Analysis of the Tactics and War Thoughts in the Battle of Jinyang from the Perspective of the Zhao Family

Sanjia divided into Jin as a sign of the beginning of the Warring States Period. At the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, the Jin royal family declined and the Liuqing became stronger. Later in the war, Fan and Zhongxing were defeated by the Jinshi and Han Zhao Weizhi Siqing. Later, the Jinshi was defeated by the Siqing, and the Zhishi became the strongest existence among the Siqing. Han Zhao and Wei Sanqing ceded land to Zhi, and Zhao refused to obey Zhi, so the battle of Jinyang kicked off.

Jinyang’s battle ended with a miserable defeat for the Chi’s, and Zhao’s victory. In this battle of Jinyang, the three alliances of the Han, Zhao and Wei attacking the Chi’s laid the foundation for the three divisions in the future. How did the three families of Han, Zhao and Wei, headed by the Zhao family, win the battle of Jinyang? From the perspective of the Zhao family, what were the unique tactics and war ideas that made the Jinyang battle possible?

People-oriented can resist the powerful enemy

During the Jinyang War, the Zhao clan was led by Zhao Xiangzi. When Zhi Bo, the leader of the Zhi family, failed to obtain the Zhao family's land, Zhao Xiangzi keenly realized that the war was coming. Therefore, he was prepared early, and the most important step was to choose Jinyang as the final base to resist the Zhi army.

As early as the Jin Dynasty did not die, before the Zhi clan had no hegemony, Zhao Xiangzi had dispatched Dong Anyu and Yin Duo to serve as the magistrates of Jinyang. Yin Duo had asked Zhao Xiangzi and asked him before he left. Do you allow yourself to increase taxes, or allow yourself to build a strong city? Zhao Xiangzi replied, let him build a strong city as a base for wars that will inevitably come in the future.

Therefore, after Yin Duo went to Jinyang, he began to expand the acre system to reduce the rent and tax. After further "damaging the number of households" and reducing the land rent, he finally implemented the "no tax" policy to reduce the land rent to the army. The full exemption of Fu laid a solid foundation for the Zhao family in Jinyang. So that the Zhao family was supported by the people of Jinyang and gave Zhao a "firm" Jinyang city that the people wanted.

Later, when Zhao Xiangzi chose a base to defend against Zhi’s attack, some counsellors suggested choosing the eldest son of “near and thick city” or choosing Handan, which is “situated in warehouses,” Zhao Xiangzi rejected them one by one. In the end, he chose the "sturdy" Jinyang. Because in Zhao Xiangzi's view, the main factor that determines the outcome of a war is not a strong city wall or abundant material reserves, but the unity and support of the people.

This decision made Zhi's plan to attack Jinyang in a short time to no avail. Even in the case of "Frogs in Shenzao" in Jinyang City, there are still no people defecting.

As mentioned earlier, Jinyang was selected as the final base to resist the attack of the Zhi's army. Zhao Xiangzi began active preparations for the war, first personally taking Jinyang Cheng walked around and asked the Nengchen around him about offensive and defensive issues. For some defective places, he immediately allocated materials from the court's inventory for repairs.

The Warring States Policy records: "It is the Yanling who will ride the car first to Jinyang, and the emperor will follow it. To travel to the city, the case house, and the warehouse, call Zhang Meng to talk: "The end of my city , The treasury is sufficient, the warehouse is solid, and there is no arrow?" Zhang Meng said: "The court heard that Dong Zi ruled Jinyang, the wall of the palace, and it is as high as Zhang Yu. Use it. "

So I made it and tried it, and its strong strength is that the strength of the scorpion can't be passed. Jun said: "Sufficient, how can my copper be young?" Zhang Meng said: "Chen Wen Dong Zi ruled Jinyang, Gong The rooms of the palace are all made of smelting copper. If you send them and use them, there will be more copper. Jun said: "Goodness." Orders to be determined, and to be guarded. The soldiers of the Three Kingdoms fought in Jinyang City. It can't be pulled out in March, because of Shu Jun, it is surrounded by it, and it is poured by the Jinshui. "

Secondly, Zhao Xiangzi asked his subordinates humbly about the problems in this war and listened to the opinions of civil servants and military generals. Although he may not choose to adopt them in the end, this kind of humbly asking for advice made his civil servants and military generals great. I was moved, so I eliminated the internal barriers, and faced the next fierce battle in a united manner.

Fully prepared and made a comeback

Looking at Zhao’s war thoughts, Zhao Xiangzi, backed by the people, first reduced the heavy taxation of the people of Jinyang, stabilized their lives, and made the people’s hearts and minds more stable. The clan stayed in Jinyang for three months together, laying the foundation for subsequent victory.

followed by making full use of civilian military commanders as weapons in this war, humbly asking counsellors for advice, actively allocated materials from the court inventory to repair the city, and actively and fully prepared to deal with this war. Following the advice of counsellors, to unite the Han family who was oppressed by the Zhi family against the Wei family against the Zhi family’s army, Xiaozhi explained the truth of "the lips die and the teeth are cold" with emotion and reason. In terms of employment, Zhao Xiangzi compares himself with Think that victory is in hand, so the Zhibo who does not listen to his subordinates' opinions is much more wise. It is also because he humbly listened to the opinions of his subordinates and counselors that he seized the chance of victory in the back of the war, made a comeback, and defeated the Zhi's army.

The tactics of the Jinyang battle are basically to hold on to the city, looking for opportunities to defeat powerful enemies. This tactic cannot be said to be so clever, but with Zhao Xiangzi's early preparations, this Jinyang battle has become a classic battle situation that defeats many by the weak, and it has also become a classic that many people will study in the future.

Summary

The author leads everyone from the perspective of Zhao Xiangzi, the leader of the Zhao family at the time, to find the factors for the victory of this war, taking the people as the people Basically, the idea of ​​war with ministers as a weapon can actually be easily discovered. Even though this idea of ​​war seems very simple, many princes under the rule of that feudal era may not be able to make the same decisions as Zhao Xiangzi. .

It is precisely because of Zhao Xiangzi’s war thoughts that transcend the times and take advantage of the characteristics of the "people" that are admired in modern times as the basis for a protracted war, he can hold Jinyang for three months, which makes Zhibo think that victory is in his hands. , Relaxed his vigilance, thus ignoring the alliance between the Zhao clan and the Han and Wei clan, ignoring the Zhao clan’s attack, and ultimately ruining the victory, and he was killed by Zhao Xiangzi.

The victory of the Battle of Jinyang kicked off the Warring States period in the future, and also sounded the alarm for the leaders who followed. Zhao Xiangzi's success is based on the unity of the people's wishes and the generals of the military , Which shows that rulers who cannot gain popular support and hear opinions will fail sooner or later and will not be able to create a great cause.

In summary, the tactics of the Jinyang War are closely linked with the war thoughts. The two cannot be achieved without one thing. From the perspective of the Zhao family, this is the case from any classic in history. The angle of the battle is also the same, as the saying goes, those who win the hearts of the people win the world.

References:

Feng Xiaohong. Zhao’s Burden Reduction Policy and the Battle of Jinyang. Journal of Hebei University (Philosophy and Social Sciences Edition) 2010 (04)

Bai Guohong. A new exploration of the battle of Jinyang. Shanxi Journal of Normal University (Social Science Edition) 2008 (01)