Wu Qi heard that he was looking for talents and came to Wei. At that time, the state of Jin had existed in name only, and the situation that Han, Zhao and Wei were divided into Jin was taking shape, and Wei was at the time of employing people. When I heard that Wu Qixing voted, I asked, "What about Wu Qi?" Li Kui said: "Wuqi attaches too much importance to fame and is a bit lewd. But when it comes to leading troops to fight, even Sima Yi can't compare with him. " Wei Wenhou took advantage of his strengths and worshipped Wuqi as a general, so that he conquered the State of Qin.
In the seventeenth year of Zhou Weilie (409 BC), Wuqi led Wei Jun to cross the Yellow River and attack Qin Jun. As a general, he shared the joys and sorrows with ordinary soldiers, marching without riding horses, resting without opening a shop, and even carrying dry food himself. On one occasion, a soldier got a sore, and Wu Qi saw him and personally sucked pus to heal him. Later, the soldier's mother heard this and cried sadly. Others advised her: "Your son is just a soldier, but the general sucks an abscess for him. Why are you crying? " She said, "That's not why. Previously, the general had sucked pus for the child's father. The child's father struggled desperately and died. Now the general sucks the abscess for the child. I don't know where the child will die, so I cry. " The army led by Wuqi was really brave and soon won the near Jincheng of Qin (now Chaoyi Town, Dali County). After the city was built and reinforced, it marched to the northwest. Near Luohe, the garrison built Yuanli City (now Yuanli Village, Jiaodao Town, Chengcheng County). In the second year, the army of Wuqi conquered and built Heyang (now 20 kilometers southeast of Heyang County) and Mingshui Village, Qiangbai Town, Dali County), which made a large area of land west of the Yellow River belong to Wei, forcing Qin to retreat to the west of Luohe, dig trenches along the west bank of Luohe, and build Chongquan City (now Chongquan Village, pucheng county) to stick to it. Wei Wenhou saw that Wuqi could be good at fighting, so King Wei Lie of Zhou set up Xihe County (now east of Luohe and west of Yellow River) in the territory captured by Wuqi in the twentieth year (406 BC), and appointed Wuqi as the chief to fight against Qin and South Korea.
Wuqi knew that the land of Hexi had always been an important stronghold of Qin Jin, Qin and Wei. To maintain the stable development of this area, we must build a strong army. After he became the chief of Xihe, the first thing he did was to reform the military system and establish a standing army. He was very strict in his choice of soldiers, requiring him to wear three layers of armor, use a strong bow of 20 stones, carry 50 arrows, carry spears and carry dry food for three days, and travel for 65,438+000 Ariri. In the formation of soldiers, Wu Qi attaches great importance to giving full play to his personal strengths to classify the formation. He formed a team composed of people who are good at melee, people who can climb mountains and cross ditches for sudden attacks, and people who can travel long distances for expeditions, so that they can use their troops in time and place in battle, foster strengths and avoid weaknesses, and defeat the enemy. In the selection and use of generals, Wuqi insisted on "making the sage the top and the unscrupulous the bottom". The army thus formed has strong combat effectiveness. In the 13th year of Zhou An (389 BC), the State of Qin attacked Xihe County of Wei. "Woods" trained by Wuqi is full of passion and high morale, and is eager to participate in the war. Wuqi selected 50,000 soldiers who had never made the meritorious military service in the past, equipped with 500 chariots and 3,000 war horses, mobilized pledging before the war, announced strict discipline, and went to the front line to wage a fierce battle with Qin Jun, known as the 500,000-strong army, in Yinjin (now East huayin city). Wu Qijun's soldiers fought bravely to kill the enemy, which was unstoppable. Qin's 500,000 troops were quickly annihilated and defeated. Wuqi's "ranks" set a famous example of winning more with less.
Wuqi is not only good at military affairs, but also insightful in politics. In the sixth year of King Anguo of Zhou (396 BC), after the death of Wei Wenhou, Wei Wuhou succeeded to the throne. On one occasion, Wei Wuhou and Wuqi went down the Xihe River (now the Yellow River between Shaanxi and Shanxi) by boat. When the boat reached the middle, Wei Wuhou looked around and sighed at Wu Qi, "It's so beautiful! This mountain river is really Wei's treasure! " Wu Qi replied: "The rise and fall of a country depends on the rule of virtue rather than natural hazards. There used to be Dongting (now Dongting Lake in Hunan) on the left and Peng Li (now Poyang Lake in Jiangxi) on the right, but none of them were repaired by Xiu De, so Dayu destroyed them. Xia Jie was based on the Yellow River, Jihe River, Taishan Mountain and Huashan Mountain, with Yi Que in the south (now south of Luoyang, Henan Province) and Narrow Danger in the north (now north of Taiyuan, Shanxi Province), but he did not practice benevolent government and was exiled by Shang Tang. In Yinzhou, there is Mengmen (now west of Huixian County, Henan Province) on the left, Taihang Mountain (now Taihang Mountain) on the right, Changshan Mountain in the north (now Changshan Mountain in Hebei Province) and the Yellow River crossing the border in the south, but it is immoral and was killed by Zhou Wuwang. From this perspective, the rise and fall of a country lies in virtue, not in danger. If morality is not cultivated, then everyone on this ship may become an enemy. " Wei Wuhou listened and praised again and again: "Well said!" So Wuqi is still the chief of Xihe.
During Wu Qi's stay in Hexi, his achievements in military theory attracted worldwide attention. He summed up many years of combat experience and wrote Woods' Art of War. This is an ancient military work that is as famous as the Art of War in China's military history. In history, there are "soldiers in the territory, and those who hide the books of Sun Tzu and Wu Zhi have them at home" (Wu Zhu, everything is done by Han Feizi), and "the teachers and brigades mentioned in the secular world are all called Thirteen Chapters of Sun Tzu's Art of War, and there are many in the world" (Biographies of Sun Tzu and Wu Qi, Historical Records), which shows that this book is in. According to the Records of Hanshu Yiwenzhi, Woods has 48 articles on the Art of War, but the original book has been lost. There are only six existing "Woods Art of War", which are mixed with the words of later generations, so it is said that it was falsely entrusted in the middle of the Western Han Dynasty, but the content basically reflects Wu Qi's political and military thoughts. The first article "Painting the Country" mainly talks about how to run the country and the army. Only when the monarch of a country "treats Xiu De from inside and prepares for war from outside" and manages the country and the army with "four virtues" (Taoism, righteousness, propriety and benevolence) can he rejuvenate the country and secure the country. The causes of war are nothing more than "fame", "profit", "evil accumulation", "civil strife" and "hunger". The nature of war can also be divided into just soldiers, Qiang Bing, rigid soldiers, violent soldiers and rebellious soldiers. As long as we choose the right talents and make good use of their abilities, we can cultivate an army that is "sharp and sharp" and correspond to each other. The second article "Looking forward to the enemy". Mainly to analyze the enemy's situation and put forward countermeasures. First of all, from a strategic point of view, this paper deeply analyzes the characteristics and weaknesses of Chyi Chin, Chu, Yan, Han and Zhao, and puts forward Wei Jun's countermeasures. Secondly, from the tactical point of view, this paper analyzes eight situations that can be engaged with the enemy and six situations that can be avoided, and puts forward that we should be good at observing the enemy's situation and catching fighters, and thirteen situations can attack the enemy unprepared. The third chapter, managing soldiers, mainly talks about the principles and specific methods of managing the army. To run the army, we must adhere to the principle of "four lightness and two faiths", and pay special attention to "faithfulness". It is necessary to strictly enforce the law and be consistent with the officers and men. To fight soldiers, we should know how to advance and retreat moderately, and be brave and decisive on the battlefield. For soldiers, we should give full play to their strengths and train them to improve their skills and be familiar with tactics. In marching and fighting, we should be good at watching the terrain, using flags and observing the weather, and we should also attach importance to taming military horses. The fourth article "On the General" mainly talks about the conditions that a general should have and the problems that should be paid attention to. To be a general, you should be careful in five aspects: one principle, two preparations, three achievements, and five covenants under temptation. We should be good at grasping the four keys of "Qi machine", "ground machine", "business opportunity" and "power machine", so as to be alert and clear-sighted and strict. The most important thing in the battle is to find out the situation of enemy generals so as to take corresponding measures against them. Using small troops to attack the enemy is an effective way to find out the enemy's situation. The fifth chapter "Contingency" mainly talks about the operational methods that should be adopted in the face of different situations, especially unfavorable situations, and its core is flexible response. This paper lists ten measures and tactics that should be taken in case of sudden enemy encounter, outnumbered enemy, weak enemy, strong enemy and weak enemy, no retreat when approaching the enemy, enemy encounter in a stream, enemy encounter in a narrow valley, Shui Ze enemy encounter, surrounded by enemy in rainy days, strong enemy and weak enemy, and destruction of enemy cities. The sixth chapter "Shi Li" mainly discusses the value of Ming's reward in running the army. The example that a man can lay down his life to shock a thousand troops to defeat Qin shows that the fundamental way is to motivate soldiers to be willing to listen to orders and fight. The Art of War by Woods once had an important influence in the military history of China. In the Northern Song Dynasty, it was designated as one of the seven books of the Five Classics, which was translated by Japan, Britain, France, Russia and other countries.
Wu Qi has been in Hexi for 23 years, and has made great achievements in martial arts and governing the country. He is honest, upright and honest, and won the hearts of scholars. He led the army to fight the vassals 76 times, and won 64 times, which made Qin Jun afraid to go to Dongxiang (in this direction), and both Han and Han obeyed. He had been stationed in Wuqi (now Wuqi County, Yan 'an City) and played an irreplaceable role in the development of Wei. Later, Wei Wuhou took Tian Wen as the phase, and Wuqi was proud. At one time, he complained. After Tian Wen's death, uncle and uncle became friends, which made the plan to repel Wuqi. Wuqi had to leave Wei for Chu, and the king of Chu mourned Wuqi as Lingyin. Wuqi carried out political reform in Chu, and it only took more than a year to make Chu strong. Meanwhile, Wu Qi is a historian. Liu Xiang, a scholar in the Western Han Dynasty, said in his Bielu: "Zuo Qiuming (the original author of Zuo Zhuan) awarded Zeng Shen and Shen Qi." Wu Qi supplemented the materials of Lu, Sanjin and Chu for Zuo Zhuan, and finally compiled a book and passed it on to his son Wu Qi. Therefore, in the process of teaching Zuo Zhuan, Wu Qi played a connecting role and made the greatest contribution to the completion of Zuo Zhuan.
The result of the Wuqi political reform hurt the interests of the old nobles. In the twenty-first year of Zhou 'an (38 1), the king of Chu mourned his death, and the old nobles of Chu rebelled, killing Wuqi with random arrows.