萬事俱備，只欠東風 (Wànshì jùbèi, zhǐ qiàn dōngfēng)
(1) all is ready except what is crucial
(2) 只欠東風 zhǐ qiàn dōng fēng – all we need is an east wind (idiom); lacking only one tiny crucial item
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Source: Ming Dynasty – Luo Guanzhong‘s “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” – Chapter Forty-Nine: “Kongming asked for a brush and paper, then dismissed his subordinates and penned a secret letter with sixteen words:
欲破曹公，(To defeat Duke Cao)
須用火攻；(One should use fire;)
萬事俱備，(All things are ready,)
只欠東風 ([We’re] Only missing [an] east wind.)
Story: There were unceasing wars in the last years of the Eastern Han Dynasty, where heroes from across the land raised their own armies to fight for hegemony over the country. At the time, Cao Cao had pacified the north and made plans to take the next steps in unifying the lands, where he led an army of eight hundred thousand troops southward, preparing to crush Liu Bei and Sun Quan‘s power bases in one stroke. Liu Bei was stationing his troops at Fancheng and did not expect the sudden arrival of Cao Cao’s army, so he could only flee the city and sent Zhuge Liang as an envoy to seek help from Sun Quan, hoping that he’d be able to join forces with Sun Quan to resist Cao Cao’s attack.
When Zhuge Liang met Sun Quan, he analyzed in details the situation of the lands and encouraged Sun Quan to join hands with Liu Bei. Sun Quan hesitatingly said: “I heard that Liu Bei just suffered a defeat, why should I then join forces with him?” Zhuge Liang replied: “Although Liu Bei was recently handed a loss, he still has many [capable] officers and soldiers under him. Moreover, Cao Cao’s armies has come from far away, they are exhausted without fails. They come from the North and are not used to naval warfare. If you are willing to send some tens of thousand of troops to join forces with Liu Bei, we will surely defeat Cao’s army.”
Upon hearing this Sun Quan agreed wholeheartedly and went away to discuss it with his subordinates. It so happened that at the same time he also received Cao Cao’s letter persuading him to surrender. Sun Quan showed this letter to his subordinates, where most of the court officials [present] were greatly intimidated by Cao Cao’s threat and advocated for immediate surrender. Only Lu Su disagreed and advised Sun Quan to not surrender, but to recall the famous military general Zhou Yu [for further consultation]. Once Zhou Yu was back, he told Sun Quan thus: “My Lord occupies the whole area of Jiangdong, you have an elite army and plenty of supplies, why then should you surrender to Cao Cao? Currently Cao Cao leads his infantry and cavalry here to fight against our Eastern Wu, he is clearly sending them to their deaths. The Cao army comes from the north and is not accustomed to southern climates. It is now cold and wet here in the south, as such they won’t be able to adapt in time and so won’t be able to fight against us! My Lord should use this opportunity to defeat Cao Cao in one blow!”
Sun Quan then made up his mind to join forces with Liu Bei in the fight against Cao Cao. He sent Zhou Yu to lead his troops to join up with Liu Bei, where the Sun-Liu armies went upstream and ran into the Cao army, which was crossing the river at Chibi. At that time, as Zhou Yu had expected, Cao Cao’s troops had already become sick and demoralized due to the different southern climate. Zhou Yu took this opportunity to wage a battle against Cao Cao, resulting in Cao’s troops being defeated and Cao Cao having to withdraw his naval force to the northern bank to join up with his infantry and cavalry, and anchored his ships there to train his naval troops. Zhou Yu anchored his ships on the southern bank and faced Cao Cao’s army from across the river. Cao Cao’s infantry and cavalry could not adapt to life onboard, so they tied the ships together from end to end [to make them more stable]. Huang Gai, a subordinate of Zhou Yu, suggested thus: “Cao’s troops had tied the ships together, therefore the use of fire is most suitable to attack them.” So Zhou Yu gathered ten warships and packed them with dry firewood, poured oil on them, wrapped them up with tents, placed ensigns on them, and had light boats tied to their sterns. Huang Gai [then] first sent someone to deliver a letter to Cao Cao, pretending that he wanted to surrender to the latter. Immediately afterwards, Huang Gai set out with the ten warships. When the ships reached the center of the river, they hoisted the sails and moved forward rapidly under the strong eastern wind. When Cao Cao’s officers saw this, they all believed that Huang Gai had come to surrender and let down their guard. Once the warships got close to Cao Cao’s army, Huang Gai ordered his men to simultaneously lit the fire. The intense blaze filled up the sky, and the warships hurriedly rushed Cao’s fleet, resulting in all of Cao’s ships being set ablaze. The blaze continued to spread and not even the barracks of Cao’s army situated along the shoreline were spared. Cao Cao’s army was in total chaos, and Zhou Yu took advantage of this opportunity to lead his elite troops on a large-scale attack, resulting in a total defeat for Cao Cao. Cao Cao fled in panic with his remaining troops, with Liu Bei and Zhou Yu simultaneously pursuing them on both land routes and waterways. Cao Cao’s army suffered numerous casualties in this battle.
This battle was [later known as] the Battle of Chibi. After the Battle of Chibi, Cao Cao lost the opportunity to unify the country within a short period of time, while Sun Quan and Liu Bei used the victory at the battle to begin strengthening and developing their own forces, gradually forming the tripod of powers in the Three Kingdoms Period.
—– VOCABULARY —–
紙 zhǐ – paper; classifier for documents, letter etc. [[chỉ: giấy]]
屏退 bǐng tuì – to send away; to dismiss (servants etc); to retire from public life
屏 bǐng – to get rid of; to put aside; to reject; to keep control; to hold (one’s breath) [[bình: bức tường nhỏ ngay cửa; chỉ chung các vật như bức tường che chắn; bức chắn gió, bức bình phong; bức thư họa trang trí trong nhà; che chở, bảo hộ; che giấu, che lấp; bính: bài trừ, cũng như 摒; đuổi ra ngoài; lui về, ở ẩn; nín, nhịn; phóng trục, đày]]
須 xū – must; to have to; to wait [[tu: râu má dưới cằm, thông “tu” 鬚; khoảnh khắc, chốc lát, khoảng thời gian rất ngắn; nhu cầu; chờ đợi; trì hoãn; dừng lại; cần, phải; nên, hãy nên; rốt cục, sau cùng; thật là]]
俱 jù – entirely; without exception; (literary) to be together; to be alike [[câu: đi cùng, đi theo; đều, cùng]]
欠 qiàn – deficient; to owe; to lack; yawn [[khiếm: ngáp; nhổm dậy, nhón mình lên; thiếu, không đủ; mắc nợ; không, không đủ, thiéu; món nợ]]
一舉 yī jǔ – a move; an action; in one move; at a stroke; in one go
屯 tún – to station (soldiers); to store up; village [[truân: khó khăn; đồn: họp, tụ tập, tích trữ; đóng quân phòng thủ; đóng quân khẩn hoang, trồng trọt; chất đống, làm trở ngại; thôn trang, làng quê; trại binh, quân doanh]]
樊城 Fán chéng – Fangcheng district of Xiangfan city 襄樊市[Xiang1 fan2 shi4], Hubei
樊 fán – cage; fence [[phiền: lồng chim hoặc thú; rào, giậu, thông “phiên” 藩; quây quanh, làm rào giậu để che chở]]
倉皇 cāng huáng – in a panic; flurried
倉 cāng – barn; granary; storehouse; cabin; hold (in ship) [[thương: chỗ để tồn trữ các loại cốc; kho, vựa; khoang thuyền; xanh; thảng: như “thảng thốt” 倉卒, “thảng hoàng” 倉皇]]
詳細 xiáng xì – detailed; in detail; minute
敗仗 bài zhàng – lost battle; defeat [[bại trận, thua trận]]
況且 kuàng qiě – moreover; besides; in addition; furthermore
疲憊 pí bèi – beaten; exhausted; tired
疲 pí – weary [[bì: mỏi mệt; già yếu, suy nhược; sụt giá, thị trường ế ẩm, yếu kém; làm cho nhọc nhằn, lao lụy; chán nản, chán ngán, cảm thấy mệt mỏi]]
憊 bèi – exhausted [[bại: mỏi mệt]]
不堪 bù kān – cannot bear; cannot stand; utterly; extremely [[bất kham, không cam chịu]]
堪 kān – to endure; may; can [[kham: chịu được; có khi dùng như chữ “khả” 可]]
習慣 xí guàn – habit; custom; usual practice; to be used to
共同 gòng tóng – common; joint; jointly; together; collaborative [[cộng đồng]]
謀劃 móu huà – to scheme; to plot; conspiracy
恰好 qià hǎo – as it turns out; by lucky coincidence; (of number, time, size etc) just right [[trùng hợp một cách may mắn]]
恰 qià – exactly; just [[kháp: vừa vặn, vừa đúng; thích đáng, hợp]]
嚇 hè – to scare; to intimidate; to threaten [[hách: dọa nạt; hoảng sợ, kinh hãi; biểu thị kinh hãi hay trầm trồ (khen ngợi); biểu thị không vừa lòng hoặc nghi vấn]]
佔據 zhàn jù – to occupy; to hold [[chiếm cứ, chiếm giữ]]
精銳 jīng ruì – elite (e.g. troops); crack; best quality personnel
銳 ruì – acute [[nhuệ: sắc, bén; nhọn; mạnh mẽ, tinh nhuệ; nhạy, thính; nhanh chóng, rõ rệt; vũ khí sắc, nhọn; lực lượng hùng mạnh]]
分明 fēn míng – clear; distinct; evidently; clearly
送死 sòng sǐ – to throw away one’s life
碰 pèng – to touch; to meet with; to bump [[bính: va, chạm, đụng, cụng, chọi; gặp (bất ngờ); thử; gây ra, rước lấy; xúc phạm]]
濕, 溼 shī – moist; wet [[thấp: đất ướt, đất ẩm thấp; khí ẩm (theo đông y); ẩm, ướt; thấm ướt]]
正在 zhèng zài – just at (that time); right in (that place); right in the middle of (doing sth) [[trong khi, trong lúc, đang lúc]]
水土 shuǐ tǔ – water and soil; surface water; natural environment (extended meaning); climate
染病 rǎn bìng – to catch an illness; to get infected with a disease
染 rǎn – to dye; to catch (a disease); to acquire (bad habits etc); to contaminate; to add color washes to a painting [[nhiễm: nhuộm; vẩy màu, rắc mực (khi viết vẽ); vấy, thấm, dính bẩn; lây, mắc phải; quan hệ nam nữ không chính đính]]
低落 dī luò – downcast; gloomy; to decline
趁機 chèn jī – to seize an opportunity; to take advantage of situation
失利 shī lì – to lose; to suffer defeat [[bị tổn thất, chịu tổn thất]]
岸 àn – bank; shore; beach; coast [[ngạn: bờ; cao; cao ngạo, trang nghiêm]]
操練 cāo liàn – drill; practice [[thao luyện; luyện tập]]
停靠 tíng kào – to call at; to stop at; berth
停 tíng – to stop; to halt; to park (a car) [[đình: dừng, nửa chừng ngừng lại; đỗ lại, đậu, ở tạm; đặt, để; thỏa đáng, ổn thỏa; phần]]
隔 gé – to separate; to partition; to stand or lie between; at a distance from; after or at an interval of [[cách: ngăn trở, ngăn che (làm cho không thông suốt); phân biệt, không tương hợp; xa, cách xa; biệt li; sửa đổi, đổi khác, biến dịch; giới hạn]]
對峙 duì zhì – to stand opposite; to confront; confrontation [[đương đầu với nhau, chạm trán nhau]]
峙 zhì – peak; to store [[trĩ: đứng cao sừng sững, đối lập; sắm đủ, tích trữ; đất cao ở trong nước]]
首尾 shǒu wěi – head and tail
綁 bǎng – to tie; bind or fasten together; to kidnap [[bảng: trói, buộc]]
適宜 shì yí – suitable; appropriate
艘 sōu – classifier for ships [[sưu: lượng từ – chiếc (đơn vị dùng cho thuyền, tàu); chỉ chung thuyền, tàu]]
乾 gān – dry; clean; in vain; dried food; foster; adoptive; to ignore [[can: khô, ráo; cạn, rỗng, khô kiệt; giòn vang (âm thanh); nuôi, vì nghĩa kết thân mà không phải ruột thịt; thực phẩm khô; trở thành khô; làm khô cạn, uống cạn; uổng, vô ích; suông, chỉ; bề ngoài, giả vờ]]
澆 jiāo – to pour liquid; to irrigate (using waterwheel); to water; to cast (molten metal); to mold [[kiêu: nhẹ, mỏng, thiển bạc; tưới, rưới]]
帳幕 zhàng mù – tent
插 chā – to insert; stick in; pierce; to take part in; to interfere; to interpose [[sáp: cắm, cài; xen vào, lách vào, nhúng vào; trồng, cấy; cái mai, cái cuốc]]
旗幟 qí zhì – ensign; flag [[cờ xí, cờ hiệu]]
幟 zhì – flag [[xí: cờ, tinh kì; dấu hiệu, kí hiệu]]
快艇 kuài tǐng – speedboat; motor launch
艇 tǐng – vessel; small ship [[đĩnh: cái thoi, thứ thuyền nhỏ mà dài]]
謊稱 huǎng chēng – to claim; to pretend
謊 huǎng – lies; to lie [[hoang: lời không thật, lời nói dối; dối trá, lừa đảo; hư, giả, không thật]]
風帆 fēng fān – sail; sailing boat
快速 kuài sù – fast; high-speed; rapid [[nhanh chóng, tốc độ, mau lẹ]]
沖天 chōng tiān – to soar, to rocket
沖 chōng – (of water) to dash against; to mix with water; to infuse; to rinse; to flush; to develop (a film); to rise in the air; to clash; to collide with
迅速 xùn sù – rapid; speedy; fast
衝進 chōng jìn – to rush in; to charge in
衝 chōng – thoroughfare; to go straight ahead; to rush; to clash
chòng – powerful; vigorous; pungent; towards; in view of [[xung: đi thẳng tới phía trước; xông ra, không đoái gì nguy hiểm; dựng đứng, đâm thẳng lên; đụng chạm, va chạm; hướng về, đối; hăng, nồng; mạnh; xấc xược, vô lễ; đường cái giao thông trọng yếu]]
點燃 diǎn rán – to ignite; to set on fire; aflame
燃 rán – to burn; to ignite; to light; fig. to spark off (hopes); to start (debate); to raise (hopes) [[nhiên: đốt cháy; cho là đúng, tán đồng; như thế; lời đáp lại – phải, phải đấy; dùng cuối câu, biểu thị khẳng định; nhưng, song]]
蔓延 màn yán – to extend; to spread
蔓 màn – creeper; to spread [[mạn: loài thực vật, thân nhỏ, có thể vin, quấn hoặc leo lên cây khác; lan ra; man: như “man tinh” 蔓菁 cây su hào]]
延 yán – to prolong; to extend; to delay [[diên: dài, xa; kéo dài; lan tràn, lan rộng; kéo dài thời gian; tiến nạp, tiến cử, dẫn vào; mời vào, rước tới; dây dưa, dắt tới; trì hoãn]]
倖 xìng – trusted; intimate; (of the emperor) to visit [[hãnh: thân cận; may mắn]]
幸免 xìng miǎn – narrowly and luckily escape
大舉 dà jǔ – (do sth) on a large scale [[một hoạt động quân sự lớn]]
倉皇 cāng huáng – in a panic; flurried
戰役 zhàn yì – military campaign
役 yì – forced labor; corvée; obligatory task; military service; to use as servant; to enserf; servant (old); war; campaign; battle [[dịch: đi thú ngoài biên thùy; sai khiến; lao dịch, việc nặng nhọc; sự việc, sự kiện; chức trách, chức phận; kẻ hầu hạ, tôi tớ, người để sai bảo; môn sinh, đệ tử; binh lính, quân hầu, quân làm phục dịch; việc quân, chiến trận, chiến tranh, chiến dịch]]
失去 shī qù – to lose [[bị mất, đánh mất, làm mất]]
壯大 zhuàng dà – to expand; to strengthen [[khỏe lên, lớn mạnh lên]]