100 Historical Stories That Unlock Teenage Wisdom

Chapter 65 Part 2

Chapter 72: Sun Wu Performs Troops to Kill the Princess
——Don't be easily influenced by others when your judgment is correct. Don't panic, and do it in an orderly manner.

One day in 512 BC, King Helu of Wu was in the palace just after talking with a counselor from another country when someone reported that General Wu Zixu had asked to see him.

"Please come in." Since he assassinated King Liao of Wu and ascended the throne, Helu relied on Wu Zixu to assist the people and develop production. According to him, after Wu Zixu came in and saw the ceremony, he sat down and talked with He Lu about the general situation of the world.After a while, when it came to the matter of using troops against Chu, Wu Zixu said solemnly to He Lu, "I recommend a man to my lord. This man comes from a family of Qi, and he has systematically studied the art of war."

"Oh, what did you mean?" He Lu seemed to have guessed the person's name.

"Yes, it is Sun Wu. His art of war is quite as good as that of the north and south. This is a rare talent. My lord wants to attack Chu, and this person can be a general."

"God is helping me too! Where is he now? I heard that he has arrived in the country of Wu."

"Yes, I live in the capital. If my lord wants to see you, you can ask him to see you tomorrow."

The next day, Sun Wu asked to see He Lu.Entering the palace, He Lu enthusiastically stood up to greet him, and sat down with Sun Wu.He Lu smiled and said to Sun Wu: "I have read all the thirteen articles on the art of war you wrote. They are detailed and comprehensive. They are unprecedented masterpieces of art of war. Do you all know each other?"

Knowing that King Wu still had doubts about his actual ability, Sun Wu took the opportunity to let him see that he was not a boaster, so he agreed.He Lu asked again if it was possible to replace the army with women.Sun Tzu glanced at him and said, "No problem!"

So He Lu ordered people to select 180 beauties from the palace, divide them into two teams, and let his two favorite concubines be the captains.The beauties each hold a long dagger, which is very fun.The hand that usually shakes the fan and folds flowers is holding a heavy weapon today, so it is in a mess, stronger than anyone else, and the scene is chaotic for a while.Sun Wu gave repeated orders, telling them to listen to the orders of the drums, and asked them to act accordingly.These beauties think they are from the palace, and they don't pay attention to the Qi people in front of them.As soon as the drums sounded, they laughed and laughed together.

Sun Wu said: "It's the general's fault that he didn't tell the order clearly." So he repeated the order and told the beauties what to do.The drums sounded again, and the beauties still laughed together.

At this time, He Lu, who was watching the military exercise on the high platform, had an imperceptible sneer in his eyes, and at the same time, he felt a little lost in his heart.

Seeing that the beauties refused to obey orders, Sun Tzu glared and shouted, "It's the general's fault if the order is not clear; but it's the captain's fault if the order is clearly stated, but you still don't obey the order. The two captains were beheaded!"

He Lu saw that Sun Wu was really coming from above, he was shocked, and hurriedly shouted: "I already know that you can use soldiers. These two concubines are my favorite people. Without them, I can't eat well. Please forgive me." leave them alone."

Sun Wu said: "The general is out, and the king's life will not be tolerated!" After speaking, he really ordered the two captains to be killed.He Lu was very heartbroken, but now is the time to employ people, and it is not easy to deal with Sun Wu to chill the hearts of the world's sages, so he had to say: "I know your ability, and I don't have the heart to watch soldiers. You will be in Wu Guo from now on." Be a general." Sun Wu looked at King Wu's back and sighed: "This monarch still can't really understand the military affairs."

However, after Sun Wu became the general of Wu State, he led troops to defeat Chu State and Yue State. Even Qi State and Jin State were shaken, and he made great contributions to Helu's dominance.

Wisdom Interpretation:

One of the important concepts Sun Tzu expounded in "The Art of War" is that the monarch directly gives orders without knowing the situation of the army, so he clearly stated that "the king who is outside will not accept the order of the king".This is the case with soldiers, and it is the same with people and things.

Sometimes we will be restrained by inherent rules, let our thoughts be confined in a narrow circle, and stubbornly stick to the so-called loyalty. In fact, we must dare to break the shackles of habits or dogma in everything we do. Have your own insights and open up your own new world.

(End of this chapter)