Han Xin was an outstanding military strategist in the late Qin and early Han dynasties, and was revered as a "soldier immortal". He assisted Liu Bang and made immortal contributions to the establishment and unification of the Han Dynasty. His military talent and strategy allowed him to leave many classic stories in Chinese history, among which are the following:
Han Xin points troops
Han Xin used to be a small soldier in the state of Chu, but he was not reused. Later, he defected to Liu Bang and was appointed as a cavalry lieutenant. Liu Bang wanted to test his ability, so he gave him 3,000 soldiers and horses to attack Puyang in Wei. Han Xin felt that the troops were insufficient, so he asked Liu Bang for more troops. Liu Bang deliberately embarrassed him and said, "Didn't you say that you can use soldiers? I'll give you 3,000 soldiers and horses, are you too little? Okay, I'll give you another 5,000, and you'll have 8,000, is that enough? Han Xin said, "That's enough." Liu Bang said again: "Since you said enough, then I will only give you 5,000, and you will have 5,000, is it enough?" Han Xin said, "That's enough." Liu Bang said again: "Since you said enough, then I will only give you 3,000, and you will have 3,000, is it enough?" Han Xin said, "That's enough." Liu Bang said again: "Since you said enough, then I will only give you a thousand, and you will have a thousand, is it enough?" Han Xin said, "That's enough." Liu Bang said again: "Since you said enough, then I will only give you 500, and you will have 500, is it enough?" Han Xin said, "That's enough." Liu Bang laughed and said, "You are really a person who can use soldiers, so you can use these five hundred soldiers and horses." Han Xin accepted the task and set off with five hundred soldiers and horses.
When Han Xin arrived in Puyang, he found that the city was strong and there were many defenders, so he did not dare to attack easily. So he devised a plan to have his soldiers light torches outside the city and spread them out, so that the people in the city would think that he had a large army. At the same time, he sent people to negotiate with the generals in the city, saying that he was Liu Bang's general, and brought 100,000 troops to attack the city, and if the people in the city did not surrender, they would be subjected to **. The generals in the city were frightened by Han Xin's words, so they opened the city gates and surrendered. In this way, Han Xin used 500 soldiers and horses to capture Puyang. This is the story of Han Shin's soldiers, which later became an idiom used to describe solving problems with wisdom rather than violence.
Han Shin fought against the odds
After Han Xin captured Puyang, he led his army to attack the state of Qi. Tian Rong, the monarch of Qi State, heard that Han Xin did not have many soldiers and horses, so he sent an army of 100,000 troops, led by Tian Heng and Tian Jiao, to meet Han Xin. Han Shin's subordinates were frightened and advised Han Shin to retreat. Han Xin said: "Don't be afraid, I have a way. So he retreated with his soldiers and horses to a place deep in the mountains, called Chenggao. There is a river there called Jishui. Han Xin camped by the river and let the soldiers and horses fight against the water. His subordinates didn't understand and asked him why he did it. Han Shin said: "We are now in a critical time, if we have a way to retreat, we will think about running away, and we will lose the courage to fight. If we have no way out, we will only fight to the death, and we will exert our maximum strength. This is my strategy to fight against the odds, and you should not doubt it, as long as you fight with me, you will be able to win. Han Xin's subordinates were all inspired by his words and swore to follow him.
When Tian Rong's army arrived at Chenggao, when he saw Han Xin's military camp, he despised them, thinking that they were a group of deserters, so they attacked at will. Han Xin took the opportunity to lead the elite and suddenly launched a counterattack, which caught Tian Rong's army by surprise and fled in defeat. Han Xin took advantage of the victory to pursue, and fought all the way to Linzi, the capital of Qi, conquered Linzi, captured Tian Rong, and pacified Qi. This is the story of Han Shin's last battle, which later became an idiom used to describe the courage and wisdom to rise up and resist in a desperate situation.
In February, the dynamic incentive plan Han Xin recommended talents.
After Han Xin pacified the state of Qi, he was appointed as the king of Han by Liu Bang, and his fief was in Korea. Han Xin wanted to recruit some talents for his kingdom, so he came up with a way called Wandering Horses. So he rode a horse and walked around to see if anyone could recognize the breed and origin of his horse. His horse was a thousand-mile horse, which was obtained from the Huns, and was very precious. Han Xin walked many places, but no one could recognize his horse, only a man named Chen Ping, who could see the characteristics of his horse at a glance, and also knew that its name was "Wu Hu". Han Xin was very happy, so he dismounted and talked to Chen Ping, and found that he was a smart and capable person, so he recruited him as his staff. Later, Chen Ping followed Han Xin and advised him to help him attack Zhao and Yan, contributing to the unification of the Han Dynasty. This is the story of Han Xin's recommendation of talents, which later became an idiom used to describe the use of some special methods to select talents.