The Stupid Song Xiang Gong

allymake an alliance. The king of Chu and the duke of Qi agreed and decided to hold a meeting with all the vassals in July of that year (639 B.C.) at the place of Yu in the state of Song (northwest of Suixian, Henan Province).

　　In the seventh month, the Duke of Song drove his chariot to the meeting. Duke Meiyi said, "What if the lord of Chu is not well-intentioned? Your lordship should bring more soldiers and horses."

　　Duke Song said, "That won't do. We are holding a meeting so that we won't have to fight again, but why should we bring our troops?"

　　The Duke could not convince him, so he went along empty-handed.

　　When the conference was held, King Cheng of Chu and Duke Xiang of Song both wanted to be the alliance leader and argued. The kingdom of Chu was very powerful, and many vassals were dependent on it. The Duke of Song Xiang was furious and tried to argue, but a group of officials from Chu's entourage immediately took off their outer garments to reveal their shining armor and caught the Duke of Song in a swarm.

　　Later, after the mediation of Lu and Qi, King Cheng of Chu became the alliance leader and released Song Xiang Gong back.　When the Duke of Song returned, he was not convinced, especially when the neighboring king of Zheng also joined King Cheng of Chu in opposing him. To get rid of this anger, Duke Xiang decided to conquer Zheng first.

　　In 638 B.C., Duke Xiang of Song sent an army to attack Zheng. Zheng asked for help from the state of Chu. Instead of saving Zheng, King Cheng of Chu sent his general to lead a large group of men to fight Song directly. The Duke of Song Xiang did not expect this and rushed back. The Song army was stationed on the south bank of the Hong Shui (in the northwest of Zhecheng, Henan Province, Hong pronounced hóng).

　　After the two armies faced each other across the river, the Chu army started to cross the river and attacked the Song army. When Duke Meiyi saw that the Chu were busy crossing the river, he said to Duke Xiang of Song, "The Chu, with their large army, is crossing the river during the day and do not take us into consideration. Let us take advantage of the fact that they have not yet finished crossing the river and fight them head-on.

　　Lord Song Xiang said, "No! We are a benevolent nation. If we fight before the enemy has finished crossing the river, what kind of benevolence is that?"

　　As they were talking, the entire Chu army had already crossed the river and was lining up in disorderly formation. Duke Meiyi was anxious, and said to Duke Song, "We can't wait any longer! Let's fight before they set up their positions, we can still hold them off for a while. If we don't do it, it will be too late."

　　Duke Song rebuked him, "You are so unkind! How can you fight when they are not even in line?"

　　In a short time, Chu's soldiers and horses had already set up their positions. A war drum sounded, and the Chu army rushed forward like a dam. The Song army was defeated.

　　The Duke of Song tried to resist, but he was already hit by an arrow in his thigh. But the general of the state of Song, with some of his troops, fought to protect him and saved his life.

　　When the Duke fled to Shangqiu, the capital of Song, the people of Song complained that he should not have fought with the Chu people and that he should not have fought in such a way.

　　Duke Meiyi told Duke Xiang of Song about the discussion. The Duke of Song rubbed his wounded thigh and said, "In my opinion, a benevolent man should fight like this. For example, when you see a man who has already been wounded, don't hurt him; and when you see a man with gray hair, don't take him as a prisoner."

　　Duke Muyi was impatient, and he said angrily, "To fight a war is to defeat the enemy. If you are afraid of hurting the enemy, then you might as well not fight: if you don't catch someone with gray hair when you come across him, then you should simply let them take him."

　　Duke Song Xiang was seriously wounded and died after a year. When he was dying, he instructed the prince, "Chu is our enemy, and we must take revenge for this. I see that Duke Chong Er of Jin (the capital is southeast of present-day Yicheng, Shanxi) is a man of ambition and will surely be a hegemon in the future.

　　When you are in trouble, it is right to ask him."