During the Warring States period, the Zhongshan Kingdom, ranked as the "Fifth Nation of a Thousand Multipliers", was established by the northern nomadic Bai Di Xianyu clan, and its tenacity was even worse than the "lying down and tasting the guts", under the guidance of the princes of the Central Plains, it was restored twice, and it was not easy for the Zhao State to deal with such a country.
Why did Zhao Guo have to destroy the Zhongshan Kingdom? Dongyi, Nanman, Xirong, and Beidi are ethnic minorities in the West from the perspective of the Central Plains, and Bai Di is a branch of The Northern Di, which was broken by the neighboring Jin state one by one in order to compete for living space and resources, leaving only the Bai Di Xianyu clan to migrate to the land of Yanzhao and survive.
Zhongshan Kingdom Bronze (Wrong Silver Copper Bilate Divine Beast)
Zhongshan kingdom black pottery duck shaped statue
The enmity between the Zhao Kingdom and the Zhongshan Kingdom
The three families of the Jin Dynasty are the signs of entering the Warring States, originally tied out of the same origin of the Han, Zhao, and Wei three families, but the small boat of friendship is also overturned, the first to rise the Wei State focused on the westward expansion, the Qin State pressed on the ground friction; the younger brother Han and Zhao two countries need to see the eyes of the eldest brother, do not dare to move lightly, they all want to use the Wei State to weaken each other, and the sense of existence of the Yan State in the northeast is really not strong.
The princes had no time to take care of him, and the Xianyu people quietly established the Zhongshan State in the Taihang Mountains, straddling the hinterland of the Zhao State, dividing the Zhao State into two, and the north and south could not be connected, plus after that, the Zhongshan State was once destroyed and became a vassal state of the State of Wei, like a dagger inserted into the State of Zhao, and the Zhongshan State, known as the "Eighth Hero of the Warring States", was not covered, and around 381 BC, taking advantage of the fact that the combined forces of Zhao and Chu defeated the State of Wei, it entered the fast lane of development.
During the reign of King Cuo of Zhongshan, Zhongshan's national strength entered its heyday, on the one hand, the Great Wall was built in Zhongshan territory, and the fence was tightened, on the other hand, more and more "showed his face" in the international community, joined the ranks of the "Five Kingdoms Xiang King", and defeated the Zhao State at Eun Yi, known in history as "diverting water around the Eun", which was regarded as a great shame by the Zhao State, so that the Zhongshan State became a problem in the heart, and the fundamental reason why the Zhao State wanted to get rid of it quickly.
Zhongshan's foreign policy was improper
In the forty years from 381 BC to the Battle of Qi Wei Maling, the "scale of action" between the Zhao state and the Zhongshan state was not large, just a small fight, not a Zhao state did not do it, it could not also, on the one hand, the Zhongshan state strictly observed neutrality and did not intervene in the affairs of the princes, and more importantly, it was related to the political pattern between the princes.
It was the "time of the State of Wei", and the State of Wei interfered too much in the internal affairs of the State of Zhao, which led to the collapse of the Three Jin Alliance, and the two countries of Zhao and Qi formed an alliance. If the State of Zhao attacked the State of Zhongshan, it was bound to cause the State of Wei to send troops, the State of Zhao was not "fat beaten" by Wei Wupao, in the Battle of Shuishui and the Battle of Handan, the State of Zhao was defeated, and the combat effectiveness of the State of Zhongshan was also quite strong.
In addition, before the alliance between Qi and Zhao, the State of Qi vigorously supported the restored State of Zhongshan, and sent a large number of craftsmen to build the new capital of the State of Zhongshan, Lingshou, in order to achieve the purpose of containing the State of Zhao, taking a step back and saying that even if it was allied, the State of Qi did not want to see an overly powerful neighbor, and the State of Zhao could only wait for the opportunity in patience.
The turning point was the Battle of Maling in 341 BC, which ended the hegemony of the State of Wei, which was one of the first; the second was that the state of Zhongshan joined the ranks of the "Five Kingdoms Xiang King", and then the State of Zhongshan disregarded the food and took advantage of the "Rebellion of the Sons" to invade and occupy a large amount of land in the State of Yan, offending the State of Qi, not to mention, and also making the State of Zhongshan fall into a situation of isolation and helplessness.
Battle of Maling
The development of Zhongshan is lagging behind
Taking advantage of the gap between the princes' conquests to complete the joy of the restoration, for a time the Zhongshan people lost their sense of distress, sound and color dogs and horses, day and night pleasure, resulting in being destroyed by the State of Wei, in order to better control this "enclave", Wei Wenhou sent Li Wu to govern, hoping to transplant the experience of changing the law to the State of Zhongshan.
Li Wu's other identity was a student of Confucius Gaozuzixia, so Confucianism began to land in zhongshanguo, and as for whether it could take root, it depended on whether Zhongshanguo would accept it, and Li Bao, who was sent by King Wuling of Zhao to investigate Zhongshanguo, gave the answer.
According to the "Han Feizi" record, after decades of development, Confucianism has not only landed but also taken root, and the cases of the king of Zhongshan condescending to pay homage to corporal Xian abound, which is obviously out of date, the Warring States is an era of drastic changes, and the princely states are seeking to change the law and enhance their strength in order to expand outward.
However, the Monarch of Zhongshan was advocating Confucianism and respecting Confucianism, reflecting that it seems that the Wei State's experience in reforming the law was not successfully transplanted, and in Zhongshan, the slave owners still occupied a dominant position, resulting in "the army is weaker than the enemy, the country is poor inside", agricultural production is passive, and the soldiers are sluggish in combat. In addition, "Han Feizi" also mentions the political corruption and sharp social contradictions in the late Zhongshan Kingdom, and Sima Yan of Xiangbang did not hesitate to eliminate political enemies by any means to consolidate his position.
Zhao Guo's "Combined Fist"
Based on the above situation, Zhao Guo put the elimination of Zhongshan Guo on the agenda. In addition to sending Li Hao to investigate and fully understand all aspects of Zhongshan society, King Wuling of Zhao also went to Jiumen, a major border town between Zhao and Zhongshan, to inspect defense and check the combat readiness of the army.
Second, just as the State of Zhao was fiercely fighting horses, the king of Qin Wu, who was in the limelight, died because he lost his hand and was smashed to his tibia, and King Wuling of Zhao took the opportunity to support Ying Ji to succeed to the throne, which was for the king of Qin Zhaoxiang, and from then on Qin zhao formed an alliance. The State of Zhao did not interfere with the eastward advance of the State of Qin, and remained neutral against qin in attacking Han and Wei; in return, the State of Qin supported the State of Zhao in sending troops to Zhongshan;
Third, King Wuling of Zhao practiced Hufu riding and shooting. No matter how unbearable, the Zhongshan people of Shangwu still maintained strong combat effectiveness, and in 307 BC, they defeated the Zhao army at the house, and the King of Zhao Wuling made a mistake in the "Ruyi Calculation". In this way, King Wuling of Zhao disregarded the heavy resistance at home and resolutely promoted the "Hufu Riding and Shooting" in this year.
Two years later, the strength of the Zhao army increased greatly, and King Wuling of Zhao attacked the State of Zhongshan in three ways: King Wuling of Zhao attacked frontally as the commander; one way was dominated by cavalry and chariots, and the other road was a coalition of Hu and Zhao cavalry to attack the hinterland of Zhongshan. Zhongshan Guo was defeated by the Zhao state and had to cede four cities, more than one-third of the land in exchange for peace.
But peace was only temporary, after which the Zhao state gradually eroded, at the same time, another old enemy of the Zhongshan state, the Yan state, also "beat the falling water dog", a snow shame, attacked from the east, and recaptured the former homeland. So in 296 BC, the State of Zhao attacked the capital of the Zhongshan Kingdom, Lingshou, the concubine of the King of Zhongshan fled the State of Qi, the State of Zhongshan perished, and in accordance with the custom of "reviving and destroying the country, following the extinction of the ancestors", the State of Zhao took Shang and moved it to Fushi.
In summary, under the guidance of the princes, it is undoubted that Bai Di Xianyu is worthy of respect, and the regional culture created by the steppe nomadic peoples has added icing on the cake to the Chinese civilization. However, unable to stand up to the development law of "born of sorrow and died of happiness", the monarchs of later generations were content with the status quo and ignored the trend of development, and implemented anachronistic policies, which eventually led to their demise.