After Zhou Wuwang overthrew the Shang Dynasty, in order to defend the royal family, he enfeoffed the world governors. In 77 1 year BC, the "belligerent warlord" was finally killed by Gou Rong, and the Western Zhou Dynasty perished. Since then, the world princes who are eager to move have entered the stage of fighting for power and profit, which is called "Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period" in history. At the beginning of the Spring and Autumn Period, Qi gradually prospered by appointing talents and carrying out reforms. During the reign of Qi Huangong, he constantly strengthened his power at home and joined hands with other governors to fight against the nomadic people in the north. Finally, he was rewarded by the Zhou Emperor and became the first overlord recognized in the Spring and Autumn Period.

However, Wang Ba's Qi Huangong was helpless to a down-and-out son, Cao Gui. His first military campaign also went down in history and became a classic case of defeating the strong with the weak. During the Spring and Autumn Period, both Qi and Lu were located in Shandong, and they were close neighbors, so Shandong people called them "Qilu Land".

In 686 BC, civil strife broke out in the State of Qi, and Sun, an aristocrat of the State of Qi, killed Qi Xianggong in ignorance and made himself king. This civil strife aroused the dissatisfaction of the people of Qi. With the joint efforts of several doctors, Gongsun Zan was killed in ignorance.

Bao and Guan Zhong took in Gong Zijiu, who took refuge in Lu and Ju countries respectively, in an attempt to compete for political power. Under the escort of Bao, he took the lead in returning to Qi and took over his position.

Seeing that the tide was gone, Miyako returned to Shandong for a long time, which made the relationship between Qilu and China suddenly tense. Seeing that Lu Zhishen sheltered Gong Zijiu, he was very dissatisfied with Lu Zhishen. At the same time, Duke Zhuang of Lu believed that Gong Sunjiu, as a little white brother, should inherit the throne of Qi.

Therefore, Duke Zhuang of Lu sent troops to forcibly escort Gong Zijiu to the territory of Qi. At Bao's suggestion, he decided to "reject him with soldiers". The two sides each put 300 personnel carriers to fight, and Lu was defeated in the end, and Lu Zhuanggong was almost captured.

Under the strong military pressure of Qi, Duke Zhuang of Lu changed his original position, killed Gong Zijiu and escorted Guan Zhong to Qi. However, this weakness was not understood by Qi Huangong, and the Qi army gradually entered the territory of Lu, intending to conquer Lu in one fell swoop.

In the case of a strong enemy, Duke Zhuang of Lu decided to devote all his strength to the fight against Qi. At the same time, the impoverished son of Lu couldn't bear the country being ravaged, and asked to see Zhuang Gong and take part in the war.

The two sides had an in-depth talk about this military preparation, and it was precisely because of this talk that Lu Zhuanggong's determination to defeat Qi was strengthened.

When they first met, Cao Gui directly asked Zhuang Gong: "What do we rely on to fight against Qi?" Zhuang Gong said: "I never dare to keep food and clothing for health. I must give it to the ministers around me." Cao Gui said: "You can't be kind to the people, and the people won't obey you." .

Zhuang Gong said: "I am very devout to the gods, and I never dare to make false reports about sacrificial objects. I keep my word." Cao Gui replied to Zhuang Gong that "this kind of contribution may not be able to touch the gods, so it is difficult to get the blessing of the gods".

After careful consideration, Duke Zhuang said, "Although all domestic litigation cases, large and small, can't be thorough, I will make a reasonable ruling according to the facts." At this time, Cao Gui said, "This is the responsibility of the monarch. The people will support you and we can go to war with Qi. " .

This conversation makes us find that what Cao Gui values is not Zhuang Gong's preferential treatment for ministers and heaven, but his concern for the people. Only by being kind to the people can we win their support, otherwise it will be difficult to defeat powerful opponents.

Hundreds of years later, Mencius, the descendant of Lu's nobility, said in his own works: "People are the most important, the country is the second, and the monarch is the light."

Mencius believes that the people are the first, the country is the second, and the monarch is the last. Only those who win the hearts of the people are qualified to be kings. Without the support of the people, they will be defeated.

In 684 BC, facing the powerful army of Qi State, Duke Zhuang of Lu evaded its edge and retreated to Changshao near the capital Qufu.

Facing the surging Qi army, Duke Zhuang of Lu was ready to attack with gongs and drums, but he was dissuaded.

Cao Gui thought that the morale of the Qi army was high and it was necessary to avoid the sharp edge. If we attack at this time, it is difficult to be sure of winning, so we adopt the strategy of static braking.

After beating drums three times in a row, the morale of the Qi army was exhausted, and at this time it was thought that the opportunity to fight back had arrived. So Zhuanggong personally drummed the drums, and the soldiers of the Lu army bravely attacked, and Qi was defeated and won the decisive victory in this war. Duke Zhuang of Lu saw that the Qi army was defeated and ordered the pursuit, but Cao Gui dissuaded him.

Cao Gui personally inspected the trace of the Qi army's retreat, and thought it was a real retreat, so he told Zhuanggong that he could safely pursue it. After Lu Jun was ordered to pursue, he pursued Qi Jun, seized a large number of articles of trench, and completely expelled Qi Jun from the country, thus clearing the haze of defeat in the first battle.

Later, Duke Zhuang of Lu and Cao Gui analyzed the reasons for winning. Cao Gui said, "Morale is very important. If you work hard, you will fail again, and then you will be exhausted. "

By the time the Qi army beat drums for the third time, its morale was exhausted, but the first time we beat drums, we were full of momentum and completely crushed our opponents in courage, so that we could win.

The battle of Qilu was a war in the early Spring and Autumn Period. When many art of war were not fully born, Lu discovered that the key to the victory of the war did not depend entirely on the number of troops and the strength of the army. People's hearts and morale are also the key factors that determine the outcome of the war.

Later generations spoke highly of this "Battle of the Long Spoon", believing that the army of Lu adopted the military policy of "when the enemy is exhausted, we will fight", made full use of its own strength and geographical advantages, and adopted the strategy of "borrowing soldiers from the rear" to defeat the powerful enemy.

After the Battle of the Long Spoon, the inherent laws of war were summarized and analyzed by countless people, and gradually formed a set of military strategy theories, which had a great influence on the military operational thinking of later generations.