To fight a desperate battle with no way of retreat; to make a last-ditch stand; to stake everything on one decisive battle.
Era:
Ancient
Frequency:
Antonym:
Story:
During the Spring and Autumn period, the states of Jin, Lu, and Wei, under the command of Jin's general Xi Ke, defeated the attacking Qi army. Duke Qing of Qi then sent his minister Guo Zuo to Jin to seek peace.
Xi Ke seized the opportunity to demand many harsh conditions. Guo Zuo sternly replied, "If Jin truly desires peace talks, Qi is willing to offer precious jade and return the lands belonging to Lu and Wei. If these terms are used as a pretense to extort more, our state will have no choice but to '背城借一' (fight a desperate battle with our backs to the wall)."
Generals Sun Xingfu and Sun Liangfu of Lu and Wei advised Xi Ke from the side. Xi Ke finally agreed to Qi's requests and signed the peace treaty.
The idiom is also written as "背城一战" (bèi chéng yī zhàn). In "Eastern Zhou Kingdoms" (Chapter 20) by Yu Shaoyu of the Ming Dynasty, it states: "Prince Hua, young and vigorous, requested to '背城一战' (make a desperate stand with our backs to the city)."