Recently, a farmer in Gaoping City, Shanxi accidentally discovered a band-shaped bone layer with a thickness of about 0.6 meters and a length of more than 20 meters. The skull, leg bones, and arm bones were scattered irregularly. It was later identified by relevant experts that the bone layer was related to the Battle of Changping that took place more than 2,200 years ago. For thousands of years, bones have been unearthed in the ancient Changping battlefield, which is now near Gaoping City, which once again brought that cruel war into our eyes.
The first, long battle happened Reason
The Battle of Changping took place from 262 BC to 260 BC, and lasted for three years. The two warring parties were the two most powerful vassal states in the last years of the Warring States Period——秦国与赵国.
The Battle of Changping broke out due to the dispute between Sangdang County in South Korea. 周赧王 Fifty-three years (262 years ago), Qin sent troops to capture South Korea’s Yewangcheng (now Qinyang, Henan), cutting off the connection between Shangdang County and South Korea. King Han was frightened The decision was made to cede Shangdang County to Qin State for a truce, but this was opposed by Feng Ting, the guard of Shangdang County. Feng Ting then made his own proposal to dedicate the 17 cities of Shangdang County to the State of Zhao, hoping to use the power of the State of Zhao to repel the Qin army. After a fierce discussion, Zhao Guojun and his ministers finally decided by 赵孝成王 to accept South Korea’s Shangdang County. This move aroused the anger of Qin, and Qin immediately decided to send troops to capture the Shangdang. The Battle of Changping, which lasted three years, officially broke out.
It can be said that this war broke out The reasons are full of surprises. It was originally a war between Qin and South Korea, but due to the sudden arrival of the "windfall", Zhao was dragged into the quagmire of the war, and the protagonists of the war became Qin and Zhao. For Qin, fighting for the upper party is an important strategy for realizing Qin's strategy, which must be fought. For Zhao Guo, this was an unexpected war. It had no intention of making a strategic decisive battle with Qin. The different moods of the two sides affected the attitudes of the two countries towards the war and ultimately affected the final outcome of the war.
2. The process and results of the Battle of Changping
Qin State decided to send troops to regain the Shangdang. The Qin Army first captured the South Korean Wong in the following year (261 BC). Today Yanshi, Henan) and Lunshi (now Dengfeng, Henan), to deter South Korea and prepare for a decisive battle with Zhao Jun. Then in the second year (260 BC), Qin General Wang Lu was sent to capture Shangdang County. The people in Shangdang County immediately fled to the State of Zhao. Zhao Guo sent 廉勃 to meet the fleeing people in Changping and formally fight with the Qin army who came afterwards.
The fierce battle between the two sides lasted for several months. From April to June, the Qin Army defeated Zhao Jun in a row, not only beheading several generals of Zhao Jun, but also attacking two strongholds of Zhao Jun one after another. Lian Po immediately modified his combat plan, retreating to the east bank of the Dan River, building barriers to hold on, and trying to bring down the Qin army, so the two sides confronted each other in Changping.
The successive army of Zhao on the battlefield was lost Aroused the dissatisfaction of King Zhao, Qin also worried that Zhao Jun would not come out to fight, worrying about the prolonged changes, so he decided to implement an indirect strategy, declaring that the general Zhao Guo feared by Qin Jun was the original 马服君 Zhao Kuo, the son of Zhao She. King Zhao was originally dissatisfied with the defeat of Zhao Jun, and also dissatisfied with Lian Po's strategy of not fighting. There was also a shortage of food in Zhao's country.There was a problem with the team's supply, and the eagerness to go to war with the Qin army was rising. Therefore, the king of Zhao decided to replace Lian Po with 赵涵, and turned from defense to offense.
After learning that Zhao Jun is Yi Shuai, Qin Jun also secretly replaced the famous general 白起 and took absolute confidentiality measures against Yi Shuai's move. After Zhao Kuo took office, he immediately led the army to a decisive battle with the Qin army, and Bai Qi ordered the Qin army to pretend to be defeated and tempted Zhao to pursue it. Zhao Jun chased the Qin Army's barrier for a long time, but couldn't attack it for a long time. At this time, Bai Qi had ordered a force of 25,000 people to raid Zhao Jun's rear, cutting off the connection between Zhao Jun and his barrier, and then Zhao Jun. All were under siege. After discovering that he was besieged, the Zhao Jun immediately began to break through the encirclement, but they were all repelled by the Qin Army. In desperation, Zhao Kuo decided to build a stronghold on the spot and wait for rescue.
When the time came in September, Zhao Jun insisted but had run out of food for forty-six days. Zhao Jun was starved to death or died from internal cannibalism. The tragedy of cannibalism was staged in Zhao Ying. Zhao Kuo, the coach of Zhao Jun, had nothing to do, so he absolutely made the last fight. He divided Zhao Jun into four branches to break through, but he eventually died in the breakout battle. The remaining Zhao Jun had no one to command and could no longer accept it, so he surrendered to the Qin Jun. The battle of Changping finally ended with the victory of Qin.
After Zhao Jun surrendered, Bai Qi was worried that the soldiers of the Zhao State who surrendered would be changed, so he killed all Zhao Jun, leaving only 240 young soldiers to return to China. According to historical records, the Qin State killed 450,000 troops of the Zhao State before and after, and the Battle of Changping became one of the most deadly battles in the Warring States period and even in the history of my country.
III. Doubts about the Battle of Changping
The biggest doubt about the Battle of Changping is probably the number of people. Throughout the ages, many people have expressed doubts about Qin's beheading of the 450,000 army of Zhao.
We all know that in ancient times, both sides in the war like to falsely report the number of people in order to increase their momentum. The most famous examples are 项羽 and Liu Bang. At the Hongmen banquet, Liu Bang had an army of one hundred thousand, known as 200,000, and Xiang Yu had an army of 400,000, known as one million. It can be seen that the number of troops reported in ancient times was very watery. Therefore, many people doubt that Zhao Guo has invested 450,000 troops in the Battle of Changping, and think that this number may also contain moisture.
The most powerful proof is that in the Battle of Changping, Bai Qi sent 25,000 soldiers to cut off Zhao's back road, and sent a 5,000-strong troop to intercept Zhao Jun. So the question is, if Zhao Jun really has more than 400,000 people, can the people sent by Bai Qi really successfully intercept Zhao Jun?
0d0da1#04a0#0d4a#04a0#
04a0# Some people think that the number of Zhao Jun is definitely not as large as recorded in history books. The author also agrees with this point of view, and the figure of more than 400,000 troops should have some water in it. But at a discount, Zhao Jun should have sent an army of tens or even 200,000, and basically it can be said that this is the entire main force of Zhao State.
Conclusion
Bai Qikeng killed a large number of surrendered Zhao Jun prisoners, which left a dark page in the history of Chinese war. And recent archaeological discoveries have once again proved how cruel the Changping War was. Although the gunpowder of the Battle of Changping has been blown away for more than two thousand years, it is still often mentioned by people to warn us of the terrible and cruel war.
