Study of Strategies: Jin, Part II

Page Twelve

Wang Zhen A Southern Yan official and general said: "Your Majesty surely believes that our cavalry holds the advantage on level ground. If so, you should lead the army out beyond the Daxian Pass to engage the enemy. Even if we fight and fail to win, we can still retreat and defend the pass. You must not allow the enemy to pass through the mountains; to do so is to abandon our natural defenses."

Murong Chao The last Emperor of the Southern Yan state, known for his arrogance and poor judgment did not follow this advice.

As Zhen left the court, he sighed, saying: "He is unable to meet the enemy in battle at the border, yet he refuses to employ a 'cleared fields' strategy. By inviting the enemy into our heartland and sitting idly while we await a siege, he acts exactly like Liu Zhang!" term: Liu Zhang (劉璋) — a warlord of the Three Kingdoms era famous for his indecisiveness and for losing his territory to Liu Bei after allowing him into the mountains of Sichuan

When Chao heard of this remark, he was enraged and had Zhen thrown into prison.

Liu Yu The Jin general and future founder of the Liu Song dynasty crossed the Daxian Pass. When he saw that the Yan troops did not emerge to contest the crossing, he raised his hand and pointed toward the sky, his face beaming with joy.

His attendants asked: "My Lord, you have not yet seen the enemy, yet you show such joy. Why is this?"

Liu Yu replied: "Our army has already passed the treacherous terrain, and our soldiers now possess the will to die original: shi you bi si zhi zhi (士有必死之志); a military concept where soldiers fight most fiercely when they have no path of retreat. Furthermore, the surplus grain remains standing in the fields, meaning our men need not fear a lack of supplies. The barbarians original: lu (虜); a derogatory term for the Xianbei rulers of Southern Yan are already in the palm of my hand!"

In the sixth month, Liu Yu arrived at Dongguan. Murong Chao had previously dispatched Gongsun Wulou, Duan Hui, and others to lead fifty thousand infantry and cavalry to station at Linqu. Upon hearing that the Jin army had entered the mountain pass, Chao personally led forty thousand infantry and cavalry to join them. Liu Yu then...