As Jin Shixie expected, Hua Yuan's effectiveness in annihilating troops did not last long. Just four years later, another war broke out between the Jin and Chu armies.
After Hua Yuan defeated his troops, although the Jin State did not continue to conflict with the Chu State in the Central Plains, it actively expanded its power to the surrounding areas. In the Battle of Ma Tun, the Jin State defeated the Qin Army and greatly expanded its national power. Affected by this, the countries in the Central Plains also moved closer to Jin. Relying on the power of Jin, Zheng State actually sent troops to attack Xu State twice. Xu State had already become a vassal state of Chu State during the reign of King Chuzhuang. Zheng State's move was undoubtedly an offense to Chu State's hegemony.
In the fifteenth year of Duke Cheng of Lu (AD 576), the King of the Communist Party of Chu, who had recovered from the crisis, planned to send his troops north to avenge Xu. When convening the ministers to discuss the matter, Zi Nang urged that Hua Yuan's agreement on annihilation of troops should be abided by and suggested that this issue should be resolved through diplomatic means. But Zifan said: "If the enemy is in advantage, then we will advance. How can we have an alliance?" The king of the Communist Party of Chu then tore up the alliance and sent troops to attack Zheng and Wei. Zheng, not to be outdone, also returned his troops to attack Chu. The Central Plains region once again fell into a state of war.
To be fair, although the Chu State was not unknown, in the context of Huayuan's military annihilation, Zifan's opinion was undoubtedly untenable. The Chu State's dispatch of troops made it very passive in diplomacy. Seeing that Chu was like this, the Jin State was happy to follow the trend and summoned the Qi, Song, Wei, Zheng and other states together with the Wu State in the southeast to form an alliance in Zhongli to deal with the Chu State. The Huayuan Army was officially broken up.
Seeing that the situation was not good, Chu State immediately made peace with Zheng State alone. Zheng, who received Ruyin's land as compensation, immediately turned to Chu's side and formed an alliance with Chu. With the support of Chu, Zheng attacked Song and won. The Wei State attacked the Zheng State under the instruction of the Jin State.
The small-scale conquests of various countries in the Central Plains were just the prelude to the official war between Jin and Chu. The real climax of the war would not come until Jin and Chu, who were hiding behind the scenes, sent out troops to officially fight. Sure enough, in the second year, Jin officially sent troops to attack Zheng. Zheng immediately asked Chu for help, and Chu immediately sent troops. The Jin and Chu armies met at Yanling (now north of Yanling, Henan). A war is about to break out.
The Jin army did not seem to be ready for a head-on battle with the Chu army this time. When he heard that the Chu army was coming, Shi Xie wanted to retreat to avoid a decisive battle with the main force. However, Shi Xie firmly opposed it, and Shi Xie's son Fan Gai also supported Que Zhi's opinion, saying that he could fill up the wells in the camp and fight the decisive battle with Chu in the military camp. Although Fan Gaochu's remarks were sharply reprimanded by Shi Xie, he won the approval of other ministers and officials in the Jin Kingdom. Luan Shu proposed that the Jin army should stick to the camp, avoid decisive battles with the main force, wait for opportunities to counterattack, and strike later. "Stand the base and wait for it, and it will retreat in three days. If you retreat and attack it, you will win."
It should be said that before the battle began, the Chu army did have a certain advantage. This day is a dark day and is considered unlucky in the Spring and Autumn Period. However, the Chu army went in the opposite direction and approached the Jin army under the cover of heavy fog at dawn to start fighting. At this time, the Jin army's reinforcements from Qi, Lu, Song, Wei and other countries had not yet arrived. Was caught off guard.
Although many generals emphasized that the Chu army was heavily arrayed and had many good generals, making it difficult to resist. However, he calmly analyzed the Chu army's own disadvantages. He pointed out that the Chu army's generals Zi Fan and Zi Zhong had a poor relationship, the soldiers were old and low in combat effectiveness, and both the Zheng army and the Chu army had an incomplete lineup. It is an unlucky day to use troops, so you will definitely suffer a big defeat. Emperor Miao Ben, who fled from the Chu State to the Jin State and was well versed in the Chu people's military tactics, pointed out that the main elite force of the Chu State was in the central army, so he could concentrate his superior forces to defeat the left and right armies first, and then join forces to surround the central army. . Under the urging of Quezhi, Miao Benhuang and others, Duke Li of Jin finally decided to fight the Chu army head-on.
Jin's tactical arrangements indeed achieved certain results. Under the fierce attack of Jin's main force, Chu's left and right armies could not withstand it. The Jin army once approached Chu's central army, and the King of Chu was even shot in the left eye by an arrow from Jin general Wei Qi. He was extremely embarrassed. Although the Chu army retreated one after another, the Chu army's superb combat effectiveness and tenacious fighting spirit exceeded Jin's expectations. Yang Youji, the famous marksman of the Chu State, showed his prowess in the defeated army. He first shot Wei Qi to death with an arrow, and then led his army to resist the pursuit of the Jin army. Another fierce general, Shu Shanran, used the soldiers of the Jin army to As weapons were thrown at the Jin chariots, the Jin army was unable to move and was forced to stop advancing.
The two sides fought fiercely for a day, which ended at dusk. Although Jin was superior and Chu was inferior, the Chu army was not defeated, and the results obtained by Jin were extremely limited, and they only captured the prince of Chu. As night fell, both sides withdrew their troops and returned to camp to reorganize their soldiers, rescue the wounded, replenish food and grass, repair weapons, and reposition their troops, planning to fight again the next day.
At this time, Emperor Miao Ben came up with a clever plan. He ordered people to secretly relax the supervision of the Chu prisoners of war and let them escape back to the Chu camp to report on the Jin army's armaments and shake the Chu army's morale. Sure enough, after the King of the Communist Party of Chu received such news, he held a military meeting overnight. However, Zifan, who was in charge of the central army, was so drunk that he was unconscious and could not come. After all, the King of the Communist Party of Chu was not very old. When he heard about this, he lamented: "Heaven has defeated Chu Yefu! I can't wait for you." He actually ordered a retreat. The next day, the heavily armed Jin army discovered that the Chu army had retreated overnight, so they captured the Chu army's camp and seized all the Chu army's food and supplies. At this time, Jin's reinforcements arrived at Yanling one after another. In the Chu State, Zi Fan, who missed the opportunity to fight, was blamed by the King of Chu Communist Party and persecuted by Zi Zhong, who was at odds with him. He had no choice but to commit suicide to apologize. The Battle of Yanling ended with Jin's victory.
There are many reasons for Chu's failure in the Battle of Yanling: First of all, the troops came from unknown sources and were at a disadvantage in terms of morality and public opinion; secondly, in order to seize advantageous fighter opportunities, they forcibly marched and launched attacks regardless of the actual advancement speed of the army. It also caused the fatigue of the army, leading to a decline in combat effectiveness; thirdly, during the battle, the military commanders made incorrect judgments and ineffective command, resulting in passive beatings at the tactical level. Only the outstanding combat capabilities of individual soldiers were able to barely maintain the situation; finally It's just that the coach failed to observe military discipline and wasted the opportunity to fight.
Compared with Chu, Jin's victory undoubtedly benefited from its correct strategies and tactics. However, unlike the Battle of Chengpu, which established Jin's hegemony, the Battle of Yanling did not allow Jin to obtain the expected political benefits. From the scene before the war when the ministers and officials were arguing endlessly about whether to fight or retreat, we can see that there were many problems in Jin's state affairs, the ministers were at odds, and the monarch and his ministers were alienated. Just as Xuan Bo, the official of the Lu State after the war, said: "There are many branches of government in Jin, so you can't follow them. I'd rather serve Qi and Chu. It's just ruin, so you should defy Jin!"
During the war, the reinforcements from Qi, Lu, Song, Wei and other countries were reluctant to advance, and the wait-and-see attitude was a concrete manifestation of this mentality. Therefore, although the Jin State won the Battle of Yanling, it did not gain control of the vassal states in the Central Plains. In particular, Zheng Guo, who had good relations with Chu State, always refused to bow to Jin State. Sure enough, shortly after the Battle of Yanling, civil strife broke out in the Jin State, and San Que, Duke Li of Jin and others died in the civil strife. Although the Duke of Jin later regained his hegemony, it could no longer restore the decline of the Jin state.
The Battle of Yanling was the third and last battle between the main armies of the two countries in the decades-long struggle between Jin and Chu. It also marked the failure of Chu to dominate the Central Plains. Although Jin won, its influence on the Central Plains princes also gradually declined.
After the Battle of Yanling, the struggle for hegemony between Jin and Chu became fierce again. At this time, Qi, Lu, Song, and Wei were on good terms with Jin, while Qin, Zheng, Chen, and Cai were on friendly terms with Chu. Although the Jin State won the Battle of Yanling, its hegemony in the Central Plains has been unstable due to the domestic situation. In order to expand Jin's influence in the Central Plains, Jin repeatedly attacked Zheng. However, Zheng was grateful for Chu's rescue in the Battle of Yanling, so his political stance always favored Chu, and with the support of Chu, he fought with Jin. More than ten years of fighting. Later, although he was forced to compromise with Jin due to lack of strength, he always had an affair with Chu.
Although Chu State failed in the Battle of Yanling, its vitality was not greatly damaged and it was still capable of competing with Jin State. Therefore, it gradually got closer to Qin State, which also had a gap with Jin State. The two sides not only agreed to attack the Jin State together, but also entered into a marriage alliance. However, at this time, the Chu State was attacked more fiercely by the gradually rising Wu State. Although the two sides had a victory or defeat, the Chu State's attention was diverted to the southeast, and its attention to the Central Plains naturally weakened. On the other hand, the Qi State in the east also took the opportunity to expand its power again in an attempt to compete with the Jin State for the hegemony.
The long-term war situation has placed a great burden on all countries. In the turbulent situation, civil strife in various countries occurred one after another, setting off another wave of political changes. Ministers, officials, and scholars gradually took control of the actual power of the vassal states. Civil strife broke out in Jin, Zheng, and Qi, especially among several ministers, officials, and kings of Jin. As a result, Jin's national power was greatly damaged, and Jin could barely maintain its superficial strength.
This chaotic situation lasted for about thirty years. The long-term war situation and increasingly fierce domestic conflicts have made even superpowers like Jin and Chu deeply unsustainable, let alone those caught between them. One of the small countries. Under such a general background, once again "killing troops" has become the consensus of all the princely states.
The first person to lower his dignity was Zhao Wu, the chief minister of the Jin State at the time. In order to ease the sharp conflicts between the vassal states, this former orphan of the Zhao family first reduced the amount of regular tribute paid by the small countries to the Jin State, and then through Sun Bao, the official of the Lu State, he , expressing the hope that someone would come forward to mediate between Jin and Chu to reach a peace agreement.
Zhao Wu's opinion was agreed by the princes of various countries at that time. At that time, the civil strife in Qi State had not yet ended, and the Cui family and the Qing family were in charge. Naturally, it was necessary to make good friends with the vassal states to stabilize the situation. Zichan, who was in power in Zheng State at the time, saw that the vassal states were making peace, so when the allied forces of Chu, Chen, Cai, Xu and other countries attacked, he fortified the walls and cleared the country without resistance, providing room for peace talks.
The conditions for eliminating troops gradually matured, and naturally some people came forward and were willing to mediate. The last time the host of Huayuan's annihilation of troops was the Song Dynasty doctor, this time it was the Song Dynasty doctor Xiang Xu who stepped forward. Similar to Hua Yuan, Xiang Xu had a close relationship with Zhao Wu on the one hand, and friendship with Yin Qu Jian, the magistrate of Chu State on the other. Seeing that the princes were advocating the elimination of troops, Xiang Xu decided to follow the example of his predecessors and preside over the meeting to eliminate troops again. In this way, while stopping the war, it can also greatly improve the reputation and status of the Song Dynasty.
With this purpose, Xiang Xu embarked on the road of lobbying. He successively visited the four most powerful countries of Jin, Chu, Qi and Qin. Relying on their personal relationships with those in power, Jin and Chu naturally followed suit, and Qin readily agreed. Only Qi hesitated for a while, and agreed under the persuasion of doctor Tian Wenzi. Seeing that the big countries supported the elimination of troops, the small countries naturally agreed one after another.
In the twenty-seventh year of Lu Xianggong (546 BC), the second army-killing conference was held again at the west gate of the Song Dynasty. Compared with the last time Huayuan destroyed troops, the level and scale of this time have been much improved. A total of fourteen countries, including Jin, Chu, Qi, Qin, Lu, Wei, Chen, Cai, Zheng, Xu, Song, Zhu, Teng and Cao, sent representatives to host the meeting. Of course the person is still Xiang Xu.
After Xiang Xu's mediation, Jin and Chu established the basic pattern that the two vassal states should court each other, which is the so-called "Jin and Chu subordinates court each other." However, since Qi and Qin were relatively powerful and had alliances with Jin and Chu respectively, exceptions could be made. However, Zhu and Teng were vassals of Qi and Song respectively, so they did not need to participate in the alliance.
Although the peace agreement was reached, the atmosphere at the venue was still tense before the alliance ceremony. The two countries of Jin and Chu had been fighting each other for many years. Their hatred was deep and they were wary of each other. During the formal alliance meeting, the Chu State secretly put on armor under their formal attire as a precaution, planning to fight if they disagreed. The Chu State's order, Yin Qujian, declared: "Jin and Chu have not trusted each other for a long time, and it is only for the sake of convenience. Gou How can you have faith if you have ambition?" Upon hearing the news, the Jin State also made preparations in advance, planning to rush into the Song capital and defend the city if there were any changes.
At the formal meeting, representatives from various countries jointly approved the previously reached agreement and determined the proportion of tribute that each country should pay to the two countries. However, at the end of the bloody alliance, Jin and Chu once again competed for the leadership of the alliance. The two sides refused to give in to each other and almost broke down the negotiations. In the end, under the persuasion of Shu Xiang, a doctor of Jin State, Chu State became the leader of the alliance, but in exchange, the name of Jin State was first written on the alliance book.
Although there were many turmoils, the second troop-annihilation conference, known in history as the "Xiangxu Troop-annihilation Conference", finally ended successfully. Compared with the short-lived Huayuan Annihilation Conference, this time the effectiveness of the Annihilation Conference was much longer. Since then, there have been no major wars among the vassal states for decades, ushering in a rare period of peace.
The Annihilation Conference established a bipolar political pattern in which Jin and Chu both dominated. For big countries such as Jin, Chu, Qi, and Qin, the convening of the Annihilation Conference was helpful to deal with the increasingly acute domestic conflicts and restore the national power that was increasingly empty due to war. For the small vassal states in the Central Plains, on the one hand, they were protected from the intrusion and destruction of war, but on the other hand, they also shouldered the heavy burden of obeying two big countries and paying two tributes.
After the meeting to eliminate the army, Duke Jin of Qi, Duke Ai of Chen, Duke Jing of Cai, Duke Qiwen, as well as the monarchs of Yan, Hu, Shen, Bai Di and other countries went to Jin to pay homage to Duke Ping of Jin the following year; while Duke Xiang of Lu, Duke Ping of Song, and Duke Chen Duke Ai, Duke Jian of Zheng, and Duke Xu Dao paid homage to King Chu Kang of Chu State. From then on, these small countries "served as servants in the courts of Jin and Chu", and "made the most of their soil, valued their coins and silk, paid tribute to their duties, and obeyed the orders of the time, congratulating blessings and condoning misfortunes", resulting in "not daring to live peacefully. Ask for my gifts and learn about current affairs."
In the first year of Lu Zhaogong (541 BC), five years after the annihilation of troops at Xu, various countries met again in Guo to reiterate and emphasize the spirit of the annihilation conference. Although Xiangxu was to maintain the living space of the big country at the expense of the interests of small countries, a peaceful situation was achieved through diplomatic means. In particular, the Song Dynasty played a leading role in the two military-annihilation conferences, which also illustrates the military-annihilation conference. positive meaning. The Annihilation Conference promoted the historical process of the Spring and Autumn Period and had far-reaching influence.
