Soon after, the Jin and Chu armies encountered each other near the Circumferential Corner (southeast of present-day Lushan County) in the Cai State. Huanjiao is a small city on the north bank of the water, and when the Jin army arrived at the corner, the Chu army had already crossed the water, and the two armies faced each other in the water, watching each other fiercely.

At that time, the military strength of Jin and Chu was three to one. Although the strength of the Chu army is weak, the divisions of Shen and Xi and the reinforcements of Cai are coming from everywhere. Luan Shu received the information and regretted that he had not brought the whole army with him, and he decided to withdraw his troops immediately - otherwise, once the enemy had completed the assembly, the Jin army might not be able to retreat in its entirety.

At this time, Qu Yukou (the original analysis of Gongzi Bian, the one who launched a coup d'état in the fourteenth year of Duke Lu Wen to kidnap the king of Chuzhuang, and then fled to the Jin kingdom by luck) said: "Since the death of the king of Chuzhuang, the doctors have lost their restraint and have become corrupt and degenerate; The soldiers neglected their training, so they became lazy and tired. Ying Qi's invasion of Zheng this time was only for demonstration, not to confront the Jin army—otherwise he would not have brought only one army.

"The Chu people have achieved the purpose of the expedition and plundered a large number of people and property, and the number of the army is at an absolute disadvantage, so they will inevitably refuse to fight. As a result, the Chu army was impetuous, not in the war, and vulnerable to shocks. If our army beats drums and shouts at night, makes a big noise, and makes it look like launching an all-out attack, the Chu army will inevitably break and flee. ”

Luan Shu greatly praised his idea, and he summoned the generals to study and formulate a plan of action. After the meeting ended, he sent people to Zheng Guo to summon the New Third Army.

The Jin people cut down a large number of trees and made them into torches. After the sun set, the two wings of the Jin army began to quietly expand outward; The soldiers each carried several torches, with men and horses and bells, and each side extended outward for five miles.

The situation on the part of the Chu army was similar to what Qu Yukou had inferred: the generals were impetuous, and the sergeants were complaining. People said that if the army hadn't waited for the Jin people to approach and retreated, they would have entered Fangcheng Mountain by now, and would they still need to pretend to be here that "you let the horses come, I promise not to resist"?

Ling Zizhong now only hopes that reinforcements will arrive soon, so that he can save himself from an embarrassing and dangerous predicament.

The crescent moon gradually climbed to the zenith, and the noisy military camps on both sides of the river gradually quieted down, and the lookouts of the Chu army could see a small number of soldiers patrolling outside the other side's military camp, and the bonfires in the camp were getting thinner and darker; It's a drowsy feeling.

Suddenly, the drums in the Jin military camp shook the sky; In a moment, all the soldiers and miscellaneous servants lit their torches and shouted loudly. A large number of chariots drove out of the barracks, followed by soldiers and began to line up in the open space by the river. The Chu people woke up suddenly, ran out of the tent and looked at the opposite side, and saw that the camp of the Jin army was much stronger than during the day. People also made a slight comparison of the size of the camps of the two armies (because they both had campfires) and found that their barracks were a children's version.

Zizhong ran out of the tent, and a panicked soldier came to report: "The enemy has increased his troops, and he is about to cross the river to attack!" Zizhong couldn't figure out the tactics of the Jin army, and he didn't have time to judge the situation, so he immediately ordered the whole army to retreat.

The soldiers rushed to flee in all directions, just like the Jin soldiers in the Battle of Yi; The officers tried to maintain order with little success, and were even swarmed by a crowd.

The Jin people saw the chaos in the Chu military camp and decided to create chaos to the end. Luan Shu ordered the whole army to press to the river, and when the Chu army saw this, it completely lost order, and within half an hour, it abandoned the messy military camp and fled completely.

The Chu army fled south into Fangcheng Mountain, and the Jin army did not continue to pursue after occupying the enemy camp. Two days later, the New Third Army crossed the water to join Luan Shu, and Luan Shu led the Sixth Army straight to Cai State.

The Jin army marched southeast along the outside of Fangcheng Mountain, drawing maps as they went, and this way of marching was particularly provocative. The Jin army plundered the three cities of Bai, Fang, and Dao along the way, and soon reached the pass of the Sang Tunnel.

Defending the Sang Tunnel was the Shen and Xi armies led by Prince Shen and Prince Cheng of Chu.

The Chu army camped with its back against the hills, and dug a wide and deep trench outside the camp to completely enclose the barracks; The inside of the trench is rammed into a wall with the soil from which the trench was dug.

Wang Zishen and Wang Zicheng were the two brothers of King Chuzhuang, who was still young when King Chuzhuang ascended the throne, and the two did not emerge until the Battle of Yi. These two young princes were fierce and warlike, even with a pair of tens, and their motto was "If it's a big deal, live a day".

The generals of the Jin army climbed a high ground to observe the situation, and people found that the Chu army camp was waving flags, and it was a scene full of life. When Wang Zishen and Wang Zicheng saw the Jin people in the high place, they simply pulled out two teams and began to conduct offensive and defensive drills in front of the enemy commander.

The soldiers were well-groomed, advanced and retreated in an orderly manner, with loud slogans and high morale. Just when the Jin people were enjoying it, the Chu army ended the drill. The two princes led their troops to salute the Jin people, and then brandished their weapons and shouted loudly.

Zhao Tong and Zhao Kuo were furious. Zhao Kuo said: "The Chu people are rude! Dare to fight against the entire army of the Jin State with the strength of only two counties! If these enemies are not destroyed, I am afraid that any country will underestimate our army! ”

The generals and doctors also demanded an attack, but Zhishou, Shixie, and Han Ju opposed the war. Han Ju said, "No. We came to the rescue of Zheng Guo, the enemy fled without a fight, the goal has been achieved, we should return to the division. Now that we are here, we are transferring the killing to the Cai people.

"If you can't stop killing, and you provoke Chu Shi, you will not be able to win the battle; Even victory is nothing to boast about. Jin with the division of the whole country and defeat the armed forces of the two counties of Chu State, what glory can he get? If defeated, it will be a great shame. Now that Zheng Guo's worries have been solved, it is better to return to China. ”

Shi Xie said: "Yes, if we capture the Mulberry Tunnel Fortress, we will pay five times as many casualties as the enemy, what will we do after the capture?" Continue through the Mulberry Tunnel? Think about the fate of the Qin army in the Battle of Kun! U-turn back to the division? Didn't that cost the lives of the children of the family in vain? Killing people for the sake of momentary pleasure is an unrighteous act, and it is never what a righteous person should do. ”

Zhishou said: "The two of you said very well, but in my opinion, you can't attack it at five times the cost." Don't forget that Zizhong is still in Fangcheng Mountain! The terrain of the Mulberry Tunnel is complex and unfamiliar, and although our army is numerous, it has no advantage at all in fighting in dangerous places. When we attack the enemy, if we attack the rear of our army, our army will be torn apart and will be defeated. ”

Although the other scholars made fierce rhetoric, trying to refute the trio's statements in order to persuade Luan Shu to go to war, Luan Shu still defied public opinion and ordered the camp to withdraw his troops.

Later, Shi Xie's son Shi Kuo worshiped Luan Shu as his teacher, and Shi Kuo once asked Luan Shu: "The saint has the same desire as the public, so he can achieve things." When the Master was in charge at that time, should he consider the opinions of the people? Of the eleven generals of the Master's Son, only three of them didn't want to go to war, and there were only three of them! There are so many people who want to fight. The Book of Shang says: 'Divination of three people is from the words of two people. He is talking about conformity, so why didn't the Master adopt the opinions of the people? ”

Luan Shu replied: "If they are all good words, of course, they must be from the words of the majority. But anger and slaughter of living beings cannot be called 'goodness', but goodness is the master of all beings. The three secretaries are the main ones, and they can be called 'many'! Isn't it right to agree with them? ”