requirement is to strive for the result of "total victory" as Sun Tzu said, "subdue the enemy without fighting".In the course of a war, war directors must be good at observing the overall situation of the war and taking care of all stages and aspects of the war's development; Different combat styles) and different weapons (weapons used by the enemy and us) can change the tactics at any time. We must not stick to rigidity, apply old methods, and stick to the past.At the end of the war, we must not be arrogant in victory and not discouraged in defeat, that is, we must sum up experience in victory, find out the shortcomings, so as to facilitate the next battle, and educate the people not to commit crimes against the people, treat prisoners of war well, and learn lessons from defeat , The whole army makes up for the shortcomings, and strives to turn defeat into victory in another battle.

All military books discuss this aspect from almost different angles.Through political training, the generals will have good general morality, and the soldiers will have the spirit of defending the country and dedicating themselves to the country; through military training, the generals will have good general skills, and the soldiers will have proficient techniques and tactics; The general has the ability to form formations, and the soldiers have the ability to be familiar with various battle formations. The military system includes the organization system of the army, the establishment of military attaches at all levels, and the recruitment of soldiers.In addition to the exposition of general military books, there are also many monographs, such as "The Military System of Past Dynasties", "Bu Han Bing Zhi", the Qing Dynasty's "Royal Military Records", and the special military system "Ancient Military Talisman" and so on.Military regulations include various regulations and laws of the past dynasties, such as the "Severe Punishment Order" and "Wuzhi Order" in "Wei Liaozi", the "Reward and Punishment Articles" in "Wu Jing Zong Yao", and the "Eight Banners Regulations" of the Qing Dynasty. ", "Ministry of Industry Military Regulations" and other regulatory regulations.

This type of discourse is mostly concentrated in various monographs in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.For example, "Nine Borders Research", "Nine Borders Maps", "Nine Borders Maps", "Nine Borders Maps", "Shanhaiguan Chronicles", "Sanguan Chronicles", "Four Towns and Three Passes", "Four Towns and Three Passes" in the Ming Dynasty "Creating Sea Maps", "Hail Defense Maps", Qing Dynasty's "Yang Fang Shuo Lue", "New Theory of Sea Defense" (Chinese translation), "Jiang Fang Tu Kao", "Jiang Fang Kao", "Jiangnan Classics", " Jiang Fang's General Theory" and so on.These monographs not only expounded the thought of Bian Hai (Jiang) defense, but also listed the history and charts of Bian Hai (Jiang) defense.

Military technology includes weapons, chariots, warships, military fortification, military communications, military transportation, military navigation, etc.The discussion of these issues is only mentioned in the general military book, without detailed discussion.In the comprehensive military book "Shen Mechanism Enemy Taibai Yin Jing", "Wu Jing Zong Yao", "Wu Bei Zhi", "New Book of Military Science", there are special categories.In the monographs on military technology, it is detailed and systematic, covering almost everything from design and manufacture to battlefield use.The monographs on cold weapons include "Remaining Farming Skills", "Records of Ancient and Modern Swords and Swords"; Works related to chariots include "Cheying Kouda Compilation"; monographs on warships include "Longjiang Shipyard Records", "Qingjiang Shipyard Records", "Southern Ships Records", "Soldier Ship Steam Engine" (Chinese translation); Military engineering monographs include "Shouchenglu", "Battlefield Jieyao" and "Battlefield Illustration" (Chinese translation).In the above-mentioned military book, it not only discusses the guiding ideology of making and using utensils, building and using vehicles, building and using ships, building and defending cities, as well as the viewpoints of insisting on innovation, striving for excellence, proficient skills and flexible use, but also in detail. It expounds the shape and structure of weapons, chariots, and warships, as well as the regulations and construction methods of military fortification and other military projects, techniques and tactics in various types of combat, and there are many drawings for reference by manufactures and users .

In addition to the above-mentioned issues, the military books of the past dynasties also discussed issues such as spy reconnaissance, military history, military geography, military astronomy, military weather, military occupation, military doctors, military horses, military garrison and border defense, and township and civil defense.His works include "Sun Tzu's Art of War · Yongjian", "Twenty-one History Strategy Research", "Reading History and Soldiers", "Biography of Seventeen History Hundred Generals", "Guang Baijiang Biography", "Summary of Reading History Fang Yu" ", "Grey Paintings Collection", "Ji Xiao New Book", "Bing Lu" and "Wu Bei Zhi", "Medical Prescriptions" and "Sacred Artifacts·Wo Qing Tun Tian Yi" and so on.