Zhao Kuo: In the first show of the Battle of Changping, Bai Qi paid such a price. He can only talk about war on paper?

The Chinese idiom "to talk about soldiers on paper" refers to only exaggeration and will not apply theory to practice; it is meant to show that empty talk cannot solve practical problems. The protagonist of this allusion is Zhao Kuo, General Zhao Guo. He has been familiar with the military strategy since childhood, and his father is the well-known "Mafujun" Zhao She.

In 259 BC, in the battle of Changping which determined the unification of China, Zhao Kuo was defeated by Qin Jiangbai and killed the four hundred thousand soldiers of the Zhao Kingdom. After that, Zhao Guo fell to a despair.

Later, some people say that Zhao Kuo’s empty talks led to Zhao’s defeat in the Changping battle; others say that Zhao Kuo is a military genius, and the defeat in the battle of Changping cannot be blamed on him; then Zhao Kuo in the end Is it a genius or a mediocre?

After the implementation of "Hufu riding and shooting", Zhao Guo's national strength greatly increased. The situation in the world only awaits the contest between Zhao and Qin. In 262 BC, the two kingdoms of Qin and Zhao competed in Changping. The Qin army was invincible in combat. The famous general of Zhao Lian Po was helpless to build a fortress of war and could not stand firm. The two sides of Qin and Zhao fell into a long stalemate. Regarding Lian Po’s defensive attitude, the Emperor Zhao and his officials became bored. King Zhao heard that Zhao Kuo, the son of "Mafu Jun" Zhao She, had his father’s true biography. He was particularly good at attacking tactics of the city. The supply of military rations was under great pressure. After listening to Zhao Kuo's analysis of the battlefield in Changping, Zhao Wang immediately removed Lian Po from the position of coach and appointed the young general Zhao Kuo.

Zhao She thinks that his son Zhao Kuo has little experience in the army and is not enough to be the head coach, and Zhao She's wife also thinks that Zhao Kuo is very lofty and does not have the ability to command the army. However, Wang Zhao believed that this was a humble word from his parents to an excellent son, and Zhao Kuo still served as the head coach of the Battle of Changping, thus forming the pattern of Chinese history.

After Zhao Kuo, who had no battlefield experience, became the coach of Zhao Jun, he disrupted all the deployment systems of Zhao Jun when Lian Po was in command. Bai Qi took the opportunity to send troops to intercept Zhao Jun’s transportation of food and grass. After the road, Zhao Kuo took the initiative to fight against Bai Qi. Bai Qi used a scheme of surrender to encircle Zhao Jun. Zhao Kuo led his army to break through and die. Zhao Guo's 400,000 troops surrendered and were all killed by Bai Qi. Later generations attributed Zhao Kuo’s defeat in the Battle of Changping to Zhao Kuo’s self-righteousness, and “talking about soldiers on paper” first came from Sima Qian’s "Historical Records": Kuo Shao Xue warfare talked about war affairs, and talked about war affairs with his father. It is called 善; after that, "Talking on Paper" also accompanied Zhao Kuo to spread in China for thousands of years. However, many scholars believe that Zhao Kuo’s failure in the Battle of Changping was not attributable to Zhao Kuo.

When the cold weapon war has reached a stalemate, the supply of materials is the most critical. Comparing the situation between Qin and Zhao during the Battle of Changping, it can be found that in addition to the prosperous Hanzhong region, Qin also has the land of Sichuan and Chongqing, which is called the "country of abundance." Planting two crops a year, the amount of food assets is very rich; on the other hand, the land of Zhao is in the extreme cold of the north, the land is barren and the materials are scarce, and the border is often harassed by nomads; this compares the resource situation of Qin and Zhao If Zhao Guo wants to win the battle of Changping, he can only win a quick battle, but the Qin army is brave and good at fighting, and Zhao Guo has no advantage in a head-on confrontation. Lian Po’s defensive strategy is helpless, and Zhao Kuo takes over halfway. Zhao Jun, there is only one way to confront Qin Jun.

The Battle of Changping Qin Jiangbai used 500,000 troops to surround Zhao Jun 200,000, and finally tightened the encirclement smoothly after half of his death and injury. This is unprecedented in Bai Qi’s brilliant military career. Appeared. After the Changping War, the Qin Army suffered 600,000 casualties, and the Zhao Army suffered 700,000 casualties. This is considered to be "Qin Guoxiao has won"; while the famous Qin general Bai Qi is alive, and Zhao Young-general Zhao Kuo has been killed. , Can be equal to the famous general of the Warring States period, Bai Qi, can such Zhao Kuo be considered mediocre. When Zhao Kuo volunteered to be Zhao Jun’s coach, his parents strongly opposed it. The reason was not that he questioned the true strength of his son Zhao Kuo, but because of the Changping Battle. Regardless of whether Zhao Jun can win, Zhao Jun’s supreme commander will not be good. End.

The battle of Changping can be said to be the battle to determine the ultimate ownership of the world. The total force invested by both Qin and Zhao reached one-tenth of the total population of China at that time. The intensity of the battle can be imagined. Zhao Junyou under Zhao KuoThe giant of a million, if the Zhao army wins, with such a huge army, it is impossible for King Zhao to remain indifferent to the commander, and the master of merit will not achieve good results in any period. If Zhao Kuo commanded the three armies, the Qin army commander facing him would be nothing but "Wu Anjun" Bai Qi. Bai Qi had been famous for a long time, and Zhao Kuo would lose everything if he made a small mistake. Therefore, once Zhao Kuo takes over the command of the three armies of the State of Zhao, the outcome will not end well regardless of victory or defeat.

Is Zhao Kuo a genius or a mediocre? Was Zhao Kuo's failure in the Battle of Changping attributed to Zhao Kuo? Due to the age of this time, different people now look at this matter from different angles, and they will definitely have different understandings. The important thing is that we can learn lessons from the allusion of "talking on paper" to improve our own shortcomings. This is what history brings to us.