According to the Song Dynasty's "General Theory of the Art of War", when troops enter enemy-occupied areas, they can't use the grain left by the enemy and the untested grain sold by local businessmen, and the local spring water can only be drunk after being tested or treated to prevent the enemy from being poisoned. However, there is always a gap between theory and reality. Before and after the emergence of this theoretical summary, it can be said that the successful cases of the army being poisoned by the enemy because of carelessness are not uncommon. Just as it is recorded in "Wu Yao" that "when a robber comes and learns within 500 steps outside the city, he will cut down the bridge, burn grass, pump wells and poison the spring", this method will always have an effect.

In 559 BC, the State of Jin led an army to attack the State of Qin, and the Qin people poisoned the water source near the station of the Jin army, resulting in a large number of casualties of the Jin army. In 1 140, during the Shunchang War between the Southern Song Dynasty and the Jin Dynasty, the famous Liu Kun poisoned the upper reaches, which led to the poisoning of the Jin army and weakened its combat effectiveness, laying the foundation for the final victory.