老弱残兵 — “A motley group of old and weak soldiers”

老弱残兵 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “a motley group of old and weak soldiers”. (by extension) a team or group consisting of people who are old, frail, or generally less capable and unfit for demanding tasks. Literally, “old, weak, and remnant soldiers”.

Frequency

老弱残兵 Pronunciation and Pinyin

老弱残兵 Character Breakdown

Stroke Order

Character	Pinyin	Strokes	Meaning
老	lǎo	6	old, aged, experienced
弱	ruò	10	weak, feeble, delicate
残	cán	9	harm, destroy, or cruel
兵	bīng	7	weapon, soldier, military affairs

Example Sentence with 老弱残兵

尽管他们只有少数几名老弱残兵，但凭借智慧和毅力，最终还是完成了这项艰巨的任务。

Although they were just a small group of old and weak members, they ultimately completed the arduous task with wisdom and perseverance.

Origin and Story of 老弱残兵

Towards the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Yuan Shang attacked Pingyuan. Shen Pei and Chen Lin were left to guard Jizhou. Cao Cao seized this opportunity to besiege Jizhou.

Yuan Shang dispatched his chief clerk, Li Fu, to disguise himself as a Cao Cao's soldier and attack Jizhou.

When Shen Pei recognized Li Fu, they agreed on a plan: they would first send women, children, and a group of old, weak, and disabled soldiers to feign surrender to Cao Cao. Meanwhile, their main forces would secretly sneak out of the city to engage Cao Cao in a decisive battle.

However, Cao Cao saw through their stratagem. He turned the tables on them, feigning acceptance of the surrender, and eventually captured Jizhou.