Chapter 60 Section 2 The Last Crown of the Warring States Period

Among the three Hus, Lou Fan is the weakest.Among the border troubles, Zhongshan is not strong, but it is the most troublesome for Zhao Guo. Loufan belonged to the Northern Hu tribe, who entered the northern part of the Jin State in the Central Plains with the barbarian invasion in the early Spring and Autumn Period, and established Loufan as a city.When Duke Huan of Qi formed an alliance with the princes to "respect the king and fight against the barbarians" in the Central Plains, most of the Loufan tribe fled northward to the grasslands and deserts, and the rest surrendered to the state of Jin.Later, due to fierce domestic disputes in Jin, the Loufan tribe and the Zhongshan tribe returned to Fuguo.After the three families of Wei, Zhao, and Han were divided into Jin, Lou Fan became the west neighbor of Zhao State together with Zhongshan State.Lou Fan is just stuck in the south of Yanmen Pass, like a nail wedged in the throat of Zhao Guo.However, Zhongshan Kingdom was nailed to the west waist, and as soon as it crossed the Jingxing Pass fortress to the south, it was the hinterland of Zhao Kingdom, like a sharp knife stuck in the ribs.In terms of strength, these two tribal states combined may not be worthy of a battle with Zhao Guo.The threat lies in the fact that Loufan Zhongshan sees that Zhao Guo has a strong enemy in the Central Plains in the south and Lin Hu Dong Hu border troubles in the north. , the nomadic cavalry disappeared between the mountains and mountains like clouds, and when they were ready to retreat, he followed them up like a shadow; plowing in spring to grab cattle and sheep, rushing to grab wheat in summer, grabbing grain in autumn, and grabbing households in winter, whatever you want Anytime, anywhere, anytime, anywhere may be the looting time of Lou Fan Zhongshan, which really makes the people of Zhao State a serious worry.But at the mention of Zhongshan Tower, Zhao Ren gritted his teeth and cursed: "Zhongshan Wolf! Lou Fan is in trouble! Wolves are traitors, they eat their flesh!"

In terms of the situation, the Lou Fan at this time is still abominable. Not only is it entrenched in the south of Yanmen Pass and nailed behind the border army of Zhao State, but it often bypasses Yanmen Pass to the north and goes nomadic on the Great Wall of Zhao State to the grasslands around Daihai and Huangqihai. If there is nothing wanton provocation.Zhao Yong decided to go from north to south, get rid of two big troubles in his confidantes, and open up a wide passage from Yanmenguan to Pingcheng and go south to Zhao State. The Zhao army's soldiers pressed the border, and the Loufan tribe had already panicked.The 200,000 fine cavalry of the Xiongnu army were all torn into blood and flesh by Zhao Jun in one fell swoop, and Lou Fan's family only had 100,000 cavalry, how could they be regarded as the murderous Zhao Jun?What's more, the Loufan tribe was trapped in the south of the Great Wall. Compared with the Hus on the grassland, although the plundering was convenient, it also had a fatal injury - but it was difficult for the Hus to rescue them when they were overwhelmed by the main force of the Zhao State, let alone the Hus Hu Xiongnu had already fled.Panicked, the leader of the Loufan tribe led most of the elite and strong tribe to go out of the mountain to the northwest and escape northward secretly.Of the more than 100,000 old, weak, sick, disabled, and children left behind, only the whole family surrendered to Zhao.Zhao Yong did not fight but Qu Lou, and immediately established Yanmen County, turning Yanmen Guguan into a border county with jurisdiction over nearly a thousand miles.By the way, the Loufan tribe was annexed by the comeback Xiongnu decades after fleeing north, and was "sealed" in the grasslands in the south of Hetao, becoming the outpost tribe of the Huns against the army of the Qin Empire.After the Huns disintegrated and dissipated, the Loufan tribe also disappeared forever.

Zhao Yong's army took advantage of the situation and pressed southward, approaching the capital in the hinterland of Zhongshan. In terms of strength, although the Zhongshan Kingdom has already become the king, it is really a poor and weak nation that is crowned with monkeys; the population of the whole country is only more than one million, and the number of soldiers is said to be 300,000, but the number of actual combatants is less than 100,000. And all of them are light soldiers without heavy equipment and sophisticated equipment.In fact, it is more than enough aggressive to go deep into other countries to plunder the people quickly, but compared with Zhao's new army at this time, it is almost vulnerable.At this time, Zhao Guo's army was already a completely new army.Fundamentally speaking, Zhao Yong's Hufu riding and shooting was just a formality, but in fact it was a major reform of the military system with the goal of being light, sharp and fast.In the past two years, Zhao Guo has been united from top to bottom, and with amazing strength and quickness, at the same time, fundamental changes have been made in the reformation of the old army, the recruitment and training of new soldiers, the comprehensive update of weapons and armor, and the convenience of carrying food and grass supplies. The most powerful new army that has different characteristics from the Qin army and can compete with the Qin army.At this time, Zhongshan State, which was based on nomadic tribes, was far from being comparable to Zhao Jun in terms of military system, weapons, national power, number of soldiers, and combat power of soldiers.

In desperation, the King of Zhongshan sent a special envoy to Jiaojiao to welcome Zhao Jun, and offered to Zhao Yong to cut four cities in exchange for a strike. Zhao Yong laughed loudly: "Stop the army? That's fine! Except for the capital of Zhongshan, the six cities are all cut off from Zhao! Otherwise, we will see you on the battlefield!" At that time, there were only seven cities in Zhongshan, and if six cities were cut off, wouldn't Zhongshan become an isolated island in the vast ocean of Zhao?The special envoy didn't dare to agree, so he immediately reported to King Zhongshan. King Zhongshan immediately summoned the prime minister, the general, and a group of ministers to discuss, but no one said anything.

Decades ago, Zhongshan followed suit and became the king in the "Five Kingdoms Prime Minister" initiated by Wei Huiwang.With the addition of the crown, the kings and ministers of the Zhongshan Kingdom were overwhelmed with excitement, and immediately imitated the reforms of the Warring States Period in the Central Plains: several unnamed wives in the harem immediately made queens and concubines, and the leaders of various tribes immediately became prime ministers, generals, and grand masters , Taifu, county magistrate, county magistrate and other important positions; temple "famous scholars" who knew a few Zhongyuan characters became royal ministers, Taishi Ling, and Taimiao Ling; wizards who could only dance gods and pray also became There are ministers of gods and gods with different names such as divination orders, king wizards, and national wizards.After the bustling reforms were completed, the whole country began to visit the sages in an attempt to seek hegemony.A dozen or so "learned men" from the city who had wandered in the Central Plains, and dozens of down-and-out civilians who could read at first, naturally became great sages in the country.The Zhongshan Kingdom made offerings to these great sages, and every season, the king would go to the poor alleys to pay homage to the sages and corporals.Until now, these sages are gray-haired, and the king is already the second generation, the law of the corporals and the sages in the poor alleys are still the same.Unexpectedly, after the reform, the Zhongshan Kingdom will continue to have internal strife. The original simplicity of the nomadic tribe has disappeared. Those who endured poverty fled back to the grassland, and the soldiers who could not bear the internal strife and mutiny also fled back to the grassland.In the past few decades, this new kingdom has turned into a weak and nondescript monster with a depopulated population, and the dream of hegemony has disappeared.

After thinking about it, the King of Zhongshan sighed: "It's the same reform. How can Qin become stronger, Zhao become stronger, and I become weaker? God's will, so what can I say? Cut off the six cities, and I will be the emperor of Zhou." Just guard Luoyang alone." "My king is divine!" The prime minister, the general and all the ministers agreed in unison. In this way, Zhongshan Kingdom donated six cities outside the capital, and suddenly became a kingly small state with a jurisdiction of more than a hundred miles.Since Zhongshan was originally a nomadic Chidi Baidi tribe, the city was far less important to them than the land.However, after Dongshi imitated the reform, the Zhongshan nomads also became "nationals" who lived in the city. They only left the city when the plunder was harvested, and lived in the castle to enjoy the plundered goods in ordinary times.Now six cities were ceded to Zhao State. According to the tradition of ceding land in the Warring States Period, the Zhongshan "nationals" in the city and the surrounding land under their jurisdiction naturally became the land of Zhao people.As a result, the population and land of Zhongshan State dropped sharply, and it declined without recovery.Although the chaos in Zhao's country and Zhongshan country repeated again later, it was the evening scene after all, and it quickly dimmed again, and was eventually destroyed by Zhao.

However, when the Zhongshan Kingdom ceded the territory and stopped the war, the soldiers of the Zhao Kingdom refused to accept it.Lian Po brought a group of generals Ang Ang to meet him, and asked the monarch Zhao Yong to destroy Zhongshan in the first battle and eradicate the troubles.Zhao Yong said with a smile: "Is the world's affairs done in one go? Is it worthwhile for Zhao Guo's warriors to destroy these dying countries and summon Qin, Wei and Han to intervene for no reason? Since they are on the ground, they are trapped in Zhongshan in an isolated city, unable to make waves, and they are invisible. Isn't it worthwhile for the three countries to intervene and kill three birds with one stone?"

"The ministers are just angry with the Zhongshan wolf!" "The last general is afraid that there will be no battle!" "Old general, all generals, stay safe and don't be impatient." Zhao Yong said calmly, "The Zhao army is new, and there will be no more battles? Maybe it won't be long before there will be a bigger fierce battle. You have to prepare your troops hard and train carefully. There is no slack!" "Hi!" The generals immediately became energetic. In October, when the autumn wind was bleak, Zhao Yong's army went north to garrison the Great Wall, but Zhao Yong returned to Handan with only 3,000 guard knights.After listening to Prince Zhao Zhang and Fuzheng Feiyi report all kinds of state affairs, Zhao Yong immediately told the two of his current planning strategy: This winter and next spring, Zhao Guoda will come out!When Yi Zongzong finished speaking, the prince and Fei Yi agreed with one voice.The three monarchs and ministers discussed in secret for a day, and immediately began intensive deployment.

The first major event, Zhao Guo became king. The second major event is to go to the six countries to determine the basis of diplomatic relations with various countries. The third major event was to secretly expand the army by 200,000, making the Zhao army 400,000 in one fell swoop. In the twenty-three years since he came to the throne, Zhao Yong embraced the national policy of "keeping a low profile to show weakness to the world", not only refused to be called king, but also lowered his national status to two levels to be called "jun".In the Warring States Period, although the national standards were far less strict than those in the Spring and Autumn Period, and most of them were determined by themselves, there was still a lot to be particular about the national character of a country after all.At that time, the national status of the world was roughly divided into four classes: kingdom, principality, marquis, and monarchy.If we talk about the order of kingship, as of now, there are eight kingdoms in the world: Chu, Wei, Qi, Song, South Korea, Zhongshan, Qin, and Yan; most of the principalities are the remaining old princes, Lu, Wei Guo, Song, etc.; although Hou Guo is also a veteran prince, there are very few, only Xue Guo and Zhao Guo; Jun Guo, there is almost only one Anling Lord who is fifty miles away.As long as those states (Song, Zhongshan, and Han) who are robbed of their kings (Song, Zhongshan, and Han) are excluded, it is extremely prudent for a big country to claim a king.Qin became king after the six countries united against Qin, and Yan became king before uniting and destroying Qi.In terms of the performance of the kingdom, at this time, among the six kings and warring states, except for South Korea, which achieved nothing after becoming the king, they all had a great power for a while, and the Qin State has always been powerful.In terms of the current situation, if a small state is vying for the crown, the whole world can laugh at it, and no one will seriously compete with it; it is not the case for a big country. Competing to contain, or unite vertically or horizontally, always requires this new kingdom to undergo a violent hammering.If you really resist, the kingdom will be established, such as Qin.If you can't resist all kinds of siege and containment, the aura of the crown will disappear, such as South Korea's Yan Kingdom.

Zhao Yong saw this situation very clearly, so he insisted not to become king, but would rather be equal to Lord Anling.However, after all, there is a public opinion on the affairs of the world. Zhao Guo is called the king, but no one dares to underestimate the big and small kingdoms. At most, he admits that Zhao Guo has no ambitions. In fact, no one dares to take it seriously like treating a small kingdom snatch.Zhao Yong naturally understands the boundaries, but what he needs to let the world understand is also here: I have no ambition to compete for hegemony, and you don't want to challenge me either!In the past 23 years, this plan has indeed been realized, and Zhao Guo has safely completed the great transformation of the country.At this time, the various frontier troubles of the Sanhu Xiongnu Zhongshan have been roughly cleared up, and the Zhao Guojun is so powerful, is there still a need to hide it?If you continue to keep a low profile, will the world still believe it?If there is no effect of keeping a low profile and you get the name of "the world's great hypocrisy", wouldn't it be ridiculous to keep a low profile?Instead of this, how about being king in an upright manner, and competing in the world in an upright manner?

The time is also the situation, the heart of the hero is also! If you want to go out of the world, you must deal with the six great powers.For more than 20 years, apart from participating in the five kingdoms' extermination of Qi, Zhao Guo has almost no diplomatic relations with the six major war powers. Although the previous grievances seem to be a little weaker, the real pattern of the world's power collision is still unfamiliar after all.This time, it is extremely important to send six special envoys this time by taking the opportunity of being king, to establish the foundation of diplomatic relations between the six parties, and at the same time to establish Zhao's strong position in returning to the Central Plains.The old enemies of Yan State want to clarify their grievances again.In order to keep the two hundred miles of Jixi, it is necessary to take the strength against the weak Qi.For the two brothers of the same root, Wei and Han, they have to use both soft and hard tactics to pull them over. After all, Zhao Guo is already the backbone of the Three Jin Dynasty.For Chu, which is sluggish and far away, it is necessary to form an ally as much as possible, just because Chu can restrain Qin from behind.Only Qin State is the most important opponent of Zhao State, but Qin State is in full swing, while Zhao State has just surfaced, and they must live in peace for now. The most important practical state issue is military expansion.Among the Seven Warring States, the army of Qin State has reached 400,000 elite soldiers, followed by Qi State with more than 300,000 soldiers, Chu State with more than 300,000 soldiers, Wei State with more than 300,000 soldiers, Yan State with more than 200,000 soldiers, and South Korea with nearly 200,000 soldiers.Although each country has its own strength and strength, the number of troops does not reflect the full strength. However, compared with the real opponent Qin, Zhao's current military strength is really much weaker. Qin's 400,000 elite soldiers are not fat.Therefore, once you get rid of your concealment and come out big, your army strength will be greatly enhanced, and you must train the same elite Hufu new army as soon as possible! When the winter moon came, six special envoys from Handan went on their way one after another: Lou Huan was sent to Qin, Zhao Jue was sent to Qi, Fu Ding was sent to Wei, Qiu Ye was sent to South Korea, Zhao Zao was sent to Yan, Wang Ben As an envoy to Chu State.At the same time, Zhao Yong issued an edict: General Zhao Gu, as the acting county minister (prefect) and in charge of the military administration of Yanmen County, went north to Pingcheng, supplemented by the guard Niu Zan, and recruited 200,000 strong Hu people to train them within two years. Become an elite new army. In March after the beginning of spring, the State of Zhao held a very grand ceremony of proclaiming the king.This is the last crown in the Warring States Period, and it is also the most grand ceremony of becoming a king.Special envoys from various countries gathered in Handan, and the royal family of Luoyang also "gifted" Zhao Yong a bronze emperor's chariot, an ancient royal uniform, and a set of ax and axe ceremonies that the Lord was ordered to conquer.For one month in a row, the state of Zhao was a big party in the ruling and opposition parties, and the people of the country celebrated with each other. From then on, the state of Zhao became a kingdom, and Zhao Yong became the first king of the state of Zhao. At this time, an unexpectedly exciting news came from the distant northern desert: the Linhu tribe who had fled to the North Sea sent a prince as a special envoy to the south, presenting three most precious sweat-blooded BMWs to King Zhao, and willing to surrender to Zhao Wang. country!On the day when Prince Lin Hu's special envoy arrived, Handan was empty for thousands of people, and the whole country was vying to see their old enemy, who had made them tremble in the past, pay homage to King Zhao.