Use retreat to advance, seek victory in stability

Houheixue wants to tell you that retreat is not about compromise, but about moving forward better. Of course, retreat does not mean giving in blindly. Only by paying attention to methods and strategies can we achieve the ultimate goal.

Mr. Zongwu said: "The tongue is soft in the mouth, and the sharp teeth fall easily." It can be seen that only by being able to endure what others cannot tolerate and weighing the pros and cons can you protect yourself. At some point, we will find ourselves unknowingly stuck in some kind of deadlock; or the situation is a mess, with constant cutting and chaos; or we lack the motivation and environment to move forward, and the situation cannot be stopped. For example, you are not very satisfied with your current salary and think that you will not be able to get a bigger stage to display your talents; or when you are happily preparing for your dowry, another woman seems to have appeared in his life and you want to leave. He left, but because he loved him but was unwilling to give in; also, they were originally good partners, but due to different opinions on handling one thing, there were some small conflicts, so that the expressions of both parties were not natural when they met, and they felt very uncomfortable. Awkward, hoping to regain friendship with him, but unable to lose face. "Life is a mess, and there are always little knots that cannot be untied." Do you want to untie these knots in your heart? Then you might as well try taking a step back to make progress, because taking a step back can sometimes become the cornerstone of progress.

The Battle of Chengpu is the earliest detailed record of the battle in Chinese history, and it is also a model of the tactics of retreating to advance and luring the enemy into depth. During the Spring and Autumn Period, Jin and Chu competed for hegemony in the Central Plains. In order to prevent Jin from going south, Chu formed an alliance with its neighboring states Cao and Wei and served as an outpost against Jin. In the winter of the 19th year of King Xiang of Zhou (631 B.C.), King Chu Cheng also used the name Song to back Chu and follow Jin, and united with Zheng, Chen, Cai, Xu and other countries to send troops to attack Shangqiu, the capital of Song Dynasty. The Song Dynasty asked Jin for help, but the two countries were separated by the Cao and Wei countries. Seeing the strength of the Chu coalition, Jin Wenggong was afraid that the expedition would be disadvantageous to Jin, so he decided to attack the weak Cao and Wei countries first. Chu State saw through Jin State's attempt and remained unmoved and continued to besiege the Song capital. Song once again sent someone to ask for help, but Duke Wen of Jin was in trouble. If he didn't help, Song and Jin would break off diplomatic relations, which would be equivalent to giving up the pursuit of hegemony. Save him, he would go deep alone, and there was no guarantee of victory. He wanted to ask Qi and Qin for help, but he was afraid that the two countries would not agree. Later, Duke Wen of Jin adopted Marshal Xian Zhen's plan: Let Song bribe Qi and Qin, ask them to persuade Chu to withdraw their troops, and give part of Cao and Wei's land to Song. Chu saw that the land of its allies was occupied by Song, so it would definitely reject Qi and Qin. Mediation can deepen the contradiction between Qi, Qin and Chu, dispel Qi and Qin's wait-and-see attitude, and at the same time cut off Song's idea of ??surrendering to Chu. Later, as Jin expected, a situation emerged in which Jin, Qi, Qin, and Song jointly attacked Chu.

King Chu Cheng knew that the Chu army's front was too long and the rear was empty. In addition, the balance of power between the two sides had changed. He decided to withdraw his troops and led part of the Chu army to retreat to Shen (now north of Nanyang, Henan) to prevent an attack. The Qin army attacked its rear. However, the commander-in-chief Ziyu was stubborn and did not listen to King Cheng's warning to retreat despite the difficulties, and resolutely refused to withdraw from Song Dynasty. King Cheng also had the mentality of winning by chance, so he added a small number of troops to Ziyu. In order to find an excuse for a decisive battle with Jin, Ziyu demanded that Jin only relieve the Song siege if Cao and Wei restored the country. Duke Wen of Jin could not refuse publicly, so he took advantage of the situation and secretly agreed to Cao and Wei's restoration of the country, but he must break off diplomatic relations with Chu as a condition and at the same time detain Chu's envoys to provoke Ziyu to go north for a decisive battle. Sure enough, Ziyu was angry and went north, abandoned the Song Dynasty and went straight to the Jin army stationed in Taoqiu, the capital of Cao. Duke Wen of Jin ordered the entire army to retreat three houses (each house is 30 miles away) in order to thank him for the courtesy he received when he was in exile in Chu State and for the promise he made at that time. In this way, they can not only avoid the Chu army's sharp edge, but also be able to gather the Qi and Qin armies for support. Ziyu thought that the Jin army was afraid and led his army to pursue them to Chengpu. The two armies faced each other. The Jin army was divided into upper, middle and lower armies: the upper army was on the right, the lower army was on the left, and the middle army was in the middle. Xian Zhen and Jin Wengong were in command of the middle army. The Chu coalition army was also configured according to the left, center and right armies: Chen and Cai's army was organized into the right army, which was weaker; one Chu army was organized into the left army, which was stronger in combat effectiveness; the center army was the elite of the Chu army, commanded by Ziyu. On the second day of April in the 21st year of King Zhou Xiang (629 BC), the decisive battle began. The lower army of Jin covered the horses with tiger skins and launched a fierce attack on Chu's right army. Chen and Cai's army collapsed at the first touch, and the entire army collapsed. At this time, the Jin army raised two large flags and raised dust behind the formation, pretending to retreat. Ziyu ignored the reality and ordered the left army to pursue. When it stood out, Marshal Xian Zhen of the Jin Dynasty commanded the central army to attack its exposed flank to cut off its retreat. The Jin army also turned around to attack, and most of the Chu left army was wiped out. Seeing that both wings were defeated and the situation was over, Ziyu hurriedly ordered his troops to retreat to Chu. The battle at Chengpu ended with Jin's victory and Chu's defeat. After the war, Duke Wen of Jin was appointed Hou Bo by King Zhou Xiang, and he became the overlord of the Central Plains.

On the battlefield, taking a step back is a strategy to lure the enemy deeper; in life, taking a step back is also a strategy for dealing with others. It’s understandable that people are competitive, but you have to choose your time. Retreating does not mean retreating forever, but just giving yourself time and space to breathe and think. A stalemate situation is not good for everyone. On the basis of not violating your own principles of life, choosing to retreat means choosing to take the initiative, because you have re-corrected yourself and your eyes are no longer looking at the present. It's the future.

Gongsun Hong of the Han Dynasty had a poor family when he was young. He later became prime minister, but his life was still very frugal. He only had one meat dish to eat and only an ordinary quilt to cover him when sleeping. Because of this, the minister Ji An consulted Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and criticized Gongsun Hong for being one of the three nobles. He had a considerable salary but only wore an ordinary quilt. In fact, he was using his fame to gain reputation, and the purpose was to defraud Gongsun Hong for being frugal and honest. good reputation.

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty asked Gongsun Hong: "Is what Ji An said true?" Gongsun Hong replied: "What Ji An said is absolutely right. Among the ministers of the Manchu Dynasty, he has the best friendship with me. Well, he knows me best. Today he accused me in front of everyone, which hit home for me. I am a third official and only cover myself with quilts. My living standards are the same as those of ordinary people. I am really deliberately pretending to be honest to gain reputation. . If Ji An was not loyal, how could your majesty hear such criticism of me?" After hearing Gongsun Hong's words, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty felt that he was humble and respected him even more.

Faced with Ji An’s accusations and Emperor Wu’s inquiries, Gongsun Hong didn’t defend himself at all, but admitted everything. What kind of courage and wisdom this showed! No matter how he defended Ji An's accusation, onlookers already preconceived that he would continue to cheat. In this regard, Gongsun Hong adopted a very clever move, without making any excuses, and directly admitted that he was just trying to gain fame. This at least shows that he is "not cheating now." Since "now being honest" is recognized by both the accused and the bystanders, the crime is mitigated. Another clever thing is to praise Ji An, so that the emperor can see his tolerance and generosity. For a person who is so tolerant, it doesn't matter if he is seeking reputation. This does not pose a threat to the emperor's regime, nor does it harm his colleagues. Instead, it is just a deliberate pursuit of reputation, which is harmless. When U.S. President Kennedy ran for the U.S. Senate, he also encountered a similar problem:

When he was a student, Kennedy was persuaded to drop out of Harvard University because of deception. The political impact of this kind of incident is huge. As long as the opponent takes full advantage of this incident, it can cast a shadow on Kennedy's image of honesty, integrity and morality, and make his political future gloomy. Most people's reaction to this kind of thing is to deny it and clarify themselves. But Kennedy readily admitted that he had indeed made a very serious mistake. He said: "I am very sorry for what I have done. I was wrong. I have nothing to defend." Kennedy did this , is equivalent to saying "I have given up all resistance", but for a person who has given up resistance, are you still going to be with him endlessly? If the opponent really continues to attack, it will appear that the opponent has no grace at all.

Therefore, we should remember a basic principle: since a person has admitted his mistake, you can no longer attack him or argue with him. Neither Gongsunhong nor Kennedy was harmed in the slightest because of their bad deeds. On the contrary, they all turned it into an advantage, as evidenced by the fact that Gongsun Hong was not punished and Kennedy was later elected president. By admitting they have made mistakes, they have humanized themselves: We make mistakes just like normal people. At the same time, admitting that you are wrong also wins people's sympathy.

This is a strategy of retreating in a passive situation. This strategy can also be used in proactive situations where the time is not yet completely ripe for a complete solution to a problem.

Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty was very young when he succeeded to the throne. The hero Obai took control of the power in the court and further wanted to seek the throne. Kangxi was very aware of Obai's ambitions, but he felt that his foundation was not stable and he was not fully prepared, so he simply ignored political affairs and "played" with a group of buddies all day long to create the illusion that he was young and ignorant. Once, Kangxi went to visit Obai with Suo'etu in casual clothes. When Ao Bai saw the emperor's sudden visit, he thought that the matter had been exposed. He reached into the quilt on the kang and took out a sharp knife, but Suo'etu grabbed it.

Until then, Kangxi still pretended to be confused and said: "It's nothing. I think Manchus have the habit of never leaving their bodies with swords since ancient times. How strange is it!" Kangxi's move made Obai completely relax his guard against him. Finally, Kangxi caught him in one fell swoop when the time was right. It can be said that he cast a long line and caught a big fish.

Many times, when we talk about the way to success, we emphasize more on having a courageous spirit and a proactive spirit. But sometimes, rushing in head-on is not the best way. Retreating in order to advance is also a life strategy. For successful people, as long as the general direction of their life goals remains unchanged, sometimes it is a wise choice to choose the strategy of retreating instead of advancing.

Indeed, people must have pride. When faced with dangerous situations, people should have a spirit that would rather be broken than destroyed. We should promote this spirit of "seeing death as home" that will not give up until the goal is achieved. However, the objective world is complex and changeable. As for a specific matter, there are also issues of "time" and "potential". At certain times and under certain circumstances, taking a retreat before advancing is also a positive life strategy.

Of course, in order to successfully adopt the retreat-to-advance strategy, there must be some backing. "Don't fight an unprepared battle." If you use this tactic easily without being very sure in your mind, it will inevitably be self-defeating.