In the Spring and Autumn Period, the generals all commanded the army from chariots. Even if they went out for a duel, the generals of both sides would stand on the chariot with two personal guards. One was responsible for controlling the chariot, and the other was responsible for guarding the chariot.
In the Spring and Autumn Period, there were a lot of rules for a duel between heroes, and it was really a turn-based system. Only after both sides had attacked and defended did a round end.
This is indeed strange in modern times, but it is indeed recorded in "Zuo Zhuan".
When the Song Dynasty was in civil strife, General Hua Bao and Gongzi Cheng were duel. Hua Bao shot an arrow at Gongzi Cheng first, injuring Gongzi Cheng. When Gongzi Cheng was about to fight back, Hua Bao was quick and was ready to shoot the second arrow. Arrow.
At this time, something strange happened: Gongzicheng actually shouted to Hua Bao: "You have already shot an arrow, why don't you let me fight back?! You are simply a despicable and shameless villain!" !!”
What's even more bizarre is that when Hua Bao heard what Gong Zicheng said, he immediately stopped in shame and allowed Gong Zicheng to shoot an arrow. Then Hua Bao did not hide and was hit by the arrow and died.
Therefore, when the generals of the Spring and Autumn Period faced off against each other, sometimes it was true that even the generals of the Three Kingdoms era, not to mention later generations, could not particularly understand it.
But there is a rule that has been passed down from the Spring and Autumn Period to the Three Kingdoms Period. When generals are duel, they cannot attack their mounts.
This rule was inherited from the imperial guards of the Spring and Autumn Period.
Two generals duel, according to the rules, it is the leader versus the leader, and the guard versus the guard. Each has its own level.
The general cannot attack the guards, and the guards cannot wield weapons against the general. The "ceremony" cannot be messed up.
The most important point is that no one can attack the chariot driver. Even after the winner is determined, the guards of the losing side can choose to ask the enemy general to die. They can kill or not kill, but the chariot driver must be released. of.
Injuring the hand was an act that would never be tolerated in the Spring and Autumn Period.
This rule has been passed down through the Warring States, Qin and Han dynasties. As chariots withdrew from the stage of history, the profession of charioteer did not exist in duels between generals. However, the war horse as a mount was also tacitly protected by both parties.
Therefore, strictly speaking, Zhang Xi asked his soldiers to shoot arrows at Guo Huai's horse, causing Guo Huai's horse to stumble and fall to the ground, and was easily captured by two guards of Zhang Xi's army. This was Zhang Xi's "discourtesy" and it was Zhang Xi's fault. The result of martial ethics.
These days, there is no such thing as "shoot a man before a horse". That thing will have to wait at least another five hundred years before it becomes mainstream consciousness.
Therefore, Guo Huai was quite unconvinced by this result.
Really, Guo Huai is no longer angry. He doesn't even look at Zhang Xi now. Compared with such a thing, Guo Huai feels that he would rather go back to wearing women's clothes.
Zhang Fei and others did not expect such a change to occur on the battlefield, especially Zhuge Liang.
Zhuge Liang was already cursing in his heart.
Damn it, I gave you a repeating crossbow for you to shoot people, not for you to shoot horses. And you should act it out, raise the arrow a little, and then say it was aimed at people, but it just missed the horse. That’s okay.
Now it's all right, two repeating crossbows and ten crossbow arrows, seven of which were shot on the horse. Guo Huai didn't even have one, so how could he be so round?
What's even more ironic is that today's match is itself a battle of honor.
Guo Huai's previous quibbles led to a battle battle to prove the reputation of both parties. In the end, Guo Huai lost to Zhang Xi's dishonorable practices. This battle of reputation became a complete joke.
One thing to say is that this incident itself is full of very big flaws and black information from beginning to end, and the two generals, whether it is Guo Huai or Zhang Xi, have dishonorable behaviors. Even Zhuge Liang, now They all don’t know how to put things right.
No matter what, let's withdraw our troops first and we can't continue to fight. This battle has lost the meaning of fighting.
As for Guo Huai, Zhuge Liang didn't need to come forward, Zhang Fei couldn't help but come forward first.
On the one hand, Zhang Fei loves Zhang Xi, and on the other hand, Zhang Fei is the current commander of the Wuzhangyuan Highland Camp. When something like this happens, Zhang Fei must come forward to talk to Guo Huai.
Of course Zhang Fei knew the unspoken rules of the battlefield these days, so when Zhang Xi ordered the horse to be shot and Guo Huai's horse stumbled and fell to the ground, Zhang Fei had already ridden out of the rear army camp and rushed to Zhang Xi as quickly as possible. of the Chinese Army.
The first thing Zhang Fei did when he came to Zhang Xi's army was to untie Guo Huai with a sullen face, bow his hands in return and apologize to Guo Huai, and then scolded Zhang Xi in front of Guo Huai.
Zhang Xi really doesn’t understand the unspoken rules in this area. After all, he has never been in a duel with anyone, let alone wanted to be in a duel with anyone. This person is also terribly afraid of death. No one thought that Zhang Xi, a coward, could actually have such a problem. One day when he faced an enemy general, no one had ever told him these rules.
But Zhang Fei rushed to the battlefield with such force, loosened Guo Huai's bonds, and apologized. Zhang Xi felt that maybe there was something wrong with what he did.
Zhang Xi still understands the third master's temper. He is rarely so reasonable. Usually, this kind of time is probably when his own family is in trouble.
And Zhang Fei's subsequent reprimand to Zhang Xi was not so much blaming Zhang Xi as telling Zhang Xi what he had done wrong.
These days, when the two armies are fighting, they will try not to kill or injure the horses by default, let alone the generals rushing into battle to challenge each other. If they really want to do this, how can they challenge each other? It would be better if both sides attack the horses.
Although Zhang Xi still doesn't understand the seriousness of this matter, after all, people in this era don't have the concept of "shoot the man first, shoot the horse", but Zhang Xi does.
However, since Zhang Fei said this, and it also escalated to a very serious issue of personal moral character, Zhang Xi could not be careless. After all, in this era, reputation is really important to a person.
Xu Jing had a reputation, and even if he climbed over the wall and surrendered from the city, he could become the Minister of Rites. Jia Xu, who was so talented, had a bad reputation, and even being a lieutenant would be ridiculed by Sun Shiwan.
Although Zhang Xi was not happy, he still listened to Zhang Fei's words and apologized to Guo Huai.
At this time, Guo Huai's anger had subsided a little. But to win or lose this duel, Guo Huai had to demand a result.
When it comes to wearing women's clothing, you can't be vague about this. He, Guo Huai, is also a face-saving person.
At this time, Zhuge Liang finally arrived at the scene of the Chinese army.
On today's battlefield, the troops have been withdrawn. Both sides have returned to their respective formations and are no longer fighting. It's time to have a good fight.
As for eloquence, there are really few people in the world who can rival Zhuge Liang.
Guo Huai insisted that if Zhang Xi had not attacked his horse unruly, he would have stabbed Zhang Xi under the horse and won the battle.
But Zhuge Liang shook his head and first led Guo Huai to look at his horse. The focus was on the seven crossbow arrows on his horse.
If such dense arrows were shot at a person, Zhuge Liang asked Guo Huai on the spot, how many arrows could he dodge? !
Guo Huai couldn't answer this question. After all, Guo Huai still hadn't figured out why two machine crossbows could shoot so many arrows in a short period of time.
When Zhuge Liang saw that Guo Huai didn't answer, he immediately changed his mind on Zhang Xi's behalf.
Zhuge Liang claimed that Zhang Xi did not mean to shoot the horse, but did so out of necessity.
Zhang Xi and Guo Huai are also old rivals. Zhang Xi admires General Guo's talent very much, so he only shoots horses, not people, because he can't bear to harm General Guo. Although you broke the rules, in the end, you are hurting General Guo. Show mercy.
Secondly, the duel itself was the result of Guo Huai's mischief. Back then, Guo Huai had already lost the bet in Ji County. The current battle is just Zhang Xi's magnanimity, proving it to Guo Huai once again. It's just your chance.
Third, Zhang Xi did inadvertently violate the unspoken rules of duel, but Guo Huai did not duel head-on, but rode into the formation alone. Whether it is appropriate to use the rules of duel is itself worthy of discussion. This is in a battle formation. Above, the sword has no eyes, and accidentally injured your Guo Huai's horse. Did you, Guo Huai, also think that the other party was unruly? !
One, two, three, three reasons, Zhuge Liang really tried his best.
In such a short period of time, it was not easy for Zhuge Liang to come up with three reasons to clear Zhang Xi's name.
And you can't say that these reasons are unreasonable. When I told Guo Huai now, he was angry and anxious. He seemed to feel that something was wrong, but after thinking about it, there seemed to be nothing wrong.
Especially the first one, Zhuge Liang was very shameless and said that Zhang Xi deliberately shot a horse to capture Guo Huai alive. He secretly changed the concept and said that he admired Guo Huai's talent and could not bear to harm him. However, if Zhuge Liang followed this explanation, would anyone really believe it? .
After all, Guo Huai and Zhang Xi are both well-known generals recognized by the world, and they have played against each other many times. Is it not strange that they admire each other? !
Furthermore, this was a duel between two armies, and Guo Huai was rushing into the formation, not the one-on-one duel agreed upon before the battle. No matter what happened on the battlefield, the rules of one-on-one combat could not be applied mechanically.
Therefore, although Guo Huai was still very angry, he also knew that if the Shu thieves had such a shameless explanation, then he seemed to have no evidence to refute it.
This kind of thing is something that can be freely verified. It doesn't matter how you say it. Anyway, as long as people on your own side believe it, it doesn't matter whether the enemy side believes it or not.
So, is it possible that I still have to go back to camp and wear women’s clothes? !
Guo Huai was unhappy, really, very unhappy.
But Guo Huai is a man who cares about face. He doesn't know how to argue, so he will just say nothing. He will not act rogue and say some irrational words just because he is anxious.
When Zhuge Liang saw Guo Huai like this, he knew that the time was almost up and he couldn't be pushed too hard.
At this time, Zhuge Liang immediately made a proposal that Guo Huai was very willing to accept - the original bet was too absurd and not the behavior of a gentleman. Now that both families have their own faults, it is better to cancel it and withdraw their troops back to their camps. Fight again tomorrow.
Guo Huai thought for a moment and suddenly felt that he seemed to have fallen into a trap.
It was originally a matter that I was responsible for, but why did I just brush it off so easily when it came to Zhuge Liang? !
But Guo Huai didn't want the bet to be voided.
As long as I don't let myself wear women's clothes, we can discuss anything.
Besides, now I am in the position of the Shu thieves. If I don't go back, God knows what rumors will appear in my army.
Therefore, Guo Huai could only express his acceptance of Zhuge Liang's suggestion, but at the same time, Guo Huai also made his own demands.
First, Zhang Xi must personally send him back to the camp as a gift to show that he was not released after defeat and capture.
Second, he wanted Zhang Xi to join him in front of the two armies and make another sacrifice to heaven, saying that the bet was void, to prove that he was not the one who broke his promise.
Reputation these days is not only important to Zhang Xi, but also to Guo Huai.
(End of chapter)
