The Battle of Baiju was a long-range offensive in 506 BC (14th week), when the Wu army led by He Lv, the king of Wu, went deep into Chu, defeated 200,000 main forces of Chu in Baiju (now Macheng City, Hubei Province), and then occupied the capital of Chu.
In the war, Wu Jun was flexible. Because the enemy used troops, he won by circuitous attack, retreating from the enemy, looking for a decisive battle and pursuing in depth.
This war is a successful example of China's ancient military history.
The background of the battle of the white colt
Wu was a country in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River in the Spring and Autumn Period, and Wu Junshou began to rise after he succeeded to the throne. In order to compete with Chu for hegemony, the State of Jin adopted the strategy of uniting with Wu to control Chu, and sent Wu Qu, the late minister of Chu, to Wu with a team of chariots to teach Wu people to ride, shoot and array, so the Wu army learned to fight chariots.
After the friendship between Wu and Jin, the economy and culture developed and the national strength grew stronger. Shoumeng claimed to be the King of Wu and competed with Chu for hegemony in the Jianghuai region.
In 584 BC (the second year of King Jian Zhou), Wu Jun's land and water new army captured Zhoulai (now Fengtai County, Anhui Province), an important town of Huaihe River in Chu. Over the past 60 years, there have been ten large-scale wars between the two sides. In these ten wars, Wu Jun won six times, Chu won once, and the outcome was three times each.
In 5 15 BC (Friday), the son of the State of Wu won the throne of the State of Wu and was named King He Lv of Wu. After He Lv succeeded to the throne, he appointed Wu Zixu and Ai Bo, the ministers of Chu State who died, as counselors, and Sun Wu, the Qi people, as generals, to teach the art of war and train the team, which made the State of Wu prosperous.
The course of the battle of the white colt
First, Wu Jun suddenly attacked.
In the winter of 506 BC (the 14th year of the week), He Lv, the prince of Wu, personally took command, with Sun Wu and Wu Zixu as generals and He Lv's brother-in-law as pioneers. He poured 30,000 land and water troops across the country and went north from the Huaihe River by warship, which matched Cai. Zi Chang (Bow Wow) saw that Wu Jun was fierce, so he had to give up the siege of Cai and defend his homeland.
When Wu Jun joined, another small country joined the army of Wu and Cai. So, Wu, Cai and Tang joined forces to continue westward and return to Huaishui. After reaching Huaiyun (now Huangchuan, Henan and Fengtai, Anhui), Sun Wu suddenly decided to land by boat and changed from west to south.
Wu Zixu didn't understand what he meant and asked Sun Wu, "Wu Jun is good at water warfare. Why did he change to land? " Sun Wu replied, "It's the most expensive and fast to use troops. We should take an unexpected road in order to catch the enemy off guard. Sailing against the current, the speed is slow, and Wu Jun's advantages are difficult to play. The Chu army will inevitably take the opportunity to strengthen defense, so it is difficult to break the enemy. " Wu Zixu nodded and said.
In this way, Sun Wu selected 3500 elite foot soldiers as pioneers, quickly passed through the North Chu Tunnel, went straight to Hanshui River, and went deep into the hinterland of Chu. Within a few days, he advanced into the east bank of Hanshui River, achieving a strategic surprise attack on Chu.
Second, the Chu Jun attack.
When Wu Jun suddenly appeared on the east bank of the Hanshui River, King Zhao Chu panicked and sent Ling Zichang, Sajima, Shen Yinxu and doctor Shi Huang. Pour the power of the whole country, rush to the west bank of Hanshui River, and confront Wu Jun.
Sajimashen Yin Shu In view of the fact that the troops scattered all over Chu have not yet assembled, it is easy for Wu Jun to divide and rule, and it is difficult to prevent Wu Jun from breaking through the Hanshui defense line; In view of Wu Jun's weakness of being alone and not occupying land, he advocated giving full play to the advantages of Chu's large numbers of soldiers, turning passivity into initiative, and suggested to Ling Zichang that the main force of Chu army should be led by Ling Zichang to fortify along the west bank of Hanshui River.
He himself led some troops north to Fangcheng (now Fangcheng, Henan Province), detoured Wu Jun's flank, destroyed its warships and cut off its way home. Then the main force and son often attack before and after, eliminating Wu Jun in one fell swoop.
Zi Chang also agreed with Shen Yin's suggestion at first. However, after Shen led his troops to the north to defend the city, Chu general Wu Chenghei often said to his deputy, "If you wait for Shen's attack, the meritorious military service will be unique to Shen. It is better to launch an attack with the main force first and break Wu Jun on the east coast. Yin's achievements are naturally above Shen. "
The doctor Shi Huang also said, "Truman hates you and praises Shen." If Shen Xian defeats Wu Jun, his achievements will be above you, and your position as Yin will be lost. It is best to attack Wu Jun quickly. "
The eldest son felt reasonable, so he changed the plan of attacking Wu Jun agreed with Shen Yinxu. Before Shen Yinxu's army arrived, he led the army across the Hanshui River to attack Wu Jun without authorization.
Third, Chu Jun's plan.
Seeing that the Chu army had taken the initiative to attack, Wu Jun-chen took the policy of retreating from the enemy and seeking decisive battle, and voluntarily retreated from the east bank of Hanshui River. My son is often caught and goes straight to the point. Wu Jun, more and more early, from Xiaobie (Shanming, now Hubei Province) to Dabie (Shanming, now Hubei Province), won three out of three.
Son repeatedly defeated three companies and wanted to abandon the army and flee. Shi Di said to him, "In those days, the country was peaceful, and you were fighting for political affairs. Now the war situation is unfavorable, so you have to flee. This is a capital crime. Now you can only get rid of your sins if you fight to the death with Wu Jun. "
Often helpless, Zi had to reorganize his troops and array in Baiju (now Macheng, Hubei, Hanchuan, Hubei) to prepare for another battle.
Fourth, Wu won.
In 506 BC (14th week), Wu Jun stopped retreating and confronted the Chu army in Baiju. Pioneer Wu Jun thinks it is necessary to strike first. He said to He Lv, the king of Wu, "Zi Chang is a heartless man, and few people in the Chu army are willing to work for him. When our army takes the initiative to attack, the Chu army will inevitably flee, and our main pursuit will surely win a great victory. " He Lu disagreed with her husband.
After returning to the camp, the husband said to the Ministry: "Since something is wrong, people who are courtiers should act according to circumstances and do not have to wait for orders. Now I want to attack, I want to defeat the Chu army and capture the capital. " So he led his own 5,000 forward troops and headed straight for Chu Daying.
Sure enough, the Chu army was on the verge of collapse and the war situation was in chaos. When he saw that her husband had almost succeeded, he took the opportunity to fight the main force, and Chu Jun soon fell apart. After Shi died, Zi often abandoned the army and fled to Zheng.