Chapter 3 In the third quarter, the Jin army "retreat three homes"

Although the Jin army captured the two countries of Cao and Wei, the state of Chu still surrounded Shangqiu, the capital of Song Dynasty, and the state of Song sent people to ask for help from the state of Jin.At that time, the two powerful states of Qi and Qin had been standing on the sidelines, and Duke Wen of Jin couldn't figure out what was going on with them. Therefore, he was undecided about whether to continue to advance troops to fight against Chu.Xian Zhen, the chief general of the Chinese army, suggested: "The best way is to ask Song State to send some benefits to Qi and Qin, and ask them to ask Chu State for personal favors and persuade Chu State to withdraw from the siege. We here detain Cao Gonggong, Then distribute part of the land of Cao and Wei to Song. Chu, Cao and Wei are allies. Seeing that the land of Cao and Wei is occupied by Song, they will definitely not accept the mediation of Qi and Qin. Qi and Qin Now that we have benefited from the Song State, we will definitely complain that the Chu State does not listen to their advice, so we have to send troops to join the war."

Xian Zhen's strategy of creating and utilizing contradictions based on the objective situation was appreciated by Duke Wen of Jin.Jin Wengong immediately carried out according to the plan, and as expected, he mobilized Qi and Qin to send troops to join the war.In this way, the balance of power between the two sides will greatly benefit the state of Jin. When King Cheng of Chu heard that the Jin State had established an alliance with Qi and Qin, he felt that the situation was not good for him. At the same time, he learned that Jin Wengong had been in exile for a long time, had gone through hardships, was familiar with the conditions of various countries, and had flexible political skills, so it was difficult to deal with of.Therefore, he instructed Ziyu, the chief general of the Chu army, to retreat in spite of difficulties and temporarily avoid a decisive battle with the Jin army.However, Ziyu, who was proud and underestimated the enemy, did not see the changed situation clearly, and still blindly demanded a decisive battle with the Jin army.He said to King Chu Cheng: "I dare not say that I am sure of victory, but I am willing to fight the Jin army to stop those who are afraid of the enemy and speak ill of me." King Chu Cheng listened to Ziyu. He neither fully agreed nor firmly opposed to the request. With the mentality of winning by chance, he allocated a small number of troops to Ziyu as reinforcements.

After Ziyu got reinforcements, he thought about how to fight against the Jin army.He played a trick and sent an envoy Wanchun to propose a "reconciliation" condition to Duke Wen of Jin: if the Jin army allows Cao and Wei to return to the country, Chu State can also withdraw its troops from Song State.This "reconciliation" condition made Jin Wengong very embarrassed.Hu Yan thought that Ziyu's conditions were too harsh to accept, and advocated sending troops to attack Chu.Xian Zhen disagreed. He said: "We are here to save the Song State in name. If we openly oppose the conditions proposed by the Chu State and cause the Song State to be destroyed, the princes of all countries will definitely blame us. In this way, Even though Chu became the benefactor of Cao, Wei, and Song, Jin became enmity with all three of them. Can we still win the battle if we make more enemies?"Xian Zhen then suggested to Duke Wen of Jin: "We might as well agree privately to Cao and Wei Fuguo on the condition that they break off diplomatic relations with Chu; at the same time detain Wanchun and provoke Ziyu to challenge him. In this way, the initiative is in our hands. It's here." Xian Zhen's strategy was very clever, he was able to get rid of Jin's diplomatic disadvantages in the complicated struggle, not to offend Song, but also to break up the alliance between Chu, Cao and Wei. Chu State fell into isolation.Jin Wengong readily adopted his suggestion, ordered Wanchun to be detained at that time, and promised Cao and Wei to restore the country.In gratitude, the two countries broke off diplomatic relations with Chu.In this way, Ziyu was really angered, and he immediately led the Chu army and other allied troops to Taoqiu, the capital of Cao, to attack the Jin army.

Duke Wen of Jin saw that the Chu army was approaching, instead of sending troops to meet him, he ordered the Jin army to retreat to the territory of the state of Wei.Some soldiers of the Jin army did not understand what was going on, and felt very strange.Hu Yan explained to everyone: "When you send troops to fight, the morale of the righteous army will be strong, and the morale of the wronged army will be low. Our monarch received the favor of the King of Chu when he was in exile. He once promised the King of Chu: If Jin and Chu both If there is a war in the country, the Jin army must be called to "retreat". Now our army is retreating, which is just a repayment to Chu. If we don't count, it means that the Chu army is right and the Jin army is right. If the Jin army retreats and Chu If the army still refuses to stop fighting, then the Chu army is attacking the Jin army, and the Chu army is at fault, so we have a reason to attack it."

The Jin army retreated 90 miles as planned, and withdrew to Chengpu in the territory of Weiguo.After the Jin army withdrew, the generals of the Chu army thought that the state of Chu had gained dignity, and they did not want to pursue the Jin army any more.However, the main general Ziyu was full of arrogance and refused to stop there. He ordered the Chu army to continue to advance, chased them all the way to Chengpu, set up camp, and prepared for a decisive battle with the Jin army.