Coïncidence ?

Alors qu'il était encerclé par le consul Fabius Maximus, Hannibal utilisa une ruse en fixant du bois sec sur les cornes de boeufs et en lançant contre les Romains ce troupeau après avoir enflammer le bois. Il est frappant de constater que 60 ans plus tôt environ, le général chinois Tian Dan avait utilisé une technique similaire comme on peut le lire ci-dessous. Coïncidence ou non ?

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In 284 BC, Yan forces led by Yue Yi managed to corner Qi within the City of Ju, however Tian Dan was able to launch a successful counterattack and retook the lost territory of Qi.

This counterattack was reliant on an unconventional assault which included inducing panic in a herd of oxen, who were then set upon the Yan army. It is described by Sima Qian in the Records of the Grand Historian within his biography of Tian Dan:

"Tian Dan collected more than one thousand oxen from the people in the city. He had them dressed with red silk, and had multicolour lines, like those of dragons, painted on them. Sharp blades were adjusted to their horns, and reeds dipped in grease, so that their tips could be set aflame, were attached to their tails. Several passages were dug in the city walls, and on one night, the oxen were released, followed by five thousand sturdy men. The oxen, their tail on fire, charged the army of Yan, creating panic. The torches attached to the tails illuminated the night, the troops of Yan saw the lines on their bodies, which looked like dragons, and all those who met their horns were either killed or wounded. Then, the five thousand men, their mouths closed with pieces of wood, attacked them. They were followed by the sound of shouts and drums from the city, and all the old people and children struck metal pots. The noise shook heaven and earth. The soldiers of Yan panicked. They were defeated and repealed, and the people of Qi killed his general, Ji Jie. As the army of Yan was falling back, in disorder and confusion, the soldiers of Qi chased it, and destroyed it as they pushed it northwards. All the cities it went through revolted, and rallied Tian Dan, whose troops were larger every day. As he fled from a victory to another, the army of Yan was defeated every day, and finally reached the northern bank of the Yellow River. At this time, more than seventy cities had returned back to Qi

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