Zi Zhi Tong Jian

Chapter 7 Zhou Ji's three divisions (6)
Lord Wu An said: "Qin has uprooted the Shangdang, and the people of the Shangdang are not happy for Qin and returned to Zhao. The Zhao soldiers relapse, and they must be killed all, fearing chaos." People return to Zhao.After beheading 240 captives, the Zhao people were shocked.

【Translation】

When the King of Qin heard that Zhao Kuo had been promoted to be a general, he secretly appointed Lord Wu'an Bai Qi as a general, and changed Wang He to be a deputy general, and ordered in the army: "Anyone who dares to reveal that Bai Qi is a general will be executed! " Zhao Kuo came to the army, abolished all the original regulations, replaced the officers, and ordered troops to attack the Qin army.Bai Qi pretended to be defeated and fled, but arranged two surprise soldiers in advance to intercept.Zhao Kuo didn't know the trick, took advantage of the victory to pursue, and went straight to the Qin army's camp. The Qin army could not hold on, and the Zhao army could not conquer it. At this time, a 5000-strong army of the Qin army had cut off Zhao's retreat. A cavalry force of 5000 men also blocked Zhao Jun's passage back to the camp.The Zhao army was divided into two, and the grain road was also cut off.Lord Wu'an Bai Qi took advantage of the situation and ordered the elite light army to attack. The Zhao army raised troops hastily and failed in the battle, so they had to build camps and wait for reinforcements.

King Qin heard that Zhao Jun's grain and grass channels had been cut off, so he personally went to Hanoi to conscript all men over 15 years old and transfer them to Changping to block Zhao's rescue and food transportation.Qi State and Chu State reinforced Zhao State. Zhao Jun was short of food and grass, so he asked Qi State for relief, but the King of Qi did not agree.Zhou Zi said: "Zhao State is a barrier to Qi State and Chu State, just like the lips on the outside of the teeth. If the lips die, the teeth will become cold; once Zhao State is destroyed today, disasters will befall Qi State and Chu State tomorrow. On the head. Therefore, the matter of rescuing Zhao State should be as urgent as holding a leaky earthen pot to pour a burnt iron pot. What's more, rescuing Zhao State shows noble morality; resisting the Qin army is even more It is a good thing to show your prestige; you must uphold justice and rescue the subjugated country, so as to show your military power and repel the mighty Qin State. Instead of doing your best for this matter, you cherish the food. It is a big mistake to plan for the country like this!" Qi Wang still did not listen.

In September, the Zhao army had been without food for 46 days, and the Zhao army began to kill each other secretly and devour each other.Zhao Kuo was so anxious that he ordered the Zhao army to attack the Qin army's camp. He wanted to send four teams to attack in turn, but by the fifth time, he still couldn't break out.Helpless, Zhao Kuo personally led the elite soldiers to fight hand-to-hand, but was shot to death by Qin Bing's arrows.The Zhao army was defeated, and all 40 soldiers surrendered to Qin.

Bai Qi said: "At the beginning, the Qin army conquered Shangdang, but the people of Shangdang did not want to submit to Qin and defected to Zhao. The soldiers of Zhao are so capricious. If they don't kill them all now, there will be trouble later." They coaxed and deceived all Zhao's descendants to bury them alive, and only released 240 younger ones back to Zhao.A total of 45 Zhao soldiers were killed before and after, and Zhao Guo was shocked by this.

[Comment and Analysis]

The Battle of Changping was rated as the worst battle in the Warring States Period, not because of the bravery of both sides, but because of the cruelty of Qin general Bai Qi.The State of Zhao sent Zhao Kuo to lead the troops to push the entire State of Zhao into the abyss step by step. After the defeat, all 40 soldiers surrendered, but Bai Qi used treacherous tricks to bury all the soldiers of the State of Zhao alive, and only released 240 young ones to return to the country. Zhao Guo killed a total of 45 people before and after, and Zhao Guo has declined since then.

Mao Sui recommended
[Original text]

The 57th year of King Zhou Nan

The King of Zhao sent Mr. Pingyuan to ask for help from Chu, and Mr. Pingyuan asked his disciples to have 20 people who were equipped with civil and military skills, and he got 19 people.Mao then recommended himself to Mr. Pingyuan.Mr. Pingyuan said: "The place of a virtuous man in the world is like a cone in a bag, and the end of it is seen immediately. Mr. Jin has been under the door of Sheng and has been here for three years. He has not been praised by left and right, and he has never heard of Sheng. Mister has nothing. Mister can’t, Mister keep it!” Mao Sui said: “My minister, please take care of your ears today! If you get Sui’s flea in your pocket, you will stand out. It’s not just something you’ve never seen before.” Mr. Pingyuan is with him. , 19 people smiled at each other.

Lord Pingyuan came to Chu, and the benefits and disadvantages of cooperating with the king of Chu, as far as the sunrise is concerned, the sun and the middle of the day are indeterminate.Mao then went up the steps according to the sword calendar, and said to Lord Pingyuan: "According to the interests and disadvantages, two words can decide the ear! If you come out today, you can't decide between the sun and the middle of the day, why?" Tell me, what do you do?"

【Translation】

The 57th year of King Zhou Nan (258 BC)
King Zhao sent Mr. Pingyuan to the state of Chu to ask for help. Mr. Pingyuan planned to gather 20 diners with both civil and military skills, but only 19 people were selected, and the rest were not enough.At this moment, Mao Sui stood up and personally recommended himself to Mr. Pingyuan.Mr. Pingyuan said: "A person's talent is like putting an awl in a bag. Its sharpness should have been revealed and discovered long ago. Now you have been under my door for three years, and No one around you has praised you, and I have never heard of your talent. This shows that you still have no talent, so you should stay." Mao Sui said: "Then please put me in your pocket now. Go! If I had been put in the bag earlier, I would have stood out." Mr. Pingyuan had no choice but to allow him to go with him, and the other nineteen people laughed at him.

Lord Pingyuan and his entourage arrived in the state of Chu, and talked with the king of Chu about the advantages of combining verticals and the disadvantages of not being vertical. They talked from morning to noon, but they did not come to any conclusion.So Mao Sui held the long sword in his hand, stepped up the steps quickly, and said to Mr. Pingyuan: "The interests of Hezong can be explained clearly in two sentences, but there is still no result from sunrise to noon. What is it? Why?" The King of Chu scolded angrily, "Go down quickly! I'm negotiating with your master, what are you doing here?"

[Original text]

Mao Sui pressed his sword forward and said: "The reason why the king reprimanded Sui was the people of Chu State. Within ten steps, the king must not rely on the people of Chu State! The king's life hangs in Sui's hand. My lord is in the front , What is the reprimand? And then I heard that Tang ruled the world with a land of seventy miles, and King Wen ruled the world with a land of a hundred miles. How can there be so many soldiers? Sincerely, they can use their power to exert their prestige. The five places in Chu today Thousands of miles, holding a million halberds, this is the capital of the overlord. With the strength of Chu, the world can do nothing. Bai Qi, the little Lizier, led tens of thousands of people, and raised the division to fight against Chu. In one battle, he raised Yan and Ying. , and burned Yiling in the second battle, and humiliated the ancestors of the king in the third war. Zhao Zhi was ashamed of the grievances of a hundred generations, but Wang Fu was evil. Those who follow are Chu, not Zhao. Why?"

The King of Chu said: "Wei Wei, if you are sincere in your words, I would like to obey the country." Mao Sui said: "Is it determined?" The King of Chu said: "It is determined." The blood of chickens, dogs, and horses comes!" Mao Sui presented the copper plate and knelt in. The king of Chu said: "The king should drink blood to determine his obedience. The next is my lord, and the next is Sui." Then he ordered his obedience in the hall.Mao Sui held a plate of blood in his left hand and beckoned 19 people with his right hand, saying: "Your Excellency, please drink this blood under the hall! The Lord and His Majesty recorded it, so it is said that people make things happen." Mr. Pingyuan has decided to return. As for Zhao, he said: "Victory dare not match the soldiers of the world!" So Mao Sui was taken as the guest of honor.

【Translation】

Mao Sui held his long sword in his hand, and stepped forward, saying: "The reason why the king scolded me now is because of the large number of people in Chu. Now within ten steps, you can't rely on the advantage of having a large number of people. Now The king's life is in my hands. My master is in front of me, why are you scolding? I heard that Shang Tang ruled the world with a radius of [-] miles, and King Wen of Zhou ruled the princes with a radius of [-] miles. Can it be said that this is due to the large number of people? In the final analysis, it is to see the situation and give full play to its prestige. Now Chu has a radius of five thousand miles and has more than one million soldiers. This is the capital to dominate the world. Powerful, no country in the world can compete with it. But now Bai Qi, an unknown soldier, dares to lead tens of thousands of people to fight against Chu State. He occupied Yan and Ying of Chu State in the first battle, and burned Yiling in the second battle. Burning the ancestral temple of Chu State, this is really a great hatred, don't you feel ashamed? The alliance is for Chu State, not for the self-interest of Zhao State. My master is in front of me, why are you scolding!"

The king of Chu said: "Yes, yes, as the master said, I will follow Zhao Guo with the whole country now." Mao Sui said: "Are you really planning to join forces?" The king of Chu said: "I agree." Mao Sui then said to the king of Chu's near and right ministers: "Bring the blood of chickens, dogs, and horses." Mao Sui held the copper plate in both hands, knelt down and offered it to the king of Chu, and said: "Your king, you should first drink the blood to make an alliance, and second. He is my master, and finally it is my turn." So Chu and Zhao made a covenant in the hall.Mao Sui held the copper plate containing the blood in his left hand, and greeted the 19 people in His Highness with his right hand: "Everyone, drink blood in Your Highness! You are all mediocre people, and you can only be the so-called people who make things happen because of people." Mr. Pingyuan This time the cooperation was successful, and after returning to Zhao State, he said: "From now on, I will never dare to criticize talents indiscriminately again!" Then he made Mao Sui his guest of honor.

[Comment and Analysis]

The story of Mao Sui's self-recommendation took place in the war-torn Warring States period.Mao Sui was a servant of Mr. Pingyuan, and he never showed any special talent. It was not until Qin State surrounded Handan of Zhao State, and Mr. Pingyuan was about to gather 20 diners with both civil and military skills to ask Chu State for help. There is such a number one person under him, and he has played such a big role in the negotiation process.

Stolen Characters Save Zhao
[Original text]

The 57th year of King Zhou Nan

So the king of Chu sent Chun Shenjun to rescue Zhao, and the king of Wei also sent general Jin Bi to rescue Zhao with [-] soldiers.The envoy of the king of Qin called the king of Wei and said: "I attack Zhao, and I will go down at night. If the princes dare to save them, I have already pulled out Zhao, and I will move troops to attack them first!" , which is called saving Zhao, actually holds both ends.He also sent General Xin Yuanyan into Handan, because King Pingyuan called Zhao Wang and wanted to respect Qin as the emperor, so as to kill his soldiers.

Lu Zhonglian from Qi was in Handan. Hearing this, he went to see Xinyuanyan and said: "The Qin Dynasty is the country that abandons propriety and righteousness and makes the first contribution. If he wants to be the emperor in the world, he will even die by jumping into the East Sea. I don’t want to be the people! Besides, Liang has not seen the harm of Qin’s proclaiming the emperor, so I will make the king of Qin cook the king of Liang!" Xin Yuanyan was displeased, and said: "Sir, can you make the king of Qin cook the king of Liang? "Lu Zhonglian said: "Gu Ye, I will say it. In the past, Jiuhou, Ehou, and Wenwang were the three princes of Zhou. Jiuhou had a son and loved it, and offered it to Zhou. Strong, the disease of debate, so he preserved the Marquis of E; Wen Wang heard it, but he sighed, so he detained the treasury for a hundred days, and wanted to kill him. Today Qin is also the country of ten thousand chariots; Liang is also the country of ten thousand chariots Also. They are all based on the kingdom of Wancheng, each has the name of the king, but seeing that he won the first battle, if he wants to be the emperor, he will die in the land of the emperor! And Qin has nothing to do, and the emperor will do the same as the emperor. Rituals are used to command the world, and the ministers of the princes will be changed. He will take away what is unworthy and give him what is good, and take what he hates and give him what he loves. , Liang Wang An Deyan, but it’s over! And how can the general be favored so much!” Xin Yuanyan got up, bowed again and said: “I am the man who knows the world today! Please come out, I dare not say anything about Emperor Qin again!”

(End of this chapter)