3. Tu Fu's Brilliant Deduction

Tu Fu did not simply read the text of the Zhouyi. Instead, he used the "Taking of Images" (Qu Xiang) method:

Image I: Wind Falling Below the Mountain In Gu, the upper trigram is Gen (Mountain) and the lower is Xun (Wind/Wood). Wind falling below the mountain suggests not just "decay," but the idea of "returning to roots" and "rectification." Duke Mu used this to rectify the treacherous Duke Hui of Jin.
Image II: Thrice Repulsed This is a structural deconstruction. Xun (Wind) in the lower trigram can represent order and chariots. More subtly, the nuclear hexagram contains Zhen (Thunder/Chariots). "Thrice repulsed" predicted the battle's progression: the Jin army would be pushed back three times.
Image III: Capturing the Male Fox The word Gu carries the meaning of "delusion." Duke Hui of Jin was treacherous and muddled, like a suspicious fox. From the trigrams, Gen (Upper) is a dog or a hand; Xun (Lower) is a fox. In the hexagram Gu, the Upper Mountain (Gen/Stop) presses down on the Lower Wind (Xun/Fox). When a mountain pins a fox, the result is naturally "Capturing the male fox." This "male fox" referred directly to Duke Hui of Jin.