The Battle of Changping was the longest, largest, and most tragic war in the Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period. As the ancients said when referring to the 500-year history of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, only the two battles of Jinyang and Changping were promoted. In the encirclement of the Yang, the cauldron is suspended for cooking; the battle of Changping, the blood is drifting."
The result of the final war, according to the "Historical Records", was annihilated by Zhao's army, and Bai Qi killed 400,000 soldiers, leaving only 240 soldiers to return to the country: "With the defeat of the army, 400,000 soldiers will be sent to Wuanjun. Wuan. Jun Ji said: "The former Qin had been elected to the party, and the people of the Shangdang were unhappy to return to Zhao for Qin. Zhao Zu repeatedly. If you don't kill them all, you will be chaos. "They were killed by deceit (pit), and the two hundred and forty people who left the little ones returned to Zhao."
However, from today’s perspective, this number is also full of doubts. First of all, the most important question, is there really so many people in Zhao Guo?
At that time, the State of Zhao, including most of Hebei Province and most of Shaanxi, was the most powerful country in the six eastern countries, with a population of about 3 million, and the ability to make up an army of 400,000 was obviously a bit exaggerated, but according to research, Of the Zhao army, nearly two-thirds of them were recruited food transport troops. As ordinary people, Zhao Jun’s number should be real. In the battle of Changping, Zhao Guo did indeed send all the strong labor.
However, after the site was discovered, archaeological experts believed that things were not that simple. In 1995, in Yonglu Village, Jincheng, Shanxi, a father and son dug while they were loosening the soil in their orchard. There were a lot of bronze arrows and bones. After the report, the archaeological team hurried over and confirmed that this was the site of the Battle of Changping that year. More than 130 corpses of Zhao Jun were buried in it, accompanied by Zhao's sword coins. , Cloth coins, half two, arrows, hooks and other cultural relics.
However, after investigation, it was found that among these bones, some arms and thighs had obvious fracture marks, some had arrows buried in the chest cavity, and some had only a body without a head, which was enough. Explain that they were buried after being killed. It is worth mentioning that, apart from the nearby No. 2 pit, which is a deep pit, this bone burial pit is only a few meters deep. This makes people curious. Bai Qi really wants to bury the soldiers alive. Wouldn't they resist? Moreover, with such a thin layer of soil, it is impossible to bury hundreds of thousands alive on a large scale.
Someone put forward another concept, that is, "Killing" in the text is not buried alive, but similar to the "Military Army", it is a function word, ancient troops There is a habit in combat. The victorious side piles up the bodies of the defeated deceased on both sides of the road, covering them with soil and tamping them to form large pyramid-shaped mounds called "Jingguan" or "Wujun" to boast of martial arts. .
It is mentioned in the Book of the Later Han Dynasty that Cao Cao and Yuan Shao fought, and after Cao Cao won, he “exhausted” a Yuan army that had been forced to surrender. When Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty conquered Goguryeo, he "received three thousand three hundred and three hundred and died."
From this point of view, "Killing" scenes are not uncommon, but it is unrealistic to bury more than 10,000 people alive. Therefore, the practice of Qin people is very likely It is to kill the soldiers first and then bury them. The purpose of this is naturally to prevent the outbreak of the plague.
The ancients paid attention to the peace of the earth, but similar to the way of the victors, they piled the corpses on the ground, like showing off martial arts, but simply covered with a thin layer of soil. In the eyes of historians, it is obviously impossible. Calling it "burial" may also use the term "killing".
