From Historical Records of Qin Shihuang's Biography
Qin Ershi's prime minister, Zhao Gao, is ambitious, planning to usurp the throne all day long. However, he doesn't know how many people can be at his mercy and how many people are against him. So he thought of a way to test his prestige and find out who dared to oppose him.
One day, Zhao Gao brought a deer into the palace and said to Qin Ershi with a big smile, "Your Majesty, I will give you a good horse." Qin Ershi looked at it and thought: This is not a horse, this is obviously a deer! He smiled and said to Zhao Gao, "The Prime Minister has made a mistake. This is a deer. How can you say it's a horse? " Zhao Gao said quietly with a straight face, "Please see clearly, this is really a good horse." Qin Ershi looked at the deer again and said incredulously, "Why does a horse have horns on its head?" Seeing that the time had come, Zhao Gao turned around, pointed at the ministers and said loudly, "If your majesty doesn't believe me, you can ask the ministers."
Ministers were all at a loss by Zhao Gao's nonsense, and whispered privately: What is this Zhao Gao doing? It's obviously a deer or a horse! Ministers see Zhao Gao sinister smile on his face, eyes staring at you in turn, suddenly understand Zhao Gao's intention.
Some timid people with a sense of justice bow their heads and dare not speak, because telling lies is sorry for their conscience, and telling the truth is afraid of being hurt by Zhao Gao in the future. Some honest people insist that this is a deer rather than a horse. There are also some adulterers who usually follow Zhao Gao closely and immediately support Zhao Gao's statement and say to the emperor, "This is indeed a swift horse!"
Afterwards, Zhao Gao punished those honest ministers who did not obey him by various means, and even copied them.
Just talk on paper-be an armchair strategist
From Historical Records Biography of Lian Po and Lin Xiangru.
Zhao Huiwen is dead, and Prince Xiao is king. In the seventh year of filial piety (the first 259 years), Qin Jun confronted Zhao Jun in Changping. Zhao She was dead and Lin Xiangru was dying. Wang Zhao sent Lian Po to attack Qin Jun, and Qin Jun defeated Zhao several times. Zhao Jun stayed in the camp without fighting. Qin Jun has repeatedly challenged. Lian Po ignored. Wang Zhao listened to the rumors spread by Qin Jun spies. The present spy said, "What Qin Jun hates and hates most is that Zhao Kuo, the son of Zhao She, a horse servant, is a general." The prince of Zhao therefore took Zhao Kuo as the general, replacing Lian Po. Lin Xiangru said, "Your Majesty's appointment of Zhao Kuo is like gluing the tuning rod to death and then playing the harpsichord. Zhao Kuo only reads the books left by his father and doesn't know how to be flexible. " The prince of Zhao refused to listen and appointed Zhao Kuo as the general.
Zhao Kuo studied the art of war and talked about military affairs since he was a child, thinking that no one in the world can beat him. He once talked with his father Zhao She about fighting. Zhao didn't hit him, but he didn't say he was good either. Zhao Kuo's mother asked Zhao She why, and Zhao She said, "It's a matter of life and death to fight a soldier, but he made it so easy. If Zhao doesn't use Zhao Kuo as a general, it is only if he must be a general, it must be that he has failed Zhao. " When Zhao Kuo was leaving, his mother wrote to the king of Zhao and said, "Zhao Kuo can't make him a general." Wang Zhao said, "Why?" He replied, "When I served his father, he was a general. Ten people were provided with food and drinks by him personally, and hundreds of them were regarded as friends by him. All the gifts given by the king and the royal family are distributed to military officials and their families. From the day he accepted the order, he stopped asking about family affairs. Now that Zhao Kuo has become a general, he will face the East and appear in court for trial. No officer dared to look up at him. All the gold and silk given by the king were taken home for collection. He also visits cheap and suitable fields and properties every day and buys whatever he can. How does the king treat him like his father? Father and son are connected. I hope the king will not send him to lead the troops. " Wang Zhao said, "Put it down and forget it. I have made up my mind. " Zhao Kuo's mother went on to say, "You must send him to lead the troops. If he is incompetent, can I not be implicated? " Wang Zhao agreed.
After Zhao Kuo changed Lian Po, the original rules and regulations were changed, and the original military attache was also changed. When General Qin heard these things, he sent out Indiana Jones, pretended to be defeated and fled, cut off Zhao's grain transportation road, divided Zhao into two halves, and Zhao's foot soldiers were centrifugal. After more than forty days, Zhao was hungry, so Zhao Kuo sent a good soldier to fight in person and shot Zhao Kuo. Zhao Kuo's army was defeated, hundreds of thousands of troops surrendered to Qin Jun, and Qin Jun buried them alive. Zhao * * * lost four hundred and fifty thousand people. The following year, Qin Jun surrounded Handan. For more than a year, Zhao has barely recovered. The siege of Handan was lifted only because of the rescue of Chu and Wei armies. The prince of Zhao was not implicated in Zhao Kuo because of his mother's pre-announcement.
Zhao Kuo's defeat ruined the lives of more than 400,000 soldiers, ruined the future of Zhao, and made him a laughing stock. His deeds became an idiom of "an armchair strategist". This metaphor is appropriate. It is worth mentioning that there was no paper in the Warring States period, so the word "on paper" should be invented by later generations. But Zhao Kuo is a typical example, so it is the allusion of this word.
Cut off all retreat
From Historical Records Biography of Xiang Yu
At the end of Qin dynasty, the general attacked Zhao. Zhao retreated to Julu (now southwest of Pingxiang, Hebei Province) and was surrounded by Qin Jun. He was appointed as a general and Xiang Yu as a lieutenant, leading an army to save Zhao. Yi Song led his troops to Anyang (now southeast of Cao County, Shandong Province) and held on for 46 consecutive days. Xiang Yu was deeply impressed by this, so he asked to enter a decisive battle to solve the difficulties of Zhao. However, Yi Song hoped that Qin and Zhao's troops would not attack until Qin Jun was exhausted after the war. However, at this time, the army was short of food and grass, and Yi Song was still drinking and taking care of himself. Xiang Yu could not bear to see this. He went into the camp and killed Yi Song, claiming that he was a traitor and opposed Chu. So the soldiers embraced Xiang Yu as the general. Xiang Yu killed Yi Song, which was a great shock to Chu. He was famous as a vassal. Later, he led the whole army across the Yellow River to rescue Zhao and solve the siege of the giant deer. After the whole army crossed the Yellow River, Xiang Yu ordered to sink all the ships, break the cooking pots and burn down his barracks, leaving only three days of dry food to show his death and had no intention of withdrawing troops. In this way, no way back's army reached the periphery of the stag, surrounded Qin Jun, and cut off Qin Jun's outreach channel. The soldiers of the Chu army took one as ten, and the battle was earth-shattering. After nine fierce battles, the Chu army finally defeated Qin Jun, and other governors who came to reinforce were too timid to approach. The bravery of Chu army greatly enhanced Xiang Yu's prestige. Even after the victory, when Xiang Yu met various governors in Yuanmen, all the governors dared not look at Xiang Yu. Later, "all the shipwrecks were destroyed" evolved into the idiom "cross the rubicon", which is a metaphor for a desperate battle with great determination. Cut off all retreat
Xiang Yu led his troops to cross the Yellow River to save Zhao, so as to solve the siege of the giant deer. After the whole army crossed the Yellow River, Xiang Yu ordered to sink all the ships, break the cooking pots and burn down his barracks, leaving only three days of dry food to show his death and had no intention of withdrawing troops. The army with no retreat finally defeated Qin Jun, and the bravery of Chu army greatly improved Xiang Yu's prestige.