From a realistic point of view, Zhao State has already been defeated before the Battle of Changping begins. The strength gap between Qin and Zhao directly determines that this is a war that Zhao State cannot win. Even if it wins this time, Qin State will The country will still co

From a realistic point of view, The Battle of Changping has not yet begun, Zhao Kingdom has already been defeated. The strength gap between Qin and Zhao directly determines that this is a war that Zhao Kingdom cannot win, even if this is After winning the first time, Qin Guo will still make a comeback.

But in history, this war is indeed a landmark event in the Warring States situation: Changping was defeated, the Zhao army's elite were destroyed, the Zhao State, which originally relied on Hu Fu riding and shooting, declined rapidly, and Qin State advanced eastward. The most powerful stumbling block in the road no longer exists.

1. How long did the Battle of Changping last?

There are many opinions about the duration of the Battle of Changping, some say three months, and some say three years.

Judging from the current historical data, three years is more reasonable.

There is a famous story in history between the Qin rebels Lian Po . It is said that the Qin State spread rumors in the Zhao State, and Lian Po was afraid of the battle and was about to surrender. Now that Zhao She has passed away, his son must have obtained Zhao She's true biography and send him to lead the army to fight.

This is like Zhuge Liang framed Sima Yi before his Northern Expedition. If he moved, it means he was afraid.

The Qin State was deeply involved in the Shangdang War and could not extricate itself. It supported hundreds of thousands of soldiers every day, and the food and grass consumption was serious. Wang Luan had to build an "empty warehouse" on Fumal Ridge to confuse the Zhao army and strengthen its momentum; In addition, since he is the attacker, a long-term confrontation will seriously dampen the morale of the army. The longer he delays, the more disadvantageous he will be. He can only use all possible means to force Zhao to a decisive battle.

Qin really couldn't bear it anymore.

You must know that Qin has been engaged in foreign wars since the founding of the country. Whether it was fighting against the Rong people at the beginning, two monarchs died in battle, or Qin conquered the five kingdoms in the east and conquered Yiqu State in the west. Yiqu State , each war was less Even if it lasts from a few months to a year or two, Qin has never been afraid. Now, Qin is so eager to fight a decisive battle, which must mean that this confrontation is so long that the Qin army cannot afford it.

Therefore, from the battle of Karakura Ridge to the change of generals in Zhao State, it took at least two years for the two countries to confront each other. The entire Changping War lasted closer to three years.

2. Replacing Lian Po became a tacit understanding between Qin and Zhao

However, all this of the Qin army had been seen through by Lian Po long ago.

Lian Po has experienced many battles and is very resourceful. With him on the front line, Zhao Jun will not cross the Dan River and take the initiative to fight decisively.

Let’s look at Zhao Guo again.

Although the State of Zhao is a big country, its cultivated land area is not large and its grain output is not high. The State of Qin is vast and rich in resources, occupying the three major grain-producing areas of Guanzhong, Hanzhong, and Chengdu. There are heavy troops stationed, and the food problem is also very difficult.

Logically speaking, if the army commander is really changed based on a rumor (which is not reliable yet), King Zhao Xiaocheng must not be very smart. A person with normal thinking ability made an abnormal move, which shows that his choice has changed: King Zhao Xiaocheng knew that he could not afford it, and urgently needed a victory to end this protracted stalemate.

The struggle between people often depends on who is more willing to bear the burden, and often it also depends on who can bear the pressure behind them better.

In the end, King Zhao Xiaocheng could not withstand the pressure behind him, nor could he resist the temptation of a "victory". Since the problem cannot be solved, then solve the person who created the problem: recall Lian Po, appoint Zhao Kuo as the former army general, and prepare for the attack.

On the issue of killing Lian Po, Qin and Zhao reached a high degree of tacit understanding. Zhao Kuo also stepped onto the stage of history!

3. The real Zhao Kuo: the main combatant

In history, there are few generals like Zhao Kuo who are famous for not relying on achievements or tactics, but only taking the blame for their leaders. Moreover, he has been taking the blame for more than two thousand years.

Zhao Kuo's father is the famous general Zhao She. Ten years before the Battle of Changping broke out, that is, in 270 BC, the Qin army besieged Zhao Guolan and (Heshun County, Shanxi). All the generals, including Lian Po, believed that the road was far away and the enemy was strong, so they refused to rescue him. Only Zhao She said, "The road is long, dangerous and narrow, just like two rats fighting in a hole. The brave one will win." " theory.Therefore, Zhao She led his army to the expedition. He first made the Qin army relax their vigilance through a series of false moves, and then led his light troops to attack nearly a hundred kilometers day and night, launching a blitz to defeat the Qin army. At that time, the strength of the Zhao army could not be said to crush the Qin army, at least it was "on the ground". Zhao She was therefore named Ma Fujun, on an equal footing with Lian Po and Lin Xiangru.

After Zhao Kuo became a famous general, he was well-read in poetry and books, young and energetic, and full of vigor. Moreover, the two armies had been in confrontation for a long time, so it was easy to understand why Zhao Kuo became the main combatant. When King Zhao Xiaocheng's attitude towards the war wavered, Zhao Kuo revealed his plan to turn defense into offense. King Zhao Xiaocheng suddenly felt that he was too late to meet him, and immediately decided to send him to the front line to prepare for war, avenging his previous shame.

In fact, the real Zhao Kuo was not as miserable as written in the history books. A unified army general can play a more or less role in promoting a war, but it is impossible to have an absolute impact on changing fate. There are three reasons for saying this:

First, Zhao Kuo has been familiar with military books since he was a child, and his ability to deduce war on the sand table is better than Zhao She (Zhao Kuo has studied the art of war since he was a child and talked about war, and there is no one in the world who can do it. . Trying to talk too much about military affairs with your father, it is not difficult, but it is not good.) Although sand table simulation cannot represent all abilities, it can also reflect a person's military quality to a large extent. At such a young age, he was able to defeat the experienced Zhao She on the sand table, so Zhao Kuo was quite talented.

Second, almost at the same time that the Zhao army changed its former military commander, King Zhaoxiang of Qin also parachuted to the Changping defense line.

Although the two armies were facing each other, Wang Hao not only had not suffered a defeat since the beginning of the war with Shangdang, but also won several small victories. Since the performance of the general manager of the subsidiary has been very stable, why did the headquarters suddenly need to parachute a big leader?

The only explanation is that Wang Hao is not Zhao Kuo's opponent. If Zhao Kuo is allowed to organize his army to counterattack, the Qin army, which has been weakened, may be defeated like a mountain. Therefore, Qin sent out the God of War and Baiqi , who had maintained a record of victory since his debut. If this is not a friendly match to show respect, then Qin's sending the strongest lineup can only show that Zhao Kuo is a strong opponent worthy of attention.

Third, the Zhao army was surrounded by Bai Qi for 46 days. The army was short of water and food to the point of killing and eating each other, but there was no mutiny and resistance, and even the entire army was able to break out of the encirclement at the last moment. This kind of control over the army can never be possessed by armchair warriors. After all, during the Warring States Period, the idea of ​​"loyalty" was not yet deeply rooted in people's hearts. More than 400 years later, Cao Cao conquered Yuan Shu . Cao Cao's army was short of rations. Cao Cao almost caused a mutiny by asking the quartermaster to use small dendrobium to distribute the rations. What's more, he had not eaten properly for more than a month?

Therefore, what Zhao Kuo lacks is just the opportunity to hone his theory on the battlefield! If a famous general is a big tree, then Lian Po and Zhao She have a mushroom-type growth. After going through hardships, they gradually strengthen their branches, grow branches, regenerate leaves, and finally grow into a towering tree; and Zhao Kuo has been familiar with military literature since he was a child, and it looks like a big tree. In fact, these leaves are floating in the air. It takes experience and time to slowly connect them with the main trunk, in order to completely open up the two channels of Ren and Du and integrate them. However, he encountered a storm before he could connect the leaves.

4. Zhao Kuo’s Spear and Bai Qi’s Net

After Zhao Kuo came to the Changping front line, he not only changed the military formation left by Lian Po, but also replaced many generals in the army, and at the same time transferred the headquarters to Hanwang Mountain The "Three Army Village" in the southwest is said to be named after the three armies of the State of Zhao were stationed there. The Sanjun Village is backed by Hanwang Mountain and has a wide view. If you climb up, you can see the Danhe Defense Line in front of you.

North of Hanwang Mountain, there is a mountain range called Bajian Mountain in the current Shangdang District of Changzhi. Legend has it that on the way Zhao Kuo entered Gu Pass from Hukou Pass, eight generals raised objections to Zhao Kuo's military route. Zhao Kuo refused. They were unwilling to endure the humiliation of defeat and committed suicide here to express their ambition.

If this legend really exists, I think Zhao Kuo's mood at the time was also very complicated. He should be well aware that this march will lead to a narrow escape, but the Zhao State can no longer afford it. It is a national policy to abandon defense for offense, and someone must implement it. Someone must take the blame.Just like the original battle between and , no one in Zhao State dared to fight. It was his father who withstood the huge pressure and launched a blitz to save this land for Zhao State. Now that the national policy is here, he is willing to take risks both public and private, even if it may lead to no return.

As for him changing Lian Po's layout and generals, it was just like King Zhao Xiaocheng replaced Lian Po. As a big leader, the key departments of the company must be people who listen to him, otherwise there are still policies and countermeasures from above?

While Zhao Jun was actively preparing for war, Bai Qi also came to the Qinhe front line and moved his headquarters to the east of Kongcang Ridge, not far from Danshui, to Guanglang City. Climbing the hills north of the city, Bai Qi felt that the smell of this land was extremely familiar. And all this, the Zhao army on the east bank of the Dan River knew nothing about it. They didn't know that the Qin army on the other side of the river had quietly changed their commanders and had weaved a big net waiting for the Zhao army to get into it.

Everything was ready, and Zhao Jun attacked from the east bank of the Dan River.

The Zhao army was almost deployed in full force, and even the core of the Danshui defense line, Xuushi City, was not heavily guarded. Xuushi City is like the pinnacle of the Danshui defense line, guarding Zhao Jun's grain and grass base - Daliang Mountain. Once it falls, Zhao Jun will not only be difficult to take care of, but also lose his grain, grass and baggage.

After being attacked, the Qin army took the initiative to retreat along the Dan River. The two armies collided fiercely at the front line of the Qin Army's camp in the Hexi Mountains.

At this time, the Qin army had divided into four groups:

The Qin army divided into four groups to surround the Zhao army.

All the way, they held fast to the camp on the west bank of the Dan River.

The second group strengthened the fortifications on the watershed between the Dan River and the Yechuan River in case the Zhao army broke through the Dan River. The river camp threatened the Qin army's camp;

25,000 people from the third route along the Qinshui River in the upper reaches of the Qin River (today's Guxian River and Shizhuang River) from the west of Changping Pass detoured behind the Baili Stone Great Wall to cut off the Zhao army's back road;

The Fourth Route Army took advantage of the almost overwhelming Zhao army to attack the Danhexi camp and used 5,000 light cavalry to attack the empty Xuans. Then they fought along the Xiaodongcang River towards the old pass. After breaking through the pass, they outflanked the Third Route Army to the west and met up with the Third Route Army. Cut off Zhao Jun's retreat.

At this point, the encirclement of Zhao Jun has been completed.

Zhao Jun, who had been attacking the Qin army's camp, suddenly found that the front was frustrated and wanted to retreat to the west bank of Danshui to wait for an opportunity to fight again. When he turned around, he found that the Qin army was standing at the top of the city of Xun. He had no way to advance or retreat and could only shrink his front. Build a camp on the spot and hold on to it.

After calming down, Zhao Jun found that the situation was much more serious than imagined: the entire army was divided into two, and the main force and generals were besieged in the triangle area near Hanwang Mountain, with almost no food and grass; the rest of the army held on to Daliang Mountain, with few soldiers and sufficient food. , but without a general and no combat instructions, they were unable to shake the Qin army's defense line.

From a God's perspective, the Zhao army, which was heavily surrounded at this time, still had a chance: the Qin army's two-pronged outflanking was just the vanguard, and the reinforcements had not yet arrived. What's more, the mountains near Guguan were high and densely forested, and the Qin army's 5,000 cavalry were not only completely unable to move. , and the troops are too few. If Zhao Jun can make a desperate move, give up holding on to Shangdang, concentrate his superior forces to conquer the old pass and withdraw to Handan, it is entirely possible.

King Zhao Xiaocheng of Handan and others were very anxious when they heard that their entire family was being besieged in Changping. However, Zhao State was already destitute. The landlords became tenants and the family ran out of food. They could only sell their face and go to other landlords for help. . The big landowners in Shandong Qi State and Chu State were unwilling to come to the rescue. There was no other way. Handan could only watch as hundreds of thousands of Zhao troops in Changping starved.

On the contrary, the State of Qin learned that the main force of the Zhao army was surrounded. The 66-year-old King Zhaoxiang came to Hanoi Road in person and announced that all the people would be given a first-level title. Zhao saved and provided food."

Green is the march route of the Qin Army's reinforcements in Henan Province

Since then, these fresh Qin troops from the new expedition set out from Yewang (Qinyang, Henan), climbed all the way over the mountains and ridges, passed through Taihangxing and arrived at the east branch of the Dan River Dahe (Pushui River), if you walk all the way through the valley of the Dongdahe River, you can bypass the Ma'an Valley at the easternmost end of Zhao Jun's Bailishi Great Wall, which now surrounds Zhao Jun's remnants of Daliangshan and the eastern half of Bailishi Great Wall. Go in.The last straw for Zhao Jun was also cut. Hundreds of thousands of Zhao Jun had no way to go to heaven and no door to earth. They were desperate and completely desperate.

The Zhao army was surrounded in the triangle area of ​​Hanwang Mountain. The Qin army narrowed the encirclement every day, triggering a bloody battle. The army was short of water and food to the point of "yin phase killing food".

It was not until the 46th day that Zhao Jun finally made up his mind to break out.

Zhao Kuo divided the main force into four teams and organized turns to break through but failed. Finally, he went into battle naked and personally led his elite troops to force a breakout, but was shot and killed by the Qin army. "After the general died, 400,000 soldiers were surrendered to Wu'an Jun. Wu'an Jun... then deceived and killed them all, and sent 240 of the younger ones back to Zhao. He beheaded 450,000 captives before and after. People. Zhao people were shocked. "

5. Zhao Kuo's mistakes

Although the Battle of Changping had a profound impact, the records left in the historical materials are really pitiful. At this point, there are still a few bugs worth thinking about.

First, why was the important stronghold of Hyunshi City so easily conquered?

Hyunshi City is the anchor of the entire Danshui defense line. Once it is lost, not only will the entire defense line collapse instantly like Rupert's Tears, but it will also threaten the food and grass camp - Daliang Mountain.

Zhao Jun occupied the stronghold of the city wall, but was easily conquered by 5,000 cavalry from the Qin Military District. It was so easy that Zhao Jun had no time to return reinforcements. Obviously, the defense is low on numbers here. Maybe Zhao Kuo relied on his own intelligence and thought that Wang Lu would not have the guts to attack Xunsheng City, so he was so slack. If he knew that Bai Qi was commanding the other side at this time, even if he dared to continue the attack, he would definitely strengthen the defense of Xuushi City. The loss of Xu's City was the key to Zhao Jun's siege. If Zhao Jun could defend Xu's City, not only would it not be divided into two, but even if the Qin army was surrounded, the battle line would be too long and full of loopholes.

Second, why didn’t Zhao Kuo break out with his entire army when he was first surrounded?

may be waiting for reinforcements from Handan.

However, there is a problem. As a general with great power, how can he not know the current situation in the country?

In order to keep the Shangdang, the State of Zhao has gone all out. The 450,000 people on the front line are the elite of the State of Zhao, and they also have all their wealth.

They dared to attack the Qin army with extraordinary courage; when the attack was unfavorable and they were attacked from both sides, they not only did not panic, but also quickly calmed down and built fortifications. Their psychological quality was extremely strong; they were trapped for 46 days and would rather eat meat than surrender. , and being able to charge at the last moment shows that they have a strong fighting will and fighting belief. With the above three-level qualities, how can you not be an elite? Since the elite troops cannot defeat it, how can the old, weak, sick and disabled defeat it? What's the point of waiting?

Not only are there no reinforcements in the country, but it is also impossible for other countries in Shandong to come to the rescue. Previously, King Zhao Xiaocheng ignored the advice and sent people to the Qin State to negotiate peace. The Qin State warmly entertained the envoys, making the countries in Shandong mistakenly believe that Qin and Zhao had negotiated peace, and naturally they would not come to rescue again.

Obviously, young Zhao Kuo is still too naive in this regard. He has no idea that if you are playing tricks on you in front, there will be a group of people behind you trying to play tricks on you.

Of course, he is not the only one who is immature. Bai Qi, who has experienced many battles, is about to be pulled off the stage of history.