Two rats in a small cave(兩鼠鬥穴)
In 270 BC, during the Warring States Period
in China, the Kingdom of Qin sent an army to surround a city in the Kingdom of
Zhao, which was named (Eyue).
The king of the Zhao Kingdom convened an
urgent meeting to ask the opinions of the most important generals in the
kingdom.
The first general replied that (Eyue) was
too far from the capital, and the main road to (Eyue) was very narrow, so if he
was asked to lead the army to the rescue, he was not sure that he would
succeed.
The second general also answered the same
as the first general.
The third general's name is (Zhao She).
He said to the king.
Although the main road to the city is very
narrow and our army and their army are like two rats fighting in a narrow cave,
I think our soldiers are braver than theirs.
I am confident that I can defeat the Qin
Kingdom's army.
The king happily assigned (Zhao She) to
lead the army to rescue.
(Zhao She) left the capital of the Zhao
Kingdom with the army, and camped on the first day to rest.
Early the next morning, he said to all the
soldiers.
We're stationed here, we're starting to
build up our defenses, we're not going to move on.
All the soldiers were puzzled why he made
such a strange decision.
He kept the army in place for 28 days.
Early in the morning on the 29th day, he
suddenly ordered all the troops to set off immediately for the city of (Eyue).
They were fast, and on day 30 they reached
the little main road leading to (Eyue) city.
They occupied a high ground beside the main
road and prepared for defense and battle.
The Qin Kingdom's army suddenly found
themselves in a very dangerous situation. In front of them was the city (Eyue)
that had not yet been captured. Behind them is the army led by (Zhao She). They
were attacked on both sides.
Qin Kingdom's army hastily dispatched
soldiers to fight.
The Qin Kingdom was defeated in this
battle.
It turned out that (Zhao She) stayed
outside the capital for 28 days in order to make Qin Kingdom think that he was
leading this army to prepare for the protection of the capital.
At the same time, he secretly sent someone
to contact the generals of Zhao Kingdom in the (Eyue) city.
He made an agreement with the generals in
the (Eyue) city, and on the 30th day, the armies of both sides attacked the
army of the Qin Kingdom at the same time. Therefore, the Kingdom of Zhao can
win this war.
This idiom is used as a metaphor for two
opposing sides meeting in a narrow place.
Implicit in this idiom is that only those
who move forward will win.
Dear friends, what inspiration or thoughts
do you have after listening to this story?
Have you heard of those classic military
operations? If you were him, what kind of offensive strategy would you take?
I hope this story will give you something
new to gain.
兩鼠鬥穴(Two rats in a small cave)
西元前270年，中國的戰國時代，秦王國派出軍隊包圍趙王國的一座城市，這座城市的名字叫做(厄與)。
趙王國的國王緊急召開一場會議，詢問王國內最重要的幾個將軍的意見。
第一個將軍回答，(厄與)距離首都太遠，而且前往(厄與)的主要幹道非常狹窄，因此若讓他率領軍隊去救援，他沒有把握可以成功。
第二個將軍的回答也與第一位將軍相同。
第三個將軍的名字叫做(趙奢)。
他對國王說。
雖然通往這座城市的主要幹道非常狹窄，我們的軍隊與他們的軍隊就好像兩隻老鼠在一個狹窄的洞穴中相鬥，但我認為我們的軍人比他們的軍人更勇敢。
我有信心可以戰勝秦王國的軍隊。
國王很開心的指派(趙奢)率領軍隊去救援。
(趙奢)帶著軍隊離開趙王國的首都，第一天紮營休息。
第二天的清晨，他對所有的士兵說。
我們駐紮在這個地方，我們開始建立防衛設施，我們不會繼續前進。
所有的士兵都很困惑為何他做出那麼奇怪的決定。
他讓軍隊停留在原地28天。
第29天的清晨，他突然吩咐所有的軍隊立刻出發前往(閼與)城。
他們的速度很快，他們在第30天的時候就到達通往(與)城的那一條小小的主要幹道。
他們在這條幹道旁佔領了一塊高地並且做好防禦與對戰的準備。
秦王國的軍隊突然發現他們陷入了一個很危險的處境，他們前方是尚未被攻下的(閼與)城。他們的後方則是(趙奢)率領的軍隊。他們被兩面夾擊。
秦王國的軍隊很倉促地調派士兵應戰。
秦王國在這一場戰役中大敗。
原來(趙奢)是為了讓秦王國以為他率領這個軍隊是為了替保護首都做好準備，所以才在首都外停留了28天。
他同時暗中派人連絡(閼與)城內的趙王國的將領。
他與(閼與)城內的將領約定好，在第30天的時候兩邊的軍隊同時對秦王國的軍隊發動攻擊。因此趙王國才能贏得這場戰爭。
這句成語被用來比喻敵對雙方在地勢險狹的地方相遇。
這句成語隱含的意思是只有勇往直前的才能獲勝。
親愛的朋友，你聽完這個故事有怎樣的啟發或有怎樣的想法呢。
你是否聽過那些經典的軍事行動呢?你如果是他，你會採取怎樣的進攻策略呢?
我希望這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為史記-廉頗藺相如列傳
https://www.arteducation.com.tw/guwen/bookv_168.html
出處為戰國策-卷20-秦攻趙藺離石祁拔
https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E6%88%B0%E5%9C%8B%E7%AD%96/%E5%8D%B720#top