Song Xianggong's "benevolence": do not trap people in misfortune, do not drum and do not form a column, the result is harmful to others and harm to themselves!
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="2" > 1/half crossing</h1>
The enemy and us on the battlefield are the relationship between you and me, so victory is the most important. In order to win, all kinds of tactics and tactics, and even shady tricks and tricks, are used to the extreme. For example, the "anti-inter-plot", "beauty plan", "concealing the sky and crossing the sea", "borrowing a knife to kill people" and so on, are also the same.
In ancient times, transportation was not developed, and when fighting across the river, it was much more difficult than the battle of the land plains. When fighting across the river, such a small amount of attrition in exchange for greater victory, ancient military experts have explored this in depth. For example, The Soldier Saint Sun Wuzi gave good advice in his "Sun Tzu Art of War":
"When a guest comes from the water, do not welcome him in the water, so that he will strike at the half-hearted, and he who wants to fight will welcome the guest without being attached to the water." ("Sun Tzu Marching")
What does this passage of Sun Tzu mean? To use modern language, it is the best to cross the river when the enemy crosses the water, not to fight in the water, but to wait on the shore, and then fight until he has just crossed the halfway point; if you want to fight with the enemy, the enemy has not yet crossed the river, you do not wait on the shore, stay away, otherwise the enemy will not cross the river. In short, it is "half-crossing and hitting".
Half-crossing means annihilating the enemy's army when it reaches halfway through the river. Because some of the enemy has already landed on the shore and another part is still crossing the river, at this time to launch an attack on the enemy at this time, the enemy will not pick up, the ranks will be chaotic, and it is easiest to be defeated at this time.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="8" >2/Battle of Weishui</h1>
The earliest example of the success of the "half-crossing attack" was seen in the historical records when the Qi ren Tian Yong Tho led an army to repel the combined forces of Jin and Yan in the late Spring and Autumn Period. When the Yan army wanted to retreat from the south bank of the Yellow River to the north bank of the Yellow River, Tian Hoang Tho launched an attack when the Yan army was halfway through the process of crossing the river, and as a result, the Yan army was defeated, and Tian Hoang Tho led the Qi army to take advantage of the victory and pursue, recovering all the lost land.
The most splendid example of the "half-crossing attack" was the "Battle of Weishui" in which Han Xin, the Marquis of Huaiyin, killed the famous Western Chu general Long He. Sima Qian vividly recreated this classic battle in the "Chronicle of the Marquis of Huaiyin".
In 203 BC, Han Xin led an army to attack the Qi army on the orders of Liu Bang, the king of Han, and King Guang of Qi asked Xiang Yu for help, and Xiang Yu sent the general Long Ji to lead 200,000 troops to save Qi. When the two armies had not yet met, some people suggested that Long and the troops should not move, and the deep ditch was high, and asked The King of Qi to send people to inform all the Qicheng Jianbi Qingye, so that Han Xin's troops would "have nothing to eat" and thus "surrender without a fight." However, Long Ji always looked down on Han Xin, thinking that there was no problem in defeating Han Xin, and that if he defeated, he would get half of the reward. In the face of the temptation of heavy rewards, the dragon refused to accept any advice not to fight.
Soon, the combined Qi-Chu army and the Han army faced off on both sides of Weishui (Huai River, Shandong). Han Xin ordered his troops to quietly use tens of thousands of sandbags to block the upper reaches of the Wei River in the night, and the next day, lured the Qi-Chu coalition to cross the river and fight. The proud and light enemy of the dragon did not know what the plan was, and wanted to lead his troops to cross the river, Han Xin ordered the Han army to pretend to be invincible and flee from the river. Long Ji was even more unscrupulous at this time, while laughing at Han Xin's cowardice and incompetence to his subordinates, he personally led a large army across the river to pursue the Han army.
Han Xin saw the Chu army crossing the river, and when the dragon and the army crossed the river nearly halfway, he ordered the soldiers to open the dam, and the river surged forward, and the dragon and the army suffered countless casualties, and those who did not die were suddenly confused. Han Xin saw that the other side's position was in disarray, led his troops to attack the vanguard troops that had landed on the other side, killed Long He, and the Qi-Chu coalition army was defeated, Han Xin took advantage of the victory to pursue, captured Qi Wang Guang, and pacified Qi with the Han generals Dou Bao, Cao Shan, and other generals.
Sui War, with the letter clip Wei Shui Chen. Han Xin is a night of more than ten thousand bags, full of sand, flowing on the water, leading the army half a crossing, and hitting the dragon. Detailed, still gone. Dragon and Guo Xi said, "Gu Zhi Xin Cowardly Also." "So I chased the letter to cross the water." The messenger breaks the sac, and the water is great. Most of the dragons and the army are not allowed to cross, that is, to strike sharply and kill the dragons. Long and Shuidong's army dispersed, and King Guang of Qi died. Xin Sui chased north to Chengyang, and all of them were captured by Chu Chu. (Chronicle of the Marquis of Huaiyin)
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="15" >3/Xianggong</h1>
Some people abandoned the "method of river warfare" with half the effort, but waited for the enemy to cross the river safely and set up a position before ordering his soldiers to fight, and as a result, they were defeated miserably, and even their own butt was shot by the enemy, and they died the next year. This person is the self-proclaimed teacher of benevolence and righteousness, song xianggong who refuses to take advantage of the danger of others, and who once became one of the "Five Hegemons of Spring and Autumn".
Duke Xiang of Song ,宋襄公, whose surname was Song (宋氏) and the great trumpet Song Zifu (宋子甫), was the second son of Duke Huan of Song during the Spring and Autumn Period, and was born to Lady Song Huan, the head of the Duke of Song Huan, so Song Zifu was a concubine. Song Zifu had a brother-in-law named Muyi, and his mother was only a concubine of ordinary status, so Muyi was a concubine.
Song Zifu's moral character is not bad, which can be seen from his "surrender of the country". In the thirtieth year of the Duke of Song Huan (652 BC), Song Zidu's father, Song Huangong, was seriously ill and difficult to treat, and began to explain the aftermath. According to the primogeniture system at that time, Song Zifu was supposed to be the successor to the throne, but Song Zifu pleaded in front of his father to cede the position of prince to his brother-in-law Muyi, who said that Muyi was not only older than himself, but also virtuous to himself.
However, Muyi also brushed off his brother's kindness and was unwilling to accept this heavy responsibility. In order to avoid his brother's concessions, Muyi fled to Weiguo, and Zifu's position as crown prince was not relinquished. In the end, Song Zifu was made crown prince as a concubine.
In March of the thirty-first year of the reign of Duke Huan of Song (651 BC), Duke Huan of Song died of illness, and the crown prince Song Zifu took the throne, becoming the 20th monarch of the State of Song and serving as the Duke of Song Xiang. After Princess Xiang of Song took power, she immediately recalled her brother Muyi and made him a chancellor, in charge of military and political power, and assisted her in handling the affairs of the dynasty.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="21" >4/Spring and Autumn First</h1>
During the reign of Duke Huan of Song, he participated in the alliance of princes many times, sent troops to rescue the states of Zheng and Xing, and stabilized the Zhou royal family. As the successor lord of the country, in that era of speaking with his fists, Song Xianggong also wanted to dress himself as a promising king. And then the opportunity came. This opportunity came from Xiao Bai, the duke of Qi Huan, who was known as the head of the "Spring and Autumn Five Hegemons" in a neighboring country.
Duke Huan of Qi was the twelfth grandson of Lü Shang, the Duke of Jiang, and the 16th monarch of the State of Qi. In his early years, under the protection of Bao Shuya, he fled to Juguo for refuge. After Duke Xiang of Qi and Gongsun died one after another, they preemptively returned to China and seized the throne. Duke Huan of Qi used Guan Zhong as his counterpart to carry out reforms, prompting the State of Qi to gradually become stronger. During his reign, zeng jiuhe princes, under the banner of "Zun Wang Zhiyi", attacked Shanrong in the north, attacked the Chu state in the south, and destroyed small states such as Tan, Sui, and Yan, and were repeatedly rewarded by Zhou Tianzi.
Soon after Song Xianggong ascended the throne, his father Duke Huan of Song had not yet had time to be buried, and he received an invitation from various princes of the Qi Huan Guild to join the league at Kuiqiu. At the Meeting of Kuiqiu, the Duke of Qi Huan read out the covenant to be observed on behalf of the princes. The main contents of the covenant are: it is forbidden to direct the flood to other countries; it is forbidden to sell grain because of the famine in other countries; it is not allowed to change the prince; it is not allowed to replace wives with concubines; and it is forbidden to allow women to participate in major state affairs. The treaty stipulates, "Whoever is allied with me, after having made an alliance, shall be reconciled." Through the grand event of Kuiqiu, Qi Huangong became the first overlord of the Central Plains.
At the meeting of Kwai Qiu, Song Xianggong also accepted the entrustment of Duke Huan of Qi: let him take good care of Crown Prince Zhao of qi in the future. It was this entrustment of the Duke of Qi Huan that laid the groundwork for Song Xianggong's future "idea of hegemony".
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="26" >5/king of small states</h1>
A generation of overlords Qi Huangong, heroic and courageous in his early years, but faint in his later years. After Guan Zhong's death, he appointed Yi Ya, Shu Diao, Kai Fang, Chang Zhiwu and others, and the State of Qi was in chaos. In the forty-third year of the Duke of Qi Huan (643 BC), Duke Huan was critically ill, and none of the five dukes (Gongzi Wufeng, Gongzi Zhao, Gongzi Pan, Gongzi Yuan, and Gongzi Merchant) did not have a single person to perform filial piety at the bedside, but each led his henchmen to compete for the throne. After Qi Huangong's death, the five princes attacked each other, the state of Qi was in chaos, Qi Huangong's body was left on the bed for 67 days, the corpse worms crawled out of the window, no one cared, a generation of overlords died like this, it was really chilling - it turned out that there was little perfect life in this world.
At the time of the great turmoil in the State of Qi, The Crown Prince Zhao of the State of Qi fled to the State of Song and asked Song Xianggong for help. Although the State of Song was very weak at that time, because Duke Huan of Qi entrusted him to take care of the crown prince before his death, Song Xianggong did his best to help Crown Prince Zhao return to the throne of the State of Qi, in order to serve duke Xiao of Qi.
After the death of Duke Huan of Qi, the position of overlord of the princes was vacant, and Song Xianggong also wanted to emulate the Duke of Qi Huan and join the princes to establish a hegemonic position. Muyi advised him: "It is a scourge to join the princes with the strength of a small country. Song Xianggong did not listen. It turned out that Mu Yi was indeed wise to Cifu, standing tall and seeing far, but unfortunately, his good advice Song Xianggong was difficult to listen to, and the result was to humiliate himself.
Ignoring his brother's advice, Song Xianggong insisted on meeting the princes in Ludi. Song Xianggong assumed the position of ally, which caused dissatisfaction among the Kings of Qi and Chu, and Song Xianggong made his own claims, and without the consent of the State of Qi and the State of Chu, agreed to meet the princes again in Ludi in the autumn of that year.
On the appointed day, the kings of the six kingdoms of Chu, Chen, Cai, Xu, Cao, and Zheng all came, and the Chu state had already ambushed the army. Song Xianggong and King Chucheng had a dispute over their struggle to become the overlord of the princes, and King Cheng of Chu suddenly ordered someone to capture Song Xianggong and take him back to the Chu state and imprison him, hoping to capture the Song state, until the winter of the same year, when the princes met in Bodi, at the mediation of Duke Lu, Song Xianggong was released.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="32" >6/Defeated by Renyi</h1>
After Song Xianggong returned to China, he heard that Zheng Guo supported King Cheng of Chu as the overlord of the princes, which made him very unhappy, so he decided to attack Zheng Guo. Muyi came again to dissuade him, but Song Xianggong still could not listen to his brother's good advice, and in the early winter of the fourteenth year of King Xiang of Zhou (638 BC), he personally led an army to attack the State of Zheng. Zheng Guo was invincible, so he asked the Chu state for help. The State of Chu sent the general Cheng Dechen to lead an attack on the capital of the State of Song, and Song Xianggong had to withdraw his army and return to defense. The two armies of song and Chu met at Hongshui (the name of the ancient river, so the road was about northwest of present-day Zhecheng County, Henan Province), and a great war was about to begin.
At that time, the situation was that the Song was weak and strong, and even ordinary soldiers could see that the two sides were fighting hard, and it was definitely the Song army that lost the battle. The only chance to win is to attack when the Chu army is halfway through, or to win the weak over the strong, and turn defeat into victory. The premise is to lead the Chu army across the river. Sure enough, the self-proclaimed chu army did not wait for the Song people to make a plan, and began to take the initiative to cross the river and rush to the Song army. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and Mu Yi hurriedly said, "There are many Chu soldiers and few our army, so take advantage of their crossing of the river to eliminate them." ”
However, Song Xianggong said, "We are the teachers of benevolence and righteousness, how can we take advantage of the fact that others cross the river to attack?" The Chu army crossed the river and began to deploy on the shore, and Mu Yi suggested, "Now you can attack." Song Xianggong said, "Wait until they have set up a good position before fighting." After the Chu army laid out its army, it rushed forward and defeated the Song army. In the melee, Song Xianggong's guards were killed, and his buttocks (thighs) were also shot by Chu soldiers.
The Song army suffered defeat and heavy losses, and everyone blamed Song Xianggong. Song Xianggong not only did not repent, but instead taught the people of the country: "A gentleman with a heart of benevolence and virtue does not attack the enemy who has been injured in battle, nor does he attack the elderly whose hair is already gray." In particular, whenever the ancients fought, they did not rely on the barriers to win, and although the widowed Song Kingdom was about to perish, it still could not bear to attack the enemy who did not have a good position. "Song Xianggong's words are all said here, what else can people say?"
The Duke of Song and the Chu people fought against Yu Hong. The Song people were already in a column, but the Chu people were not in good hands. Sima (Muyi Guan Bai Zuo Shi, Sima Shi) said: "He who is many and I am widowed, and who has not yet helped, please strike at them." "No." "It is not a line of good, but it is also a complaint." Gong Yue: "Not yet." "After Chen chen and then attacked, the Song division was defeated. Public wounded unit, doorman annihilated. Everyone in the country is to blame. Gong Yue: "A gentleman is not seriously injured, nor is he a bird or a feather." The ancients are also military, not obstructive. Although the widow has perished in the country, he will not be able to drum up a column. (The Left Biography)
As a result of the Battle of Hongshui, the Song State was devastated from then on, the power of the Chu State further expanded to the Central Plains, and the Spring and Autumn War for Hegemony entered a new stage. Regarding the defeat of Hongshui, Muyi was still grumpy and complained: "The purpose of fighting a war is to win, and what is the way of a gentleman!" If you really do what Xianggong said, go and serve as a slave, so why fight a war? ”
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="39" >7/Qianqiu comment</h1>
In the Battle of Hongshui, Song Xianggong, in order to protect the name of "benevolence and righteousness", did not pay attention to strength building, but also lacked the necessary command ability, and eventually overthrew the army and injured the stock, laughing for the world. The Battle of Hongshui also marked the withdrawal of the "righteous soldiers" from the stage of history since the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, which were mainly "columns and drums", and the rise of a new type of combat method dominated by "deceitful and strange plots". As the "Huainan Zi" said: "The ancient country, do not kill Huangkou (children), do not get ermao (veterans), in the ancient for righteousness, in the present is laughter, the reason why the ancient is the glory, the reason why the present is humiliating." ”
After the defeat at the Battle of Hongshui, Song Xianggong retreated to the palace of Xiangyi in the Song state to recuperate, and the following summer, Song Xianggong died of a traumatic attack. Although Song Xianggong was listed by his descendants as one of the five hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period, in fact, he did not really get the status of the overlord of the princes, and the defeat of Hongshui made the descendants laugh at Song Xianggong for a thousand years.
Nevertheless, Song Xianggong was a controversial historical figure, and his evaluation was polarized, with praisers believing that he was benevolent and trustworthy and aristocratic; critics considered him hypocritical and brutal, typical of false Taoism.
So, in your opinion, the "benevolence" of Song Xiang's formula should be evaluated from the perspective of history or reality? Feel free to leave a message and share your views.
(Image from the Internet)