In traditional storytelling , there is often a scene like this - when two armies meet, their respective commanders talk to each other in front of them, and they do not speculate, but take action on the spot. The winning side will often win the final battle.
In these scenes, the coach played on his own initiative.
However, during the Spring and Autumn Period more than 2,000 years ago, there was an army commander who was passively being pulled by his driver into the enemy army and was captured by mistake.
Who is such a useless coach? Why did his coachman betray his coach?
The internal and external situation of Song Kingdom before the Battle of Song and Zheng
It is said that King Wu defeated Zhou , overthrew the rule of Shang Dynasty and established Zhou Dynasty . The rulers of the Zhou Dynasty did not exterminate all the descendants of the Shang Dynasty , but moved them to what is now eastern Henan. They made Weizi Qi, the concubine brother of King Zhou of Shang , the duke and established the Song Dynasty.
During the ninth generation of the Song Dynasty, Haojing, the capital of Zhou Dynasty, was conquered by barbarians from the west. The rulers of the dynasty re-established the country in Luoyang, which was known as the Eastern Zhou Dynasty in history. Chinese history officially entered the Spring and Autumn Period.
After that, the Zhou Dynasty's control over the vassal states was greatly weakened, and some restless princes of the vassal states began to seek hegemony. The familiar "Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period" came from this period, and the Song Dynasty was the "Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period " One .
Then, the title of duke of the Song Dynasty was passed down for thirteen generations. When the 22nd king of the Song Dynasty Song Wengong -- Prince Bao came to power, the rise of Prince Bao was very interesting.
Gongzi Bao was the younger brother of Song Zhaogong, the previous ruler of the Song Dynasty. According to historical legend, Song Zhaogong was tyrannical and unjust, and everyone in the Song Kingdom disliked this monarch. Prince Bao treated the people and officials favorably and often gave away food, so he was very popular.
Legend has it that Prince Bao was so handsome that his grandmother Wang Ji wanted to have an affair with him, but Prince Bao refused. Wang Ji did not turn from love to hatred, but wholeheartedly expanded the influence of Prince Bao. She recommended many capable ministers to assist Young Master Bao and help him extend his kindness. Therefore, Gongzi Bao's reputation is getting better and better.
Soon after, Duke Zhao went out hunting, and the courtiers conspired to make Prince Bao the new king of the Song Dynasty. Therefore, Gongzi Bao's younger brother Gongzixu closed the city gate, and Song Sima Huayou led the people to pursue and kill Zhao Gong.
Later, the right master Hua Yuan , the left master Sun You and others announced together: "Young Master Bao is so kind to the people that he should be the most powerful one."
Then they supported the young master Bao as the new king of the Song Dynasty, and he was Song Wengong .
Hua couple, Hua Yuan, Gongsun You and others all became Song Wengong's important ministers and helped Song Wengong manage the state affairs. Among them, the right master Huayuan was a branch of the Song Dynasty monarch's family. The fifth generation ancestor was Song Daigong of the Song Dynasty. Therefore, Hua Yuan belonged to the aristocratic class in the Song Dynasty.
Song Wengong had just succeeded to the throne, Jin State took the name of Wen Gong's improper position, and united the Wei State, Chen State and Zheng State several medium powers to attack the Song State.
Hua Yuan came to the enemy camp alone, and with his sharp tongue, he persuaded the Jin army commander to retreat.
After that, Hua Yuan gained the trust of Bao, Duke Wen of the Song Dynasty. He made many diplomatic missions to the vassal states and made great contributions to the political, military and economic construction of the Song Dynasty.
Hua Yuan is a versatile man in both civil and military affairs, and can also lead troops to fight . The story told today took place in a battle led by Hua Yuan.
The dramatic battle between Song and Zheng
The State of Chu was a large country in the southern part of the Central Plains at that time, and it had a long-standing ambition to covet the Central Plains. Taking advantage of the fact that Song Wengong had just succeeded to the throne, Chu State had the idea of provoking trouble again.
In 606 BC, the fourth year after Song Wengong succeeded to the throne, Chu State encouraged Zheng State to attack Song State, hoping to reap the benefits .
The State of Zheng is located due west of the Song Dynasty. It was once an overlord in the Central Plains. Although its national power later declined, it should not be underestimated.
In order to resist Zheng's army, Song Wengong asked Hua Yuan to be the commander-in-chief and lead the troops to fight .The armies of the two countries met at Daji, south of present-day Sui County, Henan Province, and the war was about to break out.
As the coach, Hua Yuan, in order to inspire the morale of the army, chose to take the lead and personally went into battle , starting the first battle with the Zhengguo army.
Hua Yuan's strategy of boosting the morale of the army really worked. Under the leadership of the coach, the morale of the Song army was high and it withstood the attack of the Zheng army.
In order to further boost morale, coach Hua Yuan made an important decision that night: Distribute a cooked mutton to each Song Army soldier so that the army could eat well and be energetic in preparation for the second battle. Days of fighting.
On the second day, when the battle was about to begin, something shocking happened.
Hua Yuan's chariot driver actually drove Hua Yuan in his chariot to the camp of Zheng Guo's army.. Coach Hua Yuan was captured by Zheng Jun, which also led to the overall defeat of the Song Dynasty.
Hua Yuan’s driver’s name is Yang Zou . Why did he do such a thing?
The reason is that Yang Zhen was not at the scene the night before due to something and missed the opportunity, so he did not get the mutton he deserved.
As the coach's coachman, Yang Zhen felt that he had been ignored by Hua Yuan, so he was aggrieved. "You treated me cruelly, and I repaid you with hatred."
In Yang Zhen's eyes, Hua Yuan became a "hatred bandit" . It is not difficult to understand why Yang Zhen made such a move.
According to " Zuo Zhuan ", Yang Zhen said to Hua Yuan: "Yesterday, I had to listen to you when dividing the mutton; today, when driving a chariot, you have to listen to me."
Yang Zhen's words, Later it evolved into an idiom, that is, "do their own thing" .
"Sheep pours shameful soup" has also become a famous historical allusion of losing a big thing because of a small thing.
Why was coach Hua Yuan so easily sent into the enemy camp by Yang Zhen
Some readers may ask, wasn't he just a coachman? How could it lead to the defeat of the Song Army?
Modern people's understanding of ancient wars mostly remains at the level of thousands of horses galloping and cavalry rushing back and forth to kill. This understanding is also influenced by storytelling art, film and television.
Wars in the Spring and Autumn Period were not like this at all. The combatants at that time were mainly composed of tank soldiers and infantry. The role of the chariot is to attack the enemy's camp, tear apart the enemy's defense line, and provide opportunities for infantry assault. The
tank is equivalent to the current tank !
In the Spring and Autumn Period, how powerful a country was was judged by how many tanks it had. A term often heard is "the country of a thousand chariots", which means that this country has a thousand chariots. At that time, this was a very terrifying military strike force.
So, tank drivers and rickshaw drivers are completely different and are also well-trained soldiers. In particular, the coach's driver is an elite among the elite, not something that ordinary people can handle. Therefore, it can be said that Hua Yuan was held hostage by an elite soldier and sent to the enemy camp.
So, Hua Yuan on the chariot, couldn't he kill Yang Zhen immediately and get out of trouble?
There is no historical record of what Hua Yuan was thinking at that time, so we can only speculate.
One possibility is that Hua Yuan was not aware of Yang Zhen's intention at the time and thought he was charging. In addition, the two armies were so close to each other that by the time they reacted, there would be no time to resist.
There is another possibility that belongs to personal speculation, which is related to the war pattern of the Spring and Autumn Period. Historians divide the Eastern Zhou Dynasty into two stages: the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. The reason is that from the Spring and Autumn Period to the Warring States Period, great changes occurred in the political system, economic system and military system. Putting aside politics and economics, this article mainly talks about the military differences.
Speaking of the Warring States Period, brutal things such as killings, massacres of cities, and annihilation of nations often occurred. The commander-in-chief of the army is captured and will lose his head if he does not surrender.
But in the spring and Autumn period of , the shape of war was not like this .The war in the Spring and Autumn Period was not so much a war as a regular and systematic armed struggle.
The two warring parties arranged their formations, gave orders, clashed, and ended the battle in a short time. The victorious party gets the benefits they want, while the defeated party retreats into the distance to silently lick their wounds and prepare for the next round of battle.
The reason why the wars in the Spring and Autumn Period existed in such a situation was that there were still restrictions on etiquette in that era.
The etiquette of the Zhou Dynasty has detailed regulations on how to conduct war, such as no sneak attacks, no treachery; publicly inform the other party of the time, location, and strength of the battle; no expansion, no annihilation of the country, and so on.
Therefore, as long as the commanders of both warring parties do not die on the battlefield, even if they are captured by the enemy, they can pay a ransom and regain their freedom, and their life safety can be relatively guaranteed.
Therefore, in this case, even if Hua Yuan was aware of the danger, there was no need to fight with the driver or jump out of the car to escape if his life was not threatened. Doing so will increase your own risk. What is the final reason for
is no longer testable.
What is certain is that Hua Yuan, the coach of Song State, became a prisoner of Zheng State because he was short of a portion of mutton. The Song State lost this battle...
Conclusion
Later, in order to redeem Hua Yuan, Song Wengong negotiated with the State of Zheng, and they agreed on a ransom of one hundred chariots and four hundred fine horses with beautiful coats. .
Before the ransom from Song State was sent to Zheng State, Hua Yuan took advantage of the guards' unpreparedness, escaped from prison and escaped back to Song State..
Later, Chu personally sent troops to attack Song and besieged the capital of Song for five months. This war of attrition was very uncomfortable for both sides. The Chu State could not win and wanted to retreat, but they were a little unwilling to do so. At this time, Song Wengong sent Hua Yuan to sneak into the Chu camp secretly and met King of Chuzhuang , looking for hope.
King Zhuang of Chu asked: "How is the situation in the city?"
Hua Yuan said: "People's bones have been chopped up for firewood, and their children have been exchanged for food."
King Zhuang of Chu said: " How honest you are. ! We only have two days of military rations. " So we retreated to relieve the siege...
During the Spring and Autumn Period, even though the two sides were at war, the style of a gentleman was. So, there will always be some very interesting things happening.
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