Loyal and Valiant Yue Fei (Part 2)

Meting Out Rewards and Punishments Fairly; Not Hankering after Women
 
There was a slogan among Yue Fei's army: "I would rather freeze to death than demolish people's houses; I would rather starve to death than rob the people." This was a true description of Yue Fei's army. Anyone who damaged crops or interfered with farming activities would be beheaded. In ancient China, beheading soldiers who did not obey commands was commonplace in many armies. Beheading soldiers who damaged people’s crops were also said to have happened, but the only army that really enforced this martial law was the Yue army. Yue Fei's army was extremely popular, and wherever it went it was surrounded and cheered by the populace, many in tearful gratitude. When his soldiers got injured or sick, Yue Fei would personally console them; when soldiers had family hardships, Yue Fei would ask the relevant department to give them money and cloth; when a general died in battle, he would compensate his family generously, and if the deceased had only a young daughter left to fend for herself, he would ask his son to marry her. His wife also often visited the widows. With such fair rewards and punishments, Yue Fei's army was naturally dedicated to the same cause, and it was indeed worthy of its reputation: It indeed would have been easier to shake Mount Tai than to shake Yue Fei's army.
 
Among the generals in the Southern Song Dynasty, Yue Fei was the only one who insisted on having only one wife. General Wu Jie (1093 – 1139 AD) once spent a lot of money to buy the daughter of a scholar for Yue Fei. Yue Fei asked her behind a screen. "All my family members wear cotton clothes and eat simple food. If you are prepared to share the comforts and hardships with us, then please stay; otherwise I dare not keep you." When the woman heard this, she could not help laugh. It was obvious that she was not willing to do this, so Yue Fei sent her back. His generals tried to stop him for fear of hurting Wu Jie's feelings. Yue Fei said, "Our national shame has not been wiped out. How can I indulge myself in pleasure?" When Wu Jie heard this, he became even more respectful of Yue Fei.
 
Considerable Literary Talent and Outstanding Military Vision
 
Yue Fei's literary talent was evident in dozens of his poems. In addition, he loved reading and was very good at calligraphy. People said that he had large collections of books and he followed the Su style (named after Su Donpo, a famous poet and calligrapher in 1037 – 1101 AD) in his writing. Yue Fei loved to make friends with scholars, and, as it was said, "His acquaintances were all excellent people."
 
Yue Fei was an expert with various weapons. When he was young, his spear techniques had no match in his local area. After he joined the army, he was even more unconquerable and he killed generals on the enemy side one after another. He not only broke the record in pulling back the string of a bow (180 kg), but was also very accurate in hitting the target. He distinguished himself by peerless valor in battle. As a commander, Yue Fei demonstrated wise strategic tactics. In terms of strategy, he took into consideration the Jurchen characteristics, such as a strong military force, poor ruling methods, and strong resistance from its people, and proposed to make an alliance with rebels in the north. His strategy achieved very good results.
 
Yue Fei was flexible and agile in tactics during battles. For example, after the battle in Qingshuiting, in the face of a strong enemy force, Yue Fei adopted the tactic of irregular night attacks with a small troop of around 100 people. The Jurchen army became so frightened that they retreated. Yue Fei also made use of the characteristics of foot soldiers and cavalrymen and defeated Li Cheng's outnumbering forces. As for the unpopular Yang Yao's army, Yue Fei combined the tactics of surrounding and consoling, and, consequently, Yang Yao's naval force that managed to defeat the Song army every time, collapsed in front of the Yue Army at the first encounter. He also made use of the internal conflicts among the Jurchens to destroy Liu Yu by sowing discord among his enemies, which dealt a heavy blow to the illegitimate regime.
 
Conclusion
 
According to Yue Fei, "Generals do not fear death and civil officials do not desire wealth." He was indeed exemplary among court officials. He was incorruptible and spoke without reservation; he refused to indulge in women and had strict discipline in place in his army. All of these fine qualities and his spirit in serving his country with unreserved loyalty are deeply respected and admired by the Chinese people.

精忠报国的岳飞 (下)

赏罚分明　不近女色
 
“冻死不拆屋，饿死不打掳”，是岳家军的口号，也是真实的写照。损坏庄稼，妨碍农作，买卖不公……斩！在古代，令出不行者斩，很多军队做得到，号称损坏庄稼买卖不公斩的也不少，但真正做得到的，恐怕只有岳家军一支。所以岳家军所到之处，民众无不欢欣围观，“举手加额，感慕至泣”。士卒伤病，岳飞亲自抚问；士卒家庭困难，让相关机构多赠银帛；将士牺牲，厚加抚恤外，还“以子妻其女”（部将牺牲后仅余孤女无人照料，岳飞让儿子娶她），李氏亦时常慰问将士遗孀。如此赏罚分明官兵同心的军队，自然是“撼山易，撼岳家军难”。
 
南宋诸将中，唯有岳飞坚持一妻，且从不去青楼纵欲。吴阶曾花二千贯买了一名士人家（读书人家）的女儿送给岳飞，岳飞以屏风遮挡问道：“我家的人都穿布衣，吃粗食，若能同甘苦，便请留下，否则，我不敢留你。”女子听了窃笑不已，显然不愿。岳飞便遣人送回。部将谏阻说不要伤了吴阶的情面，岳飞说： “而今国耻未雪，岂是大将安逸取乐之时？”吴阶得知后益发敬重岳飞。
 
文才横溢　武略非凡
 
岳飞的文才自不必说，数十首诗词足以说明。除此之外，他爱好读书，书法颇佳，时人称“室有邺架”、“字尚苏体”（邺架，形容藏书极多；苏体，苏东坡书法甚好，岳飞学的便是苏体）。他还爱与士子文人交往，“往来皆高士”。
 
岳飞精擅各种兵器，年少时枪术就“一县无敌”，长大从军后更是从未逢敌手，屡屡阵斩敌大将。他不但达到了宋朝的最高射箭记录：三石，还具有极佳的准头，可谓“勇冠三军”。作为统帅，岳飞的战略战术更是高明。战略上，针对金兵武力强盛而统治手段低下民众争相反抗的特点，他提出了结连河朔的方针，并取得了极好的成效。
 
战术运用灵活。如清水亭战后，面对优势敌人，岳飞仅以黑衣兵百人夜袭，时起时伏，金兵惊扰极甚而败；如灵活运用步、骑特点，击破李成优势兵力；如针对杨么军不得人心的特点，以困、抚相结合，结果让宋军屡攻屡败的杨么水军，在岳家军面前不堪一击，一鼓而破；如利用金国内部矛盾，以反间计杀刘豫，沉重打击伪齐政权……
 
结语
 
岳飞提出“武将不怕死，文官不爱钱”，堪称官吏的行为典范。他廉洁避功、直言不讳、不纵女色、治军严明的优秀品质与精忠报国的精神深受华夏子民的敬佩。