司马穰苴

司马穰苴（？—？），妫姓，田氏，名穰苴，春秋时代后期齐国的将军、大夫、军事家、军事理论家，田完的后裔。田穰苴活跃于前6世纪末至前5世纪初，辅佐齐景公，因官拜大司马，因此又被称为司马穰苴。

经历

齐景公相国晏婴推荐穰苴，并说：“虽说穰苴为田家之妾生子，可他的文才能使众人归附，武略能使敌人胆怯，望您能试用此人。”齐景公召见穰苴，与他共议用兵之事。齐景公欣喜，立命穰苴为上将军，派穰苴收复晋燕两国侵占的国土。穰苴为树立威信，请景公派大臣为监军，景公派了宠臣庄贾，穰苴与庄贾约曰：“第二天中午，在军营正门见面。”庄贾一向骄横，和亲戚饮酒相送，阅兵时迟到，穰苴依军法斩杀了庄贾。

但庄贾被捕时，秘密派人至宫中求救，不久，景公派特使驾车奔驰，前来向穰苴传达了景公特赦庄贾的命令，穰苴回答：“将领领导部队时，有时可以不接受君主的命令。”穰苴问军正：“在部队中奔驰，该当何罪？”军正回答“当斩”，来使大惧，恳求饶命。穰苴说：“他是钦差，不可以杀他。”遂释放了特使，斩杀了车夫，又命令武士拆车，把马砍死，以示三军。

司马穰苴执法严明，使军心大振，同时穰苴对士兵的生活起居，如营舍住宿和食物、药品等事都非常关切，样样亲自查访探问，并将自己的俸禄分给士兵，自己只吃全部队最低标准的食物。于是士兵勇敢，纷纷效死，击败晋燕军队，收回失去的国土，回国官拜大司马，因此被称为司马穰苴，田氏势力越发膨胀。

鲍氏、高氏、国氏等贵族将穰苴视为眼中钉，不断地在齐景公面前诽谤穰苴，于是齐景公将穰苴罢黜，不久后穰苴忧愤而病死。田氏宗主田乞与族人田豹因此痛恨三氏。日后田乞的儿子田恒将鲍氏、高氏、国氏族灭。田常的曾孙齐威王田因齐将司马穰苴的兵法附于古兵法之后，称为“司马法”。

Sima Rangju (Chinese: 司馬穰苴) or Tian Rangju (Chinese: 田穰苴) (dates of birth and death unknown) was a famous Chinese military general during the Spring and Autumn period, often seen as the spiritual successor of Jiang Ziya. He served in the State of Qi, defending it from the states of Jin and Yan, and went as high in the army as Da Sima, the Minister of War. As a result, he is also sometimes called Sima Rangju . He was later dismissed by Duke Jing of Qi, who apparently listened to hypocrites, falsely accusing Rangju. He was depressed and fell ill, resulting in his death. Little is known about his life due to the lack of historical records, but his thoughts and ideas passed on. His works were later composed into a book called The Methods of the Sima. He was highly praised by Sima Qian, a famous Chinese historian.

Life

Yan Ying, the Prime Minister of Duke Jing of Qi, recommended Rangju to the duke and he became a general. He was ordered to restore territory lost to the states of Jin and Yan. In order to build his prestige within the army, he suggested to the Duke to send someone to oversee his actions. The Duke sent Zhuang Gu (庄贾) as the overseer. Zhuang Gu was always arrogant, and he was late attending a parade. Rangju followed the regulations and ordered that Zhuang Gu be executed. When a messenger sent by Zhuang Gu retrieved a document that gave Zhuang Gu the command of the army, Rangju said: "When the general is commanding an army, he can disobey orders from the King." He then asked a law officer: "What punishment does he deserve for galloping in the army camp? " The answer was "execution". Rangju then executed the messenger for galloping freely inside the army camp, also killing his horse and destroying his cart.

Rangju enforced the laws with fairness and his prestige increased rapidly within the army. He defeated the armies of Jin and Yan, restoring lost land. He was promoted to Da Sima, the Minister of War. The Tian Clan which he belonged to also became more powerful. Other Qi clans including Bao (鲍), Gao (高) and Guo (国) saw him as a threat and made false allegations against Rangju in front of the Duke. In the end, the Duke dismissed Rangju. Rangju died soon afterward. The next leader of the Tian clan Tian Qi (田乞) therefore despised those three families. The son of Tian Qi, called Tian Chang (田常), later destroyed the three families.

Tian Chang's great grandson King Wei of Qi organised the works of Rangju and it was known as The Precepts of War, also known as The Methods of the Sima.