Chapter 19 Chapter 19 Hu Fu’s No. 1 Horseman - Zhao She

During the Warring States period, most of the reform movements in various countries focused on the economic system and military management system, that is, to increase the country's tax revenue and enhance the military's combat effectiveness through vigorous reforms.There is only one country that puts the focus of the reform on the reform of military combat thinking.The significance of this reform is also epoch-making, and even has stronger vitality than the reforms of other countries.The Warring States era in the Central Plains has become history, and even after the Qin Dynasty was short-lived, this pure military reform still has a profound impact on the Central Plains people in the Cold Weapons Age, making an epoch-making leap in the military philosophy of the Central Plains people-this is King Zhao Wuling's Hufu riding and shooting reform.

As one of the "Three Jins", the reform of Zhao's political and economic systems began in the early Warring States period.The feudalization process of Zhao State was about the same time as that of Wei State, but the level of development was far inferior to that of Wei State.Because the geographical location of Zhao State is too special, it is located in the northern part of Shanxi, and the north is facing the harassment of nomads, not only the nomadic tribes such as Zhongshan and Loufan, but the powerful Huns have already invaded the Han area of ​​the Central Plains. Zhao Guo and Yan Guo both suffered the most.Agricultural production in the north suffers great damage every year.Therefore, there is no way to solve the fatal problem of Zhao State by imitating economic and political reforms.Given the small size of the country, the harsh living environment, and the sparse population, Zhao's reforms must be targeted, and most of the energy should be devoted to building a strong army.The number of this army may not be the largest in the six countries, but its combat quality and military philosophy must be the strongest in the six countries.At that time, the main method of combat in the Han area of ​​the Central Plains was still chariots and infantry.Although the role of chariots is shrinking day by day, they are still very important. However, in the face of fast cavalry, the traditional combat method of chariots plus infantry can easily become a living target for the enemy to shoot and kill.Since the division of the three families into the Jin Dynasty, the State of Zhao has been engaged in two-front warfare for a long time. To the south, it has to resist the military attacks of the Central Plains countries, and to the north, it has to resist the intrusion of nomads.Under the two-front battle, it is extremely important to have a strong and advanced army. The most advanced army is naturally the newly emerging cavalry at that time. Therefore, learning the combat methods of the nomads and building an elite cavalry with "Hufu cavalry and shooting" is the most important thing. It became the inevitable choice of Zhao Guo.

The advocate of "Hufu riding and shooting" was King Zhao Wuling who reigned since 325 BC. He was the sixth king of Zhao State.In the first 20 years of his accession to the throne, he led his army to fight against the northern nomads three times, and suffered disastrous defeats repeatedly.The fierce fighting methods of the northern nomads left him with a painful memory.After several years of careful research, as a military strategist, King Zhao Wuling decisively put forward the idea of ​​"Hufu riding and shooting".In 302 BC, the Hufu riding and shooting operation was officially launched. The main content was that King Wuling of Zhao took the lead in wearing Hufu.This move caused an uproar at the time, the emperor's uncle and son Cheng and others strongly opposed it, and many ministers couldn't think about it. How decent is it for a good Huaxia to wear barbarian clothes?But King Zhao Wuling's determination was extremely firm.He himself wears Hu clothes, and the ministers and common people have to wear them. If he doesn't wear them, he will be debated first, and then the debate is useless, so he will be punished directly.Under such a tough policy, Hufu cavalry and archery spread throughout the country. In the second year, Zhao Guo had a strong cavalry force. Then Zhao Guo launched the Northern Expedition and defeated the long-term harassment of Zhao Guo's border. Zhongshan, Loufan, Linhu and other tribes received a large area of ​​land including today's northern Shanxi and central Inner Mongolia into the pocket of Zhao State.The most important significance of the acquisition of this piece of land to the Zhao State is that it obtained a precious place of war horse production. Since then until the Ming Dynasty in China, the northern part of Shanxi, which belongs to the "Sixteen Youyun Prefectures", has always been an important part of the Central Plains Dynasty. horse producing area.At that time, Zhao Guo obtained the foundation to build a powerful iron cavalry, and the cavalry force developed rapidly after that.Although King Zhao Wuling himself was not guaranteed at the end of the festival, he was imprisoned in the Dune Palace by his son King Zhao Huiwen, and finally starved to death, but the golden age of Zhao State has arrived.During the reign of King Zhao Huiwen, it was the 26 years when Zhao Guo’s iron cavalry roared proudly in the Central Plains, and the outstanding cavalry generals of the Central Plains were also born during this period, becoming the strongest opponent of the powerful Qin who swept the world. The outstanding one is Zhao She, the famous general of Zhao State.

Speaking of Zhao She, he may not be well-known today, but when it comes to his baby son, he is quite well-known--Zhao Kuo.Zhao Kuo, an unlucky boy, has been doing negative teaching materials for "talking about war on paper" for many years, but his father, Zhao She, was a famous general enough to be ranked in the top five in the entire Warring States Period.In the development of cavalry tactics in China's cold weapon era, Zhao She is a "positive teaching material" admired by military strategists of all dynasties. Speaking of Zhao She's fate with the cavalry, it was very early.As early as 302 B.C. when King Wuling of Zhao promoted Hufu cavalry and archery, he was a member of this cavalry unit.According to the records in "Warring States Policy", he should have participated in various early battles of the Zhao State cavalry unit. After King Zhao Wuling starved to death in the Dune Palace, most of Zhao Wuling's close officials were convicted of "rebellion". Therefore, he went into exile in the country of Yan.At that time, the Yan State was also infested by nomadic peoples, and its strength was weak. Naturally, it welcomed this rare talent who was good at cavalry combat.Later, Zhao She led troops in Yan State, served as the guard of Shanggu, an important town in the north of Yan State, and fought against nomadic cavalry many times.But he missed his homeland, and then he returned to live in Zhao country when the news died down.

Zhao She, who returned to the motherland, did not get much reuse at the beginning, but was appointed as a tax collector.But Zhao She is a serious person, no matter how inconspicuous the job is, he has to do it in a decent manner.As soon as Zhao She was serious, something went wrong.Lord Pingyuan, the power minister of Zhao State, relied on his power and owed the state taxes, and no one else dared to take care of him. When Zhao She knew about it, he didn't say anything, and killed nine cronies around Lord Pingyuan on the spot.This is a hornet's nest. Mr. Pingyuan is not an ordinary person. He is one of the famous four gentlemen of the Warring States period. He has 3,000 followers and is a powerful minister of Zhao Guo. Killing a tax collector is as easy as crushing an ant.The angry Lord Pingyuan really wanted to "pinch" Zhao She at first, but Zhao She was not afraid, and instead smiled and argued, "You have such a high status, but you take the lead in breaking the law. Do you want to be despised by the world?" Jun was out of words on the spot.

Although Mr. Pingyuan often breaks the law, he is still reasonable. On the contrary, he greatly appreciates Zhao She's performance of not being afraid of the powerful.As soon as Mr. Pingyuan appreciated it, Zhao She's hard life came to an end.Under the recommendation of Mr. Pingyuan, Zhao Shexian was promoted to the national tax manager and became the accountant of Zhao Guo, who also did a very good job.In 280 BC, Zhao She became associated with the cavalry again.This year Zhao Guo sent troops to attack Qi State, and Zhao She was appointed general.After the start of the war, Zhao She led his troops all the way. The fighters around him were all trained by him in a short period of time. However, they all had extraordinary skills. They admired him very much and were happy to serve him to the death.As a result, after a lot of fighting, before the main force of Zhao State arrived, Zhao She had already beaten the people of Qi State to the ground, and successfully captured Shanghe, a border city of Qi State.Shanghe is the city that King Zhao Huiwen dreamed of. He had sent people to attack several times before, but to no avail.After the battle, King Zhao Huiwen set up wine in the capital to celebrate this great victory. In the first battle on the battlefield, Zhao She did a great job.

At this time, Zhao Guo was in the golden age after riding and shooting in Hufu, and King Zhao Huiwen, who was in power at that time, was fully enjoying the inheritance left to him by his father.An outstanding talent team, a powerful army, and a thriving country.During this period, the State of Zhao defeated Qi State in the east, and thwarted Qin State's attempts to advance eastward several times in the west.With the decline of Wei State, the short-lived hegemony of Qi State, and the repeated heavy losses of Chu State, Zhao State has become the only force in the entire Central Plains that can resist Qin State, and it seems to be the "second child" among the seven heroes of the Warring States Period.Zhao Guo's own country is also a gathering of talents. In terms of civil servants, Lin Xiangru, who has fulfilled his mission, has long been famous through the ages. Lian Po, who has defeated Qin's invasion several times, is Zhao's number one general at this time.Zhao She, who was new to the army, was still a recruit, although he was not young at this time.Ten years after the Battle of Shangqiu, this "recruit egg" once again became a blockbuster, making Qiang Qin, who swept the six kingdoms, see how powerful he is.

In 270 BC, the State of Qin sent troops into the Central Plains and besieged Yanyu, an important town in the northwest of the State of Zhao.This is an important barrier for Zhao to resist Qin. Once it is lost, there will be no danger to defend the northwest of Zhao.But this important town also has problems. It is too far away from the base camp of Zhao State, so it is easy to be besieged.If you don't save them, you will lose the strategic location, and the consequences will be very serious; if you save them, the entire army may be wiped out, and you will lose all your money.The Zhao State does not have as many people as the Qin State, and the army is rich and elite, and it hurts to lose one of them.In this situation, most of Zhao's ministers "compared the lesser of two evils".King Zhao Huiwen first asked Lian Po, a well-known anti-Qin general, and the answer he got was "the road is too far to save".He asked Le Cheng, another famous general, and the answer was "the chances of winning are not great, it is better not to save".The words of the two famous generals make sense.Finally, I asked Zhao She, who was not well-known at the time, and Zhao She answered very simply: "Help! It's like two people fighting in a cave. When they meet on a narrow road, the brave wins!"

Seeing that Zhao She is so determined, King Zhao Huiwen is also courageous, and you are all brave, so let's be brave again!After dispatching troops, Zhao She was very timid all the way, and he was all doing foreign work. He walked slowly for 28 days, and he still couldn't even see the shadow of Yan Yu.Zhao She's actions made the people of Qin wonder. If you want to talk about rescue, you are doing foreign work, and if you want to say that you can't help, why are you here?In order to test Zhao She, Qin Jun deliberately sent spies in, but was dismissed by Zhao She with good words.Under the falsehood and reality, the people of Qin finally made a judgment: this kid is a wimp, and he just came to show off.

The people of Qin were relieved, but Zhao She was arrogant. As soon as the spies of Qin left, Zhao She immediately sent an order ordering the whole army to assemble quickly and march towards Yanhe in the middle of the night.As soon as the Qin people opened their eyes the next day, they found that Zhao She, who had been marching all night, had already appeared under the eyes of the Qin people.All the previous showings of weakness were all for this moment. The people of Zhao State were riding a lot of horses, their sabers were sharp, and the compelling military force told the people of Qin State: Fools, you have been fooled.

If you are fooled, you will be fooled. We Qin people are not scared, we are born to fight wars, isn’t it just wars?What is the art of war? It's nothing more than a hasty time and a bit out of place. What's the matter?Still fight!The Qin people, who woke up in a brief shock, quickly assembled their troops and prepared to face the battle. A big battle was about to start.The people of Qin are still very confident at this time. It is true that Zhao She came quickly, but you have played too big yourself. You broke away from the supply troops and rushed quickly, and the food and logistics could not keep up. If you can't defeat us in a short time, the whole army You are the one who is overwhelmed. The people of Qin knew it, and Zhao She knew it even more.After the battle began, the Qin people's countermeasures were very simple. The whole army formed a heavy armored army formation, guarded by long swords and crossbows, and blocked Zhao's cavalry with bows and crossbows. God, you, Zhao She, are dead.But after the fight started, the Qin people were "flicked" again. There were no cavalry charging, and no saber slashing.Qin Jun is dizzy, if you want to hit you, hit you, if you don't hit you, get out, what are you playing here? Of course, Zhao She didn't want to play two hundred and five. Just when Qin Jun was at a loss, suddenly a bad news came: Beishan was seized by Zhao She. Only then did Qin Jun understand: he was fooled again. The original tactic of the Qin army in this battle was to encircle and fight for reinforcements, but Zhao She calculated it and fooled it a bit, which was nothing more than a little embarrassment.But face can be lost, this Beishan cannot be lost.Beishan is the absolute commanding height of this battle. If you get Beishan, you will also gain the initiative in the entire war.Qin State had more infantry, while Zhao State had more cavalry. Tens of thousands of cavalry rushed down from the high mountains at high speed. The battle was just like today's high-altitude bombing by bombers! As a result, the Qin people were terribly bombed. After the successful attack on Beishan, Zhao She immediately launched a general attack.The elite cavalry rushed straight to the Qin army from the high mountain. With their rapid speed and precise shooting, they smashed Qin's crossbow and heavy infantry formation to pieces. The invincible Qin army experienced the collapse of the whole line for the first time. taste.The horses of Zhao State are charging, the sabers of Zhao State people are slashing desperately, but the invincible Qin State people are collapsing and running for their lives... The battle of Yan Yu was the worst defeat suffered by the invincible Qin army since Shang Yang's reform.Under the unfavorable situation of the war situation, Zhao She, who was ordered in the face of danger, with his precise calculations, fictitious performances, indomitable spirit, and resolute and resolute courage, step by step, counted the people of Qin into death, and then gathered to encircle and annihilate them.The number of casualties of the Qin State in this battle, the records in various historical books are very vague, some say tens of thousands, some say 50,000, but there is no doubt that this is the largest casualty suffered by the Qin people. Another impact of this battle, It was the Qin army, who was defiant at first, who seemed to suffer from "phobia of Zhao" in the future, and had been afraid to go east again for many years. As an outstanding military strategist, Zhao She also has his own military philosophy, which can be summed up in seven words: do not fight unprepared battles. The battle between Yan and Yu showed that Zhao She was more decisive than Lian Po, Le Sheng and other famous generals at the time, but in fact, he was an extremely cautious person.His principle is that he will not fight a battle that is not sure of victory; if the army he leads does not have an absolute advantage over the enemy, he cannot fight it either.When fighting, we must do everything possible to consume the enemy's sharpness, destroy the enemy's morale, and after dragging the enemy to a mess, after being 100% sure, at the minimum cost, we will receive the maximum effect of severely injuring the enemy.The battle between Yan and Yu is a battle in which Zhao She's wisdom and courage are brought into full play.Among the famous Zhao generals at that time, if Lian Po was the best defender, then Zhao She was the best attacker.Another major impact of this battle on the Qin State is that the people of Qin State, who were cut to pieces by the Zhao State cavalry, have since then begun to attach great importance to the construction of cavalry. They take advantage of the unique geographical conditions of the Guanzhong Plain and the rich reserves of the Qin State people in animal husbandry , and soon had a cavalry force sufficient to compete with Zhao Guo.Cavalry, the "imported product" of the Central Plains army during the Warring States Period, has since been widely promoted among various armies in the Central Plains. After the battle of Yan Yu, Zhao She was conferred the title of Ma Fujun because of his outstanding military exploits, and became the top general of Zhao State on par with Lian Po, Le Sheng and others.After the end of this battle, Qin State did not dare to go east for a while because of heavy casualties, and the border of Zhao State stopped.Zhao She, who had no battles, spent the last days of his life mainly educating his children. His precious son was Zhao Kuo, who was later called "talking on paper".The merits and demerits of this person are the content of our next article.