Chapter 2 The First Jin-Chu War: The Battle of Chengpu

The Battle of Chengpu was the first large-scale battle for hegemony in the Spring and Autumn Period, led by Jin and Chu. The four most powerful vassal states and almost all second-rate states at that time participated in this war.As we all know, the result of the war was the defeat of Chu State and the victory of Jin State.This war, which seemed to end in one day, was actually a process that lasted as long as four months.During the four months, the two warring parties used a lot of strategy, diplomacy, psychological games and military means. After going through many twists and turns, they came to the small place of Chengpu and drew their swords face to face.

Sun Tzu said: "He who is good at war can control people but not control others." It means that a person who is good at using soldiers can mobilize the enemy to come to seek war without being mobilized by the enemy.In the four months before the Battle of Chengpu, the people of Jin had been using containment strategies in a planned way in an attempt to force the people of Chu to leave Song and go north for a decisive battle.And when this day finally came, Duke Wen of Jin suddenly felt a little afraid again. He was afraid of the fighting power of the Chu army. Duke Huan of Qi roamed the Central Plains for thirty years, yet he dared not fight the people of Chu; Duke Xiang of Song was overwhelmed, and was beaten to death by the people of Chu in Hongshui.Will he follow in Song Xianggong's footsteps and become the laughing stock of everyone?

This worry became more and more intense after he watched the well-organized camp of the Chu people from a distance.One day, he heard someone singing in his camp: "The grass in the wilderness is luxuriant and flourishing. Let's abandon our old land to find a new one." What does the song mean. Hu Yan saw the hesitation in his heart, and said directly: "Let's go to war. If you defeat the enemy, you can give orders to the princes. If you can't defeat the enemy, we will retreat to the Jin Kingdom. There is danger in the mountains and rivers, and there is nothing to be afraid of!"

Duke Wen of Jin lowered his head and asked, "What do we owe the King of Chu?" This sentence fully exposed his timidity before the battle.Isn't it funny to talk about the kindness of the enemy instead of thinking about how to defeat the enemy in front of the enemy? Luan Zhi and Hu Yan looked at each other, and immediately said: "Many princes surnamed Ji in the north of the Han River have been wiped out by the Chu State. You can't forget this great shame because of the small favor of the King of Chu. Don't hesitate. Let's fight!" Duke Wen of Jin took a quick look at Luan Zhi, then lowered his head and fondled the teacup, and said, "I had a dream last night. I dreamed that I was fighting with the King of Chu. He knocked me down to the ground and sucked me on top of me." My brain is so scary!"

"That's a good thing. If you face the sky, you win the world; if the king of Chu faces the ground, you bow your head and plead guilty." Hu Yan immediately said loudly, his voice full of excitement. Duke Wen of Jin looked at Luan Zhi, then at Hu Yan, then at Luan Zhi, took a deep breath, and said, "Then, prepare for war." Whether Jin Wengong's so-called dream is real or fabricated by him has not been studied too much by the historians.However, whether the dream is true or not, it shows that he is subconsciously afraid of going to war with the Chu people, so he finds various reasons to avoid the war.

Luan Zhi and Hu Yan cut off his thoughts of escaping in time. At this moment, Cheng Dechen also had a strange dream in the opposite camp of the Chu army.He dreamed that the God of the Yellow River suddenly appeared and said to him: "Give me your horse crown and horse tassel, and I will give you the elk of Meng Zhu." Let me explain, Cheng Dechen has a little handicraft. Before he set off from Chu State, he made a set of horse ornaments with deerskin and jade himself, but he has never been willing to use it.Mengzhu is the name of a large lake in the Song Dynasty, and Milu is a place with lush water and grass by the lake.The God of the Yellow River wants to exchange the elk of Meng Zhu for the horse ornaments of Dechen. The metaphor is very clear: If you give me the horse ornaments, I will let you get the Song Dynasty.

This deal is really a bargain, but Cheng Dechen didn't know what to think, so he replied with two words: "No." After waking up, he also told the dream to his subordinates.Everyone looked at each other, not knowing what to say.His son Cheng Daxin and his subordinate Dou Yishen became more and more wrong, but it was inconvenient to advise him directly, so they invited a man named Rong Huang to do the work. When Cheng Dechen heard Rong Huang's intention, he quickly waved his hands and said, "Impossible, that is my favorite thing, no one will give it to me, and persuasion is useless."

Rong Huang persuaded: "As long as it is beneficial to the country, you should do it even if you die, let alone a mere set of horse ornaments? Dedicating it to the God of the River will definitely boost the morale of the army. What do you have to miss? ?” Cheng Dechen said impatiently: "It's none of your business here, go out." Rong Huang came out and said to Cheng Daxin and Dou Yishen: "It's not that God wants Yin to fail, but Yin Yin himself must fail." In April 632 BC, Cheng Dechen sent his general Dou Bo to the camp of the Jin army to fight.The war book said: "Please send warriors to play with us. You can watch from the railing, and the ministers will wait and see."

Duke Wen of Jin sent Luan Zhi to reply, "I understand what you mean. I have never dared to forget the kindness of the king of Chu to my widow, and I still remember it in my heart. Because of this kind of gratitude to Chu, even Ling Yin You, the widow, are also very awed, so you retreated again and again, and came here. But now there is no way to retreat. Please tell your generals to rectify your armaments and earnestly complete the mission of King Chu. We will fight tomorrow morning See you!" Although the words were humble, they were full of fighting spirit. Early the next morning, the Jin army assembled seven hundred chariots.Jin Wengong inspected the troops and said with satisfaction: "It is in order, and it can fight against the Chu people."

The formation that the Chu people put up was: Cheng Dechen led the central army himself, with the "Six Ruoao soldiers" as the guards of the central army, Dou Yishen led the left army, and Dou Bo led the right army.So far, Cheng Dechen still has confidence in himself that he will win. His pre-war speech has only six words: "Today there will be no Jin!" Aiming at the formation of the Chu army, the Jin army conducted an in-depth study and found that the weakness of the Chu army lies in the right army led by Dou Bo—a large part of the troops are the troops of Chen Guo and Cai Guo, the servants of Chu State, and their combat effectiveness is extremely limited. Fighting spirit is also very weak.Jin Wengong ordered Xuchen Jiuji, who was in the army, to ignore the Chu army, and concentrate on attacking the Chen and Cai armies first. They must be defeated in one fell swoop.

Hitting a snake and hitting seven inches, grasping the opponent's weakness and striking hard, is the essence of the art of war, and it is not esoteric at all. Xuchen Jiuji knew that he had a heavy responsibility to shoulder.After the battle started, he ordered people to cover the horses with tiger skins, and went all out to attack Chen and Cai's armies.The two armies of Chen and Cai collapsed at the first touch, and it also affected the Chu army led by Dou Bo.Not long after, Doubo's troops also collapsed. At the same time, the upper and middle second armies of Jin fought fiercely with the left and middle second armies of Chu respectively.Seeing the collapse of Chu's right army, Humao and Luan Zhi led the Jin's upper army to retreat instead of advancing. Luan Zhi ordered his men to gallop behind the chariot dragging branches, creating the illusion that the Jin's upper army was defeated.Dou Yishen led the left army of Chu State in hot pursuit, and when they passed the position of Jin State's Central Army, Xian Zhen and Que Qin led the elite of the Central Army - private soldiers of the public and clan, inserted into the ranks of the Chu army from the middle, It caused great confusion for the left army of Chu State, and the upper army of Jin State also killed the carbine, attacking from both sides, and defeated the left army of Chu State. After waiting for four months of war, the winner was decided in less than an hour. Cheng Dechen is worthy of being a famous general of a generation. He remained calm even in the face of defeat. He not only maintained the stability of the central army, but also gradually gathered the broken troops of the left and right armies, and retreated while fighting, and withdrew from the battlefield. "Spring and Autumn" records: "Jin Hou, Qi Shi, Song Shi, Qin Shi and Chu people fought in Chengpu, Chu Shi was defeated." "Zuo Zhuan" further added: "Chu Shi was defeated, Ziyu accepted his death and stopped , so undefeated." According to the supplement of "Zuo Zhuan", although the battle of Chengpu ended in the defeat of the Chu army, but because Cheng Dechen commanded properly at the last moment, the Chu army did not suffer a devastating blow. However, for Duke Wen of Jin, this victory was enough. After the battle of Chengpu, the Jin army occupied the camp of the Chu army, ate and drank the food left by the Chu army for three days, and then returned to the court with satisfaction. Four months ago, the army of Jin State set out from Jiangdu, passed through Wei State and Cao State to rescue Song State.Four months later, when Duke Wen of Jin returned from defending his country, he deliberately detoured to Hengyong in the State of Zheng and signed an alliance with Duke Wen of Zheng. Three months ago, Zheng Wengong personally went to the camp of the Chu army and sent Cheng Dechen a Zheng Guo army to help the Chu people fight.On the second day of the Battle of Chengpu, he sent people to the camp of the Jin army to ask for friendship with the state of Jin. Duke Wen of Jin sent Luan Zhi as an envoy to the state of Zheng and agreed to Zheng Wengong's request.The grass on the wall at the head of Xinzheng City can't be blown down regardless of the wind from the southeast to the north. King Xiang of Zhou got the news that Duke Wen of Jin had defeated the Chu army, so he went to Hengyong to congratulate him personally.Although icing on the cake is not as good as sending charcoal in the snow, but for Jin Wengong, the emperor's flower was sent at the right time.Without the emperor's congratulations, the battle of Chengpu was just a battle of Chengpu; with the congratulations of the emperor, the battle of Chengpu became a symbolic event of Jin Wengong's dominance of the world. In order to welcome the arrival of King Zhou Xiang, Duke Wen of Jin made a big deal and ordered people to build a palace in Jiantu for King Zhou Xiang to live in.During the month of May, a dizzying array of festivities take place at the Jiantu Palace: First, a grand prisoner offering ceremony was held.According to "Zuo Zhuan", a total of 100 armored chariots of the captured Chu army and 1,000 infantrymen of the Chu army passed by in line in front of the emperor.Zheng Wengong served as the master of ceremonies for the prisoner offering ceremony.All of this seems to be a repeat of history more than a hundred years ago. It was the time when King Ping of Zhou moved to the east. The ancestor of Jin Wengong, Jin Wenhou, defeated the Quanrong tribe and held a large-scale captive offering ceremony in Luoyi. His predecessor Zheng Wugong.It is conceivable that Zheng Wengong is now asked to serve as the master of ceremonies in order to follow the old practice of the year and increase the sense of historical mission of this prisoner offering ceremony. In addition, it needs to be explained again that, according to Zhou Li, the feudal lords can only offer victories to the emperor when they have contributed to the Siyi.Duke Wen of Jin held this captive offering ceremony, which meant that Chu was once again regarded as a barbarian country and expelled from China. A few days later, King Xiang of Zhou hosted a banquet in honor of Duke Wen of Jin. He not only gave Duke Wen of Jin a silk gift, but also held a grand ceremony of commanding orders.Three members of the royal family, Yin Shi, Wang Zihu, and Nei Shi Shu Xingfu, were ordered by the emperor to order Jin Wengong to be "Bo (ba)", that is, the head of the princes.King Xiang of Zhou also gave Jin Wengong the following items: 1. The clothes of the big ren and the clothes of the soldiers (dresses and military uniforms, which are equivalent to the yellow jackets of the Qing Dynasty); 2. One hundred red bows, one hundred red arrows, and one thousand pairs of black bows and arrows (a guard of honor, not for hunting); 3. A tank of royal wine (brewed with black rice, a good wine that nourishes yin and strengthens yang); 4. 300 warriors from the tiger's base (those brave fighters like tigers); 5. Jin Wengong's letter of appointment as "bo", which reads: "The emperor appoints uncle, appointed by heaven, maintains the stability of the Quartet, and eliminates things that the emperor does not like." (This is very powerful, equivalent to Shangfang sword, holding it can Beat the faint king at the top, and behead the treacherous officials at the bottom.) Jin Wengong repeatedly declined, but was forced to obey. He suppressed the excitement in his heart and said solemnly: "Chong'er thanks again and again, and I sincerely accept the arduous and glorious mission of the emperor." During the period of practicing the soil, Duke Wen of Jin paid homage to King Xiang of Zhou three times to show his respect.At the end of May, Jin, Lu, Qi, Song, Cai, Zheng, Wei, Ju and other countries held an alliance in the palace of Jiantu, and King Xiang of Zhou sent Prince Hu to preside over it.The meeting formulated and announced the "Declaration of Practicing the Earth": jointly support the royal family and do not infringe each other.If you break this oath, the gods will punish you, your army will be damaged, the country will not be protected, and it will harm future generations, regardless of age. The alliance of practicing the soil marks the emergence of a new generation of overlords since Duke Huan of Qi.This year, Duke Wen of Jin was already sixty-six years old. Some people are happy and some are sad.The battle of Chengpu made Jin Wengong's hegemony, and also changed the fate of many people. Naturally, Cheng Dechen was the first to bear the brunt.On the way back to the state of Chu, Cheng Dechen received a text message from King Cheng of Chu, which said: "If you return to China, how will you face the elders of Shen and Xi counties?" , after being destroyed by Chu State, became two counties of Chu State.Judging from this letter, Cheng Dechen's left and right troops lost in the Battle of Chengpu mainly came from Shen and Xi counties. A light sentence weighed heavily on Cheng Dechen's heart.The military law of the Chu State has always been harsh. When the King of Chu Wen was frustrated when he went out to fight against the Ba people, the yu (yu) fist kept him out. Returning, the fate waiting for him can be imagined. Cheng Dechen took this letter from King Cheng of Chu as an instruction to commit suicide.Both Cheng Daxin and Dou Yishen dissuaded him, asking him to wait until he returned home to meet the King of Chu.But Cheng Dechen was impatient. After waiting for two days, he did not wait for the king of Chu's order to pardon him. He went to a place called Liangu, took advantage of people's unpreparedness, and committed suicide. Dou Yishen planned to follow him, and hanged himself too, but unexpectedly, the rope was not secure, and when he was half dead, it broke suddenly.At this moment, the second messenger of King Cheng of Chu arrived just in time, announcing that Cheng Dechen and Dou Yishen were pardoned for their death crimes, and Dou Yishen thus saved his life. King Cheng of Chu felt very regretful about Cheng Dechen's death.One of the reasons is that although Cheng Dechen is headstrong and not a qualified handsome talent, he is still an excellent general. As long as he uses it properly, he can still do a lot for Chu.The second reason is that a long time ago, a wizard named Yu (yu) once said to King Cheng of Chu, "You, Ziyu and Zixi (Dou Yishen) will all die because of their strength." A few days after Dechen wrote that text message, he suddenly recalled what he said, and hurriedly sent someone to pardon Cheng Dechen and Dou Yishen, but only Dou Yishen was saved.After remorse, King Cheng of Chu appointed Dou Yishen as the county magistrate of Shang County, and not long after, he was changed to be the Gongyin of Chu State, in charge of Baigong.He may think that letting Dou Yishen do a job that is not dangerous can prevent him from dying because of his stubbornness, and at the same time prevent himself from being hit by a crow's mouth like a crow. When Duke Wen of Jin heard the news of Cheng Dechen's suicide, he was overjoyed and said, "This guy will never harm me again!" : "Lu Chen only wants to protect himself, he has no ambitions, so there is nothing to be afraid of." From this point of view, although Jin Wengong defeated the Chu people on the battlefield, he still regarded Chu as the most terrible enemy psychologically.If the overlord of the world is so afraid of Chu State, it is understandable that other princes are afraid of Chu State. During the Battle of Chengpu, some problems also occurred within the Jin army.The Chinese army of the state of Jin encountered a strong wind in a swamp and lost the Chinese army's battle flag. The flag officer Qi Mo was beheaded on the spot by the military judge for the crime of dereliction of duty.On the way back to the teacher, Jin Wengong's military chariot escorted the overseas Chinese who were homesick and went home privately in disregard of the military order, and was sentenced to death.Jin Wengong won the respect of the people for his strict rewards and punishments. "Zuo Zhuan" also praised: "Jin Wengong is a just man. The people are very convinced by the execution of Dian Jie, Qi Man, and Zhou Zhiqiao." The poem "Benefit this China, use Sui Fang" to describe Jin Wengong's punishment and reward is appropriate. In addition, there is another character whose fate has been changed is Wei Chenggong.Before the Battle of Chengpu, he was driven to Xiangniu by the people because he wanted to cooperate with Chu.After the Battle of Chengpu, he even felt that Xiangniu was not safe, so he fled to Chu overnight.When passing through Chen State, he heard the news that Duke Wen of Jin was meeting the princes at the Jiantu Conference, so he temporarily stayed in Chen State, and sent the doctor Yuan Yu (xuan) to assist his younger brother Shuwu as regent, and participated in Jiantu on behalf of the State of Wei. Alliance. Not long after, someone went to Chen Guo to report to Wei Cheng, saying that Yuan Zhen had enshrined Shu Wu as king.Yuan Yu's son Yuan Jiao has been following Wei Chenggong. After hearing this rumor, Wei Chenggong sent someone to kill Yuan Jiao regardless of indiscrimination.Yuan Yu was very sad, but he still devoted himself to serving Shu Wu and guarding the country. After the Alliance of Practicing Earth, the State of Wei officially separated from the State of Chu and attached itself to the State of Jin.According to the original agreement, Jin Wengong allowed Wei Chenggong to return to the country and reset.Shu Wu also sent people to Chen Guo to warmly invite Wei Chenggong to return home.But Wei Chenggong is a very suspicious person. He was expelled by the people of the country before, and there were rumors that Shuwu was going to snatch the throne, which made him very afraid that this was a trap, and he was worried that he would be murdered after returning. In order to ensure that the people have no second thoughts about him, Wei Chenggong sent doctor Ning Yu as a representative to hold a meeting with representatives of the people of Weiguo in Wanpu. Speaking of this Ning Yu, he is also quite famous in Chinese history.Confucius once said, "Ning Wuzi, if the state has the way, it will be wise, and if the state has no way, it will be stupid. His wisdom is comparable, but his stupidity is beyond reach." This Ning Wuzi who is "unmatched by his stupidity" is Ning Yu. The posthumous posthumous title was "Wu", hence the name.In the eyes of Confucius, Ning Yu is a smart person. When the country's politics is clear, he is very wise;His wisdom may be learned by others, but his ability to pretend to be stupid is second to none, even Confucius himself sighed. However, judging from Ning Yu's performance at the Wanpu meeting, it is not the kind of political slicker who "runs away when the situation is not good", but a very provocative speaker. The politicians of ancient Greece and Rome are not inferior.Let us listen to his speech to the people of Weiguo: "Heaven committed a crime on Wei, which caused disharmony between the monarch and his ministers. There was a disagreement on the big issue of whether to take refuge in Jin or Chu. That's why we are in trouble today. Now God has opened up the conscience in our hearts and let us abandon political disputes. Reunite together. Let me ask, if there are no people who stay in the country, who will defend the country; if there are no people who are traveling, who will look after the cattle and horses? Let us be of one heart and one mind, and ask God to strengthen our faith and never bring disaster to Weiguo. From now on, those who travel outside should not take credit for their achievements, and those who stay inside should not worry about settling accounts after the fall. If you break your oath and attack each other, please ask the gods and ancestors to see clearly and punish him!" According to "Zuo Zhuan", the meeting of Wanpu has indeed eliminated the psychological barriers of the people towards Wei Chenggong to a large extent, and sincerely waited for Wei Chenggong to return.But Wei Chenggong's heart disease is still not resolved, and this heart disease is Shu Wu. One morning, while Shu Wu was washing his hair in the palace, someone outside the door suddenly shouted: "Marquis Wei is back!" Hey, didn't you say you won't be back until three days later?Although Shu Wu was a little surprised, but his eagerness to see his brother made him have no time to think about it, and ran out of the palace with his wet hair in his hands: "Where is it, where is it? Come here, get ready to welcome the monarch." In the distance, a carriage came galloping, and the carriage was indeed carrying the banner of Duke Wei Cheng, but the people in the carriage were not Duke Wei Cheng, but his personal guards, Zhuan Quan and Hua Zhong.Seeing Shuwu kneeling at the gate of the palace, the son Zhuangou didn't say anything, and at the sound of the bowstring, a sharp arrow was accurately nailed to Shuwu's throat. "Brother, you..." Shu Wu muttered, blood gushed out, and he collapsed to the ground.He didn't understand until his death that he was ordered to take care of the country, and he took the initiative to invite Wei Chenggong to return to the country, why did he end up like this? No one can see it.But the real fun is yet to come.Not long after, Wei Chenggong arrived. When he saw Shuwu's body, he beat his chest and cried loudly, and asked, "Who did this, who did this?" Someone pointed to the son Zhuangou.A group of guards swarmed up, without any explanation, beheaded the son Zhuangou on the spot to show the public. I can only say that Wei Chenggong was a well-deserved "performance emperor" in that era. When Yuan Zhen heard the news, he neither cried nor made a fuss. He packed up his two clothes and fled to the state of Jin. Seeing Duke Wen of Jin, Yuan Yu handed over a bundle of thick bamboo slips.This bundle of bamboo slips, in the words of later generations, is a pleadings or indictment.When he came to Jin, he wanted to file a lawsuit against Marquis Wei for murdering Shu Wu. It is probably the first time in history that a doctor went to another country to sue his own monarch. After Jin Wengong received the bundle of indictments, he approved a few words: "Choose a date to open the court." So a month later, the lawsuit was held in Jiangdu, Jin Guojiang. According to the "Zuo Zhuan" records, this court trial was quite similar.The plaintiff Yuan Yu, the defendant Wei Chenggong, the defendant's assistant Ning Yu, the defendant's stand-in needle (zhen) Zhuangzi (the plaintiff and the defendant are not equal, so a stand-in was used), and the defense lawyer Shirong (Wei Guo's criminal judge).The judges are judges from the state of Jin. There is no record of the trial process, only that Wei Chenggong lost the case.The court pronounced on the spot: 1. Shirong was sentenced to death; 2. Acupuncture of Zhuangzi; 3. Ning Yu is commendable for his loyalty and righteousness, so he is exempt from prosecution; 4. Wei Chenggong was imprisoned and served his sentence in Luoyi, Wangcheng. Ning Yu was responsible for delivering food and washing clothes for him; 5. Yuan Yu will return to the state of Wei immediately, and the younger brother of Duke Cheng of Wei will be appointed as the king. Duke Cheng of Wei was imprisoned in Luoyi for more than a year. Duke Wen of Jin wanted to kill the weeds, so he ordered doctors to prescribe medicine for Duke Cheng of Wei, and poisoned the medicine.Ning Yu felt something was wrong, and bought the doctor with a lot of money to reduce the amount of poison in the medicine, so that Duke Wei Cheng was able to save his life. In 630 BC, Duke Xi of Lu interceded for Duke Cheng of Wei, and presented ten pairs of white jade to the emperor and Duke Wen of Jin respectively.After receiving this generous gift, the emperor also pleaded with Duke Wen of Jin.Therefore, in the autumn of this year, Wei Chenggong was released and returned to China. After many hardships, Wei Chenggong did not change his cunning nature.Before returning to the country, he sent someone to secretly meet with the great officials of the Wei state, Zhou Zhuan and Yejin, and promised, "If you help me restore my status, I will promote you to be ministers." Zhou Zhuan and Yejin killed Yuan Yu, Gong Zishi, and Gong Ziyi's younger brother Gong Ziyi as promised, and welcomed Wei Chenggong as king again.However, when the two of them put on Qing's clothes and came to the temple to accept the appointment, something unexpected happened: Zhou Zhuan walked in front and collapsed as soon as he stepped into the threshold of the temple. The land died without a disease.Seeing that the momentum was not right, Yejin quickly took off his clothes, expressing that he did not want to be a minister. At that time, people believed that this was Yuan Zhen's ghost taking revenge on Zhou Zhuan. "Zuo Zhuan" does not comment too much on Yuan Yu, but when describing Zhou Zhuan and Ye Jin's killing of Gong Zishi, it uses this sentence: "Zhou and Ye killed Yuan Yu, Zi Shi and Zi Yi." Please note that, The use of "killing" Zishi instead of "killing" Zishi shows that Zuo Qiuming has reservations about the legitimacy of Gongzi Shi's regime. Yuan Yu went to the state of Jin to sue, sue his own monarch, and with the help of the state of Jin, he supported the son to be the king. In Zuo Qiuming's view, it was definitely not the way to be a minister. In fact, in our view today, It may not be worthy of recognition to hand over domestic conflicts to the international community.