The Battle of Changping was a passive challenge launched by the State of Qin to the State of Zhao, and in the external annexation of the State of Qin, the State of Zhao was unfortunately drawn into the second seat. But it is also undeniable that the State of Zhao was the only country that could compete with the State of Qin in the late Warring States period, and the process of Qin destroying the Six Kingdoms was also the most tenacious resistance of the State of Zhao, and caused great resistance to the State of Qin, so that the main wars between Qin and Zhao were won by a divisive strategy, not a military victory, so that the strong family foundation of the State of Zhao was not something that the State of Qin wanted to fight.
(1) The military strength of the Zhao State
Hufu rides and shoots
The State of Zhao led the pace of changing the law in the middle and late Warring States period, the most famous of which was the "Hufu Riding Shooting" promoted by King Wuling of Zhao. The change of the Zhao state is not complete, but its change method is very practical, because after the three families are divided into Jin, the Zhao state belongs to the three Jins geographically, it is bordered by Donghu in the northeast, adjacent to the Xiongnu in the north, and bounded by Linhu and Loufu in the northwest. These tribes are nomadic for a living, good at riding horses and archery, they often use cavalry to invade the border of the Zhao state, the Zhao state is plagued by border ethnic minorities, so it does not have the energy to deal with the Zhongshan state surrounded by the territory, and even by the Zhongshan state, which makes the Zhao state have to seek military reforms.
"In the first month of the nineteenth year, the Great Dynasty Letter Palace summoned Fei Yi and the world to discuss the world, and after five days, he ordered Yi Hu to obey, change the military system, and learn to ride and shoot." - "The Chronicle of History"
King Wuling of Zhao was the sixth monarch of the State of Zhao, and in the early days of his reign he was still a monarch with great ambitions, and he believed that the passive beating of the State of Zhao was not because the State of Zhao was weak and the people were weak, but because the military uniform was not suitable for cavalry and vehicle warfare, so there was a dress form imitating the Hu people, which was a reform idea to learn from the strengths of the enemy, and this reform was only military, so the later Liang Qichao evaluated this reform as "militarism". King Wuling of Zhao's implementation of the reform of easy clothes was enforced from top to bottom, and the means were quite tough, not only allowing the army to change into clothes that were easy to fight, but also making the people of the whole country wear bearded clothes, which in turn inadvertently promoted the productivity of ordinary people.
Another benefit brought about by Hufu riding and shooting was the change of the main arms of the Zhao State, and the arms of various countries during the Warring States period were generally infantry and chariots, and the Zhao State was no exception. Because they were subject to the power of the Hu people's bows and crossbows for many years, this reform introduced the Hu people's riding and shooting skills into the country, which produced a class of light cavalry that was different from other countries in the Central Plains. Zhao Guo's light cavalry was equipped with short swords and strong bows, which were far more mobile than chariots and far more lethal than infantry bows. Therefore, just a year after the implementation of this reform, it reached Ningye (north of Yulu County, Hebei), and then attacked Hudi in the west, reaching Yuzhong (the northeast bank of the Hetao in Inner Mongolia), so that King Lin Hu contributed good horses to Zhao for peace, and King Wuling of Zhao sent Xiang Zhao Gu, who was in charge of the land, to provide cavalry to the interior.
The State of Zhao continued to expand its territory under the reform of Hufu Riding and Shooting, and from the twenty-first year of King Wuling of Zhao (305 BC) to the third year of King Hui of Zhao (296 BC), he completely destroyed the State of Zhongshan; at the same time, the State of Zhao advanced deeper to the north, defeating the fierce Xiongnu, so that it "reached the north to Yan and Dai"; to the west, Lin Hu and Lou Fu used troops to push the territory to Yunzhong (Tokto County, Inner Mongolia) and Jiuyuan (Baotou City, Inner Mongolia). Later historians said that when hufu rode and shot, it was very important to promote national integration, which was a strong support for the comprehensive national strength of the Zhao state, because the integration of the Hu people and the Han people not only injected more fierce blood into the army, but also broke the "gentleman" war model since the Spring and Autumn Period.
"Although the victory was won, half a million soldiers were folded"——The Chronicle of History. Biography of Wu'an Junlie
During the Spring and Autumn Period, the armies of various countries fighting wars were composed of nobles, and civilians and slaves were not qualified to go to the battlefield, and the warring sides not only had to issue battle books to each other, but also played a turn-based system, that is, waiting for the enemy's chariots to rush a wave, and our chariots to rush another wave. This mode of warfare underwent a major change from the Warring States period, the warring sides did not have so much "red tape", and the two armies fought each other is the victory of the brave, which is inseparable from the wild fusion of nomadic peoples. Therefore, zhao guo's cavalry has a great exotic characteristic, active and fierce on the battlefield. As we all know, the 450,000 troops of the Zhao State in the Battle of Changping were completely destroyed, provided that the grain was cut off for nearly two months. Although this statement is very controversial, it cannot be denied that the combat effectiveness of the Zhao army is not worse than that of the Qin army.
Zhao Guo famous general
Among the four famous generals of the Warring States, Lian Po and Li Mu were all from the State of Zhao, and this was only the representative of the famous generals of the State of Zhao, such as Sima Shang, Zhao Hao, and Pang Yan, all of whom were first-class and first-class generals. Why it is said that the most difficult thing for Qin to unify the Six Kingdoms is the State of Zhao, because the State of Zhao has not fallen behind in the war against Qin. In fact, before the Battle of Changping, the State of Qin had tested the military of the State of Zhao, and in 269 BC, the Qin general Hu Yang led tens of thousands of elite troops to cross the Korean border to attack the State of Zhao's Fu He, this temptation was defeated by Zhao Hao's troops, and in the Battle of Changping, the State of Qin suffered from the incorruptible strategy of defending, so it used the divisive strategy to replace this famous general, and the same means were also used on Li Mu.
After the Battle of Changping, the State of Zhao adopted the strategy of slowing down the army by cutting up the land and seeking peace, and the loss of the State of Qin in the Battle of Changping was also too serious, so it agreed to the peace of the State of Zhao, which was very controversial in history, and many people believed that if the State of Qin continued to attack the State of Zhao, it was likely to be taken away in a wave. But in fact, half a year later, Zhao Xiaocheng rebelled against the water, did not cut the land to Qin, but actively prepared for war, so there is a reason why Zhao Guo's family foundation is thick, half a year's time is to organize a garrison of three or four hundred thousand, and the Qin State has only used the strength of the whole country to cut down Zhao, it is said that it has moved out all the family foundations of half a million people.
The Qin army directly surrounded the capital of the Zhao state of Handan in this war, but after the Xinling Jun stole the charm to save Zhao, Mao Sui volunteered to get the support of the Chu state, Handan was protected with the support of the coalition army, and it has to be said that when the coalition army did not arrive, the plains Jun Zhao Sheng showed a tenacious side, organized the people of Handan to go to the city to resist the enemy, and never let the Qin army enter the city. After the defeat of the Qin army by the Three Kingdoms Alliance, the Qin army was driven to Hexi, and the coalition army took advantage of the situation to recover the land of six hundred miles east of Hedong, and the Qin state faced the attack of the coalition army, and it was a divisive strategy, forcing Wei Wuji to be withdrawn, and the coalition army lost its main heart, otherwise the qin territory might also be attacked by the coalition army.
After the Battle of Handan, the State of Zhao entered a period of relative stability, and the State of Qin entered a short period of cultivation, at which time the State of Zhao did not stop, it had to deal with the State of Yan, which had been stabbing a knife in the back. The State of Yan belonged to the biggest stirring stick in this period, and the State of Zhao was originally a barrier to the State of Yan, but when Qin attacked Zhao, the State of Yan would always attack the State of Zhao from behind, so in the fifteenth to eighteenth years of King Xiaocheng of Zhao, the State of Zhao fiercely cleaned up the State of Yan. However, during this period, the State of Qin took the opportunity to stab the knife and seize 37 counties of the State of Zhao in Shanxi.
After that, the famous general Pang Yan, who grew up, replaced Lian Po, who had fled, and Lian Po's departure was also due to the divisive plan of the Qin State, the Qin State bribed Guo Kai, the elder of the two dynasties of the Zhao State, and when the King of Zhao sent emissaries to visit Lian Po, Guo Kai arranged for the emissaries to return to the King of Zhao saying that the amount of Lian Po's meal was still very large, but "sitting with the courtiers, it was a matter of time, and the three wills were left behind." That is to say, Lian po could not sit still and always went to the toilet, so that King Zhao certainly did not dare to use Lian Po again. And Pang Yan became the premier general, Zhao mourned The King of Xiang for six years, Meng Xiao led an army of 100,000 to attack Zhao, and Pang Yan also led 100,000 Yuzhi, the result was "killing 30,000 Qin troops and shooting Meng Xiao".
Another famous general, Li Mu, was a brother in the defense of the Xiongnu, and in the late Warring States period, Li Mu was also transferred to the interior as Qin's battles against Zhao became more frequent. In the third year of King Youmiao of Zhao, the Qin general Huan Yi led his army out of Shangdang in the east, Li Mu annihilated his entire army, and Huan Yi himself fled to the Yan kingdom and was renamed Fan Yu Period, which was later the head that Jing Ke stabbed the King of Qin. The final battle of Qin to destroy Zhao was led by the famous Qin general Wang Qi, and the Zhao state was fought by Li Mu and Sima Shang, and at the beginning of the war, Wang Qi still could not defeat Li Mu, and the four famous generals of the Warring States who were not defeated were Li Mu and Bai Qi. The State of Qin once again bought off Guo Kai and alienated the relationship between the monarch and the subject, and eventually Li Mu was executed by King Zhao, and Sima Shang was also removed, so that there were no famous generals who could resist the State of Qin.
(2) Historical analysis
The above large-scale talk about the military strength of the Zhao State, which is the basis for the protracted war between the Zhao State and the Qin Dynasty, and here it is said that the military is the foundation, not the economy, because the "militarism" of the Zhao State is to bring the Zhao State from the middle class to the upper class country. Through the military expansion of the territory brought is the accumulation of wealth and the expansion of cultivated land, this series of military expansion made the Zhao state have the Hetao Plain, the North China Plain, the Datong Plain, the Taiyuan Basin, these areas are more suitable for agricultural production, especially the North China Plain formed by the alluvial of the Yellow River, the terrain is flat, fertile and rich in water. In addition, the north-south span of the territory of the Zhao Kingdom is large, the temperature difference is more obvious, suitable for the growth of a variety of crops, and the agricultural aspect can promote the cultivation of two crops a year, which makes the healing ability of the Zhao State very strong.
After the Battle of Handan, in 241 BC, Pang Yan of the State of Zhao also took the initiative to organize a joint attack on Qin and lay down Shouling, which shows that the State of Zhao had strong economic support, which was based on military expansion. In contrast, a large part of the reason for the demise of the Zhao state was due to the sharp loss of land, in order to thank the Xin Lingjun for saving Zhao, he rewarded the important town of Changguan; in order to solve the worries of the Yan state, he exchanged 57 cities for the famous general Tian Dan of the State of Qi; when attacking the Yan state, he was plundered by the State of Qin and 37 counties in Shanxi. The fall of these lands gradually led to the decline of Zhao Guo's self-healing ability.
From the perspective of diplomacy, the Qin state's "long-distance close attack" was a very successful strategy, and the targets of the close attack were the three Jin Dynasties, Han, Zhao, and Wei. The Battle of Changping triggered by the South Korean Shangdang made Zhao Guo passively accept the war. On this basis, long-distance relations produced benefits, and during the stalemate stage of the Battle of Changping, the Zhao State was refused to borrow grain from the State of Qi, and the State of Yan stabbed the sword in the rear of the State of Zhao, which showed that the countries did not realize that the changes in the situation had shifted from "hegemony" to "annexation". When the Qin army pit killed 400,000 of Zhao Guo's descendants, the countries seemed to understand what it was to be cold in the lips and teeth, and only then did they have the consciousness of combining and resisting Qin, which was also due to Su Qin at that time. Therefore, after the Battle of Changping, the "international" support that Zhao Guo received was another magic weapon for his continuation, but it was abandoned by various countries after its heavy army attacked Yan.
To sum up, the reason why the Zhao Kingdom was able to survive for decades after Changping was that the family foundation left by the Zhao Wuling King was still strong, the soldiers of the Zhao Kingdom were still sophisticated, and the nations were still able to cooperate and help each other. And qin destroyed the Zhao state from these conditions, and there will be no ambiguity when fighting for the bottom of the family, because after the fall of the Zhao state, the rest of the countries are not a problem; the generals who cannot defeat it will be separated by money, and the unity of the nations will desperately destroy, if the three monarchs in the later period of the Zhao state are not faint, the pace of unification of the Qin state will slow down a little.
References: "History", "Zizhi Tongjian", "Warring States Policy"