King Wuling of Zhao was born in 340 BC and died in 295 BC, and was the sixth monarch of the Zhao state. During the reign of King Wuling of Zhao, he promoted hufu riding and shooting, making the state of Zhao from a small country into a powerful country that could rival the state of Qin.
Stills of Zhao Wuling King
In 307 BC, King Wuling of Zhao planned to destroy the Zhongshan Kingdom. Zhongshan Kingdom was located in the northeast of the State of Zhao, and divided the territory of the State of Zhao into two parts, north and south, so it became a major problem for the State of Zhao. Although the strength of the Zhongshan state was not as good as that of the Zhao state, it had always been helped by the great powers such as Qi and Yan, so a series of attacks by king Wuling of Zhao were not smooth. Just as the so-called "poor change, change is general", King Wuling of Zhao intended to target the Zhongshan Kingdom in a different way.
At that time, the main threat of the Zhao state in addition to Qin, Wei and other foreign countries was the Northern Sanhu. Sanhu refers to nomadic peoples such as Lin Hu, Lou Fu, and Dong Hu, who are good at cavalry combat, and Zhao Guo has suffered a lot from them. Sensing this, King Wuling of Zhao decided to learn from Sanhu, train an elite cavalry force, and call on the people to start wearing Hu costumes.
The fool laughs, the wise man observes. Although the world is driven away to laugh at me, Hudi and Zhongshan, I will have it! —— "Zizhi Tongjian"
King Wuling of Zhao was keenly aware that the implementation of the "Hufu Riding Shooting" would be opposed by the fronts of the government and the opposition, but in order to enrich the country and strengthen the army, he resolutely decided to implement this reform and take the lead in wearing Hufu first. Today, it is very normal to learn from other peoples, but this was not the case in ancient times.
Huayi's discernment
In ancient times, there has always been a saying of "Huayi distinction", and the Huaxia people in the Central Plains are full of cultural superiority, believing that the surrounding nomadic peoples are "Rong Di Jackals, insatiable". This kind of ignorant and backward thinking persisted until the Qing Dynasty, when the door of the country was opened and some progressives were preparing to carry out the "foreign affairs movement" was strongly opposed by the diehards. Therefore, when King Wuling of Zhao decided to learn from Sanhu, he was immediately opposed by his subjects. In the eyes of Zhao Guomin, the Sanhu were backward and barbaric, and to learn from them was to humiliate themselves.
When King Wuling of Zhao's uncle Gongzi Cheng learned that he was going to promote "Hufu Riding and Shooting", he was also ill and could not get into the early dynasty, and the reform was difficult to carry out for a while. King Wuling of Zhao realized that in order to convince the people, he must first convince his uncle, so he personally went to the door to persuade Gongzi Cheng.
Zhao Guo's situation
Our country has Qi and Zhongshan in the east, Yan and Hu in the north, and Lou fu, Qin and Han in the west. If there is no preparation for riding and shooting now, why should we keep it? In the first time, Zhongshan defeated the strong soldiers of Qi, invaded our land, tired our people, and diverted water to encircle the people; the gods of the micro-society were ugly before they were not guarded. Therefore, the widow changed his clothes to ride and shoot, hoping to prepare for the difficulties of the four realms and repay the grievances of Zhongshan. And the customs of Shu Shun China, the name of evil obedience, to forget the ugliness of things, not the hope of the widow! —— "Zizhi Tongjian"
King Wuling of Zhao first pointed out to his uncle the situation of the Zhao kingdom, there were Qi and Zhongshan in the east, Yan and Hu in the north, and Lou Fu, Qin, and Han in the west, which was simply a place of four wars. The Zhongshan Kingdom, a major problem for zhao guo's confidants, also often relied on the strength of the state of Qi to invade the zhao state, and even diverted water to surround the city, if it were not for the blessing of the ancestors, the city would almost be lost. Subsequently, King Wuling of Zhao proposed countermeasures to solve the difficult situation of the Zhao state, that is, to learn the costumes of the Hu people and train cavalry. And Gongzi Cheng blindly followed the ritual music and was unwilling to change his costumes, which was a great shame for forgetting the city.
Hufu rides and shoots
Under the words of King Wuling of Zhao, Gongzi Cheng took the initiative to wear a hu costume to the early dynasty the next day. So King Wuling of Zhao officially issued a decree to change the costume of Hu and began to train cavalry. Prior to this, countries already had cavalry and cavalry, but cavalry only fought as an attached infantry, and after King Wuling of Zhao implemented Hufu riding and shooting, cavalry gradually became an independent class.
The State of Zhao gradually became stronger through Hufu riding and shooting, and from 305 AD, the State of Zhao successively defeated the Lin Hu and Lou Fu clans, and the territory of the State of Zhao continued to expand. In 296 BC, the State of Zhao annexed the State of Zhongshan, and finally repaid the humiliation of Yancheng.
Every time I read "Zizhi Tongjian", I will sigh that history is actually a continuous reincarnation, more than 2,000 years ago, the Zhao Kingdom was facing internal and external troubles, and a generation of male lords, King Zhao Wuling, was able to abandon stereotypes and learn from Yidi, and since then the Zhao Kingdom has embarked on the road to prosperity; and more than 100 years ago, the late Qing Dynasty was also facing a situation of being divided by the great powers, but the ignorant rulers refused to carry out reforms, resulting in the restoration movement being declared bankrupt within a hundred days. If Empress Dowager Cixi had read the Zizhi Tongjian and learned from King Wuling of Zhao, the Qing Dynasty might not have had the hope of becoming strong.
This is true for countries, and it is also true for individuals. We often say that "poor people think of change", when individuals are caught in a dilemma, they may wish to learn from King Zhao Wuling, change their thinking, and maybe they can "keep the clouds open and see the moon".
The Zizhi Tongjian is generally regarded as the "Book of The Emperors", and the historian Hu Sansheng once said that "if you do not know the Tongjian as a monarch, you want to rule but do not know the source of autonomy, and you do not know the art of preventing chaos." "There are no emperors now, but for ordinary people, the Zizhi Tongjian is also a rare good book.
"Zizhi Tongjian" can not only help us know the past, but also learn from the past and know the present, learn from the lessons of the ancients and take fewer detours, and even find historical laws and speculate about the future. Of course, we can also learn from the noble virtues of the ancients and transcend the wisdom of the world.
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