a treaty concluded with the enemy who have reached the city wall

a treaty concluded with the enemy who have reached the city wall

The alliance under the city, a Chinese idiom, Pinyin is ch é ngxi à zh à m é ng, which means a peace treaty forced to be signed when the enemy forces are near the city. It comes from Zuo Zhuan, the twelfth year of Duke Huan.

The origin of Idioms

In the twelfth year of Duke Huan of Zuozhuan, it is said that "the great defeat is the return of the alliance under the city."

Idioms and allusions

Version 1: jiaoguo was a small country in the spring and Autumn period, in the northwest of Yunxian County, Hubei Province. At that time, the powerful state of Chu was its nearest neighbor. According to the twelfth year of Duke Huan in Zuozhuan, the state of Chu once invaded jiaoguo and concentrated its forces to attack the South Gate of the capital of jiaoguo. the people of our country are determined to defend and keep it. The Chu army could not attack it for a moment. Qu Xia, the official name of the state of Chu, said, "the people of the state of Chu are reckless and lack of stratagem. We can lure them out of the city by deception. Let our cooks go to collect firewood and deliberately don't send soldiers to protect them. They will come out and catch them when they see them. " The generals who lead the troops will act according to the plan. As expected, the people of the state of Chu came out and captured 30 people of the state of Chu. The next day, the people of the state of Chu were more daring and rushed out of the city from the north gate to catch the people of the state of Chu in the mountains. The Chu army set up an ambush in the mountains in advance. At this time, they blocked the north gate, and at the same time, they set up an ambush to defeat the country. So he forced the country to form a "League under the city". The "alliance under the city" refers to the humiliating treaty that the defeated country was forced to conclude under the serious threat of the enemy's troops. In the 15th year of Xuangong in Zuozhuan, the story of Chu's attack on Song (in Shangqiu County, Henan Province today) is also described as "alliance under the city". At that time, the state of song was heavily surrounded by the Chu army. The people of the Song Dynasty in the city had neither food to eat nor firewood to burn. They were very scared. So he sent Huayuan to sneak into the camp of Zifan, the commander of the Chu army, in the dark. In a very tough tone, he said to Zifan, "our monarch told me to tell you clearly that we have come to the point where we are running out of grain and firewood. However, if you think that we can be forced to form an "alliance under the city" and put to death, it is absolutely impossible! " Zifan saw that Huayuan was so powerful that he immediately agreed to withdraw troops, negotiate on an equal footing and form a friendly alliance. Two greedy guys think that the court has not grasped their crime of swallowing public funds, so they make use of the opportunity to form an alliance under the city and try to continue to resist. (wrong)

Analysis of Idioms

Synonyms: helpless, helpless Antonyms: self-reliance, self-reliance

Idiom usage

The state is already in trouble, and people have the will not to be in trouble. How would you like to die if the king and the people were crushed with the city. (Chapter 55 of the chronicles of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty by Feng Menglong of Ming Dynasty)