Prelude
As promised by Duke Wen to King Cheng during his exile in Chu, the Jin army retired "three days march" (退避三舍) (45 km) before camping on the plain of Chengpu on the border of Wei and Cao, awaiting a decisive battle The retirement also linked the Jin forces up with Qi and Qin reinforcements.
Only the central force of the Chu under Prime Minister Ziyu (子玉) was made up entirely of Chu troops. The left wing under Zixi incorporated soldiers from Chu's close satellites Shen and Xi. The right wing under Zishang comprised completely a separate detachment from the armies of Chen and Cai, perhaps numbering around a third (?) of the entire force.
The Jin force was expanded before the expedition from two armies into three: the upper, the central and the lower; these three were then regrouped into wings before the battle: the upper army at the right wing under commander Hu Mao and vice-commander Hu Yan, lower at left under Luan Zhi and vice Xu Chen, central remained at centre under Xian Zhen and vice Xi Zhen. Duke Wen did not direct or engage in the fighting.
Read more about this topic: Battle Of Chengpu
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