Duke Xiang of Song waited for the enemy to form ranks — and lost his state

After the death of Duke Huan of Qi in 643 BCE, Duke Xiang of Song saw himself as the next hegemon of the Chinese states. He was a small-state ruler whose domain was a fraction of Chu's, but he possessed a sense of ceremonial propriety that outstripped his army. When Song attacked the state of Zheng in 638 BCE, Chu marched to Zheng's defence. The Song and Chu armies met at the Hong River.

The Song army was already lined up on the near bank when the Chu forces began to cross. Ziyu, the Minister of War, urged an immediate strike: the enemy was many, Song was few, and the river was a chokepoint that would never offer itself again. The duke refused. When the Chu army had crossed but had not yet formed its ranks, Ziyu asked again. The duke refused again, and waited until the Chu lines were drawn up and ready.

The Song army was destroyed. Duke Xiang was gravely wounded in the thigh, and his personal guard of gate officers was killed to the last man. The people of Song blamed the duke. He answered: 'A superior man does not inflict a second wound on a defeated enemy, nor does he capture warriors with grey hair. Though I am the heir of a ruined kingdom, I will not sound the drum to attack an unformed enemy line.'

Ziyu replied: 'You do not understand war. If you love soldiers with grey hair, why not simply surrender? If you are afraid to inflict a second wound, you should not have wounded them in the first place.' The duke succumbed the following year to his wounds. Song never again contended for hegemony.