English Original
Around 480 B.C., during the late Spring and Autumn Period, King Fu Chai of Wu had conquered Yue, Lu, and Qi. Ambitious to expand further, he led his army northwest to attack the State of Jin.
Meanwhile, King Gou Jian of Yue launched a surprise attack on Wu's rear, capturing its capital, Gusu, seizing its large boats, and occupying the Huai River to cut off Fu Chai's retreat.
Upon receiving this shocking news, Fu Chai urgently consulted his advisors. They concluded that retreating would mean certain defeat, caught between Jin and Yue. Their best chance was a swift, surprise victory over Jin first.
To achieve this, Fu Chai organized a special night assault. He selected 30,000 elite troops, dividing them into three phalanxes of 10,000, each distinguished by color:
- The central phalanx, led by Fu Chai himself, wore white armor and carried white flags and bows.
- The left phalanx wore red armor and carried red flags and bows.
- The right phalanx wore black armor and carried black flags and bows.
After a midnight march, the Wu army positioned itself near the Jin camp at dawn. As day broke, they beat their drums thunderously and raised a mighty shout.
The Jin soldiers, awakened from sleep, were stunned by the sight. The white phalanx looked like a field of flowering reeds, the red one like a raging fire, and the black one like an unfathomably deep sea.
中文翻译
约公元前480年，春秋末期，吴王夫差相继征服了越国、鲁国和齐国。野心勃勃的他，又率军向西北进发，企图一举攻克晋国。
与此同时，越王勾践迂回包抄，袭击了吴国的后方。勾践的军队连战连捷，最终攻入吴国都城姑苏，夺走了吴国的大船，并立即派兵占领淮河，切断了夫差的退路。
这惊人的消息对夫差犹如当头一棒。他立刻召集文武官员商讨对策。众人认为，此时撤退意味着失败，将面临晋、越两军的夹击。但如果能先击败晋国，夫差就能成为诸侯霸主，之后再对付勾践也不迟。
于是，他们决定尽快以奇袭战胜晋军。一天傍晚，夫差下令全军饱餐，战马喂足草料。他从军中挑选了三万精兵，组成三个方阵，每阵一万人：
- 中军方阵的士兵身穿白甲，手持白旗、白色弓箭，由夫差亲自率领。
- 左军方阵身穿红甲，手持红旗、红色弓箭。
- 右军方阵身穿黑甲，手持黑旗、黑色弓箭。
全军午夜出发，拂晓时分抵达距晋军仅一里之地。天刚破晓，吴军便擂响战鼓，喊杀声震天动地。
从梦中惊醒的晋军士兵，被吴军三个方阵的磅礴气势惊呆了。白色的方阵犹如遍野盛开的芦花，红色的方阵好似熊熊燃烧的烈火，黑色的方阵则像深不可测的大海。
（此故事出自《国语》。后人常用成语“如火如荼”来形容气势浩大、旺盛热烈的场面。）