Zhao Wuling Wang Hufu riding archery is an important knowledge point in the history of the pre-Qin Dynasty, which was mentioned as early as junior high school history.
According to the textbook, the so-called Hufu riding and shooting was a militarized reform made by King Wuling of Zhao when he fought against the Hu people in the north, feeling the superiority of the Hu people's cavalry, and aiming at the fact that the Central Plains army was wide-robed and sleeved, which was not conducive to combat.
He learned the hu people's short coats and narrow sleeves, learned to ride and shoot, and used this to build a powerful cavalry force. Because in that era, it was still dominated by vehicles and infantry. Therefore, the establishment of the cavalry unit of the State of Zhao is no less significant than that of the Wei Wu pawn of the State of Wei.
"In the first month of the nineteenth year, the Great Dynasty Letter Palace, summoned Fei Yi and discussed the world, and after five days, he ordered Yi Hu to obey, change the military system, and learn to ride and shoot"
With a powerful army, in the Warring States era of relying on fists to speak, the Zhao state was naturally like a fish in the water, could continue to expand, and the national strength gradually became stronger.
In short, the Zhao Wuling King Hufu riding and shooting was the fundamental reason why the Zhao State was able to dominate Shandong in the late Warring States period and compete with the Qin State.
What the book says is naturally correct, but after all, it is junior high school history, which is not comprehensive enough. Or rather, not deep enough.
In fact, the Reform of Hufu Riding and Shooting in the State of Zhao is essentially the same as the Shang Martingale Transformation Method of the Qin State. It is not just a simple militarization of military clothing, or the change of chariots to cavalry, as the textbooks say. Rather, it is an all-round change of method with the opportunity of "Hufu Riding and Shooting", which covers many aspects of military, political and economic aspects.
First of all, militarily everyone is more familiar with it, and among the three kingdoms along the northern border, the development of the Zhao state is the most fruitful. The State of Zhao not only defeated the nomads, but also used local materials and recruited local nomads as soldiers as the vanguard of the State of Zhao. Zhao Guo's Feng Lu was 2 to 3 times higher than that of the Central Plains Army, and many young people from ethnic minorities such as Lou Fu and Lin Hu joined the Zhao Army. These people were all natural knights, so Zhao Guo's military strength was once the best in the world, even if the Qin army saw it, it would be willing to bow to the wind. The Qin army mostly won in formation, while the Zhao army was known for its surprise horseback.
By changing clothes and learning to ride and shoot, Zhao Guo established a cavalry that was ahead of the war era at that time. Although it is said that due to the lack of stirrups, horseshoes and other corresponding harnesses, the cavalry at this time was only a light cavalry mainly based on long-range riding and shooting harassment. It is impossible to rely on the advantages of large-scale charge as later generations, and become the nightmare of infantry.
However, there were a large number of Hu people in the Zhao cavalry, who grew up on horseback and were skilled in riding and archery. In addition, the battle at that time was still stuck in the era of chariot infantry, the flexibility of cavalry and the long-range strike of bows and arrows. If the side is combined with a certain number of infantry fighting vehicles and so on with a frontal containment. That's almost invincible.
At least at that time, Zhao Guo's tactics were insoluble.
At that time, King Wuling of Zhao relied on this tactic to traverse the north and open up thousands of miles of land, and even the Zhongshan Kingdom, which had not been able to destroy the State of Wei, was also killed. The expansion of the territory is undoubtedly the living space of the expanded Zhao State. In particular, after taking down the Daidi, the Zhao state had a good breed of horse land, which allowed its cavalry to maintain its advantage among the nations for a long time.
Of course, these reforms, such as weapons and equipment, tactical methods, and even new branches of the army, cannot be regarded as the foundation of an army's strength. During the Warring States period, the strength of the army lay in the system.
During the Warring States period, most countries had one rule in the change of law, that is, to abolish the "Shiqing Shilu", that is, the hereditary inheritance of the nobility, matching military merit and title. First, to break the monopoly of the aristocracy and strengthen the monarch's control over the country, and second, to give the low-level soldiers a way to rise and enhance their enthusiasm for fighting.
This point is one of the cores of the original Wei state Li Wu (kuī) variation. The later Shang martingale transformation method was more thorough, especially in the awarding of military merit titles, they were calculated according to the head of the person, the more enemies were killed on the battlefield, the higher the military merit title, the better the treatment obtained, and the military merit knighthood ensured the continuous flow of military talents in the Qin State.
This is the foundation of the strength of the Qin army, driven by the interests of military merit, making them extremely eager to kill, such an army is absolutely terrible.
There is a difference between Hufu riding and shooting, the nobles of the Zhao Kingdom are very powerful, and the King of Zhao Wuling is originally an aristocratic class, and he cannot deny himself like Shang Martin.
Therefore, although Zhao Guo had a military merit reward system as early as the time of Zhao Jianzi:
"Those who defeat the enemy, the upper doctor is subject to the county, the lower doctor is subject to the county, the Shitian is 100,000, the shu people, the industry, the merchants, the people, the subordinates, the people are exempted."
But it was clear that this was more of a nobility of the scholar class, and did not match the title of shangmartin. It wasn't King Zhao Wuling, he didn't want to learn Shang martingale, he couldn't learn it. But he rode and shot through the beard and found another way.
Although King Wuling of Zhao failed to abolish the privileges of the nobility, he gave the people at the bottom a way to rise, that is, to become cavalry. This new army of the State of Zhao was a privileged military class of the State of Zhao. Ten times the status of the average soldier. And most of the officers were also selected from the cavalry. This made the People of Zhao want their children to be cavalrymen, and all the soldiers also wanted to be cavalry, and their enthusiasm was quite high.
In addition, due to the needs of cavalry, it also greatly promoted the horse breeding industry of the Zhao State; at the same time, there were a large number of leather products in the cavalry utensils, and the demand for cattle and sheep was very large, which were unique to the northern Dai County.
As a result, an economic center based on animal husbandry was established, and the national strength was repeatedly enhanced.
The most worthwhile thing is that the Hu people and the Zhao state in the north are no longer hostile relations, and the hu cavalry helps the Zhao state to train and conquer, and they do not need land, only the spoils of war. As for the nobles of the Zhao Kingdom, they just got the land.
In this way, both sides are win-win and both sides are happy. Compared with other variations, King Wuling of Zhao's Hufu riding and shooting not only did not infringe on the interests of the nobles, but also increased their income, so their implementation was very little obstacle. This is also the reason why the Zhao State was able to rise in a short period of time in the late Warring States period. It is also the root of Zhao Guo's thriving national strength and being able to compete with the Qin State. It is also the deep-seated significance of the reform of Zhao Wuling Wang Hufu riding and shooting.
So why did you lose to the Qin State?
This is actually not difficult, that is, a gap in national strength. After the State of Qin destroyed Bashu and violently pounded the State of Chu. Not only does it have large grain producing areas such as Guanzhong and Chengdu Plain, but it also has no worries. Whether it is population, resources or geographical advantages, it is more than zhao guo.
These can actually be roughly seen from the map.
Whether the Battle of Changping began or ended, it was actually caused by this reason.
The Battle of Changping stemmed from the shangdang dispute, and the shangdang dispute was actually because Zhao Guo was at a disadvantage in the struggle against the Qin state and always wanted to find an opportunity to change the situation. It just so happens that the Shangdang area ceded by Korea to the Qin state belongs to a strategic place between the two families, and whoever has it has the initiative. In view of its importance, Zhao Guo risked turning his face with Qin Guo and took this hot potato.
Eventually, a war between the two countries was triggered.
As for the defeat in the Battle of Changping, it was also because the Zhao State was somewhat unsustainable in its long-term attrition. Only then did Zhao Kuo, who advocated attacking, get on the horse and take the initiative to attack and seek the final battle. However, Zhao Guo did not win the war.
Didn't you say earlier that Zhao Guo's cavalry tactics were invincible? Why can't I beat it?
This is mainly a geographical problem, Changping this place, mountainous terrain, not suitable for cavalry mobility. So throughout the war, the cavalry didn't do much. Without cavalry, Zhao Guo's field battles would be invincible, and there would be no way to talk about it.
Coupled with the gap between commanders, troops, and so on, the final failure is also reasonable. For example, when King Zhaoxiang of Qin heard that more than 400,000 Zhao's army was besieged, and the Qin army was already at the end of the strong crossbow and could not launch a siege and annihilation, he immediately raised all the troops of the whole country and reinforced the Shangdang battlefield. The people of the war zone were even more organized, each of whom was knighted, men for war, and women for transport. The Zhao monarch could not rescue the people, the Zhao army broke through unfavorably, and the strategic concept of the central blossom was difficult to realize, and the final battle situation developed in the direction of favoring the Qin state.
If you want to find the reason from the essence, that is, Hufu riding and shooting is not completely changed by the Shang Martingale, although King Wuling of Zhao used a lot of ingenuity, but the aristocratic monopoly of power, monopoly of resources, restriction of national strength, and even more than the cohesion of the dispersed country are the reasons for the failure of the Zhao state. After all, Zhao Guo is an agrarian country, agriculture is fundamental, and grain is fundamental. Although there are many benefits to riding and shooting, it is inevitable that some symptoms will not cure the root cause.
This is not to say that the Martingale is copied, each country has different national conditions, compared with the State of Qin, the State of Zhao has a deep aristocratic power, and there are many people on the ground, plus the land of the Three Jins and Four Wars, and it is also the hinterland of the Central Plains, which makes it extremely difficult to change. Zhao Guo can do this, in fact, it is already very difficult.
If the foundation of the Zhao state had been a little thicker, and the mobilization of the Zhao state could have been more thorough, the Battle of Changping might have been rewritten.