Arrogant Army will be Defeated

Dear friends, today’s story is about those who are defeated are often arrogant.

In the book, Historical Records from the Spring and Autumn Period, it is recorded that in the twenty-fourth year of King Zhou Xiang, the state of Qin sent an army to attack the state of Zheng. On their way, the troops passed through the north gate of Gyeonggi under the jurisdiction of King Zhou Xiang.  An advisor named Wang Sunman happened to see the troops walking past, and he said to the king, "The Qin army will definitely be defeated and will be punished by heaven." After hearing this, the king was surprised and asked, "How could you make such an assertion when you only saw their troops walking past?" Wang Sunman replied to the king, "The Qin troops should pay respect to your majesty when they pass by. However they only took off their helmets, but did not take off their armour. After walking a few steps, they all jumped back onto their chariots. This showed that they were perfunctory without having any real respect. If all the three hundred chariots behaved this way, their whole army must be arrogant towards your majesty." Wang Sunman continued, "Their army is frivolous and arrogant. Frivolousness will make them feel superior and they won't be able to think thoroughly or be fully prepared; arrogance will lead to rudeness and they will likely act casually, with lack of caution. If they go to war in this way, they will stray into a very dangerous place. If they take such an attitude when fighting a battle, they will undoubtedly lose."

The ancients read the books of sages and analysed things by recognising early telltale signs. From the way the Qin troops acted, Wang Sunman could see that they would be defeated. Sure enough, the army of Qin failed to subjugate the state of Zheng. The army returned to the border of the state of Qin, and all three generals were captured.

When people are frivolous, they are not cautious, and they will bring on misfortune emotionally. Like the saying goes, "Complacency leads to loss, modesty brings profit". To learn a lesson, we need to reflect from time to time whether our words and actions are good or bad. We need to treat it with caution.

The opening chapter of The Treatise on Response and Retribution tells us, "Blessings and misfortunes do not happen randomly, but are brought on by people themselves; the effects of good and evil are like shadows following their forms."

Dear friends, the ancients are our best teachers, let's learn the stories of the ancients together.

Everyone has seeds of kindness, when they take root, you will surely thrive.

Well, that's today’s story. Thank you for listening, and see you next time.