【Source】Zizhi Tongjian Zhou Jiwu
[Original] King Qin heard that he was already a general of Zhao, and Nai Yin made Wu An Jun a general and Wang Gong a general, and ordered the army: "Those who dare to leak Wu An Jun will be beheaded!" "Zhao Guo to the army, Xi more restrained, changed the military officials, and sent troops to attack the Qin division. Wu Anjun feigned defeat and left, and Zhang Erqi's army robbed him. Zhao Kuo took advantage of the victory to chase after Qin Wall, but Bijian refused to enter; After the 25,000 soldiers killed the Zhao army, another 5,000 rode to the Zhao wall. Zhao Jun divided into two, and the grain was extinct. Wu Anjun sent light troops to attack it, but Zhao Zhan was unfavorable, because he held on to the wall to wait for rescue. When the King of Qin heard that Zhao was desperate, he was as good as Hanoi Fa Min, who was more than fifteen years old, and covered Zhao's rescue troops and grain. In September, Zhao Jun ate for forty-six days, and all of them killed each other. Rush to attack the base, want to come out for four teams, four, five again, can not come out. Zhao Kuo fought with his own sharp pawn, and the Qin people shot him. Zhao Shi was defeated, and all 400,000 people fell. Wu An Jun said: "Qin has been plucked into the party, and the people of the upper party are not happy to return to Zhao for Qin." Zhao Pao repeatedly, if he did not kill everything, he was afraid of chaos. "He was blackmailed and killed, leaving two hundred and forty of his lesser to Zhao, and beheading four hundred and fifty thousand before and after; Zhao Ren was shocked.
When the King of Qin received the news that Zhao Kuo had already been a general, he secretly sent Wu'an Jun Bai Qi as a general, and Wang Gong was changed to a deputy general, and issued an order to the army: "Whoever dares to leak the news that Bai Qi is a general, shoot and kill!" "Zhao Kuo had just arrived at the Zhao State barracks, and not only overturned the original regulations, but also changed officers and ordered troops to attack the Qin army. Bai Qi pretended to be defeated and retreated, while pre-arranging two surprise troops to prepare for an interception. Zhao Kuo took advantage of the victory to pursue and reached the Qin army stronghold, but the Qin army held on and could not conquer. At this time, a special combat force of 25,000 men of the Qin army had already cut off the rear road of the Zhao army, and another cavalry force of 5,000 people blocked the passage of the Zhao army back to the camp, and the Zhao army was divided in two, and the grain route was cut off. Wu'an Jun Baiqi ordered the elite light generals to attack, but the Zhao army was defeated in the battle, so they had to build a stronghold and wait for rescue. When the King of Qin heard that the Zhao army's grain transportation channel had been cut off, he personally went to Hanoi to recruit all the people over the age of fifteen to Changping to block the Zhao state's rescue of troops and grain transportation. In September, the Zhao army had been deprived of food for forty-six days, and even the soldiers secretly killed and devoured each other. Zhao Kuo was in a hurry, so he ordered an attack on the Qin army stronghold, preparing to send four echelons to attack in turn, but still could not break through the encirclement on the fifth time. Zhao Kuo personally led elite soldiers to fight hand-to-hand and was shot dead by Qin soldiers, and the entire Zhao army collapsed, and all 400,000 soldiers surrendered. Bai Qi said: "At the beginning, the Qin army had conquered the Shangdang, but the people of the Shangdang did not want to return to the Qin state, and turned to the Zhao state. The soldiers of the Zhao Kingdom are capricious, and if they are not all killed, I am afraid that there will be future troubles. Subsequently, he used treachery to bury all of Zhao Guo's soldiers alive, and only released 240 young soldiers to return to China to report the message, killing a total of 450,000 people before and after, and Zhao Guo was shocked.
【Interpretation】In 260 BC, Zhao Kuo appeared with the ardent expectations of King Zhao and his own hesitation and ambition. When Qin Guo heard the news of Zhao Guo's change of generals, he also secretly changed generals, quietly letting the God of War replace him in vain. In order to establish his prestige as soon as possible, the young Zhao Kuo replaced his former Lianpo subordinates and promoted a group of young strong factions, one by one, which is the old rule of our Chinese. However, the fierce Zhao Kuo did not immediately attack and kept military affairs in order, and the Qin army found that Zhao Kuo was not a young and vigorous person, so he decided to throw a little bait, took the lead in attacking, and was defeated by Zhao Kuo. This news made the whole country of Zhao jubilant, and the overjoyed King of Zhao rewarded Zhao Kuo and ordered Zhao Kuo to attack on all lines and fight a quick victory. Since the leader spoke, Zhao Kuo also felt that there was nothing wrong with striking while the iron was hot, and then ordered all the elite to cross the solid Dan River defense line and engage in a fierce battle with the Qin army on the west bank of the Dan River, and the Zhao army once again won a big victory.
Zhao Kuo continued to rush forward, chasing and killing the Qin army, all the way to the base camp of the Qin army, and quickly launched an attack, fighting between the camps, at this time the Zhao army still had the upper hand, and the killing god Baiqi also began to close the net. He sent two surprise troops, one of 25,000 men, around the Baili Shi Great Wall, raided the Zhao army, captured Changping Pass, which should have been extremely strong, but only a few troops were stationed at this time, and then launched an attack on the Guguan on the defense line of the Baili Shi Great Wall, blocking the most important pass between the Zhao army and Handan; Another cavalry of 5,000 men accurately penetrated between the front and rear armies of the Zhao army, splitting the main force of the Zhao army and the logistics supply force in two, cutting off the grain route of the main force of the Zhao army. If Zhao Kuo can't fight a quick victory, it means defeat, because he is alone and deep. After being besieged, Zhao Kuo hurriedly led his army to break through the siege and launched a fierce attack, Bai Qi gritted his teeth and insisted, the Qin army was defeated but not broken, and Zhao Kuo was difficult to break through.
Zhao Kuo is not incompetent, after all, he is young, young people do not lack wisdom, but lack resilience and confidence. There was no hope of breaking through many times, and the exhausted Zhao Kuo made the only mistake of the Battle of Changping, that is, holding on to help. What are you waiting for? Who will save you? If Zhao Kuo could understand his father's philosophy of "the brave win when the narrow road meets", perhaps the outcome of this war would be very different. Bai Qi is much more experienced than Zhao Kuo, while sending light soldiers to harass you and not let you rest; At the same time, people were sent back to China to reinforce and replenish the living forces. When the King of Qin heard the news, he immediately rushed to Hebei, ordered all men over the age of fifteen in Hanoi, Hedong, to be promoted to the first rank of military knight, and immediately rushed to the front line to attack the state of Zhao. At that time, the mobilization ability of the Qin State for war was super-class, and the history books did not record how many additional troops were added, but these people became the last straw that crushed the Zhao army.
Changping was surrounded by a large siege, and the encirclement was more than forty days. For more than forty days, Zhao Kuo showed the quality of an excellent commander, especially in the face of long-term death threats, which is a very good commander's ability. Moreover, Zhao Kuo was able to keep Bai Qi on the opposite side highly tense when he was surrounded, which was also very remarkable. On the forty-sixth day of being surrounded, Zhao Kuo decided to finally break through the siege, after all, people have already eaten people, and if they don't fight to the death, not only will it be difficult to escape death, but also have endless troubles. During the breakthrough, Zhao Kuo once again showed his excellent military qualities, divided the troops into four echelons, and took turns to rush and kill, and the cycle went on and on, but unfortunately he was shot and killed during the breakthrough. After his death, all the Zhao troops under his command surrendered, and the Battle of Changping, in which millions of people participated, came to an end.
The Battle of Changping was a war that decided the fate of the six countries, and it was a pinnacle battle that could never be avoided and leapfrogged in the entire world's military history. Swing the way of fighting horses and horses, fight the war to destroy the country in a clear way, and give full play to the bloody nature of military warfare; The victory result of World War I accelerated the pace of China's unification, the last obstacle to Qin's unification of China was removed, the last defense line of the six eastern countries was scuttled, the last power in the north was crippled, and the state of Zhao never slowed down; The peak duel of well-known generals, such as Bai Qi, a generation of war gods, such as Zhao Kuo after a famous general. In the end, it ended in the defeat of the isolated Zhao State, more than 400,000 Zhao troops were killed, and the commander Zhao Kuo, who had been reduced to a joke, was also killed in battle. At the same time, the Battle of Changping is also an enduring historical topic, concentrating almost all military and political elements, with blood and passion; There is conspiracy, there is strategy; There are decisive and tactical; There is cause and effect, there is retribution; There is excitement and suspense; There is anger, there is exclamation... The Qin army won and sat on the world, and the Zhao army was defeated and fell into hell; Bai won and ascended to the altar, and Zhao Guo was defeated and became a laughing stock.
The most magnificent war in human history has been misunderstood or deliberately embellished in many places. For example, is there anything wrong with King Cho Hyo-sung choosing to receive the Shangdang region in Korea, which directly triggered the Battle of Changpyeong? That's right! Qin Guo intends to unify the world, whether you provoke him or not, he will destroy you. We often say that we must be kind to people, we must make less trouble, and the minimum premise is that this person can avoid becoming an enemy, otherwise give up all the good cards to the enemy, and finally win or lose a game with the enemy, which is very stupid. Everything has a premise, we say that no matter what, you have to work hard, the premise is that there may be good results, if no matter how hard you try, the result is useless work, isn't your effort a blind toss?
For example, is it reasonable for Zhao Guo to discuss who is more suitable for Lianpo and Zhao Guo? Of course it should! In war, it is important that the temperament and tonality of the manager do not match the strategic purpose. The cavalry generals of the infantry faction and the defenders of the offensive faction will affect the effect. You have to understand what your strategic purpose is, and then send troops because of this, this is a master. At that time, Zhao Guo was determined to fight a war of attrition and a defensive war, and it was right to choose Lian, and if Zhao Guo had decided to fight a confrontational offensive war at that time, there would be no problem with taking Zhao Kuo to discuss and choose. Unfortunately, Zhao Guo's strategic thinking at that time was not clear, and it was typical to take one step at a time.
For example, does Zhao Kuo have real talent? There are people and things in history that are not worthy of the name, but most people's names are not obtained for no reason. When Zhao Kuo and his father discussed the art of war, his father couldn't talk about him, and this matter was taken as a joke by many people, saying that he was flashy. People with a high theoretical level do not mean strong operational ability; But people with a high theoretical level are often more likely to become people with strong operational ability. What's more, Zhao Kuo is not just moving his mouth, people are really talented, for example, when Zhao Fu attacked the State of Qi, a city was fought for several years, but it was not defeated, and he was captured, although he was only a staff officer, but it also shows that he can apply what he has learned! Judging from the process of the Battle of Changping, people are also remarkable. Some people will take Zhao Kuo's parents and Lin Xiangru's evaluation of Zhao Kuo, in fact, it depends on which angle to understand, most parents like to find fault with their excellent son, so as to keep him sober. And Lin Xiangru is based on the experience of human nature, young and inexperienced, easy to be impetuous, which is also fine, but it cannot negate Zhao Kuo's talent.
For example, is there anything wrong with Zhao Guo's tactical play in the Battle of Changping? There are no big problems, not many small problems. Zhao Kuo's overall planning ability, organizational ability, management ability, and leadership ability were all vividly played in the Battle of Changping. Especially in the decisive battle stage, the Zhao army was surrounded by the Qin army for 46 days, cut off the supply of food and grass, in a desperate situation, the army was not disturbed, and repeatedly launched organized breakout battles, until Zhao Kuo was shot by the Qin army, the Zhao army finally collapsed. Just like a young man who has just joined the work, directly managing a large company with 400,000 employees, and directing a big battle related to the national fortune, can you guarantee that half of Zhao Kuo is so good? First stabilize the situation, then change the guard and change people, and then wait for the opportunity to come out, take advantage of the victory and pursue, and implement the will of the country and the leadership with one blow. People really do it in one go. His biggest problem is that he is not flexible enough, and he lacks the will to fight to the end. As for why it will be cut off by Baiqi, it is ultimately determined by the situation on the battlefield, and the hole cards are revealed, in fact, there is no need to keep chips. As for why not divide the troops to attack? When the strength of the two sides is similar, it is easy to divide the troops and attack into a fueling tactic. In short, Zhao Kuo is still too young.
For example, why shouldn't Zhao Kuo switch to attack and defense in the end? What do we often call defense for? Security, what does the security diagram guarantee? Wish. Then there is no hope, is it still necessary to defend? At this time, there is only hope if you fight to the end. It is not that people should not bow their heads, but they must learn to bow their heads at the right time. What we usually call "unbearable, no need to endure" is actually a similar truth.
For example, apart from winning in Bai Qi, a military genius, where did the Qin Kingdom win? First, the repeated emphasis on national strength, to fight a war is to burn money, the less money there is, the easier it is to be weak-hearted, and the weaker the heart, the easier it is to mess up. Therefore, the counter-scheme of the Qin State can work. Second, winning in the military system of the Qin State, the ability to react quickly to the battlefield, the strength of support for war, and the ability to mobilize personnel are almost handy, and they cannot be achieved without precipitation. It's like suddenly arranging a doctor who has just joined the job to perform a major operation, and it is good if the hand does not tremble.
Sun Tzu's Art of War tells us that if a victorious soldier is called baht, if a defeated soldier is called baht, if he is called baht. Zhao Guo's death was caused by a series of reasons and mistakes, and it would be unfair for a person to carry all the black pots. The war itself is a battle of certain death, and the only thing that can be saved is the question of the severity of defeat. Even if King Zhao does not reuse Zhao Kuo, the defeat of the Zhao State is a high probability event, because the comprehensive strength of Qin and Zhao is very different. Since Qin Xiaogong moved the capital to Xianyang and promoted the Shang Martingale Reform Law, successively served as King Huiwen of Qin, King Wu of Qin, and King Zhaoxiang of Qin, who led the Battle of Changping, in the past half a century, there has been no faint monarch ruling and chaotic ministers interfering in government, the overall strength of the country has continued to develop and accumulate, and the Qin army has all fought to seize the cities of other countries and cut other people's land, also known as the "country of tigers and wolves", which has long been so strong that the six countries can only resist when they unite, but it is just a victory of "the strong and the strong". On the other hand, the State of Zhao, since the establishment of the three families in the Jin Dynasty, with the help of Zhao Wuling King Hufu riding and shooting, the country's military strength has reached the peak, coupled with Zhao Guo's also pay attention to the use of meritocracy, Fei Yi, Lou Wan, Lin Xiangru, Yu Qing, Zhao Sheng, Zhao Fu, Lian Po, Li Mu and other good generals have emerged, and quickly became the strength and responsibility of the six countries that compete with the State of Qin. However, the strength of military strength does not mean that the country is really strong, but the comprehensive strength of the country is strong, and the two are still far from the comprehensive strength.
Before letting Zhao Guo back the pot, King Zhao was the first person responsible for the fiasco. The main responsibility for any failure is first and foremost the responsibility of the leader. First, there is a gap between the monarchs and the courtiers. King Zhao did not trust the veteran Lian Po enough, believing that he was afraid of the Qin state, did not dare to fight, and lost his national prestige. The second is the rebellion of the Qin state. What the Qin State was really afraid of was a general like Lian Po who could not hold out, and if he wanted to fight a protracted war, the food and grass supply of the Qin State would definitely not be as convenient as that of the Zhao State. As for changing the general Zhao Kuo, firstly, he has a good father, as the saying goes, Yunhu's father has no dog son, and Zhao Wang Yixin; Second, he has no actual combat experience, and Qin Guo is easy to win. Third, Zhao Kuo sent troops. Why did they send troops? First, the king's life is inviolable, and with the mission of King Zhao to attack Thailand, it is impossible to stand out; Second, the Qin State secretly sent Bai Qi to prevent Zhao Guo from knowing, so as not to scare the newcomer Zhao Kuo with the famous name of the God of War. Therefore, the Battle of Changping is the result of the superposition of multiple events, the confrontation of the national strength of Qin and Zhao, not a single event can be influenced by one person, this is a war that is predetermined to the outcome.
We must try to get rid of the subjective emotions of victory and defeat to think, the reason why Zhao Kuo bears the infamy of the ages, in fact, the main reason is that he is a loser, and the first battle lost all of Zhao Guo's family base. This is the biggest misunderstanding of human nature, and it likes to find evidence for losers. Zhao Kuo became the worst back-pot man in history, because of the defeat in the Battle of Changping, he was blackened to an incomparable, and even specially invented the idiom "on paper" to ridicule him, which fully exposed the ugliness of human nature and the superficiality of many people's logic. Many people do not know the ins and outs, and they have not got out of the logical misunderstanding, and only look at history as a story, only look at the surface, and only look at the result. Phenomenology and consequentialism are actually taboos for us to understand life. When we watch TV, we often see that what is the most common treatment of prisoners who are dragged to the entrance of the vegetable market and beheaded? Vegetable leaves thrown, rotten eggs thrown ... You can't say that none of these prisoners should be treated that way, and you shouldn't think that all prisoners should be treated that way. How many of those who are "excited by the crowd" have their own judgment? Most of them are because others do it, so I do it; There are also many people who think I should do this because others say so, especially the official ones.
The more superficial the person, the easier it is to be mobilized by others, easy to be locked in by a fixed emotion, lose spirituality, lose reason, worship the successful can become unreasonable, criticize the loser can also become unreasonable. This is a kind of self-inflicted cleverness, because worship succeeds, the probability of being right is greater, and criticism fails, the probability of being wrong is smaller. Through the ridicule of Zhao Kuo's "paper talk", it also exposes that human nature is not pragmatic. It is easy to praise and scold people to the exaggerated side. How many elements of our usual praise of leaders and criticism of subordinates in our work are objective and fair? History itself is for people to think, but we have to find the right direction, such as the battle of Changping, why did the Qin State win? Why did Zhao Guo lose? This is all good direction. For Zhao Kuo, instead of blaming his failures, why don't we learn to reflect more on his experiences from his failures? For example, how to cultivate the mind and cultivate sex when you become famous? For example, how to do things in difficult conditions? For example, how to persevere in the face of desperate situations?
We can dislike Zhao Kuo and even resent his failure, but we cannot fail to respect a fighter who fought for the last drop of blood and the last ounce of strength for history and the country. Spirit, sometimes, is far more important than grades! The greatest wealth and thinking left us by the Battle of Changping is actually the sentence that Zhao Fu said about his son: "Soldiers, death, and easy words." Tell us to always be in awe of life, not to think too simply about people or things, and not to become self-righteous in habitual evaluations. The environment and conditions of everything are rapidly changing, and only by truly respecting things themselves and thoroughly understanding the fundamental logic of things will they not be unable to come out of some inherent emotions or frameworks, and will they not become crowded.
Focus on the real work life, we think about problems, make decisions, must be based on comprehensive information comparison and collective research, and power decision-making has its uniqueness, there is no solid evidence, no one can discuss, human nature is complex and changeable, we must form our own unique decision-making model in long-term struggle and practice. The first is the initiative: to people but not to people. The starting point and first principle of decision-making is to firmly grasp the initiative in one's own hands. In Go, there is a saying "rather lose a few sons than lose first", which talks about this basic principle. The initiative is the lifeline of power, and when making decisions, once the interests, emotions and other elements are put first, rather than the initiative, it is basically to give up the political life. The second is the basic plate: first undefeated and then winning. Where there is life, there is hope. As long as you keep your own basic plate, you may turn defeat into victory at any time, and there is still a chance of a comeback, so major decisions should be made "before thinking about progress, thinking about retreating first", putting their own safety first, and must not gamble desperately. As long as you "first be invincible, wait for the enemy to be victorious", after you are safe, you will have the opportunity to find gaps in the enemy. The third is balance: the balance of overall interests. After realizing the freedom of power and the security of power, it is natural to pursue the interests of power. What Quan Mo pursues is not the maximization of interests, but the balance of overall interests, and it is necessary to balance the relationship between all aspects, so that all participants can arrange their seats and share the fruits. Only in this way can an organization develop for a long time, and the long-term development of an organization is the most fundamental interest of mature decision makers.
In short, the first step in the process of strategic decision-making is how to firmly grasp the initiative of the overall situation, which is the starting point of decision-making; After grasping the initiative, it is necessary to fully ensure the safety of the initiative, and the initiative without security will not last long; Then, the pursuit of a long-term equilibrium of the overall interest begins.