PFC Chapter 200: Ancient Battles Where the Fewer Teams Defeat the More
Chapter 200: Ancient Battles Where the Fewer Teams Defeat the More
Fifth: Keshi. Unlike Concubine Wan, Keshi's guilt was clear. She killed upright people, starved pregnant concubines to death, and conspired to have a fake prince ascend the throne. She committed countless evil deeds, and she relied on the emperor's trust to do so.
In 1604, the 18-year-old Keshi entered the palace and became the wet nurse of the crown prince Zhu Youxiao. Zhu Youxiao was brought up by her since he was a child and was very close to her. Even after he was past the age of breastfeeding, he still let Keshi serve him by his side.
In 1620, Zhu Youxiao ascended the throne and became the Ming Xizong. Keshi's status also rose with the tide and she was given the title of Fengsheng Lady. With the emperor as her backer, Keshi had the capital to do evil.
Emperor Zhu Youxiao's life goal was to be a carpenter, and asking him to handle state affairs was as difficult as forcing a poor student to do homework. In response, Keshi came up with a good way to seize power. She asked Zhu Youxiao to promote his lover Wei Zhongxian to be the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department, and directly outsourced state affairs to Wei Zhongxian, so that the emperor could concentrate on making furniture.
Zhu Youxiao was overjoyed after hearing this and immediately implemented the plan. Thus, the Ming decision-making body consisting of three illiterate people, Keshi, Wei Zhongxian and Zhu Youxiao, officially appeared. They did not care about state affairs, but only wanted to gain power and make money.
The government was in chaos because of them, and the eunuch Wang An could not stand it, so he advised Zhu Youxiao to distance himself from Keshi and Wei Zhongxian. Unexpectedly, the matter was leaked, and Wang An was killed by Keshi and Wei Zhongxian in 1621.
After that, Keshi became more and more unscrupulous, and most of the officials in the court followed her lead. In order to monopolize the government, she and Wei Zhongxian deliberately asked Zhu Youxiao to handle government affairs when he was having fun.
The emperor's answer was, "You decide." Even with such power and status, Keshi was still not satisfied. She wanted the next emperor to be her own.
So Keshi kept sending her adopted daughters into the palace, hoping that she would be the first to become pregnant with a prince so that the prince of her faction could ascend the throne. For this purpose, she even killed the pregnant concubines.
In 1623, Empress Zhang was pregnant. Keshi bribed her masseur to make her have a miscarriage. The pregnant Concubine Zhang Yu was also imprisoned by Keshi. Keshi refused to give her food. Poor Concubine Zhang Yu could only drink rainwater to fill her stomach. She starved to death 14 days later.
In 1627, Zhu Youxiao was seriously ill. Keshi secretly allowed eight pregnant women to enter the palace, intending to use their children to impersonate princes in order to preserve her own wealth and glory.
But under the persuasion of Empress Zhang, Zhu Youxiao decided to make his younger brother the crown prince. After Zhu Youjian ascended the throne, he immediately dealt with Keshi and Wei Zhongxian. Keshi, who had been domineering for many years, ended up being whipped to death.
[A review of classic battles in history where a smaller force won over a larger one. Small historical war knowledge]
"It is easy to get a lot of gold, but it is hard to find a good general." Throughout history, there are very few people who are proficient in the technical skill of leading troops, and even fewer generals who can defeat the larger force with the smaller one and the stronger force with the weaker one.
So which generals in ancient my country were able to defeat enemies that were several times larger than themselves? In this video, let's take stock of the battles in history where the few defeated the many.
The Battle of Julu: Xiang Yu's famous battle. When it comes to defeating a larger force with a smaller one, we have to mention Xiang Yu's famous battle - the Battle of Julu. In 208 BC, General Zhang Han led the Qin army to kill Xiang Liang, and then joined forces with Wang Li to attack the State of Zhao with 40 troops.
Zhao was defeated by the Qin army and could only send a distress signal to King Huai of Chu. King Huai appointed Song Yi as the general and Xiang Yu as the second general to lead tens of thousands of soldiers to support Zhao.
However, Song Yi repeatedly stalled when approaching the battlefield, hoping to delay time and let both Qin and Zhao suffer losses, so that he could reap the benefits. Song Yi's bad behavior angered Xiang Yu, and in order to save Zhao from the dire situation, in December 208 BC, Xiang Yu quickly killed his stupid teammates and took power himself.
The first thing he did after taking power was to lead troops to rescue Julu. Xiang Yu first sent Ying Bu and General Pu to lead 2 Chu troops across the river, and then led the entire army across the river to fight.
After crossing the river, he ordered the burning of the army tents, burning of the boats and cauldrons, leaving only three days of food, and then launched a surprise attack on Julu with lightning speed. After burning the boats and cauldrons, the Chu army soldiers knew that they had no way out and would die without a burial place if they failed.
As a result, only tens of thousands of people defeated the 40 Qin troops without any chance to fight back. At this time, the princes who came to rescue Zhao also sent troops one after another. In 207 BC, Xiang Yu finally defeated Zhang Han and ushered in the highlight of his life.
The various princes also admired his reputation and began to follow his lead. It can be said that it was this battle that laid the foundation for the defeat of the Qin Dynasty.
Battle of Jingxing: Han Xin's legend, similar to the Battle of Julu, the famous battle of Han Xin in 205 BC, the Battle of Jingxing, also adopted the strategy of risking one's life to survive. With enemies in front and water behind, the soldiers could only burst out with amazing fighting power, and finally created the legend of 3 soldiers defeating 20 powerful enemies.
Battle of Guandu: Cao Cao's highlight moment. Like Xiang Yu and Han Xin, Cao Cao's highlight moment in life was also closely related to a war, which was the Battle of Guandu.
In June 199 AD, in order to compete for the big cake in the north, Yuan Shao led 6 elite troops to cross the Yellow River and attack Xu Du in the south, and the Battle of Guandu broke out.
At this time, there was a huge gap in strength between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao. Cao Cao had only 2 troops, and it was extremely difficult to win with 2 against 10. In February 200 AD, Yuan Shao took the initiative.
Yan Liang and his men led troops to capture the fortress of Baima on the south bank of the Yellow River to ensure the main force could cross the river smoothly. After Cao Cao learned the news, he personally led troops to relieve the siege of Baima. He adopted Xun You's strategy and pretended to cross the river to attack Yuan Shao's base camp. Yuan Shao was afraid that his base would be destroyed, so he dispersed his forces and turned back to rescue.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he dispersed his troops, Yan Liang, who was responsible for attacking Bai Ma, was ambushed. At this time, Guan Yu, a subordinate of Cao Cao, even took the opportunity to chop off the head of the big boss Yan Liang.
After this battle, the siege of Bai Ma was lifted, and Cao Cao then withdrew his troops back to Guandu. Yuan Shao pursued him closely, but during the pursuit, Cao Cao gave Yuan Shao another great gift. He ordered his troops to abandon their baggage while running. Seeing this, Yuan's army started treasure hunting mode while chasing, constantly scrambling for the property left behind by Cao's army.
However, at this moment Cao Cao suddenly ordered a counterattack, and Yuan's army was caught off guard. Five or six thousand cavalrymen were chased and beaten by Cao Cao's cavalry unit of less than 600 people. The general Wen Chou was also beheaded in this battle.
In August 200 AD, Yuan Shao's main force approached Guandu and began a head-on confrontation with Cao's army. The two sides were in a stalemate for three consecutive months, and Yuan's army was short of soldiers and food in the city.
At this time, Yuan Shao's adviser Xu You turned traitor and sold Yuan Shao's granary to Cao Cao. So Cao Cao attacked overnight and burned the Wuchao granary.
After learning that the granary was burned, Yuan Shao's army became morale-shaking. Generals Zhang He and Gao Lan, seeing that defeat was inevitable, also surrendered. The Yuan army's health bar was thus reduced to zero, and Yuan Shao himself could only flee back to Hebei with 800 cavalrymen.
In this battle, Cao Cao created a legend of defeating an enemy army of 2 with an army of 10. The Battle of Guandu also laid a solid foundation for him to unify the north.
Battle of Feishui: The defeat of Former Qin. If Yuan Shao started strong but ended weak in the Battle of Guandu, then Fu Jian played a good hand badly in the Battle of Feishui.
He claimed to command more than 80 troops, but was defeated by the 8 troops of the Eastern Jin Dynasty and fled in panic. He even made a joke of being so panic-stricken that he saw enemies everywhere. In August 383 AD, Emperor Fu Jian of the Former Qin Dynasty sent troops to attack the Jin Dynasty. He sent Fu Rong as the vanguard to lead 8 troops to the south, and he himself led more than 25 main forces to attack the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
The number of troops in the early stage of this expedition was so large that it was said that "throwing a whip to stop the flow of the river" would stop the flow of the river. That is, as long as Fu Jian gave an order and ordered the soldiers to throw whips into the Yangtze River, the water would be cut off.
With the advantage of numbers, the Former Qin was invincible at the beginning of the war and successively captured important cities such as Xiangyang and Shouyang. However, just when they wanted to continue southward, the Eastern Jin army stopped the 25 vanguard troops of the Former Qin.
The Jin army held on to Xishi, and the vanguard commander Fu Rong failed to capture it after a long siege, so the progress bar of the southward march stopped. Upon learning of this, Fu Jian made a surprising decision: he left the 60 main forces in place, and led 8000 cavalry to the front line to join the vanguard and jointly annihilate the main force of the Jin army.
However, Fu Jian would never have thought that the Jin army would attack the vanguard at night and behead 1 Qin soldiers. After this battle, the morale of the Qin army plummeted, but even so, the 8 Former Qin vanguard still had a numerical advantage over the Eastern Jin army of only 24.
In November 383 AD, the Qin and Jin sides finally launched a decisive battle at Feishui. The Qin army lined up at the water's edge. Fu Jian was eager to make merit and was eager to fight, but his idea was seen through by the Jin army general Xie Shi.
Xie Shi used this opportunity to persuade Fu Jian to let the Qin army retreat so that the Jin army could go ashore for a decisive battle. Fu Jian was fooled, and the Qin army's formation was in chaos. The Jin army crossed the river and launched an attack, and the former Qin general Fu Rong was also beheaded in the chaos.
At this time, the internal spies planted by the Eastern Jin Dynasty in the Qin army took the opportunity to shout "The Qin army is defeated". The already panicked soldiers of the Former Qin Dynasty became even more panicked when they heard this.
Eventually, they were defeated by the all-out attack of the Eastern Jin army. After the defeat, the Former Qin army fled in panic. On the way, they heard the cries of cranes and thought that the Jin army was catching up with them, so they became even more panicked and lost their way. The Battle of Feishui ended with a complete victory for the Jin army.
The victory of the Eastern Jin Dynasty in the Battle of Feishui was partly due to the contribution of Fu Jian, the great emperor of the Former Qin Dynasty. However, Yue Fei, who was able to defeat the larger force with a smaller one in the great victory, was able to rely on his own strength.
After all, his opponent Wanyan Zongbi was a famous general of the Jin Dynasty. The arrogant Liao Dynasty would only be defeated when they met him. In July 1140 AD, Yue Fei had to face this powerful enemy.
At that time, Wanyan Zongbing led elite cavalry to attack Yingcheng. Behind him, there were more than 10 Jin army reinforcements on the way, while Yue Fei had only more than 1 soldiers at most. This battle was destined to be difficult.
Facing a strong enemy, Yue Fei sent his eldest son Yue Yun to lead the charge. He asked Yue Yun to lead the cavalry to charge at the Jin army camp, first to dampen the morale of the Jin army, and then to lead the Song army to block the Jin army's multiple charges. The battle between the two sides was tense and it was difficult to determine the winner.
At this time, Yue's army used a powerful weapon - the fierce general Yang Zaixing. Yang Zaixing rushed into the enemy camp alone, claiming to capture Wanyan Zongbing alive, and then killed a circle of Jin troops. Although he failed to capture Wanyan Zongbing, he killed hundreds of enemies.
After Yang Zaixing showed his skills, Yue Fei followed suit and used his ultimate move. He led the cavalry to rush to the front of the enemy's formation and attacked from both sides, dancing with swords. Under Yue Fei's command, the Jin army's crooked cavalry were also defeated by the Song army.
Seeing this, Wanyan Zongbing used his trump card - Iron Pagoda. The so-called Iron Pagoda is a group of heavily armored cavalrymen, with all their bodies protected by iron armor except for the legs. Every three horses in the Iron Pagoda were connected by leather ropes, advancing and retreating together, approaching the Song army like a wall.
An ordinary army formation would surely scatter and lose all its fighting power when facing the impact of the Iron Pagoda. However, Yue Fei had thought of a way to defeat the enemy. He ordered his soldiers to form groups of three and chop the horses' legs. As long as one horse fell, the two adjacent horses would be unable to move.
Under the attack of the Song Army, the heavy equipment of the Jin Army was broken. The Song Army completely gained the upper hand and severely damaged the main force of the Jin Army. The Battle of Yingcheng ended with the victory of the Song Army.
Battle of Poyang Lake: Zhu Yuanzhang's magical operation. In the expedition, the Jin army was nearly 10 stronger than the Song army. However, in the Battle of Poyang Lake at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, Chen Youliang's army was 40 more than Zhu Yuanzhang's.
In this case, victory would depend on Zhu Yuanzhang's magical operation. In May 1360, Chen Youliang contacted Zhang Shicheng, attempting to cooperate with him to kick Zhu Yuanzhang out of the competition.
Zhu Yuanzhang decided that instead of waiting for death, he would take the initiative to attack, so he decided to lure the enemy deep into the territory and then encircle and suppress them. But what excuse could he use to trick Chen Youliang out?
Zhu Yuanzhang came up with a good idea. He asked Chen Youliang's friend Kang Maocai, a surrendered general of the Yuan Dynasty, to send a message to Chen Youliang, which roughly said: "We are old friends, let's deal with Zhu Yuanzhang together. I, Kang Maocai, am willing to be your insider." Chen Youliang was quickly fooled by the message and hurried to the agreed place, Jiangdong Bridge, to meet Kang Maocai.
Unexpectedly, the person waiting for him at Jiangdong Bridge was not his old friend Kang Maocai, but Zhu Yuanzhang who had been prepared for a long time. After falling into Zhu Yuanzhang's ambush, Chen's army suffered heavy losses, 100 warships were abandoned, 2 soldiers were captured, and Chen Youliang himself could only escape on a small boat.
For Zhu Yuanzhang, Chen Youliang's defeat was a good opportunity for him to seize territory, so in the following year, Zhu Yuanzhang continued to advance westwards and fought more than a dozen cities. In February 1363, Zhu Yuanzhang went to rescue the young Ming king, and Chen Youliang took the opportunity to lead 2 troops to
After hearing the news, Zhu Yuanzhang led 20 troops back to rescue. He first sent people to cut off Chen Youliang's retreat, and then personally led his troops into Poyang Lake. Later, Chen Youliang also led his troops into Poyang Lake for a decisive battle.
At that time, not only was there a huge difference in military strength between Chen Youliang and Zhu Yuanzhang, but even their equipment was incomparable. Chen's army used huge ships, while the Ming army only had small warships. Chen Youliang was confident that he would win.
If Zhu Yuanzhang placed a bet at this time, his odds would definitely be ridiculously high. Just when Zhu Yuanzhang was at a loss, his general Guo Xing gave him an idea: fire attack.
On the evening of July 1363, 7, a northeast wind blew over Poyang Lake. Zhu Yuanzhang took advantage of the wind and released seven fishing boats loaded with gunpowder. For a moment, flames broke out over Poyang Lake.
Hundreds of Chen Youliang's warships were burned down by the fire. The war situation reversed. The potential stock Chen Youliang fell, while the unfavored Zhu Yuanzhang continued to rise.
After that, Chen's army suffered a crushing defeat. Chen Youliang risked his life to break out but was defeated and shot to death. Zhu Yuanzhang successfully won the battle and laid the foundation for the unification of Jiangnan.
——"Prince Yue is really strong."
——"There was another battle when they met, in which the outnumbered defeated the larger force. The Battle of Pengcheng made Liu Bang become autistic."
——"There are still many battles where the few defeated the many."