Treatise on Armament Technology, Volume 20: A Study of Rigid Fortifications

Battle Diagrams

Page 2

"I saw them look at me directly and then hurry away; I know they realized I had grasped their true intentions." The Earl of Zhi, however, would not change his mind. original: 智伯不悛 (Zhìbó bù quān). Despite the warnings, the Earl of Zhi remained obstinate and overconfident in his position.

Zhao Xiangzi The leader of the Zhao clan, besieged in Jinyang. sent Zhang Mengtan to sneak out of the city and meet with the two lords The leaders of the Han and Wei clans.. Zhang said to them: "I have heard that 'if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold.' original: 唇亡齒寒 (chún wáng chǐ hán). A famous idiom meaning that if a neighbor or buffer state is destroyed, those remaining will be next to suffer. If the Zhao clan is destroyed, the Han and Wei clans will surely be next."

The two lords then secretly made a pact with him, set a date for their action, and sent him back. At night, Xiangzi sent men to kill the officials guarding the dikes and breached the walls to flood the Earl of Zhi's own army. The Earl’s army fell into total chaos. The Han and Wei forces attacked from the flanks while Xiangzi led his troops to strike from the front. They decisively defeated the host, subsequently killing the Earl of Zhi, exterminating his entire clan, and dividing his lands among themselves.

Zhao Xiangzi later went to the city of Jinyang to inspect the walls and the storehouses. He said to Zhang Mengtan: "The walls are intact and the A support without form; this is called the pillar of the state. granaries are full, but we have no arrows. What shall we do?"

Mengtan replied: "When Master Dong Referring to Dong Anyu, a legendary loyal minister who had governed Jinyang years earlier and prepared it for future sieges. governed Jinyang, the walls of the public offices were all constructed using reeds and wormwoodoriginal: 獲蒿 (huòhāo). These materials were used as structural filler within the walls.. Their height reached over ten feet. If you break them open, you will find fine bamboo shaftsoriginal: 箘簵 (jùnlù). High-quality bamboo specifically suited for making arrows...."

The page features "reading circles" (emphasis marks) placed to the right of characters in the first column and the final two columns. These marks highlight key narrative points or quotes but are omitted here for legibility.