The Battle of Changping was the most famous and bloody battle of the Warring States period, and the first general battle in Chinese history to exceed one million. According to historical records, the Zhao army invested more than half a million troops, the Qin army invested more than 600,000 troops, this is a combat unit, non-combat troops are unprecedented in scale, to the Changping War during the white-hot period, Qin Zhaowang even wanted to recruit all the men over the age of fifteen in the Qin State, as logistical supplies, to ensure the supply of grain and grass on the front line, which laid the foundation for the victory of the Battle of Changping.
Subsequently, according to historical records, Bai Qi pit killed 400,000 Zhao troops, and there is another theory that Zhao Guo lost as much as 450,000 before and after. As a result, Zhao Guo's national strength was seriously damaged.
In fact, this great battle was also a very serious loss for the Qin state. Historical records of the loss of the Qin state are unknown, but from some remarks from Bai Qi, it can be inferred that the casualties of the Qin army have exceeded half, and the grain accumulated over decades has also been lost in half.
It's a big lose-lose battle. But if you think about it carefully, it is not difficult to find a problem, that is, Bai Qi exaggerated the casualties of the Qin army.
This conclusion can be seen from the inconsistency between the whites. When the Battle of Changping ended, Bai Qi did not accept it because of the excessive casualties, but instead thought of attacking the Zhao state on a large scale until the Zhao state was destroyed.
This is a very risky decision. Although the Zhao Kingdom was seriously injured, and even if it attacked again, it would perish, but did the other six kingdoms really want the Zhao Kingdom to perish? It can be seen from the fate of The Wei state Pang Juan that the Six Kingdoms have been waiting and watching in the Changping War, but they have all prepared for the worst. It is very likely that before Bai Qi destroyed Zhao, he suddenly struck and killed the Qin army by surprise.
Bai Qi is a very calm strategist, he can't not be unaware of this, the Qin State is the best at opposing, it is impossible not to understand the minds of the Six Kingdoms, why there are still such results, there is only one reason: the casualties of the Qin State are not as many as imagined, Bai Qi has enough confidence to destroy the Zhao State, and there is enough confidence to make the other five countries dare not make any moves.
But soon, Bai Qi's dream was shattered, and King Qin Zhao announced his retirement. This was a huge misstep by King Qin Zhao, and the State of Qin lost the best opportunity to destroy Zhao. After a year, King Qin Zhaowang wanted to destroy Zhao again, and in this case, Bai Qi exaggerated the casualties, because this time attacking Zhao, there was no certainty of victory, let alone the possibility of destroying Zhao.
From the beginning of the Changping War to the end of the Handan Campaign, the entire battle situation was completely under the control of Bai Qi. It was only because of King Qin Zhao's missteps that all of Bai Qi's plans were frustrated.
Returning to this question, we can find that the Qin state is fully capable of destroying the Zhao state, and even defeating the five-nation alliance. But it still left Zhao Guo breathless for nearly forty years. I think there should be the following reasons.
First, there was a tilt within the Qin State, which led to the misjudgment of King Qin Zhao
In addition to the monarch, there were two sets of squads in the Qin kingdom, one was the civilian official squad, the first figure was the chancellor, the prime minister at that time was Fan Ju, the other set was the military general squad, and the primary figure was the general, who was Bai Qi at that time.
In the Qin Kingdom, for a long time, the general phases were relatively harmonious, and there had been no tilting. But with the beginning of the expansion of the Qin state, this equilibrium was broken. Because of the long-term conquest, the status of the military and military generals was extremely elevated, and the political balance was broken.
The fierce mood of the entire country's military affairs directly led to the decline of the status of civilian subjects and the weakening of the country's civil rule, thus affecting the interests of the civilian bureaucracy. This kind of influence was only a quantitative change at first, and after the Battle of Changping, this quantitative change evolved into a qualitative change. Bai Qi's status also surpassed that of Fan Ju, the prime minister.
In the lowest level of the groping for many years, and experienced life and death, Fan Ju has enough ability to let the Qin state develop to the peak, he through his own efforts, to today's position, so, very afraid of losing this position, Fan Ju in history is famous for his eyes will be rewarded, white victory, let Fan Ju feel a huge threat. Thus began the infighting between civilian officials and military generals.
This overthrow led to the innocent death of Bai Qi, and also led to Fan Ju's resignation, the departure of the two major pillars of the Qin State, and the great turmoil within the Qin State, which was no longer able to go on the Eastern Crusade.
Second, the defeat in the Battle of Handan
The Battle of Handan was another great battle after the Battle of Changping, and as Bai Qi judged, if he had not taken advantage of the victory in the Battle of Changping and destroyed the State of Zhao, then the State of Qin would never have had another chance to destroy the State of Zhao.
This is very easy to understand, the victory in the Battle of Changping has caused a great deterrent to the Zhao state and other countries in Shandong, and this deterrent power can make the soldiers and civilians of the Zhao state forget to resist out of fear, and dare not resist.
It is also this deterrent that makes other countries in Shandong dare not assist the Zhao state, even if the Zhao state is destroyed. Bai Qi took the psychology of Zhao Guo and the Five Kingdoms of Shandong quite accurately, so he dared to attack on a large scale. This is not only a military confrontation, but also a powerful psychological tactic.
However, the Qin army retreated, it seems that it can rest and continue to fight, in fact, the signal released is that the Qin army is tired and unable to fight, and the terrorist deterrent power of the Qin army in the Battle of Changping is gone on the way to this retreat.
Without fear, the soldiers and civilians of the Zhao State began to think of hatred, so they fought with the same enemy, and the five countries without this deterrent also knew that the Qin State would also be tired and would suffer heavy casualties, and the Qin State was definitely not invincible. This mentality made it easier for the six-nation alliance.
The defeat in the Battle of Handan was the bitter fruit of the disappearance of this deterrent power, the Zhao state hated the Qin state, the other five countries were not afraid of the Qin state, even if the Qin army's combat effectiveness was restored, it would not be able to obtain more victory fruits, but would be defeated miserably. This fiasco caused the Qin army to lose 200,000 troops, and it was completely powerless to fight again. The power shrank sharply and returned to the Hangu Pass.
Third, the six countries huddled together for warmth, and the alliance was formed again
This was a major failure of the Diplomacy of the Qin State, and since the time of the Qin Xiaogong, the Qin State has attached great importance to diplomatic work, from the strategy of continuous horizontal to the strategy of long-distance and close-range attack, which is a concentrated embodiment of this diplomacy.
The diplomatic ability of the Qin state exceeded that of the six countries of Shandong, so the counter-strategy of the Qin state would be repeatedly successful, and the joint strategy of the six countries would be repeatedly divided and disintegrated. However, with the defeat at the Battle of Handan, Bai Qi died, Fan Ju resigned, and the Six Kingdoms Alliance was formed again. The diplomatic strategy of the Qin state failed.
Although the State of Qin is very strong, his strength is not strong on the one hand, it is the strength of the economy, internal affairs, diplomacy, and military integration, but with the end of the Battle of Changping, the State of Qin has undergone a series of changes, the internal affairs, diplomacy, and military have completely collapsed, and the economy cannot be restored in a short period of time, so the State of Qin has lost, and the State of Zhao has continued for nearly forty years.