greatest wisdom book

Chapter 100
Ruin the boat, put it to death and survive

If you cast it, you will go nowhere, and you will die without going north.There is no chance of death, scholars try their best.If a soldier is deeply trapped, he will not be afraid; if he does not go anywhere, he will be firm;

In times of desperation, people often display abilities that they cannot normally display.When people have no way out, they will burst out a kind of power that they can't even imagine. This is the so-called potential.Therefore, Sun Tzu said: Throw soldiers into a desperate situation where there is no way out, and they will fight and not retreat.Soldiers are not even afraid of death, and they must do their best to fight.A soldier in a desperate situation is fearless; since there is no way out, he will be firm in his will; when he penetrates into the enemy's interior, he will act more cautiously; he will fight to the death when he has to.

In Chinese history, Xiang Yu in the last years of the Qin Dynasty was the most famous person who used Sun Wu's tactic of "put to death and live later".

In the last years of the Qin Dynasty, peasant uprisings came one after another, among which were the well-known Chen Sheng, Wu Guang, Xiang Yu, and Liu Bang in history, and the rebels sometimes took care of each other.Once, Qin soldiers attacked the rebel army led by King Zhao. Xiang Yu, who supported King Huai of Chu, was ordered to lead troops to rescue King Zhao. General Song Yi also went with him.Song Yi's official position was higher than that of Xiang Yu. He ordered his soldiers to station in a corner far away from Zhao Wang's army. They stayed there for more than a month, drinking and having fun every day, and didn't say a word about sending troops to aid Zhao.Xiang Yu couldn't help suggesting to send troops as soon as possible, but was humiliated by Song Yi.The hot-tempered Xiang Yu chopped off Song Yi's head with a knife, and marched towards King Zhao's army with reinforcements.

Xiang Yu, who served as the commander-in-chief of the Zhao army, immediately changed his tactics. He ordered the soldiers to bring three days' rations, and smashed all the cooking pots for the march.The soldiers were all stunned, how would they cook without pots and bowls?Xiang Yu said: "Now there is no pot, we can go into battle lightly, and march faster. As for food, let's go to the Zhanghan barracks to get pots and cook!" After the army crossed the Zhang River, they left the battlefield. It's getting closer.Xiang Yu ordered the soldiers to sink all the ferries and burn all the marching tents.The soldiers saw that there was no way out, and it seemed that this battle could only be a success, not a failure.

The Chu army led by Xiang Yu had no choice but to win. They all fought bravely like a tiger like a tiger.Amidst the deafening sound of fighting, the soldiers of the Chu army fought more and more fiercely, and it was difficult for the Qin army to parry.After a few rounds, the Chu army finally defeated the more with less, and defeated the Qin army.And the reinforcements sent by the princes of Qin State, seeing Xiang Yu's complete victory, turned and defected one after another.Xiang Yu's forces became the main force of the rebel army after the fierce battle in Julu.

Xiang Yu's trick of "putting them to death and then reviving" is exactly the desire of the soldiers to save themselves when they are in a desperate situation, and the explosive power to realize this desire.Most of the time, what people need is the courage and wisdom to fight to the last ditch and sink the boat. People who are accustomed to real life want to be as brave and successful as Xiang Yu and his soldiers, perhaps what they need is to cut off the back road and give it a go.

When an old man was collecting firewood in the mountains, he picked up a strange bird.The strange bird was the same size as a chick just born on the full moon. Perhaps because it was too small to fly, the old man took the strange bird home to play with his little grandson.The old man's grandson was very naughty. He put the strange bird in the chicken flock and acted as the hen's child to let the hen raise it.The hen did not notice this outlier, and took full responsibility for being a mother.

The strange bird grew up day by day, and later people discovered that the strange bird was an eagle. People worried that the eagle would eat chickens when it grew older.In order to protect the chicken, people unanimously asked: either kill the eagle, or release it, so that it will never come back.Because they had been with the eagle for a long time and had feelings for it, the family was naturally reluctant to kill it. They decided to release the eagle and let it return to nature.However, they tried many methods but could not let the eagle return to nature.They took the eagle to a place far away and released it. After a few days, the eagle came back again. They drove it away and prevented it from entering the house. worked.At last they finally understood: it turns out that the eagle is nostalgic for the home where it grew up, and is reluctant to part with the warm and comfortable nest.

Later, an old man in the village said: "Give the eagle to me, and I will let it return to the blue sky and never come back again." Throw it to the deep stream under the cliff.The eagle also fell down like a stone at first, but when it was about to reach the bottom of the ravine, it finally spread its wings to support its body, and began to glide slowly, then flapped its wings lightly, and flew to the blue sky.The more it flies, the more it stretches freely, and the more it flies, the more beautiful it moves.It flew higher and higher, farther and farther, and gradually turned into a small black dot, flew out of people's sight, flew away forever, and never came back.

In fact, each of us is not like that eagle, who always can't bear to give up what we have, and is reluctant to part with a comfortable and stable life.We are like flowers in a greenhouse, pampered and comfortable, but never break through ourselves. Once a crisis comes, we will fall into trouble due to lack of strength.Sometimes, cutting off all retreats may result in the success and victory after the boat sinks.

(End of this chapter)