100 Historical Stories That Unlock Teenage Wisdom

Chapter 85 2 Wang Jian's 60 troops destroy Chu
Chapter 92 Wang Jian's 60 troops destroyed Chu——Don't underestimate your opponent

Overestimating yourself and underestimating the strength of your opponent is a taboo for success.

Wang Jian, a famous general of Qin State in the late Warring States period.In the 20th year of Qin Shihuang (227 BC), Wang Jian led the Qin army to attack Yan, destroyed Yan in the second year, and returned.In the 22nd year of Qin Shihuang (225 BC), Qin Shihuang ordered Wang Jian's son Wang Ben to lead an army to attack Chu State and conquer more than ten cities.Then the troops returned to attack Wei, causing the king of Wei to surrender, and the land of Wei was pacified.At this time, the four kingdoms of Zhao, Han, Wei and Yan had been swallowed up by Qin.Of the six kingdoms in Shandong, only Qi and Chu were left, and King Qin first directed his troops to Chu in the south.

Among the famous Qin generals at that time, apart from Meng Tian, ​​Wang Jian, Wang Ben and others, there was also a young general named Li Xin.Li Xin was young and brave, with extraordinary courage. When he followed Wang Jian to attack Yan, Yan Wang and Yan Taizi Dan led their elite soldiers to protect Liaodong. Li Xin led thousands of elite soldiers to chase after them. , He made great contributions to destroying Yan and won the appreciation and trust of Qin Shihuang.At this time, Qin Shihuang wanted to destroy Chu, and when considering the candidate for the commander-in-chief of the Qin army, he first thought of Li Xin.He asked Li Xin: "I want to destroy the state of Chu. According to your estimation, how many troops will be enough?" Li Xin was full of pride and said, "But 20 people are enough." Said: "There must be 60 people." When Qin Shihuang heard this, he said: "General Wang is getting older and less courageous. General Li Xin is brave and courageous, and his words have courage." Therefore, Wang Jian was not used, but sent Li Xin was the commander, and Meng Tian and other generals commanded 20 Qin troops to attack Chu in the south.Wang Jian died of illness because his words were not adopted.After Li Xin led the Qin army into the territory of Chu, he divided his troops into two groups and led an army to attack Pingyu (now north of Pingyu, Henan), while Meng Tian led his army to attack Zuo (now Gushi, Henan). He won the first battle and defeated Chu. military.After that, Li Xin led his army to the east and joined Meng Tian's army.At this time, the state of Chu sent its famous general Xiang Yan to lead the army to defend Qin.Xiang Yan couldn't hold out at first, and when the Qin army was very tired from the long-distance transfer, the Chu army, who was waiting for work, suddenly attacked and followed closely behind the Qin army, catching up with the Qin army without stopping for three days and nights.The Qin army was defeated, and the Chu army broke through two barriers, and seven captains died in battle.Li Xin was forced to lead his army to retreat.When Qin Shihuang heard that Li Xin failed to attack Chu, he was furious and regretted not using Wang Jian's words. Now the Chu army is taking advantage of the victory and heading west, and the situation is critical. Although the general is sick, does he have the heart to leave the widow alone?" Wang Jian apologized and said: "The old minister is old and sick, and he is too sick to be a general. Please choose another good general. Qin Shihuang said again: "Okay, general, stop talking." Wang Jian said: "Chu is a big country, and it is not difficult to send a million troops. If the king must use his ministers as commanders, he must have 100 people." Qin Shihuang was embarrassed He smiled and said: "Okay, old general, I just listen to you." So Qin Shihuang recruited a total of 60 elite soldiers, handed them over to Wang Jian to lead them, and went south to attack Chu.When the army set off, Qin Shihuang personally saw him off to Bashang (now east of Xi'an, Shaanxi).Wang Jian took this opportunity and asked King Qin to give him good fields, houses and gardens, and he asked for a large amount.Qin Shihuang said: "The general is trying his best to go to war. Is there any need to worry about poverty?" Wang Jian said: "If you lead troops to fight for the king, no matter how meritorious you are, you will never be a marquis. Therefore, while the king still needs veterans, I hurry up and ask for land and gardens for my descendants." Qin Shihuang laughed happily when he heard Wang Jian's words.When Wang Jian was about to leave the customs, he sent people five times to ask Qin Shihuang to grant him a good land and garden.Someone advised Wang Jian, "It's too much to ask for things like you, General." Wang Jian said, "No way. The King of Qin has a rough temper and refuses to trust others. Now he has transferred all the elite soldiers of the Qin State and specially entrusted him with Me, if I don’t want more farmland, houses and gardens for my descendants, so as to strengthen King Qin’s trust in me, will King Qin have no reason to doubt me?” After Wang Jian arrived at the front line, he replaced Li Xin as the commander of Qin’s army. commander in chief.The state of Chu heard that Wang Jian had led reinforcements to the front line, and also mobilized the whole country's troops to defend against the Qin soldiers.Wang Jian learned the lesson of Li Xin's failure. In order to avoid long-distance treks, he set up a camp on the spot after reaching Pingyu, built a military fortress, defended against the wall, and refused to fight. Passive becomes active.Chu general Xiang Yan originally wanted to adopt the policy of defeating Li Xinjun, waiting for work at leisure, and attacking from the camera.But the king of Chu didn't know how to fight, so he sent people many times to force Xiang Yan to fight.Xiang Yan had no choice but to lead the Chu army to the front of the Qin army's fortress, and sent people to challenge the Qin army many times, but the Qin army never came out.When Wang Jian was in the army, he let the soldiers rest in place every day, and managed the food well, and ate with the soldiers himself.After many days, Wang Jian asked the generals: "What are the soldiers doing?" He replied: "In the game of throwing stones, see who can throw the farthest." After hearing this, Wang Jian said: "The soldiers are ready to use." Qin Jun had challenged many times before the camp, but Qin Jun was a little frustrated when he didn't come out.Xiang Yan had no choice but to lead the army to retreat eastward, preparing to disengage from the Qin army.Taking advantage of the retreat of the Chu army, Wang Jian led the army to attack and ordered the elite soldiers to fight forward.The Chu army fell into chaos, and then was defeated and retreated eastward.The Qin army pursued to the south of Dan County (now in Anhui), and Xiang Yan, the leader of the Chu army, died in battle.The Chu army lost its commander, so it was no longer able to fight, and they scattered and fled.The Qin army took advantage of the victory to occupy a vast area of ​​Chu State and set it up as counties.After more than a year, the king of Chu was captured, and the state of Chu perished.This year is the 60th year of Qin Shihuang (24 BC).

Wisdom Interpretation:

Sometimes, we tend to be very overconfident and think we are strong.But we always ignore the fact that our opponents may be smarter and more capable than us, may have more resources than us, and even if they suffer temporary setbacks, they may recover or even strengthen quickly.Therefore, we must believe in ourselves strategically, and we must pay attention to our opponents tactically.

(End of this chapter)