法苑珠林 61.19

61.19

抱朴子曰。昔吳遣賀將軍討山賊。賊中有善禁者。每當交戰。官軍刀劍皆不得拔。弓弩射矢皆還自向。輒致不利。賀將軍長情有思。乃曰。吾聞金有刃者可禁。蟲有毒者可禁。其無刃毒則不可禁。彼必是能禁吾兵者也。必不能禁無刃物矣。乃多作勁木棓。選勇力精卒五千人為先登。盡捉棓。彼山賊恃其有善禁者。了不嚴備。於是官軍以白棓擊之。彼禁不復行。打殺者乃有萬計。

Baopuzi says: In the past, Wu sent General He to subjugate mountain bandits. Among the bandits there was one skilled in binding spells; whenever they joined battle, the government troops could not draw their knives or swords, and the arrows shot from their bows and crossbows all turned back on themselves, unfailingly resulting in disadvantage. General He was a man of long experience and thoughtful reflection, and so said: "I have heard that metal with an edge can be bound, and creatures with venom can be bound, but things without an edge or venom cannot be bound. That fellow must surely be able to bind our weapons, but he will certainly be unable to bind blunted objects." He then had many clubs made of sturdy wood, and selected five thousand brave and powerful crack troops to form the vanguard, all holding clubs. Relying on their expert in binding spells, the mountain bandits made no vigilant preparations at all. Thereupon the government troops struck them with the plain clubs; his spells no longer took effect, and those beaten to death numbered in the tens of thousands.