Chapter 16 God of War Sun Tzu's first training session

He Lu finally got his wish, eradicating political enemies at home and abroad, and sat firmly on the throne of King Wu.However, there are still two people who make him worry, that is Wu Wangliao's two younger brothers, Prince Jianyu and Prince Zhuyong. When King Liao of Wu was killed, Jianyu and Zhuyong were leading troops to fight in Qiancheng, and they were cut off by the Chu army. The situation was very bad.The news of the coup d'etat in the country became the last straw that crushed the army. Jianyu and Zhuyong fled in the chaos, one to Xu State and the other to Zhongwu. In the summer of 512 BC, the third year of Helu's accession to the throne, he sent someone to ask Xu Guo and Zhong Wu for the two sons.The two fled to Chu State at the same time.King Chu Zhao was eleven years old at the time, and the military and political power was controlled by Ling Yin Nangwa.Nangwa showed great enthusiasm for the coming of the two princes of the state of Wu. He placed them in Yangcheng (now the border between Henan and Anhui), gave them a lot of land and servants, and sent Zuo Sima Shen Yinxu to build a city for them.

Helu was furious, and in the winter of the same year he led his army to destroy Zhongwu and attack Xu.The Xu people resisted desperately, and the Wu army built embankments outside the city to flood the city with mountains and rivers, leaving the earliest record of embankment and water diversion to attack the city in China.Xu Zizhangyu cut off his hair, took his wife out of the city and surrendered.According to the customs of Wu and Yue, men do not wear long hair (the tattoo cuts off the hair).Zhang Yu's move naturally expressed his intention of submitting to He Lu, which is the same reason as when the survivors of the Ming Dynasty wore pigtails.He Lu was also tolerant, and after a few words of comfort, he let Zhang Yu go, and let Zhang Yu's close officials follow him and fled to the state of Chu together.

The state of Chu sent Shen Yinxu to lead the army to rescue the state of Xu, but it was half a beat too late, so Zhang Yu had to be welcomed to Chengfu (place name, in today's Henan Province) to settle down. He Lu asked Wu Zixu: "I wanted to attack Chu State back then, and I knew it would succeed. But it was making a wedding dress for someone else, and the credit was given to someone else (referring to King Liao of Wu). Now that I am the king, you can give me advice. How should we deal with Chu State?" Wu Zixu said: "The king of Chu is young, and Nang Wa is an incompetent person, so it is difficult to convince the public. The current political situation of Chu State is chaotic, and there is no backbone. We can divide the army into three and attack Chu State in turn. Chu people don't know where they are. That is, as long as we hear that our army has violated the border, the whole army will definitely come out. If he goes out, he will return, and he will return to me. After a few times, they will get tired and relax their vigilance. At that time, we will attack with the whole army , will be victorious."

Wu Zixu's analysis was quite correct. The political situation in Chu State was chaotic mainly because Nangwa was fatuous and incompetent. "Zuo Zhuan" records that Chu Zuo Yin Quewan was upright and gentle, and enjoyed a high reputation among the common people.The right leader (official name) General Yan was jealous of Que Wan, and discussed with Fei Wuji to get rid of him.Fei Wuji spoke ill of Quewan in front of Nangwa.Of course, just saying bad things is not enough, Fei Wuji also has a good trick, which he used to deal with Chao Wu back then, and now he uses it to deal with Que Wan.

He said to Nangwa: "But I want to ask you to come to his house as a guest. This kid probably knows that you have a problem with him, so he wants to please you!" Nangwa smiled with a big belly Said: "Well, he is willing to approach me, and I will not refuse." Fei Wuji said: "Your lord has a lot, no wonder you can be Ling Yin." Turning around, he ran to Que Wan and said: "Ling Yin I offered to come to your house for a drink!" But he is upright and gentle, but lacks political wisdom, and can't see through Fei Wuji's way of turning clouds and rain.Hearing that Nang Wa was going to visit him, he felt flattered and said, "Oh, I'm just a servant, how dare I insult Ling Yin!" Fei Wuji said, "Look at what you said! What's the insult? You are the Chu State He is an important minister, and is very prestigious in the court and the public, so it is right for Ling Yin to come to the door in person." Que Wan said: "But my family's wealth is meager, and I can't provide anything decent to entertain Ling Yin!" "Is that so?" Fei Wuji asked. Scratching his ears and thinking for a while, he said, "It doesn't matter, Ling Yin is the best armored soldier, so you can prepare a few armors and weapons for him!"

Although Qiwan is poor, he is still a military commander, and his family does not lack military equipment.Immediately, he took Fei Wuji to the warehouse to look around.Fei Wuji picked out five sets of armor and five long daggers, and said, "Display these things in the doorway. When Ling Yin comes to see them, he must make a comment, and you can present them to him." But Wanxin thought, everyone said that Fei Wuji is a villain, so he really is a little clever.When giving gifts to leaders, the first is to give the right thing, the second is to find the right time, and the third is to let the leader receive it naturally.Without careful consideration, who would come up with such a good idea?So according to Fei Wuji's suggestion, on the day when Nangwa was invited to dinner, five sets of armor and Changge were displayed inside with cloth as a curtain.

Nang Wa happily went to Que Wan's house, and killed Fei Wuji on the way, panting beside the car and said: "I almost killed you! Que Wan invited you to dinner, so it was to harm you, all the soldiers were in ambush at the door It's over, please go back quickly!" Nangwa was taken aback, and sent someone to Que Wan's house to inquire, as expected!He hurried back to Lingyin's mansion and called General Yan over to give an explanation.General Yan had been prepared for a long time. As soon as he came out of Lingyin's mansion, he led the team straight to Quewan's house, surrounded the house tightly, and mobilized the people of Yingdu to attack with fire.

But Wanqing knew that he had been fooled, felt ashamed, and drew his sword to commit suicide.The common people have always loved Quewan, and they were unwilling to obey General Yan's orders.General Yan announced: "Those who do not participate in the fire attack will be punished with death!" When the common people heard this, they had no choice but to go!So some took a leaf of dead grass, and some took a piece of straw, and threw them lazily outside the courtyard of Que's house.The fire burned for a long time, but it couldn't be burned.General Yan became furious, and ordered the "sub-district office directors" to do it themselves, and then set Quewan's house on fire (at the critical moment, it is still up to the cadres).But Wan's whole family died in the sea of ​​fire. Only his son Bo Pi (pi) fled to the state of Wu, where he was named a doctor by He Lu and worked with Wu Zixu.

A fire broke out at the gate of the city, which affected the fish in the pond.Que Wan's friend Yang Lingzhong (the son of the former Ling Yin Yanggai), his two younger brothers, the doctor Jin Chen and his family members were all killed in this incident.The clansmen of Jin and Chen rushed to tell each other: "General Master Yan and Fei Wuji deceived my lord's youth, wreaked havoc on Chu, deceived Ling Yin, and killed innocent people indiscriminately." Shen Yinxu said to Nangwa: "What is the crime of Qiwan and Yang Ling? You killed them so hastily, which caused rumors to spread, and it continues to this day. I heard that even if a benevolent person wants to eliminate rumors, he would not kill people. But you It is difficult for me to understand why I was criticized for murdering people, but I didn't want to make up for it. Fei Wuji was a villain in the first place, and the whole country of Chu knew that the cases of Chao Wu, Da Zijian, and Wu She all came from him. This person covered the eyes and ears of the king, so that he could not hear and see. Otherwise, the gentleness, courtesy, courtesy and frugality of the former king (referring to King Ping of Chu) would be even better than King Cheng and King Zhuang. The reason why the former king Fei Wuji’s crime is unforgivable for failing to achieve hegemony! Now he’s coming to harm the innocent again, massacre Zhongliang, and damage your reputation. How can you tolerate such a thing?”

Nangwa was dejected after hearing this.Shen Yinxu also said: "Now that the new king of Wu is on the throne, on the one hand, he is making great efforts to govern the country, and on the other hand, he is rectifying his military equipment. The spearhead is directed at Chu. How do you cope?" Nangwa became nervous: "You're right, it's all my fault." In September 515 BC, Nangwa killed Fei Wuji and General Yan, and wiped out his nine clans. It is conceivable that it is difficult for such a Nangwa to discern Wu Zixu's wheel tactics in the face of his true intentions.As soon as the alarm of Wu country's violation of the border came, he mobilized the whole country to be alert, and sent the main force to the Wu-Chu border to stand by, but it turned out that it was a false alarm.After repeating this several times, the army of Chu State was exhausted, the common people complained, agricultural production was also greatly affected, and the whole country was in a state of tension.

At this time, Wu Zixu recommended a man named Sun Wu to He Lu. Sun Wu is a native of Qi and is said to be a descendant of the Chen family. In order to avoid political disputes in Qi, he fled to Wu. He lived in seclusion in Qionglong Mountain outside Gusu City. During this period, he met Wu Zixu. Sun Wu's meeting gift to He Lu was a heavy thirteen scrolls of bamboo slips. He Lu opened the first volume, and the first sentence that caught his eyes was "Soldiers, the great affairs of the country, the land of death and life, the way of survival, must be investigated."Smiling slightly, I thought to myself, it turns out that they are selling the art of war. This is true, but commonplace.Then go down and read "Therefore, the classics are based on five, and the collation is based on calculations, and the feelings are sought: one is called Dao, the other is called Heaven, the third is called Earth, the fourth is called generals, and the fifth is called Fa" (translated into modern language: Yao Analyze the situation of the enemy and ourselves from five aspects to judge the situation of the war—one is morality, the other is the right time, the third is the geographical advantage, the fourth is the general, and the fifth is the law). With a surprised expression, his appetite has been whetted.He continued down and read that "the Taoist makes the people agree with the above, they can die with them, they can live with them, and they are not afraid of danger" (the so-called morality is to make the people and the monarch's wishes consistent, so that they can Life and death are disregarded, not afraid of danger), He Lu stood up "teng", and said to Sun Wu: "Please keep this book, sir, and I will ask you for advice after I study it carefully." He Lu himself is a strategist and has rich actual combat experience, so he is very conceited about his military knowledge.However, when he spent three days and three nights carefully reading Sun Wu's thirteen volumes with more than 7,000 characters in the Art of War, he couldn't help admiring Sun Wu. In this book known as "Sun Tzu's Art of War" by later generations, Sun Tzu pointed out straight to the point that the primary factor in determining the outcome of a war is whether the common people agree with the monarch's will.This is what we often say now to unify our thinking.Only when the thoughts are unified, the brain is cleaned, the monarch consciously maintains a high degree of unity with the monarch, and is closely united around the monarch, can the monarch command the common people with ease, live as they want them to live, and die as they want them to die.In the era of cold weapons, a team that is not afraid of death is almost invincible.Later generations of Confucianists disapproved of Sun Tzu's thought, thinking that it was not benevolent and moral enough, that it was not people-oriented enough, and that they used living people as tools—obviously, they had never seen anything more powerful. Sun Tzu also pointed out that the so-called art of war is "deceitful way". It is necessary to try every means to confuse the enemy and make the enemy unclear about its own strength and intention; To launch an attack; plan ahead, strategize, and not fight unprepared battles; make quick decisions, not fight protracted wars, let alone use "refueling" tactics and recruit soldiers many times to join the war. What convinced He Lu even more was that Sun Wu proposed, "If you know yourself and the enemy, you will never be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you don't know the enemy but know yourself, you will win and lose once; if you don't know the enemy and yourself, you will be imperiled in every battle." Accurately grasping the information of the enemy and ourselves is the key to winning or losing a war. factor.Sun Tzu also pointed out, "The first is to attack the enemy, the second is to attack the enemy, the second is to attack the army, and the next is to attack the city." Take it to a new level.Think back to when Duke Huan of Qi and Duke Wen of Jin ruled the world, didn't they mainly focus on "seeking friendship" and supplemented by "attacking"? Then read "A good defender hides under the nine grounds; a good attacker moves above the nine heavens." Potential Ye" "He who is good at fighting will lead to others but not to others" "If you prepare the front, you will be widowed in the rear, if you prepare the back, you will be widowed in the front, if you prepare the left, you will be widowed on the right, if you prepare the right, you will be widowed on the left, if you are prepared for everything, you will be widowed at everything", He Lu didn't realize that his heart was surging. It seemed that he had found the answers to many questions that he was usually puzzled by, and he was able to draw inferences from one instance and broaden his thinking. Sun Tzu also wrote that whenever soldiers are used, "it is as swift as the wind, as slow as the forest, as plundering as fire, and as immovable as a mountain." To make a digression, Takeda Shingen, who was known as the god of war during the Warring States period of Japan, wrote these ten words On the military flag, as your own symbol.In his movie "Shadow Samurai", Akira Kurosawa truly reproduced the scenes of Takeda's army as fast as the wind, as fast as the forest, and invading as fire, and vividly expressed Shingen's immovable momentum.It's a pity that Chinese directors film ancient wars, which are only lively and lacking in spirit. When it comes to the quality of generals, Sun Tzu wrote: "Generals are wise, trustworthy, benevolent, brave, and strict." This is the character requirement for generals.He also said: "There will be five dangers: death, you can be killed; life, you can be captured; anger, you can be insulted; integrity, you can be humiliated; love the people, you can be annoying." As a general, he has the determination to die. As harmful as covetousness and fear of death, a bad temper makes it easier for enemies to find weaknesses.It is not a good thing to cherish reputation or love the people too much.In other words, generals must maintain a good mentality and a rational attitude, and must not act emotionally. When it comes to games on the battlefield, Sun Tzu said: "The three armies can win the spirit, but the general can win the mind." The method of using troops is not to rely on them not coming, but to wait for them; not to rely on them not to attack, but to rely on what we have to attack." To scratch them in anger, to be humble and arrogant, to overwork them when lost, to separate from relatives, to attack when they are not prepared, to catch them by surprise." Three days later, He Lu summoned Sun Wu and said, "I have read all your thirteen articles on the Art of War, and I have benefited a lot from them. However, theory is one thing, and practice is another. You can try it out for me." Bull knife, do you want to practice it on the ground?" Sun Tzu said: "Of course." He Lu deliberately asked him a difficult question: "Can it be used on women?" Sun Tzu said, "No problem." Helu then selected 180 concubines and maids from the palace to let Sun Wu practice.Sun Wu divided them into two teams, asked them to put on armor and pick up long halberds, and appointed Helu's two favorite concubines as captains, and started military training on the playground. Sun Wu held a small red flag, stood in front of the group of women, and asked, "Do you know the front, back, left, and right?" The beauties all said: "I know." Sun Tzu said: "Then, I beat the drums, and you follow orders. One drum, go forward ten steps; two drums, turn left; three drums, turn right; four drums, back three steps. Listen clearly gone?" The beauties said: "I understand." Sun Wu stood on the chariot, with a knife and axe on the left and right, repeated the rules again, and then beat the drums.Some of the beauties moved forward, some did not move, and some squatted down, laughing and laughing, making a mess.Sun Wu said: "It's the captain's fault if there is an order. I will give you another chance, listen to the rules clearly, and then follow them." So he yelled again.The beauties were amused by his serious look and thought it was fun, and they laughed collectively when they heard the drums beating.He Lu saw it from a distance on the stage, and couldn't help laughing. Sun Wu said: "I have issued repeated orders, but if you still can't do it well, then don't blame me for being rude." He ordered the two captains to be tied up and beheaded for public display.He Lu was taken aback, and hurriedly sent someone to tell Sun Wu, "Mr. is good at using troops. I have already seen it. If I don't have these two treasures, I won't be able to eat or sleep well. Please let them go." Sun Wu said: " Your Majesty ordered me to train the soldiers, that is to say, you have appointed me as a general. The general is out, and the emperor will not accept it." Still, the two women were beheaded, and two new captains were appointed. Two bloody human heads hung on the flagpole, and they couldn't understand why men were so cruel until their death.But the women who were alive finally figured out that this was no joke.So according to Sun Wu's instructions, he knelt up and sat down, front and back, left and right, in a well-regulated and meticulous manner.More importantly, no one dared to laugh anymore, only the sound of Sun Wu's drums and neat footsteps could be heard in the whole playground. After rehearsing for half an hour, Sun Wu sent a messenger to report to He Lu: "The soldiers have been trained. Your Majesty can come down and have a look. As long as your Majesty gives an order, they will have no problem even if they go through fire and water." He Lu was feeling distressed, and said, "Mister, please go back and rest, I am a little tired today." When Sun Wu heard the reward, he said with a smile: "It turns out that the king's words are in vain, and he can't use the truth." Having said that, a few days later, He Lu appointed Sun Wu as a general.Perhaps, in He Lu's heart, there was a somewhat cruel nature, which coincided with Sun Wu's. With the assistance of Wu Zixu, Sun Wu, Bo Pi and others, He Lu's career flourished and he accelerated the pace of invading Chu. In 511 BC, the Wu army invaded Chu and reached Chengfu, Qiancheng and Liucheng.Chu general Shen Yinxu led his troops to rescue Qiancheng, and the Wu army withdrew from the siege and returned.As soon as Shen Yinxu returned to his division, the Wu army surrounded Xiancheng (in today's Henan Province).Shen Yinxu had to go out to rescue Xian again, but Wu Jun still avoided fighting and withdrew voluntarily. In December of the same year, a solar eclipse occurred.On the eve of the solar eclipse, Zhao Yang from the state of Jin dreamed that a group of children were singing and dancing on the street with their buttocks naked. After waking up, he was very nervous and asked the doctor Shi Mo: "I had such a strange dream. Today there is a solar eclipse again. Should it be possible?" Could it be that something will happen to me?" Shi Mo counted and said, don't be nervous, your dream has nothing to do with the solar eclipse, it's just a dream.The solar eclipse this time indicated that six years later, the State of Wu would invade Yingdu of the State of Chu. Zhao Yang was taken aback: "Wu State can destroy Chu State?" He immediately thought that if Wu State could destroy Chu State, then Jin State would not be a problem, and sooner or later it would be invaded by Wu State.Back in the day, the state of Jin sent shamans to help the state of Wu develop its economy and train the army. Unexpectedly, in just a few decades, the state of Wu became so powerful that it made the state of Chu precarious, and the teacher of the state of Jin was shocked. Shi Mo calculated again, and said, "It's true that the State of Wu entered Ying, but it's not certain that the State of Chu will be destroyed." Zhao Yang heaved a sigh of relief. He Lu's chariot rolled forward.In the summer of 510 BC, the State of Wu attacked the State of Yue. This was the first time that the State of Wu used troops against the State of Yue.Shi Mo looked at the sky at night and predicted: "In less than forty years, the State of Wu will be wiped out by the State of Yue. This year, the year-old star shines on the State of Yue, and it is against the destiny of the State of Wu to use troops against it." In the autumn of 508 BC, Yin Nangwa, the order of the state of Chu, led his army to crusade against the state of Wu.In October of the same year, the Wu army defeated the Chu army in Yuzhang, took advantage of the situation to capture Chaocheng, and captured the defender, Prince Fan.He Lu was in high spirits, ready to drive straight in and attack Yingdu.Sun Wu stopped his actions and said: "The continuous use of troops in the past few years has made the people tired. It is not the time." In the face of the national crisis, Nangwa not only does not want to make progress, but becomes more greedy.In the winter of 507 BC, Cai Zhaohou came to visit Yingdu and brought two jade pendants and two fur coats, one of which was dedicated to King Chu Zhao, and the other was kept for himself.King Chu Zhao was very happy, put on a fur coat and jade pendant, and hosted a banquet for Cai Zhaohou.Seeing Nangwa, he was very envious, and cheekily asked Cai Zhaohou for it.Cai Zhaohou refused, so Nangwa "stayed" him in Yingdu. At the same time, Tang Chenggong, the monarch of Tang State, a small vassal state of Chu State, also visited.Nangwa took a fancy to his two Sushuang horses (Sushuang, the name of the horse), but couldn't ask for them, so he "retained" Tang Chenggong as well. Tang Chenggong's subordinates, some of them were particularly daring, poured wine on Tang Chenggong's cronies, stole two BMWs and presented them to Nangwa.Nangwa collected the money with one hand and delivered the goods with the other, and immediately released Tang Chenggong.Those horse thieves tied themselves tightly, knelt in the courtyard and pleaded guilty to Tang Chenggong: "For the sake of horses, the princes don't want to do it, and the country doesn't want it anymore. But we can't understand your love for horses." , give them up to others. If you give us a chance, we will definitely find two equally good horses to compensate you." Tang Chenggong heard that this is not an apology, it is clearly an apology!He personally untied them and said, "This is all my fault, and I have caused you to be wronged." He also rewarded them heavily. When Cai Guo's mission got the news, they were also enlightened and went to persuade Cai Zhaohou.At first Cai Zhaohou was very confused, he would rather be under house arrest than bow to Nangwa. Later, he couldn't stand the persuasion of everyone, and only agreed to give the jade pendant to Nangwa.As for the fur coat, Cai Zhaohou still had to wear it. The winter in Yingdu was cold and wet, so it was no joke. The next day when Nangwa went to court, he saw Cai Zhaohou's subordinates and said to the officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: "Caihou stayed in our country for so long because you didn't prepare a farewell gift. If you haven't prepared a gift by tomorrow If you want Marquis Cai to return home happily, you will be executed." The officials were furious and dared not speak out.Cai Guoren was angry and funny: You forced to take away the priceless jade pendant, and you still blamed us for being greedy for your symbolic farewell gift, how thick-skinned it is. Cai Zhaohou braved the bitter cold wind and set foot on his way home.The fur coat was still warm, but his heart was chilly.When crossing the Han River by boat, Cai Zhaohou sank a pair of white jade into the river and swore: "If I cross the Han River again, I will die!" Go to the state of Jin as a hostage, and ask the state of Jin to send troops to attack the state of Chu. Unexpectedly, the state of Jin agreed to his request.