The allusion of "war on paper"
In 262 B.C., the king of Qin sent General Wang He to attack Shangdang (located in the southeast of Shanxi Province). General Lian Po of Zhao led 200000 troops to rescue the army. He adopted a firm policy and stood with the Qin army for three years. So the king of Qin sent people to the state of Zhao to spread the rumor that "Lianpo is an incompetent person who only knows how to defend. Zhao Kuo is the only one that the Qin army is afraid of." When King Zhao believed the rumors, he sent Zhao Kuo, who had no actual combat experience and could only talk on paper, to take the place of Lianpo. At the same time, the king of Qin also quietly sent Bai Qi as the main general. After taking over the military power of Lianpo, Zhao Kuo immediately changed his strategy and was soon surrounded by Qin soldiers. Zhao Kuo was killed by an arrow when breaking through the encirclement, and all the 400000 Zhao troops were buried alive after they were captured.
This is the longest lasting, largest and most tragic war in the spring and autumn and Warring States Period - the battle of Changping. This battle not only became the beginning of Qin's sweeping the six states and unifying the whole country, but also left behind an idiom for later generations - Talking on paper. Zhao Kuo, who was defeated and died, is a typical case of this idiom.
However, in addition to laughing at the defeated general, we should probably ask a few more questions: Why did this war start? Why did Lianpo stick to it? Was Zhao Kuo really stupid? Why did he take the initiative to attack? Why did Zhao Jun fail to fight Qin Jun? These questions can only be answered in historical details.
Poisonous pie falling from the sky
The battle of Changping was caused by the struggle for Shangdang, but before the war, this place did not belong to Zhao state or Qin state, but to South Korea. It was like a poisonous pie falling into Zhao state's mouth from the sky.
In 265 B.C., the state of Qin invaded Korea on a large scale, conquering cities and lands. In the third year, it had cut off the contact between Korea and Shangdang area. South Korea became frightened and finally offered Shangdang prefecture to the state of Qin for peace. Unexpectedly, Feng Ting, the Sheriff of Shangdang Prefecture, was unwilling to become the treasure of the state of Qin. He dedicated seventeen counties of Shangdang prefecture to the state of Zhao, which eventually led to the war between Qin and Zhao.
Some historians say that Feng Ting is so immoral that he intentionally throws a bone between two dogs. Zhao is also greedy and dares to accept this gift. He is just asking for trouble. However, judging from the strategic geography at that time, Zhao had no choice.
Shangdangjun is not only the strategic town of South Korea, but also the gateway of Qin to Zhao. After years of war, the state of Qin had captured many strategic places of Korea and Wei, and its main attack direction began to point directly at Handan, the capital of Zhao. If Shangdang is occupied again, the state of Qin will attack Handan from north, South and West. Shangdang is high, which has always been regarded as the natural barrier of Handan. If it is occupied by the state of Qin, it is equivalent to lifting the city defense of Handan. People at that time can see that Qin has the heart of swallowing the world. Even if Zhao does not accept Shangdang from South Korea, the state of Qin only needs to occupy it Once there, the next step is to attack the state of Zhao.
Therefore, instead of letting the state of Qin occupy Shangdang and then attack Handan, it is better for Zhao to occupy Shangdang's favorable terrain and resist the state of Qin. This is also a positive strategic defense. At that time, Zhao was able to gather more than 400000 well-trained troops in Handan area, and Lian Po led his troops to stand up with Qin troops in Changping for three years. It is also feasible for Zhao to accept and defend Shangdang.
From this point of view, even if Shangdang is a poisonous pie, the state of Zhao must stick his neck to swallow it. The battle of Changping has to be fought.
A tough war of attrition
Before the beginning of the war, Zhao must have seriously considered the situation of both sides. The Qin army came from a long distance. It was difficult to supply food and supplies. It also had the reputation of "the land of tigers and wolves", which was warlike and bloodthirsty. In Shangdang area, it could be said that it was "the wrong way but few help". For a long time, the supply of food and grass was bound to change. When the Qin army had to retreat, the Zhao army took advantage of the situation to win, and the state of Zhao was closely connected with Shangdang, so the army and logistics could be quickly put into the battlefield. Although the state of Zhao was not as strong as the state of Qin in economic support, the states of Qi and Chu were willing to help at that time. Supplies could come in a steady stream, and with the full support and cooperation of Shangdang officials and people, the Zhao army could wait for work with ease. It is obvious that the Qin army is conducive to a quick war and a quick decision, and Zhao Zeli is conducive to a protracted war.
This is the reason why Zhao general Lianpo held his position and confronted the Qin army in the first three years of the war. If the inextricable war situation continues, it will be more and more favorable to Zhao. However, it was Zhao who was short of food first.
The state of Zhao mobilized a total of 500000 people to take part in the war. The logistics support, supplies of food, grass and weapons and equipment were extremely consumed. After eight months of the war, the war economy of the state of Zhao was already overwhelmed, and the strategic reserves would also be exhausted. It is said that Lianpo even ordered the soldiers to count the number loudly at night, as if they were carrying grain and grass, so as to confuse the Qin army. When the state of Zhao reached out to the state of Qi, the ally who had patted his chest refused, and the state of Chu stood by.
The reason for this kind of betrayal was that the monarchs of Qi and Chu were replaced, and the state of Qin also exerted a lot of diplomatic pressure on them. More importantly, at that time, the seven heroes of Warring States changed from the top four of Qin, Zhao, Qi and Yan to the top two of Qin and Zhao. Geographically, the other five countries were even more afraid of Zhao than Qin - Zhao defeated; If Zhao Guosheng and Qin Guogui shrink to Guanzhong, then Zhao Guoshi will expand, and the direction of expansion will not be Qin, but Yan and Wei, who have long been enemies with Zhao Guoguo, and even Qi, who have always been allied with Zhao Guoguo. In this way, Zhao lost international aid.
People all think that the Qin army has a long way to go and it is not easy to transport grain. However, the Qin army does not consume manpower, cattle and horses to transport grain and grass through Weishui River, Huanghe River and Luoshui river. Once the confrontation between the two armies becomes strong, it is necessary to expect the Qin army to stop cooking, unless it is a great famine in the Qin state. However, Qin was the most powerful country in the Warring States period. How could Qin be in danger of being short of grain when it was eight hundred miles away from Guanzhong? Even if it caught up with the poor harvest of Qin, the grain stored in the warehouse of Qin was enough to cope with it for a year or two.
Since the war of attrition can no longer be fought, the king of Zhao ordered Lianpo to fight several times and make a quick decision. In view of the battlefield situation, Lianpo refused the king's order. The king of Zhao had no choice but to send a general Zhao Kuo who was willing to fight a quick decision to replace him. The rumor spread by the king of Qin may not disturb the decision-making of the state of Zhao. The key is the situation.
The fight between light cavalry and heavy infantry
Apart from Bai Qi's resourcefulness, in Shangdang, the characteristics of the Zhao army and the Qin army also determine their success or failure.
Since King Wuling's Hufu riding and shooting, Zhao state has carried out a thorough military reform and established a powerful cavalry force. It has made great achievements in fighting with Huns and Hu people. At that time, the Zhao army learned much about Hu's style and was famous for riding and shooting all over the world. It also rode many good horses outside the fortress. If it galloped across the open plain, the Qin army would not be the enemy of Zhao army.
What is Qin best at? Infantry. The heavy armour infantry of the Qin army is known as the "sharp soldiers". They are well-equipped with strong crossbows, bows and perfect offensive and defensive equipment. They are especially suitable for the offensive and defensive warfare of barriers in mountainous and pass areas. For hundreds of years, the number of times that the six Oriental countries invaded Qin was very few, which fully illustrated the problem. The crossbow of the Qin army is also the best among all the countries. The Qin army added a sight called "Wangshan" to the crossbow, and used a triangular cluster of arrows, which greatly enhanced the stability and accuracy of the crossbow. It is very suitable to deal with Zhao Guoqing cavalry who used the Xiongnu tactics.
Shangdang's land is six hundred miles long, with mountains and rivers crisscrossing. It is by no means comparable to Yinshan and Qianli prairie. In such a battlefield, light cavalry will be restricted by the terrain, while heavy infantry can rely on the favorable location. During the three-year confrontation, the Qin army dug deep trenches, built high barriers, and set more attack and defense equipment, which restricted the attack of Zhao cavalry more and more. When Zhao had to seek a decisive battle, there was no way to give full play to its advantage of light cavalry.
According to the archaeological research on the terracotta army of the first emperor of Qin Dynasty, the Zhao army who finally tried to break through the encirclement wanted to get in touch with the Qin army. The first thing to get in touch with the Qin army was the dense rain of arrows from the Qin crossbow soldiers. The range of the crossbow was up to 300 meters, and the effective killing distance was 150 meters. In addition, the Qin crossbow soldiers were firing in three rows in turn, which effectively ensured the continuity of the attack. Ten thousand crossbows were fired at the same time, and the Zhao army fell one by one. The commander-in-chief Zhao Kuo was shot dead in the last breakthrough. Before the rest of the Zhao soldiers were shocked, the infantry array composed of bronze spears and spears had been pressed down like walls. Qin infantry was equipped with 7-meter-long spear and 3-meter-long halberd. The despairing Zhao army was finally completely destroyed by Qin army.
Zhao Kuo's desperate fight
Now let's talk about the hapless Zhao Kuo. Is he really as incompetent as he is described on paper?
Han Xin was only a small official in charge of grain and grass before he was worshipped as a general. Zhuge Liang defeated Cao Cao's generals as soon as he got out of the mountain. Therefore, there is no necessary connection between ancient war experience and talent. Lianpo was famous and experienced in actual combat. At first, he wanted to take back Shangdang, but in the face of the powerful Qin army, he lost his army and lost his ground. At that time, the commander-in-chief of the Qin army was Wang he. After Zhao Kuo arrived, the king of Qin replaced Bai Qi. Wang he became Bai Qi's deputy. In the view of the king of Qin, Wang he was enough to deal with Lianpo. Bai Qi was specially used to deal with Zhao Kuo. It can be seen that the king of Qin still attached great importance to Zhao Kuo and did not dare to take it lightly.
Before the battle of Changping, Zhao Kuo also had a good performance on the battlefield. In 280 BC, when Zhao Kuo and his father Zhao she attacked the state of Qi, they used the methods of releasing prisoners and throwing food into the city to win maiqiu City, which was guarded by Mohist disciples who were good at guarding the city. In 270 BC, Zhao Kuo gave advice to his father and defeated the Qin army who came to attack through South Korea.
When he first arrived at the front line of Changping, Zhao Kuo also showed his command ability of being familiar with the art of war. He ordered some troops to feint at Qinshui, posing a threat to the empty Qin territory. Then he led the army to attack Baiqi, preparing to make the Qin army unable to balance the head and tail. After several rounds of fighting, the state of Qin was defeated.
Even in the final battle, his platoon arrangement was excellent. He used two-thirds of the army to resist the Qin army, and one-third of the army was divided into two teams to attack the Qin army alternately. Under the fierce attack of the Zhao army, the Qin army gradually lost its support, and the king of Qin Zhao stopped the Zhao army. In this case, Zhao finally did not break through the position of the Qin army.
After Zhao was besieged, Zhao Kuo's performance should be equal to that of a general. Under the extremely unfavorable conditions of no food and grass inside and no help outside, he led his army to fight with the powerful enemy bravely and tenaciously for 49 days and nights. He took the lead in leading Zhao's troops to the Qin formation, and the Qin army sent out ten thousand crossbows in unison, with dozens of arrows in his body, still calling forward, fighting hard and dying, which can be called lamentable.
Zhao Kuo's desperate counterattack caused unprecedented casualties to the Qin army. One thing is certain, Changping war is not only the eternal pain in Zhao's heart, but also the eternal pain in Qin's heart. After the Changping war, the state of Qin not only failed to take advantage of the victory to destroy the state of Zhao, but was beaten down several times by the other five countries, and even was once invaded into the suburbs of Chengyang. It was more than 20 years later that the state of Qin regained its vitality.
This is a war that changes the direction of history. The outcome of both sides is by no means as simple as we look today. The international situation, geographical strategy and tactical characteristics all play an important role, but the general's strategy may not be so important.
