During the Warring States period, the Battle of Changping between Qin and Zhao became one of the most famous battles in history, which not only changed the fate of both countries, but also had a profound impact on the course of Chinese history.The Battle of Changping was initially driven by Qin's strategic need to eliminate the three kingdoms of Han, Zhao, and Wei in order to consolidate its position and gradually realize the great cause of unification.
Battle of Changping: The fall of the Zhao State
Qin adopted a strategy of "distant friendship and close attack", intending to break the vassal states one by one, and when the initial target of Korea was about to be captured, the commander of the Shangdang County of Korea decided to turn to Zhao for help out of the consideration of not accepting Qin's rule.
This became the fuse for the Battle of Changping, and King Zhao, seeing that the situation was difficult, finally decided to send troops to support him, considering that Shangdang County was of great strategic importance to him.
At a critical moment in the war, Zhao gave Qin seventeen cities in exchange for peace, hoping to avoid further conflict, but this move did not work and instead angered Qin, leading to a further escalation of the war between the two countries.
In order to protect the interests of the country, King Zhao personally led the army to the front line, and successfully organized a fierce **, once repelling the fierce attack of the Qin army.
In this process, the generals of Zhao State were not able to effectively coordinate their actions, and the result of fighting separately led to heavy personnel**, and the sacrifice of 400,000 Zhao soldiers was undoubtedly the root cause of Zhao's vitality.
In this war that lasted for many years, Zhao had the opportunity to turn the tide by uniting the forces of other countries, and Zhao Kuo had boldly proposed an adventurous plan to take the initiative to attack, and if the princes cooperated with the alliance at that time, the outcome might have been different.
A series of decision-making mistakes and internal contradictions, coupled with the prudent decision-making of Fan Ju, the prime minister of Qin, caused Zhao to gradually lose the initiative.
In contrast, Qin's overall national strength and military strength have been significantly improved, and its strategic layout has gradually matured, gradually forming an overwhelming situation.
Although Zhao failed to emerge victorious at the Battle of Changping, it still held out for a while after learning its lessons. This was due to the fact that other countries were also deeply concerned about the growing threat of Qin, and sent troops to support Zhao.
In the later stages of the war, Qi sent elite troops led by Tian Ji and Sun Bin to aid Zhao, hoping that the two countries would join forces to fight against Qin.
In the end, with its strong military strength and excellent strategic strategy, the Qin State quickly expanded its territory and completed the conquest of the six eastern states.
This trend marked the beginning of a new phase of feudal society in China, and also laid the foundation for Qin Shi Huang to defeat Liu Bang and eventually unify the country.
The impact of the Battle of Changping
There are many famous battles in ancient Chinese history, one of which has been hailed as "the largest and most brutal large-scale annihilation battle in the world's military history" is the Battle of Changping in 260 BC.
This war took place between the Zhao and Qin states at that time, and due to the influence of strategic deployment errors and political wrestling, the Zhao state suffered heavy losses in this battle, which is considered to be an important turning point in the decline of the Zhao state.One of the key factors was the personal motivation and ambition of King Cho Hyo-sung, who saw the change of commander not only as a demonstration of his leadership skills, but also as an opportunity to completely eradicate the support of his former general, Lian Po.
This move not only failed to achieve the desired effect, but weakened the combat effectiveness of the Zhao State. On the other hand, this incident also made Lin Xiangru, who had a vendetta, feel deeply helpless and sad, and he died of illness in despair, becoming a symbolic symbol of the Battle of Changping.
In addition, the socio-economic conditions behind the disaster and the psychological changes of the people, with the development of the war, the food shortage in Zhao was worsening day by day, and a large number of people were living in poverty.
Against this backdrop, people have begun to rethink the political system and military policies of the past. Under such circumstances, he gradually realized the crisis he was facing, and began to reflect on the intricate power relations and contradictions in the past.
The god of the army is incorruptible
In 279 BC, the state of Zhao had two world-famous generals, Lian Po and Le Cheng. Lian Po is brave and good at fighting, and is known as the "first warrior of Zhao State", while Lecheng is a veteran of Zhao State and is deeply respected by people.
Lian Po's prestige was not only spread in the territory of Zhao, but even the enemy Qin people were terrified, but Lian Po was not a reckless person, but a thoughtful and strategic commander.
One day, Lian Po suddenly made a bold decision to lead the soldiers to find the theory of Lecheng, it turned out that he found that Lecheng had made a serious mistake in military deployment, which led to heavy losses in a battle for Zhao's ** team.
Lian Po was angry and decided to go to Le Cheng to reason in person, which surprised and puzzled everyone, after all, as the first warrior of Zhao State, he would actually act out of anger.Exiting the Zhao ** team, Lian Po became a resident outsider, Zhao lost two important generals, and the country fell into crisis. King Zhao had no choice but to promote Zhao Kuo to be the coach.
Zhao Kuo is young and promising, he has been trained under Lian Po for many years, and he has won the true biography of Lian Po, but Zhao Kuo is in charge of military power at the beginning, and it is inevitable that he is a little powerless.
At this time, another young man named Zhao Kuo came to the fore and took on the responsibility of saving Zhao Guo. Zhao Kuo has been familiar with the art of war since he was a child and has unique insights into the art of war.
He once wrote a book to offer advice, advocating changing the strategic policy of Zhao State, advocating that defense should be attacked, and leisure should be waited for work, so as to plan for a long-term plan.
However, Zhao Kuo's suggestion was questioned and attacked by some diehards in the DPRK and China, who believed that Zhao Kuo was too young to take on such a heavy responsibility.
But Zhao Kuo always adhered to his beliefs and was determined to prove that his views were right with practical actions. On the one hand, he strengthened the training of the army and improved the fighting quality of the soldiersOn the other hand, we should actively adjust our tactics and strive to know ourselves and our opponents, so that we will not be defeated in a hundred battles.
After hard work, Zhao Kuo finally won everyone's recognition and support, and led his troops into a fierce battle with the enemy. In this battle, they showed extraordinary strength and courage, and finally defeated the attack of a powerful enemy and kept Zhao safe.
Historical tragedy
After he repelled the powerful Yan army, King Zhao Xiaocheng died of illness and was succeeded by the new monarch Zhao Mianxiang, who changed his attitude towards Lian Po, and he began to doubt Lian Po's abilities and became dissatisfied with him.
Under these circumstances, King Zhao Mourning Xiang ordered Lian Po to be relieved of his post and sent another general, Le Cheng, to take his place.
Faced with this situation, Lian Po felt very angry and aggrieved, but he still decided to accept the reality. He left Zhao for Wei, hoping to regain his attention there. However, the king of Wei did not give Lian Po enough support and respect, which made Lian Po feel even more frustrated and lost.
At this time, Lian Po saw Zhao's predicament, and he knew that only he could help Zhao get out of the crisis, so he decided to return to Zhao in the hope of being reused again.
King Zhao's view of Lian Po remained unchanged, and he still did not want to believe that Lian Po could still lead his army to win the war.
At this time, a man named Guo Kai became the main adviser of King Zhao Mourning Xiang, who had tried to prevent Lian Po from returning to the battlefield.
He believes that Lian Po is too old to perform as well as he used to. So, he bribed an envoy in the hope that the envoy would report unfavorable information to King Zhao Mianxiang when he visited Lian Po.
As a result, the envoy did as Guo Kai requested. He said to King Zhao Mourning Xiang:"Although General Lian is old, he is still good at eating, but he sits with his ministers, and he is left behind. "The meaning of this sentence is that although Lian Po ate well, he began to have diarrhea three times as soon as he sat down, and it was obviously not in good health and was not suitable to continue fighting.When King Zhao Mianxiang heard these news, he immediately canceled the idea of appointing Lian Po as a general, which also caused Lian Po to lose the opportunity to serve his homeland forever.
Lian Po felt extremely painful and hopeless about this, and he knew that he would never be able to return to his homeland and contribute to the country.
Lian Po eventually chose to go to the state of Chu, hoping to find a new life and career there. However, he always missed his hometown and loved ones, and lived in deep loneliness and sadness every day. In the end, Lian Po fell ill on a cold night due to long-term depression and loneliness, and unfortunately passed away.
Lian Po was loyal to Zhao all his life, selflessly dedicated, and defended his honor and dignity with his life, but his efforts were undermined by ruthless betrayal and indifference, which made people deeply sad and regretful.