Chapter 20 Chapter 20 Who Destroyed Changping

After talking about Zhao She, it is natural to talk about Zhao Kuo.In the eyes of future generations, he is a poor man who is "I am a hero and a bear", and he is also a sinner of Zhao Guo. It seems correct to say "sinner".Originally, the battle on the front line was going well, but when he was replaced, he rushed forward with all his teeth and claws, and rushed all 400,000 troops into the enemy's trap, and finally ended up being killed by Qin Guokeng.After Zhao Guo suffered such a heavy loss, he never recovered. The original "second child" plummeted, and he was no longer threatened by the strong Qin's eastward advance. The fate of being wiped out or even slaughtered by Qin Guo seemed inevitable.Many people even said that he was a sinner who ruined Zhao's future and destiny.

Even the words of Zhao Kuo’s father, Zhao She, the most outstanding cavalry general in the Warring States period, were used to support the words: “Zhao Kuo is a good student, and he knows the truth, but he is only talking on paper, and he will not be able to be used in the future.” So many people are justified. Zhao She has said so, which shows how stupid Zhao Kuo was in fighting and how serious his mistakes were. The place where Zhao She made a mistake was Changping, Shanxi. The battle where he made a mistake was the Battle of Changping from 262 BC to 260 BC. It is no exaggeration to say that the Battle of Changping was a battle that determined the destiny of Qin to unify the world.Qin defeated Zhao, the only country in the Central Plains that could compete with him. By annihilating Zhao's 400,000 elites, the once powerful Zhao was dying and could no longer compete with Qin for supremacy.Since then, Qin has no rivals in the Central Plains north of the Yangtze River.

Later generations have paid a lot of attention to this battle, because the ending of this battle is embarrassing. Why did the 400,000 elite Zhao army end their fate easily by being lured into a dangerous place by the enemy after persisting for two full years?The mainstream theory is that because Zhao Kuo talked about wars on paper, he underestimated the enemy and made rash advances, resulting in a big defeat and a loss.Could it be that things are really that simple? To interpret the cause of the defeat in the Battle of Changping, we may have to start with the general trend of the Warring States Period at that time.The situation of the Warring States around 262 BC had formed a situation where the Qin State was the only one, the Chu State was severely weakened, and only the Zhao State could barely contend.After Zhao Wuling King and Zhao Huiwen King made great efforts to rule, the strength of Zhao State is also thriving, especially the cavalry of Zhao State. During this period, it was the only one among the six armies that could compete with Qin State in terms of combat effectiveness, and severely damaged Qin State. power of the country.In the Battle of Yan Yu, Zhao She, the famous general of Zhao State, took the method of showing weakness to the enemy and cavalry raiding at high speed, defeating the elite armored infantry of Qin State in one fell swoop, causing the Qin army to lose tens of thousands.The sabers of the Zhao cavalry left Qin people with a nightmare memory.

In 262 B.C., eight years after the battle of Yan Yu, Zhao She, who created the glory of the battle of Yan Yu, had passed away, and King Zhao Huiwen, who worked hard to govern, had also passed away. The monarch of Zhao State at this time was their eighth generation The monarch Zhao Xiaocheng is king.This man's talent is far inferior to that of Zhao Wuling and Zhao Huiwen before him, but Lian Po, Lin Xiangru and other famous officials are still there.In 266 B.C., the Qin people made a comeback and sent troops to attack Zhao, taking three cities of Zhao in a row.Zhao Guo had to use the method of sending the prince to Qi State as a hostage in exchange for reinforcements from Qi State, which quelled the disaster of war.The reason why Zhao State is in such a mess this time is because Zhao She is not around, and Lian Po is a defensive general who can defend the country, but he can't take the initiative to attack; When the captives invaded, most of Zhao's elite cavalry went to the frontier to defend, and they were beyond the reach of Qin in the east.

Although King Zhao Xiaocheng was generous, he was also a man of blood. Naturally, he couldn't bear this "big gift package for going on stage" sent by the people of Qin.After the Qin people failed to attack Zhao again, they changed their thinking, stopped touching Zhao's hard nails, and began to beat up the weak South Korea on the edge of Zhao.In 262 B.C., the Qin people started to attack again. This time, they chose Shangdang, an important town in the north of Korea, as their attack point.Shangdang is the gateway connecting South Korea and Zhao. For South Korea, it is a bridgehead against Qin's invasion. For Zhao, it is also a buffer zone to prevent Qin's invasion. Its strategic location is extremely important.Qin Guo was cruel this time, and he did not hesitate to take down Shangdang at all costs.The soldiers of the State of Qin suppressed the border and severed the connection between Shangdang and the mainland of Korea.Up to now, the monarch of South Korea has also stopped cooking.After discussion, the monarchs and ministers of South Korea planned to send Shangdang to Qin State for temporary peace.However, Feng Ting, the county guard guarding the Shangdang, was tough enough. Even so, he still refused to surrender. With ammunition and food running out, Feng Ting finally made a compromise: "If I want to surrender, I can't surrender to your country of Qin. I want to surrender to Zhao. country."

Feng Ting's wishful thinking was well planned. Zhao's military strength is rare among the six countries that can rival Qin's.The above-mentioned party made a generous gift to Zhao State, so that Zhao State could come to rescue Shangdang, so the war between South Korea and Qin State became a war between Zhao State and Qin State, and the "disaster" of Qin State's invasion could be eliminated. Introduced to Zhao Guo, no matter who wins or loses between the two families, South Korea is safe after all. In this way, Zhao Guo faced a problem similar to that before the war with Yan and Zhi: whether to save or not to save back then, and whether to want or not now.

On the surface, Shangdang is an important town with an important strategic position. Now that the Koreans send it here for nothing, it is tantamount to a free gift package, so of course they don’t want it for nothing.But when the news came out, there were still some objections. For example, Lian Po, who advocated not saving Yanyu, also advocated not saving Shangdang this time, because Qin people are not fools. I have fought hard for a long time. What about the country coming to eat ready-made?Minister Lin Xiangru also held the same opinion, thinking that accepting Shangdang would set him on fire.But the young and energetic King Zhao Xiaocheng didn't think so, he didn't dare to take the territory because he was afraid of being attacked by others?What is the face of my country, Zhao Guo?want!If Qin Guo dared to grab it, let him try.

In fact, for Zhao Guo at that time, there were reasons for whether to join the party or not to join the party. If you don’t join the party, you can temporarily avoid the disaster of war and at least get a chance to recuperate. If you accept the party, you must prepare in advance to start a war with Qin. preparation.King Zhao Xiaocheng took a "half way" and accepted Shangdang, but he did not send heavy troops to defend, but only sent a small group of troops here to take over.Isn't this clearly ignoring Qin Jun?Of course, the Qin army refused to do so. Immediately, Wang Yan led the army to fight fiercely. Under Qin's fierce offensive, the Zhao army quickly collapsed, Shangdang was lost alive, and Zhao's remnant troops retreated to the Changping area.

The matter is almost over here, but Qin Jun obviously didn't give up, and dared to grab my food, tired of it?hit!Before Zhao Jun could catch his breath, Qin State's army came under the pressure. Qin State was angry enough, and King Zhao Xiaocheng's reaction was fast enough.Qin Guo is going to play the real game this time, so we will play the real game with him. Later, King Zhao Xiaocheng urgently ordered Lian Po to lead an army of 200,000 to Changping.After Lian Po arrived, the forward troops contacted Qin State and were soon defeated.At the critical moment, Lian Po turned from offense to defense, and set up defenses along the Dan River in Changping to resist Qin's attack.This decision is wise. Most of what Lian Po brought was the infantry used for city defense in Zhao State at this time. There were very few elite cavalry regiments in the north. On Qin State’s side, no less than 200,000 troops were mobilized at one time. Moreover, they are all veterans with rich field experience. In such a situation, if they open up and play against each other, Zhao Guo will have no chance.So Lian Po's plan is very simple: organize a position on the spot, guard against death, and fight him slowly, grinding away the people of Qin and bringing them down.

It should be said that this is a traditional tactic of Lian Po. His biggest feature is defense. He has a lot of experience in position construction and echelon configuration. He is a famous general who is good at defensive warfare.In the past, he used this "grinding" method to grind away the people of Qin many times. This time he thought it was the same. The people of Qin just wanted to give Zhao a little color. leave. But this time it's really different. Lian Po is patient enough, and the people of Qin are more patient. You Lian Po grinds, and I, the people of Qin, will grind with you.As a result, starting from the summer of 262 BC, the two sides began a long "sit-in" war along the Danyang River in Changping. Every day, you shouted twice, and I cursed back, and the eighteen generations of the other party's ancestors all cursed. Over and over again, but just don't start practicing.I'm afraid that Lian Po himself and even King Zhao Xiaocheng would never have imagined that this grind lasted for 3 full years.

In the past three years, around the small place of Changping, Qin and Zhao fought a war of attrition, and strategic materials were continuously transported to the front line.There are different opinions about the troops used by Qin at this time, but with Lian Po’s 200,000 troops and his defensive position, Qin’s offensive troops should not be less than 300,000, and Qin and Zhao’s two sides have more than 500,000. The army, just like this, is wasting every day in Changping, and 500,000 people are posing every day with big eyes and small eyes, looking spectacular, but all they consume is money.In the past three years, in addition to continuously reinforcing Changping, Qin State has also continuously sent envoys to various vassal states in the Central Plains to warn them not to meddle in their own business.But in Changping, which is the main battlefield, the Qin people were still unable to move forward. The long war of attrition lasted for three full years, Changping was still in the hands of Zhao Guo, and 200,000 Zhao Guo troops fought against the people of Qin State along the trenches and Danyang River every day.It seems that Lian Po's tactics were successful. Of course he has his own reasons. This reason is commonplace: Qin Guo is strong and Zhao Guo is weak, so a quick decisive battle is not good for Zhao Guo, and a protracted war is beneficial to Zhao Guo. Thought it was true, but as time went on more and more people decided it was not true.Three years later, in 260 BC, even King Zhao Xiaocheng, who presided over the great affairs of Zhao, believed that this reason was incorrect.The reason for the inaccuracy, according to the "Historical Records", is that the Qin people used countermeasures and spread that the Qin people were only afraid of Zhao Kuo.Then the foolish King Zhao Xiaocheng listened, and then appointed Zhao Kuo as the commander. Before leaving, Zhao Kuo's mother strongly opposed it, saying that Ma Fujun Zhao She had a last word before his death, and Zhao Kuo could only talk on paper and could not be entrusted with important tasks.It's a pity that King Zhao Xiaocheng didn't listen, so Zhao Kuo took command in a logical manner. Along with him, there were also elite troops who had been recharging their energy for many days and transferred back from the northern frontier, a total of 200,000 people. The elite cavalry regiments are all in this unit. In 260 BC, Zhao Kuo arrived at the front line of Changping and completed the handover with Lian Po. After hearing about Zhao Kuo's arrival, Qin quickly made a decision, announcing the country's general mobilization and ordering all young adults over the age of 16 in the country to join the army , ready to participate in the decisive battle.At the same time, Bai Qi, the most outstanding general of Qin State at this time, was transferred.With such a mobilization scale, and Qin's war mobilization potential enough to recruit millions of troops, the total number of Qin's troops on the front line in Changping at this time is no less than 600,000, and both sides have spent their money. After Zhao Kuo took office, according to the records of "Historical Records", it was he who changed the solid defensive strategy originally set by Lian Po, which caused dissatisfaction among Zhao Guo's soldiers.And he couldn't play with Bai Qi's head. After Bai Qi took office, he adopted a strategy to lure Zhao Kuo to the enemy. He deliberately deployed a large number of old and weak soldiers on the first front, giving Zhao Kuo the illusion that Qin's manpower could not support him. , Finally let Zhao Kuo make up his mind to fight.After Zhao Jun attacked, the 200,000 northern elite brought by Zhao Kuo took the lead and rushed to kill the Qin Army.And the trap was set at this time, Zhao Kuo chased and killed all the way, but he didn't expect that the more he beat the Qin army, the stronger he was, and the more he killed the Qin army, the more he killed.When I realized it, I realized that I was in a tight siege, what should I do?breakout! The 400,000 Zhao army broke through with the courage of a desperate battle, and fought inextricably with the Qin army. But looking back, Zhao's camp had already been occupied by 20,000 elite cavalry sent by the Qin army. Taking away Zhao Kuo's lair and cutting off Zhao Kuo's retreat, the 400,000 army was just made dumplings by the people of Qin. Seeing that the defeat was decided, Zhao Kuo was unyielding.After that, the 400,000 Zhao army was besieged by the Qin army for 46 days. When water and food were cut off, the soldiers even had to eat the corpses of their companions to maintain their lives.Zhao Kuo successively organized four breakout troops in an attempt to break through the Qin army's encirclement, but the Qin army was also extremely tenacious and would not retreat.At this time, the Qin army's weapon advantage, the crossbow, began to exert its power. The encirclement circle on all sides was covered with the Qin army's crossbow arrow array, and the raindrops of crossbow arrows easily blocked Zhao Jun's attempt to break out of the encirclement.After several failed breakouts, Zhao Kuo finally showed his father's spirit of "meeting on a narrow road, the brave wins", led the hungry and cold Zhao army, and launched the last desperate charge to the people of Qin. However, the miracle did not happen, and the crossbow arrows of the people of Qin easily shot Wearing Zhao Kuo's heavy armor, the general known as "On Paper" was killed in battle. In this way, the 400,000 elite troops of Zhao State became prisoners of Qin State. Later, in order to completely weaken Zhao State, this army was killed by Qin State people one after another.The army of Zhao State, which once competed with the people of Qin State, was wiped out like this. The Battle of Changping is over, but people have different opinions on the controversy about the Battle of Changping.The mainstream history books all say that Zhao Kuo talked about military affairs on paper, with great ambitions and few talents, and finally misled the country and the emperor. Even today, he is still a negative example of "talking military affairs on paper".But looking carefully at the whole process of the Changping War, we have to say responsibly that at least Zhao Kuo cannot take full responsibility for the defeat of Changping. When Feng Ting, the prefect of the Shangdang, decided to join the party, the crisis had already enveloped the Zhao people.In Zhao State, no matter whether the monarch or the ministers, there are different opinions on whether to accept Shangdang, but almost no one has seen the fact that the people of Qin State came here to kill their lives. Qin State's military action against Zhao State this time is not simply for a Shangdang, let alone a Changping. Their ultimate goal is to organize a war of annihilation, completely wipe out the vital forces of Zhao State, and make it impossible It became an obstacle for Qin to enter the Central Plains.From the beginning when the Qin State suppressed Changping with heavy troops, and later accompanied Lian Po to grind slowly for three full years, and finally conquered young and strong soldiers over the age of 16 across the country, forming a huge reinforcement force to help, and finally Zhao The fact that the country's 400,000 prisoners of war were killed, everything is a process of painstaking planning by the people of Qin.From the very beginning, they will fight Zhao Guo to the end. If this is the purpose, then Lian Po's strategy of steady defense earlier has actually become a "slow death method".Because Lian Po's attrition tactics were not only tormenting Qin, but also tormenting Zhao. Five or six hundred thousand troops stood at the front for three years, and the loss of supplies and military expenditures was a jaw-dropping astronomical figure.Not to mention the small vassal states in the Spring and Autumn Period, even the Central Plains dynasties such as the Han, Tang, Song, and Ming Dynasties that were unified later, it was extremely difficult to bear such military expenditures.In other words, if the Qin people are determined to go bankrupt and fight Zhao Guo to the end at all costs, the first one who can't persist is undoubtedly Zhao Guo. On this point, not only did Lian Po have no awareness, even Zhao Guojun and his ministers did not have this awareness.If he had this awareness, King Zhao Xiaocheng would not easily make a promise to accept Shangdang, so that he would not give Qin an excuse for the war, and the war would at least happen later; if he had this awareness, Lian Po would not take such a move It is a way to grind foreign labor; if there is this awareness, Zhao Guo may choose a quick battle to solve the problem when the war is inevitable.In the history of human warfare, when a small country fights against a big country, it is doomed to fail when the population, wealth, and national war potential are far less than the means of stalemate warfare. Because of this, it is not difficult to understand that King Zhao Xiaocheng replaced Zhao Kuo in the end.At this time, among the generals of the State of Zhao, Lian Po and other veterans were all known for their "seriousness". Zhao Kuo, who was not successful, became the most needed quick-decision general in Zhao's army at this time.If Zhao Kuo is replaced, the entire army may be wiped out. If Zhao Kuo is not replaced, the final result will be dragged to death by the Qin State. It is very likely that the entire army will be wiped out after the entire country is exhausted.Therefore, changing tactics at that time, taking the initiative to attack, and launching a desperate attack on Qin State became the only choice Zhao State could make at this time. Apart from this, is there no other way for Zhao Guo? In fact, the real tragedy of Zhao's battle is to use the power of a small country to deal with the mighty Qin alone.Of course, the national economic reserves of the State of Zhao cannot withstand such consumption. If the State of Zhao is allied with other countries, for example, by borrowing food and grass from the rich Qi State and other countries, and asking other countries for help.However, judging from the situation of the countries at that time, it seemed that it was more difficult to achieve this than defeating Qin. During this period, Qin made adjustments in its foreign policy and adopted Fan Sui's strategy of "making friends from afar and attacking closely". The Qi State and other countries in the Qin State adopted a temporary favorable policy, but they suppressed and beat the neighboring Qin State Han Zhaowei, even if they could not be destroyed, they must be weakened as much as possible.Before the decisive battle against Zhao State began, the Qin army had taken all possible factors into consideration. Their envoys traveled repeatedly among the six countries in the Central Plains, lobbying the countries in the Central Plains, threatening them not to intervene.Except for Zhao Guo, almost all countries were frightened by Qin, and they came to appreciate this war that actually related to the fate of the entire six countries with the mentality of spectators. In this tragic war, Qin suffered equally heavy losses: In "Historical Records", Qin's general Bai Qi said in his own words that more than half of the soldiers of Qin's army who participated in the war were killed or injured.The economic consumption is also huge. "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals" says that Qin's material and food reserves for many years were consumed in this war, and the entire Qin State was dragged down because of this war.During this war, if there is a country other than Zhao that has the courage to nudge Qin and Zhao on the balance of stalemate, the ending of the whole war may be written in a different way in history. So this is exactly Zhao Kuo's tragedy. He was pushed to a tragic position at a tragic time and completed a tragic charge. Even if he is not in charge, I am afraid that he will make such a choice in such a situation. It would be inappropriate to say that Zhao Kuo has no responsibility at all.The entire campaign proved that although he was an attacking general, he was indeed far behind his father in terms of commanding the battle, regiment operations, and strategic prediction, and he was not at the same level as the opposite Bai Qi.Although the strength of Zhao State is weaker than that of Qin State, it is not without its own advantages. The biggest advantage of Zhao State is the high-speed impact of cavalry. The battle between the weak and the strong, the battle between Yan and Zhi directed by Zhao Kuo's father Zhao She, is such a wonderful pen.If Zhao Kuo can calm down before the battle, has the wisdom of his father, can find the opponent's weakness in a confusing situation, and open up a breakthrough for victory, there is no chance of turning defeat into victory.Unfortunately, there are too few.