Lian Po (327 BC – 243 BC), courtesy name Lian, courtesy name, was a native of Kuxing County, Zhongshan County. At the end of the Warring States period, the famous generals of the Zhao State, together with Bai Qi, Wang Qi, and Li Mu, were called the "Four Famous Generals of the Warring States".
In the sixteenth year of King Huiwen of Zhao (283 BC), in order to make Qi qi and greatly broken, he took Xiyang (present-day northwest of Jinzhou, Hebei) as Shangqing. When Zhao Xiao became king, he used to take Lin Xiangru as his own, disobeying and insulting him. It is like repeatedly humble retreating. He realized that he had sinned against him, and the two of them were friends with each other. In the battle of Qin and Zhao Changping, Zhao Chu used his imperial Qin and the strategy of sticking to the wall, and Qin shi worked hard and did not work. Later, the King of Zhao rebelled against Qin and replaced him with Zhao Kuo, and suffered a crushing defeat.
In the fifteenth year of King Xiaocheng of Zhao (251 BC), he led an army with Le Cheng to break the Yan army, killing the Yan general Li Belly, and Yan cut the five cities to please peace. To write a letter of merit to the king is to be a false country. When Zhao mourned King Xiang, he was at odds with Le Cheng, and Ben Wei lived in Daliang (大梁, in modern Kaifeng, Henan), and Wei could not use it. Zhao was trapped in Qin and wanted to reuse it, but because of the destruction of the enemy Guo Kai, the King of Zhao believed that he was old, so he did not summon it. Later, he entered Chu and died in Shouchun (present-day Shou County, Anhui).
Portrait of Lianpo
In the early years of the reign of King Huiwen of Zhao, the six eastern kingdoms were the most powerful in the State of Qi, and the State of Qi and the State of Qin were each a powerful country in the East and the West.
In the fifteenth year of King Huiwen of Zhao (284 BC), the famous general Le Yi served as the minister of Yan and Zhao at the same time, and united qin, Han, and Wei to form a five-kingdom alliance of Qi and defeated the Qi army.
In the sixteenth year of King Huiwen of Zhao (283 BC), Lian Po led the Zhao army to drive deep into qi territory, capturing the Yang jin, Wei Zhen princes, Lian Po Banshi hui dynasty, and the official worshiped Shangqing (Shangqing was a senior title at that time).
In the sixteenth year of King Huiwen of Zhao (283 BC), the State of Zhao received the Heshi Bi, and the State of Qin offered to exchange it for fifteen cities, and the State of Zhao sent Lin Xiangru as an envoy to the State of Qin, and Lin Xiangru was only a "shepherd" under the eunuch Miao Xian. Jing MiaoXian recommended him to King Huiwen, carrying the "Heshi Bi" and acting as an envoy of Zhao to Qin. Lin Xiangru returned to Zhao with his great wisdom and courage and won a victory over Qin diplomacy.
Later, Qin defeated Zhao and occupied Shicheng. The following year, the State of Qin attacked the State of Zhao again, killing 20,000 Zhao troops. At this time, the King of Qin wanted to make peace with the King of Zhao at Shuichi (渑池, in modern Western Shichi County, Henan), but the King of Zhao was afraid and reluctant to go. Lian Po and Lin Xiangru discussed that King Zhao should go to show the strength of the Zhao State and the courage of the King of Zhao. When King Zhao and Lin were the same as in the past, Lian Po sent each other, but did not reach the low-lying great and the King of Zhao said: "The great king's journey this time is only thirty days, if the thirty days do not return, please make the crown prince king, in order to cut off the hope that the Qin state will threaten the Zhao state." ”
Bear the sin of thorns
The demeanor and meticulous arrangement of the incorruptible general strengthened the behavior of the King of Zhao, and at the same time, because he was not humble and unobtrusive in his dealings with the King of Qin at the Shichi Meeting, he did not show weakness and fought back against the various means used by the King of Qin, which not only saved the reputation of the Zhao State, but also shocked the King of Qin and his subjects. In the end, King Zhao returned safely.
After the end of the Shichi Society, because of Lin Xiang's great merits, he was given the title of Shangqing and was above Lianpo.
Lian Po said: "I am a general of the Zhao State, and I have made great achievements in siege and field battles, while Lin Xiangru has only made some merits by being able to speak the Tao, but his status is above me, and moreover, Lin Xiangru was originally a civilian, I feel ashamed, and I can't bear it under him." And threatened, "When I meet a similar person, I must humiliate him." "It is as if after hearing this, I refuse to meet him. Just like whenever he went to the upper dynasty, he often said that he was sick and was unwilling to compete with Lian Po for the rank of the first. It didn't take long, as if going out, seeing Lian Po in the distance, it was like turning around and avoiding the car. [5]
So the disciples who were similar to Lin came together and said bluntly: "The reason why we leave our relatives to serve you is to admire your noble righteousness." Now you are in the same position as Lianpo, General Lian speaks evil words, but you are afraid to avoid him, you are too afraid, and mediocre people are still ashamed, let alone people who are generals. Those of us who are not out of the woods, please let us say goodbye. Lin Xiangru resolutely retained them and said, "Who do you think is more powerful than General Lian and the King of Qin?" He replied, "General Lian is no better than the King of Qin." As he said, "With the power of the King of Qin, but I dare to rebuke him at the imperial court and humiliate his courtiers, although I am incompetent, will I be afraid of General Lian?" But I thought that the reason why the powerful Qin State did not dare to attack the Zhao State was because I and General Lian were there, and now the two tigers were fighting each other, and they were bound to not coexist. The reason why I tolerate this is to put the country's emergencies in the front and put personal grievances in the back. ”
When Lian Po heard these words, he took off his shirt, revealed his upper body, carried a thorn strip, and was led by the guests to the door of Lin Xiangru to ask for his guilt. Lian Po said, "I am a rough and lowly person, and I didn't expect you to be so generous, General." The two finally made friends with each other and became friends in life and death.
In the 20th year of King Huiwen of Zhao (279 BC), Lian Po attacked the State of Qi to the east and broke his army.
In the twenty-third year of King Huiwen of Zhao (276 BC), Lou Chang led an army to attack the Wei state of Jiyi (present-day Daimyo), but failed to capture it. After that, Lian Po attacked again and successfully occupied several of them.
In the 24th year of King Huiwen of Zhao (275 BC), Lian Po attacked Wei, captured Fangling (防陵, in present-day Anyang, Henan Province, 20 miles south), built the city and returned it, and then captured Anyang (安陽, in present-day Anyang, Henan Province, forty-three miles southwest of present-day Anyang).
In the thirtieth year of King Huiwen of Zhao (269 BC), King Zhaoxiang of Qin, dissatisfied with King Huiwen of Zhao's violation of the covenant, sent an army to attack Zhao Difuhe (present-day Heshun County, Shanxi). Zhao led Zhao Hao to reinforce Fu He, and the big break was broken. Unwilling to be defeated, the King of Qin sent troops to attack a few more, Lian Po saved a few, and then broke the Qin army.
In the thirty-third year of King Huiwen of Zhao (266 BC), King Huiwen of Zhao died and King Xiaocheng became a prince. At this time, the State of Qin adopted the strategy of "long-distance friendship and close attack" in response to Hou Fanju, and attacked the neighboring small countries while making good friends with the State of Qi and the State of Chu.
In the fourth year of King Xiaocheng of Zhao (262 BC), the State of Qin attacked the Dang of Han. Shangdang's Korean defenders were isolated, and Taishou Fengting dedicated Shangdang to Zhao Guo. As a result, a war broke out between Qin and Zhao over the Shangdang region. At this time, the famous general Zhao Hao was dead, Lin Xiangru was seriously ill, and only Lian Po was in charge of military affairs. As a result, King Xiaocheng of Zhao ordered Lianpo to command the Zhao army to block the Qin army at Changping (northwest of present-day Gaoping, Jincheng, Shanxi) (see Battle of Changping).
Hand-painted portrait of Lianpo
At that time, the Qin army defeated the Zhao army several times, taking yewang (present-day Qinyang, Henan) in the south, and Shangdang in the north (part of present-day southeastern Shanxi), cutting off the north-south connection between Changping and the north, and morale was high, while the Zhao army traveled a long way, not only was the strength inferior, but also the situation was in a passive disadvantage. In the face of this situation, Lianpo correctly adopted the operational policy of building fortifications, exhausting the enemy army, and attacking the enemy with cameras. He ordered the Zhao army to build a strict barrier by virtue of the mountain danger. Despite several challenges by the Qin army, Lian Po always strictly restrained his troops and could not stand out. At the same time, he gathered the people in the Shangdang area and engaged in battlefield transportation on the one hand, and on the other hand, he threw himself into the work of building fortifications against Qin. The Zhao army was heavily fortified, and the Qin army could not seek a battle, and there was nothing to do, and the sharpness was gradually lost. Lian Po used his troops to hold heavy, and held on to the fortification for three years, intending to thwart the Qin army's plan for a quick victory.
The State of Qin saw that it was impossible to win quickly, so it made a counter-plan, making King Zhao believe that what Qin Was most worried about and most afraid of was to replace Lian Po with Zhao Kuo. King Zhao was eager to win, and finally won the counter-plan, believing that Lian po was cowardly in battle, forcibly dismissed Lian Po from his post, and used Zhao Kuo as a general. Although Zhao Kuo's mother urged zhao kuo to point out that Zhao Kuo, who only knew the paper soldiers, was not suitable for this heavy responsibility, the King of Zhao did not listen and appointed Zhao Kuo as a general. After Zhao Kuo replaced Lianpo's post, he completely changed the strategic deployment formulated by Lianpo and replaced many officers. When Qin Guo saw that Zhao Kuo was used as a general, he secretly used Wu'an Junbaiqi to lead an army to attack Zhao. Defeated Zhao Kuo's army in Changping, shot and killed Zhao Kuo, pit and killed more than 400,000 Zhao troops, and in the Battle of Changping, the Zhao army lost a total of 450,000 soldiers.
The following year, the Qin army besieged Handan, and for more than a year, the Zhao state was almost destroyed, and it was only by relying on the Chu and Wei armies to rescue them, and it was only when the siege of Handan was lifted.
Lian po opera costume
In the fifteenth year of King Xiaocheng of Zhao (251 BC), King Xi of Yan sent The Prince of Yan to make friends with the State of Zhao, and after Li Belly returned to China, he proposed to the King of Yan: "The Zhuang Ding of the State of Zhao have all died in Changping, and the orphans have not yet grown up, so they can take the opportunity to attack." The King of Yan then dispatched two armies and two thousand chariots, and ordered Li Bei to lead an army to attack Yancheng, and Qing Qin to lead an army to attack Daidi.
King Zhao sent Lian Po to lead an army to counterattack, defeating the Yan army at Yancheng, killing Li Belly, capturing Qing Qin and Le Xian, and then besieging the capital of the Yan state. The State of Yan ceded five cities to ask for peace, and King Zhao agreed to an armistice. After this battle, King Zhao enfeoffed Wei Wen to Lian Po, made him a Xinping Jun, and made him a false minister.
In this battle, the Zhao army, under the command of the famous general Lian Po, took advantage of the Yan army's light enemy and fatigue, while the Zhao army fought with the enemy and dealt a bitter blow to the invading enemy, which is a famous example in Chinese history in which less victory is more.
In the twenty-first year of King Xiaocheng of Zhao (245 BC), Lian Po led an army to capture Fanyang in Wei (northwest of present-day Neihuang County, Henan Province).
Cheap
In the same year, King Xiaocheng of Zhao died and was succeeded by his son King Xiang of Zhao. As soon as King Xiang of Zhao succeeded to the throne, he dismissed Lian Po from his military post and sent Le Cheng to replace Lian Po, who was leading troops abroad. Lian Po, enraged by being ostracized, attacked Le Cheng, who fled. Lian Po then left Zhao and defected to the Wei state of Daliang (大梁; present-day Kaifeng, Henan).
Lian Po went to live in Da Liang for a long time, and although the King of Wei took him in, he did not trust and reuse him. Because the State of Zhao was besieged by the Qin army many times, the King of Zhao wanted to appoint Lian Po again, and Lian Po also wanted to be appointed by the State of Zhao again.
Therefore, King Zhao sent emissaries to Da Liang with a pair of precious armor and four fast horses to comfort Lian Po and see if Lian Po was still available. Guo Kai, the enemy of Lianpo, was afraid that Lianpo would gain power again, and secretly bribed the emissary to let him say bad things about Lianpo.
After the envoys of the Zhao Kingdom saw Lian Po, Lian Po ate a bucket of rice and ten pounds of meat at a meal in front of him, and also put on a horse with armor, indicating that he could still be useful. But the emissary came back and reported to King Zhao: Although General Lian is old, the amount of food is still very good, but he sat with me and pulled the three times in a short time. King Zhao thought that Lian Po was old, so he did not appoint him, and Lian Po did not get the opportunity to serve the country again.
When the State of Chu heard that Lian Po was in the State of Wei, it secretly sent someone to welcome him into Chu. After Lian Po served as a Chu general, he did not establish any merit. He said, "I want to use Zhao Ren." However, Zhao Guo was unable to reinstate him, causing Lian Po to be depressed and unhappy, and eventually died in Shouchun (present-day Shou County, Anhui Province) in the Chu state.
Soon after Lian Po's death, the State of Zhao was destroyed by the State of Qin (see Battle of Qin against Zhao).