Read the 181 year history of the Zhao State of the Seven Heroes of the Warring States Period in one

Mondo History Updated on 2024-02-03

In 403 B.C., King Weilie of Zhou named the doctor of the Jin Kingdom, Zhao Ji, Wei Si, and Han Qian as the princes, since then, the three families were divided into Jin, and the Jin State was divided into three, and the Zhao family founded the Zhao State, called Zhao Liehou.

During the reign of Zhao Liehou, he was frugal in the use of money, selected and trained the virtuous, and appointed the public and the middle of the company to carry out reforms, so that the Zhao State gradually became rich and strong. In 400 BC, Zhao Liehou died after reigning for 3 years, and was succeeded by his younger brother Zhao Wuhou because his son Zhao Zhang was young.

During the reign of Marquis Wu of Zhao, he formed a three-Jin alliance with Wei and Korea, and continued to expand his territory to the outside world. In 387 BC, Marquis Wu of Zhao died, and Zhao Zhang, the son of Marquis Liehou of Zhao, ascended the throne as Marquis Jing of Zhao.

Soon after, the Zhao dynasty launched a rebellion, but it was quickly put down, after which it fled to the Wei state. Marquis Wu of Wei accepted the Zhao dynasty and sent troops to assist the Zhao dynasty in attacking the Zhao state, and the alliance of the Three Jin Dynasty collapsed, and the two countries began to fight frequently.

In 375 BC, Zhao Jinghou died, and Zhao Chenghou ascended the throne. In the following year, King Wei Hui sent Pang Juan to besiege the Zhao capital Handan, Zhao was defeated, so he asked for help from Qi, and King Qi Wei sent Sun Bin to defeat the Wei army with the tactics of besieging Wei to save Zhao, but Zhao's capital Handan was still captured by Wei, and Zhao Chenghou was forced to flee.

In 351 BC, after King Hui of Wei and Marquis Zhao Chenghou formed an alliance on the banks of the Zhanghe River, and after Marquis Zhao Chenghou was forced to accept a humiliating treaty, the Wei army withdrew from the Zhao capital Handan. In 350 BC, the Marquis of Zhao Cheng died, and the Marquis of Zhao Su ascended the throne.

During the reign of Marquis Suhou Zhao, the state of Wei, which had dominated the Warring States for a hundred years, declined, and Marquis Zhao Suhou took the leadership banner of the Three Jin Dynasty in place of Wei, and still did not have the upper hand in the vicious wars with Wei, Chu, Qin, Yan, Qi and other countries for many years, making Zhao the new overlord of the north.

In 326 BC, the Marquis of Zhao Su died, and King Wuling of Zhao ascended the throne.

In 308 BC, after King Wuling of Zhao ascended the throne, he realized the threat of the cavalry of the northern nomads, and decided to implement the Hufu cavalry reform with the strategy of "using Hu to control Hu".

After this reform, the strength of the Zhao State was significantly enhanced, and it successfully defeated the Zhongshan State, the Lin Hu, Lou Fu and other nomads, and became the only country that could compete with the Qin State in the late Warring States period.

However, King Zhao Wuling's personal life was not smooth. He loved Queen Meng Yao deeply, so he abolished the original crown prince Zhao Zhang and renamed Meng Yao's son Zhao He as the crown prince.

While giving up the throne to Zhao He, he also called himself the "master father" and focused on military and national affairs. However, King Zhao Wuling's reforms were not recognized by everyone.

His younger brother Zhao Cheng and his son Zhao Zhang and others opposed his policies and tried to overthrow him. In 295 BC, Zhao Cheng and Zhao Zhang staged a mutiny and attacked King Huiwen of Zhao.

However, their actions were thwarted by King Huiwen of Zhao, and Zhao Zhang fled to the palace of King Wuling of Zhao. In the end, King Zhao Wuling was besieged by Zhao Zhang in the Dune Palace for three months on charges of harboring anti-thieves.

He died of starvation and isolation at the age of 45, having ruled for 28 years. Although his reforms brought prosperity to the state of Zhao, his personal life ended in tragedy.

Historically, Zhao was one of the great powers during the Warring States period, but it suffered a great loss of vitality after the Battle of Changping. Later, King Zhao Mourning Xiang relieved Lian Po of his military position, and King Zhao Youmiao listened to Guo Kai's slander and killed Li Mu, resulting in the defeat of the Zhao army at the front by the Qin army.

In the end, the state of Zhao perished under the attack of Wang Ben, the son of Wang Qian, and passed on 11 kings in the 181st year of the reign of the country.

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