Among the Warring States, there is a country that has been neglected, it does not have the thunderous reputation of the Warring States Seven Heroes, but it is the eighth power of the Warring States period, it is called "Zhongshan Kingdom".
Zhongshan Kingdom is a country established by the BaiDi ethnic group, because there is a mountain in the city, so it is called Zhongshan Kingdom. Because the Baidi clan and the Warring States Seven Heroes are foreign races and brave and good at war, they have not been liked by other countries.
When the Jin state was not yet divided between the three kingdoms of Han, Zhao, and Wei, zhongshan state liked to harass many princely states, including the Jin state. After the Jin State was divided, the territory of the Zhongshan State was located between the Zhao State and the Yan State, so it has always been a thorn in the eye and a thorn in the flesh of the Zhao State and the Yan State.
The State of Zhao and the State of Yan vowed to swallow the Zhongshan Kingdom, and even a powerful country like the Zhao State at that time took 12 years to destroy the Zhongshan Kingdom. It is inevitable to wonder how powerful the country built by Bai Di at that time was.
After all, as powerful as the Zhao Kingdom, destroying the Zhongshan Kingdom had paid an extremely heavy price.
First, it is a big problem in the heart, and it is also a small strong that cannot be killed
The first is the country of Zhongshan, which can be called a miracle in the history of the Warring States.
The people of Zhongshan Are of nomadic origin in the north and have always been known for never giving up. The Zhongshan Kingdom itself has also gone from having nothing to the peak of its national strength, during which it has been repeatedly defeated and defeated, and it is really a small power that cannot be killed.
Before the three families were divided into Jin, the Jin state was once a big country, and the Zhongshan state was only in a corner, and the latter wanted to develop itself, and could only plunder through war. However, the strength of the Zhongshan State was far inferior to that of the Jin State, so it had been suppressed to death.
During this period, the Zhongshan Kingdom was almost destroyed many times, resulting in the history books that the record of the Zhongshan Kingdom for more than twenty years was blank.
After the three families were divided into Jin, each of the seven kingdoms defended each other, forming a situation of seven heroes in the Warring States. The Zhongshan Kingdom was given a period of rest and recuperation, and it took advantage of this time to quickly implement the revival.
At that time, Zhongshan Wugong began to learn the various systems of other princely states, especially the political and military systems, saying that it was good to be the eastern shi, but it was true that the etiquette and manners of the "western shi" were learned in a similar way. To this end, the entire Zhongshan Kingdom once thought of "using Yi to control Yi" and "use force to fight", first becoming a princely state, and then surpassing other princely states.
At the beginning of the Warring States, it was the State of Wei who first took the time to attack the State of Zhongshan, and sent Wu Qi, who was from a military family, and the famous general Le Yang, to retreat the State of Zhongshan all the way to the old nest of the Taihang Mountains.
Although the kingdom was destroyed, Henggong, the lord of zhongshanguo, was not dead-hearted, and with the remnants of his troops, he began to plan to rebuild Zhongshanguo. Twenty years later, the tall buildings were raised on the flat ground again.
This time, the Zhongshan Kingdom was fixed in Lingshou, located in the north of the Zhao Kingdom at that time, and the entire Zhongshan Kingdom directly divided the Zhao Kingdom into two parts.
At this time, Zhao Guoyan could not be angry, and one country was crucified in its own territory, and no king could eat or sleep. Zhongshan Guo is simply a sleeping tiger for Zhao Guo.
Second, Xiao Qiang will no longer fight and die
In 377 BC, the State of Zhao sent troops to attack the State of Zhongshan, but returned without success. Another year, Zhao Guo's desire to destroy the Zhongshan Kingdom did not die, and it came back again, and this time it was still defeated.
After that, the State of Zhao was frequently harassed by the State of Qin and the State of Qi, and its own national strength declined, and between internal and external troubles, it could not take care of the State of Zhongshan.
This time, the Zhongshan State took advantage of the respite of the Zhao State to begin to expand its territory and build the Great Wall to defend against foreign enemies. The geographical location of Zhongshan Itself is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and at this time, with the addition of a Great Wall, Zhao Guo wants to capture Zhongshan, which is even more difficult.
Fortunately, after a hundred years of low Zhao Guo, he finally ushered in a Ming Jun: King Wuling of Zhao.
King Wuling of Zhao knew very well that if he was exhausted, he would not be able to end well after all. Only when the country and the government are stable and the people need to rest and recuperate can the country become strong again.
So King Wuling of Zhao began to carry out reforms, of which military reforms were the most famous, and hufu riding and shooting was from his hand. Under his leadership, the Zhao state became stronger and stronger, and it could not be said in the same day.
This time, the time had finally come to destroy the Zhongshan Kingdom.
After the Zhao army passed the reform of Hufu riding and shooting, it was no longer the same. Zhao Guo sent troops straight into the hinterland of Zhongshan Guo, and Zhongshan's army was gradually defeated and retreated, and had no choice but to ask Zhao Guo for peace.
At this time, King Wuling of Zhao knew that the other six kingdoms would never let him really swallow the Zhongshan Kingdom, and if he really occupied Zhongshan, he was afraid that Korea and the Yan Kingdom would be killed. So King Wuling of Zhao stopped, swallowed several cities in zhongshan, and returned to the old nest with his soldiers and horses.
Since then, King Wuling of Zhao, a clever ghost, has repeated his tricks every few years and hit the capital of zhongshan kingdom. Every time he didn't beat people to death, he was beaten half-maimed, and he abducted a few cities and pools of people's homes, and then he let them go back, and then King Wuling of Zhao also went home with his army happy.
Zhongshan Guo also knew that if it was eaten away little by little like this, it would die sooner or later, but for the strength of Zhao Guo, Zhongshan Guo knew that it was powerless to return to heaven, and could only linger and wait for the day when the big limit came.
This day did come very quickly, and King Wuling of Zhao once again hit the Zhongshan Kingdom, at this time the King of Zhongshan had nothing to offer, and could only embark on the road of extinction.
The Zhongshan Kingdom, which has been founded for more than three hundred years, has since perished and has never risen again.
The State of Zhao, which annexed the State of Zhongshan, also used this to continuously strengthen its national strength, and even eventually reached the point where it could compete with the State of Qin.
Third, encroach on the territory and fight the hearts of the soldiers
One of the fascinating things about history books is that you can see completely different stories from different angles.
Everyone only knew that Zhao Guo had encroached on the Zhongshan Kingdom step by step, but they did not know how much zhao guo had paid in order to annex the Zhongshan kingdom.
From 305 BC, when King Wuling of Zhao first sent troops to attack the State of Zhongshan, until the fall of the State of Zhongshan in 296 BC, during which a full twelve years, the State of Zhao completely took the State of Zhongshan.
King Wuling of Zhao's first attack on the Zhongshan Kingdom was unsuccessful. At that time, he had not yet carried out the reform of Hufu riding and shooting, and the Zhao army did not look unstoppable after half a minute. After his reform, he immediately set his sights on ZhongshanGuo.
According to historical records, King Wuling of Zhao sent an army of 200,000 this time, and with the strength of the Zhao state at that time, it can be said that it is the strength of the whole country.
At that time, King Wuling of Zhao did not choose to immediately annex the Zhongshan Kingdom, not only because he was jealous of Korea and the Yan Kingdom, but also because of a very important point, that is, the Zhongshan Kingdom itself.
The Zhongshan Kingdom itself has a history of more than three hundred years of founding, and it is also ruled by foreign nationalities, and its national cohesion is far from being comparable to that of princely states such as the Zhao State. If you let the Zhongshan Kingdom perish at once, you can only get the land of the Zhongshan Kingdom, and you cannot win the hearts and minds of the Zhongshan Kingdom.
You must know that the army of the Zhongshan Kingdom can fight against the armies of such a powerful country as the Zhao State and the Yan State, and its strength cannot be underestimated. The people of the alien race are brave and good at war, and if they can be used for their own use, they are no more useful than killing them directly.
And Zhongshan country this country everyone knows, from the beginning of the projectile small country gradually became stronger, the source of wealth is still in the deep mountains and old forests, several times on the verge of extinction and strong again, its powerful belief is really shocking.
Murong Fu might not have been so strong.
Therefore, King Wuling of Zhao calmed down and spent a lot of military power every few years to shock the Zhongshan Kingdom, smoothing out the Zhongshan Kingdom's sharpness little by little, so that it could gradually be used for its own use.
This lengthened the timeline of twelve years, and also gave king Zhao Wuling a gap in digesting the Zhongshan Kingdom. Let the Zhongshan Kingdom not suddenly rise up and rebel against the Zhao Kingdom.
Since ancient times, attacking anything is not as good as attacking the heart, and King Zhao Wuling's move cannot be said to be a king with a big pattern.
Text/Lamb
Resources:
1. "Research on the Rise and Destruction of the Pre-Qin Dynasty" and Related Issues, Yang Liu
2. "Supplementary Theory on the Relationship between Yan, Zhongshan and the Northern Cultural Circle", Chen Guangxin