Can King Zhao Wuling's plan to destroy Qin be applied to the Battle of Changping to turn the tide of the war?
After capturing the cavalry, King Wuling of Zhao used his army from the west to expand his influence to Yunzhong and Jiuhuan, threatening the Hetao region and putting pressure on the Qin state from the north. In response to Qin's weak defenses in the north, King Wuling of Zhao planned to raid Xianyang from Jiuyuan and Yunzhong to eliminate Qin in one fell swoop. In the Battle of Changping, the Zhao army faced the Qin army. If King Wuling of Zhao accepted Zhao Jun's plan, would he be able to defeat the Qin State?
King Wuling of Zhao formulated a strategy to destroy Qin, but unfortunately died on the sand dunes before he could implement it.
Zhao became the first vassal state to establish a powerful cavalry regiment, and its military strength was greatly enhanced. The powerful Zhao State has Fei Yi, Lou Fu, Lin Xiangru, Yu Qing, Zhao Sheng, Zhao Xue, Lian Po, Li Mu and other famous generals, the national strength continues to increase, the west defeats Lin Xiangru, Lou Fu, the north annihilates the Zhongshan Kingdom, and the territory has expanded by more than 1,000 miles.
The rapid rise of the Zhao State after the Hufu cavalry shot was completely unexpected by all countries in the world. Zhao's external expansion is also of great strategic significance, because of geographical reasons, when the Central Plains countries were in constant turmoil, Zhao did not want to be involved in such a chaotic situation, therefore, after the fall of Zhongshan, he chose the main direction of northward expansion, not only from the west to break through Linhu, Loufu, to obtain a large amount of territory, but also from the north to expand the power, to put pressure on Qin, to expand to Yunzhong, Jiuyuan area.
In 299 BC, King Wuling of Zhao passed the throne to his son Zhao He, who claimed to be his master father, gave up other state affairs, and concentrated on military planning. With the rise of the state of Zhao, conflicts between Qin and Zhao were inevitable, and the fighting between the two sides never stopped. The return of the jade ring to Zhao and the meeting of Michi was a test of the relationship between Qin and Zhao.
Therefore, King Wuling of Zhao formulated a plan to destroy Qin, that is, the troops were divided into two routes, first to the west to Hangu Pass, to attract the attention of Qin with suspicious soldiers, and then gather the main force, from Jiuyuan and Yunzhong to the south, sneak attack Xianyang, so as to quickly defeat Qin. Even if you can't destroy the Qin State for a while, you can beat the Qin State to the ground, and then gather other countries to destroy the Qin State.
To ensure the success of the plan, King Wuling of Zhao even traveled to the state of Qin in 298 BC to investigate the state of the land around Xianyang and the state of Qin**. Unfortunately, before King Wuling of Zhao could implement this plan, he starved to death in the Dune Palace Rebellion in 295 BC.
If Zhao used this strategy in the Battle of Changping, it would have been equally difficult to defeat Qin.
What would have been the result if Zhao had used this strategy in the Battle of Changping? Will he engage Wang He and Lian Po in Changping, and then attack the rear of the Qin State from Jiuyuan and Yunzhong by surprise, thus defeating the Qin State? In fact, it's still very difficult, and the main reasons are as follows:
1.The terrain is dangerous, and it is difficult to attack the four fortresses in Guanzhong. Xianyang, the capital of Qin, is located in the Guanzhong region, and the Guanzhong area of the Qin State is the land of four stops, bordering Hangu Pass in the east, Wuguan in the southeast, Dasanguan in the west, and Xiaoguan in the northwest. Although Qin's defense in the north weakened after the destruction of Yiqu, because Zhao's surprise attacks were mainly cavalry attacks, even if they broke through the small pass, they also lost the effect of the surprise attack, so it was difficult for Zhao to attack the small pass that was blocked on the main road of transportation.
2. In terms of military strength, the gap between Qin and Zhao is not large. Although the final scale of the Battle of Changping reached a million people, in the early battle, Qin and Zhao actually did not do their best. Zhao brought 200,000 reinforcements when he succeeded Lian Po, and Bai Qi also brought about 200,000 reinforcements when he succeeded Wang He. If Zhao's border guards are included, Zhao should have about 300,000 troops to sneak attack Qin, and Qin's mobilized troops cannot be less than Zhao's self-defense army, and Qin's advantage is to fight on its own territory.
3.In terms of coaches, Zhao Guo is likely to suffer. If there is a sneak attack on the Qin State, Changping must have Lian Po as the battlefield commander, otherwise it will be difficult to resist the attack of the Qin State, so who should the general who will attack the Qin State choose? Le Yi and Tian Dan have not appeared in history since 270 years and may have died, and Li Mu is stationed at Yanmen Pass and has not yet made meritorious contributions (and may not even be a soldier), can it be said that he is not the current General Zhao, so should Zhao Kuo still be used? The Qin State has not yet changed generals, Bai Qi and Meng Wei are still in the country, and the Zhao State may be at a disadvantage in terms of command.
4.In terms of logistical support, the state of Zhao was very different from the state of Qin. We know that the reason why Zhao changed his commander in the Battle of Changping was mainly due to the pressure of food. The Qin State had two major grain-producing areas, Guanzhong and Bashu, and in comparison, the grain production of the Zhao State was indeed less. In this case, it was already difficult for Zhao to meet the logistics of the Changping battlefield, and at the same time to prepare for a large-scale surprise attack. Moreover, once the sneak attack was frustrated and the war turned into a protracted war, Zhao could not afford large-scale logistical support at all, and Qin would instead have a home advantage.
To sum up, even if King Wuling of Zhao's surprise attack strategy was used in the Battle of Changping, it would put Zhao in a more disadvantageous position, rather than making Qin more difficult to defeat