The Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period were a period of great change in Chinese history, during which a hundred schools of thought competed and famous generals emerged. People who are slightly familiar with history know that in the end, the Qin State won, swept through the Six Kingdoms, and unified the world.
I. In the early warring states period, it was not the State of Qin that really had the strength to unify the Six Kingdoms, but the State of Wei.
In the early warring states period, the State of Wei, which had just come out of the three branches of the Jin Dynasty, under the leadership of Wei Wenhou, vigorously reformed and forged ahead. Through the famous "Li Wu Transformation Method", it became the first power of the Warring States. Militarily, Wei trained the "Wei Wu Pawn", which can be called the first generation of Special Forces in China.
It is recorded in the "Xunzi Discussion of Soldiers" that the body must be able to wear triple armor, hold a long halberd, hang an iron sword at the waist, carry a rhinoceros face, 50 crossbows and crossbows, and carry military food for three days, and be able to march continuously for a hundred miles in one day before they can become Wei Wu pawns.
Second, how strong were the Wei Wu pawns who were so strictly selected?
According to historical records, from the early Warring States period to the rise of the State of Qi, Wei Wuzu almost maintained an undefeated record, of which in the first thirty years or so "the great war was seventy-two, the total victory was sixty-four, and the rest were drawn", and in the Battle of Yin and Jin, with 50,000 new soldiers, 500,000 Qin troops were defeated, and they were invincible to the world for decades.
It's just that arrogant!
Why did the State of Wei, which possessed such a strong force, eventually decline, and why did Wei Wushu eventually disappear into the long river of history?
The answer is: there was a fatal mistake in the strategic direction of the State of Wei.
Looking at the map, it can be seen that the State of Wei is located in the center of the Central Plains, which can be called the "crossroads" of the Warring States, which has advantages and disadvantages, and the advantage is that through convenient transportation, the State of Wei has become a hub center for transportation and trade, and in the economy, it has brought a rolling source of wealth to the State of Wei. But the disadvantage is that it is located in the land of four wars, the west is the State of Qin, the east is the State of Qi, the south is the State of Chu, and the north is the State of Zhao.
This put forward a perverted demand for the State of Wei, that is, every generation of monarchs of the State of Wei must be wise and martial, and if they are a little mediocre, they will not be able to maintain their hegemony, and if they encounter the Lord of Darkness, they will have the worry of destroying the country.
Compared with the State of Wei, the geographical advantage of the State of Qin is obvious, the State of Qin since the Spring and Autumn Period of Qin MuGong, until the Duke of Qin Xiaogong, nearly 300 years of time, out of 16 generations of Yongjun, in this way, the State of Qin has not been extinct by other princely states, this situation if it occurs in the Central Plains of the princely states, it is estimated that it has been destroyed several times. This was beneficial to the unparalleled geographical advantages of the Qin state, and Jia Yi pointed out to the point in the "Treatise on Passing the Qin Dynasty" that the Qin state had excellent geographical advantages: "Qin Xiaogong was firmly based on the solidity of Kunhan, embracing the land of Yongzhou, and the monarchs were stubbornly holding the Zhou Room", and the Kunshan Mountains separated the Qin state located in the northwest border from the Central Plains countries, leaving only one husband and wife as a pass, and the gap of "Hangu Pass" that could not be opened by all men could be attacked and retreated.
Just like the second generation of the rich and the second generation of the poor, they are full of passion to start a business, even if the level of the poor second generation is stronger than the second generation of the rich, but in the end you will find that the success rate of the second generation of the rich is much higher than that of the second generation of the poor, why? Because the poor second generation only has one chance, they can't afford to lose. The second generation of the rich has many opportunities for trial and error, can constantly sum up experience, and win once and come back.
The seemingly "rich" State of Wei is actually the "poor second generation" in the geopolitical pattern, while the Seemingly "Old and Young Border Poor" Qin State is the "Rich Second Generation" in the geopolitical pattern.
Therefore, for the State of Wei, the core issue is not how many battles to win and how many years to dominate, but how to transform from the natural geopolitical pattern of "poor second generation" to "rich second generation".
The answer is to completely annex one of the four great princely states of the east, west, south, and north, and transform itself from a country of four wars into a country with strategic depth that can be attacked and retreated.
The annexation of the Qin state, which has been poor and weak for nearly two hundred years, is undoubtedly the easiest plan to achieve.
Fourth, did no one in the State of Wei, which was full of talents at that time, understand this truth?
Of course not, Wu Qi and later Pang Juan understood it, and repeatedly addressed Wei Wenhou and King Hui of Wei, requesting to take advantage of the victory to pursue and completely annex the State of Qin, but they were all rejected.
As a result, the State of Wei missed the best opportunity for the transformation of the geopolitical pattern. Under the guidance of the erroneous strategic thinking of the east hammer and the west hammer and the hammer running around, they made enemies on all sides and constantly depleted their national strength. In the end, the increasingly powerful State of Qi seized the opportunity and was defeated in the Battle of Guiling and the Battle of Maling. Since then, he has been reduced to the role of playing soy sauce. And Wei Wuzu, who had made great achievements in battle, was also lost in history.
Conclusion: For a large organization, strategic direction is the most important, if the strategic thinking is wrong, then the best tactical level can not save the end of failure. Just like the historical State of Wei, the victories in sixty-four battles could not save a strategic defeat!