Cao Gui debate

Author Zuo Qiuming? pre-Qin period

In the spring of ten years, the army of Qi attacked our country of Lu. Male will play, Cao Gui, please see. His fellow countryman said, "People in power will plan this. Why do you want to participate?" ? ""Those in power are short-sighted and unable to think deeply, "Cao Gui said." Then they went to the court to see the duke. "What are you fighting for?" Cao Gui asked. Zhuang Gong said, "I never dared to know what to eat and wear. I must give it to the ministers around me. "

Cao Gui replied: "This little kindness cannot be extended to the people, and the people will not obey you." Duke Zhuang said, "I never dare to exaggerate the number of pigs, sheep, jade articles, silks, etc. for sacrifice. I must tell God the truth." Cao Gui said: "Mix's credit cannot be trusted by the gods, and the gods will not bless you." . "ZhuangGong said," even if you can't see all the lawsuits in Mix, I must also be based on facts. "Yes:" Loyalty belongs to you. You can go to war. Please pay attention to this war. "

On that day, Qi Huangong and Cao Gui sat in a chariot and fought with Qi Jun in Beidou. Zhuang Gongzheng wants to order drums. "Not now," said Cao Gui. "Wait until after Qi Jun drummed three times. Cao Gui said, "You can play the drums. "."Qi Jun was completely defeated. Their duke ordered the horse to be chased by the horse. "Not now," said Cao Gui. Look at it, look at it and say, "Not bad. "That's by qi teacher.

After winning, the king asked him why he won. Yes: "It takes courage to fight. High spirits, then decline, three exhausted. I am tired, I am surplus, so I will overcome it. Great powers are unpredictable and frightening. I regard it as chaos and look at its flag, so I chase it. "

Translation:

In the spring of the tenth year of Duke Zhuang of Lu, the Qi army attacked our state of Lu. Duke Zhuang of Lu wanted to fight, and Cao Gui asked to meet Duke Zhuang of Lu. His fellow countryman said, "People in power will plan this. Why do you participate?" Cao Gui said: "People in power are short-sighted, so they can't think ahead."

So he went to North Korea to see Duke Zhuang of Lu. Cao Gui asked, "What are you fighting for?" Duke Zhuang of Lu said: "I never dare to keep food and clothing for health. I must give it to the ministers around me." Cao Gui replied: "This kind of small kindness can't spread to the people, and the people won't obey you."

Duke Zhuang of Lu said, "I never dare to exaggerate the number of sacrifices such as pigs, cows, sheep, jade articles and silk fabrics, but I must tell the truth to God." Cao Gui replied, "You can't win the trust of the gods for a small contribution. The gods won't bless you."

Lv Zhuanggong said: "Even if I can't see all the litigation cases, I will make a reasonable judgment based on the facts." Cao Gui replied, "That's what I did. You can fight a battle (with this condition).

If you want to fight, please allow me to go with you Duke Zhuang of Lu and Cao Gui were sitting in a car, fighting the Qi army in the ladle. Duke Zhuang of Lu will order drums to advance. Cao Gui said, "Not yet. "Wait until the qi drums three times. Cao Gui said, "We can pursue it. "

The Qi army was defeated. Duke Zhuang of Lu wants to order horses to chase the Qi army. Cao Gui said, "Not yet." Say that finish, he got out of the chariot, looked at the trace of Qi's wheels, boarded the chariot again, propped up the crossbar in front of the chariot and watched the formation of Qi. He said, "We can pursue it."

So I chased the Qi army. After winning the battle, Duke Zhuang of Lu asked him why he won. Cao Gui replied: Fighting depends on morale. The first drum beating can boost the morale of soldiers, the second drum beating will start to hurt the morale of soldiers, and the third drum beating will exhaust the morale of soldiers.

Their morale has disappeared, but the morale of our army is rising, so we beat them. In a big country like Qi, it is difficult to speculate on their situation, for fear that they will have an ambush there. Later, I saw that the track of their wheels was chaotic and the flag fell, so I ordered to chase them. "

Extended data:

Article analysis:

The full text is divided into three paragraphs.

The first paragraph (from the beginning to "please follow the war"): Write about the political preparations before the war-win the trust of the people.

This paragraph can be divided into two layers. The first layer describes the reason why Cao Gui sought audience with Duke Zhuang of Lu. At the beginning, I pointed out the time when it happened, and then pointed out that "Qi attacked me", indicating that the war was caused by Qi attacking Lu, and Duke Zhuang of Lu was ready to resist. The above brief introduction provided the necessary background for Cao Gui's interview and debate.

The army was besieged and Cao Gui was ready for war. Through the dialogue with "fellow villagers", on the one hand, the author reveals the situation that those in power in Lu are humble and ignorant, and the corpse is vegetarian, which lays the foundation for the later Duke Zhuang of Lu to command blindly in the battle; On the other hand, it shows that Cao Gui cares about state affairs, and it also implies that he is a visionary.

The second chapter describes that Cao Gui asked Zhuang Gong to make political preparations before the war, which is the focus of this paragraph. When meeting with Duke Zhuang of Lu, Cao Gui asked "Why the War" from the beginning, and grasped the key issue of political preparation before the war.

Inspired by Cao Gui again and again, Duke Zhuang of Lu put forward three conditions in turn: aristocratic support, the blessing of ghosts and gods, and emotional supervision. Cao Gui denied the first two conditions and affirmed the latter. In Cao Gui's view, the victory or defeat of the war depends neither on the support of the nobility nor on the blessing of the gods, but on "winning the trust of the people".

He believes that emotional supervision is "loyalty" and "loyalty" is due to the people, so he is convinced that "World War I can be fought". Cao Gui's thought of attaching importance to the relationship between people's hearts and the outcome of the war is indeed better than that of "meat eaters". But it is essentially different from our thought of relying on the people's power to carry out the people's war today.

The second paragraph (from "riding with others" to "chasing Qi Division") describes the process of Cao Gui commanding Lu Army to defeat Qi Army.

Cao Gui's thought of "winning the trust of the people" was approved by Zhuang Gong, and "taking the right way" reflected Zhuang Gong's trust and esteem for Cao Gui. This paper first explains the position that is conducive to Lu's counterattack, and the long spoon is in Lu's territory. For Lu, being familiar with the terrain and landforms is convenient for obtaining manpower support and material supply, and it is also conducive to the transformation of Lu's morale into a favorable aspect.

Then there is a concrete description of the battle, focusing on two things: "beating gongs and drums" and "marching by division", in which Cao Gui commanded the Lu army to start a counterattack after the "three drums of the Qi army", and in which Cao Gui decided to pursue after observing the situation that the Qi army was defeated and fled, both of which were described very briefly.

In this way, one is in line with the facts (Duke Zhuang of Lu didn't have time to ask about it in the fierce battle, and Cao Gui couldn't talk about it), and the other is the center of Cao Gui's argument, which is more prominent in the following.

"The public must drum it up" and "the public must rush it", which shows that Lu Zhuanggong is impatient and rash; Cao Gui's two "impossibilities" and two "possibilities" show that Cao Gui has a well-thought-out plan and is good at seizing the opportunity of counterattack and pursuit.

The third paragraph (from "cycling" to the end): Write about Cao Gui and discuss the reasons for winning the battle. This is the center of this article.

The word "Keke" means that the climax of the campaign has passed and the atmosphere has suddenly eased. It's time for the puzzling Duke Zhuang of Lu to ask the truth. Cao Gui's answer can be divided into two aspects.

The first is to discuss the opportunity to start the counterattack-when the other side is tired and I am profitable: Lu Jun stays put and saves his strength. The Qi army beat drums for the first time, and its morale was booming. The second drum sounded and morale began to decline; Beating the drum for the third time completely exhausted morale.

At this critical moment, Cao Gui adopted the policy of "when the enemy is exhausted, we will fight", and finally turned the disadvantages into advantages. Secondly, it discusses the time when the pursuit began-when the flag was in chaos. Although the Lu army won the initial victory in the counterattack, it did not underestimate the enemy. "Husband is a big country, unpredictable and fearful." This reflects that Cao Gui has never forgotten that he is a weak enemy, and a weak enemy is strong.

War is unscrupulous, so we must remain vigilant. Cao Gui personally inspected the enemy's situation and found that the enemy was "chaotic" and "depressed". He confirmed that the Qi army fled in panic and fled, and this was the only way to pursue it and finally won the battle.

To sum up, by praising Cao Gui's foresight, this paper explains how to correctly apply the principle of strategic defense in the war-only by "winning the trust of the people", implementing the correct policy of "the enemy is exhausted and we will fight", and choosing the favorable opportunity for counterattack and pursuit, can we be strong with small enemies.