Zhao Wuling King stills
We have learned the story of Zhao Wuling King Khufu riding and shooting, but his ending may not be known by many people.
This great reformer, the king who led the country of Zhao to prosperity and strength, actually starved to death in his own land.
"Hufu riding and shooting", the national strength is strong
According to the records of the Zhao family in the "Records of History", he is the 11th grandson of the "orphan of the Zhao family", surnamed Huan, Zhao, and given name Yong.
When he ascended the throne as a teenager, he showed rare modesty and calmness. At the beginning of his administration, he first consulted with his father's old minister Fei Yi and added an official to Fei Yi to the knighthood;
He does not aspire to vanity. In the Warring States period, the feudal order collapsed and the princes abused their names. "Wang" was originally the exclusive domain of King Zhou, but King Zhou was weak and completely unable to control the situation, and the princes and kings called each other kings. And King Zhao Wuling maintained a high degree of sobriety, he said how dare he be that name without strength? He asked the people of Zhao to call themselves Jun. King Wuling of Zhao was the title given to him by later generations.
What he wants is not a false name, but Zhao Guo is really strong.
Therefore, he judged the time and sized up the situation and put forward the reform idea of "riding and shooting" - that is, to introduce advanced military technology from the north to build cavalry.
Chariots from the Sengoku period
At that time, the Chinese countries used the traditional method of horse-drawn carriage combat, that is, car battle, four horses and one cart for one ride. The way to measure the power of a country is to look at how many chariots there are in the country, such as Mencius, "The country of ten thousand rides, the one who kills its king, will be a thousand horses; The kingdom of a thousand multiplications, whoever kills its king, will be a hundred multiplied house." The country of ten thousand multiplications, the country of a thousand multiplications, are all symbols of national strength.
Northern nomads used horses to fight, they were horseback archery.
Riding Shooting Figure
Compared with the two, of course, it is a direct riding shoot, which is more maneuverable and more efficient.
What King Zhao Wuling wanted to introduce was the northern riding and shooting technique. The introduction of riding and shooting must be accompanied by the introduction of clothing that matches the riding shooting. At that time, the clothing of the Huaxia people was the upper shirt 下裳 (chǎng), the top was relatively wide, and the lower garment was the skirt.
Hanfu and Hufu
Why wear a skirt? Because the pants inside are open and the crotch is not closed, such pants cannot ride a horse, and you must wear closed pants. However, the set of crotch pants and riding and shooting belong to the customs of barbarians in the distance, and Zhao Guoqunchen did not agree, and the resistance was extremely great.
How can you persuade the people of Zhao to accept Hufu riding and shooting?
King Zhao Wuling first convinced himself, and unified his thinking with the old minister Fei Yi, gaining the support of powerful people. Then he personally went out and persuaded his uncle, Gongzicheng, the most noble nobleman in the Zhao Kingdom, to let Gongzicheng take the lead in wearing a beard suit to set an example for the nobles.
So the order was issued. With the support of Fei Yi and the example of Gongzicheng, it is difficult for other nobles to oppose.
Under the leadership of King Wuling of Zhao, the state of Zhao built a strong cavalry, and soon got rid of the situation of passive beating, slightly in the mountains and in the west.
The red circle in the picture is Zhongshan Country
In the 21st year of King Wuling of Zhao, the army of the State of Zhao attacked the State of Zhongshan in a big way, taking Quyang, Danqiu, Huayang, Shiyi and other places. Zhongshan State sacrificed four cities, and Zhao Guo withdrew.
Two years later, Zhao attacked Zhongshan again. In the 26th year of King Wuling of Zhao, he attacked Zhongshan for the third time, and the territory of the state of Zhao extended from Yan and Dai in the north to Yunzhong and Jiuyuan in the west.
Suddenly abdicated and sent an envoy to the Qin state
At that time, King Zhao Wuling was in his early forties, just in the prime of life, in good health, and under his leadership, the national strength of Zhao was thriving.
However, King Wuling of Zhao suddenly announced his abdication and passed the throne of King Zhao to his younger son Zhao He, who was known as King Huiwen of Zhao.
So, why did he abdicate at this time? Abdication is not the same as retirement, and abdication is a key step in the development strategy of the Zhao state formulated by King Wuling of Zhao.
According to the arrangement of King Wuling of Zhao, after Zhao He took the throne, he became the new king of the state of Zhao. King Wuling of Zhao arranged for his most important old courtier, Fei Yi, to be the Xiangguo of the new king and assist the new king. With the loyalty of the doctor and the assistance of Fei Yi, Zhao's internal affairs can be worry-free, and the new king Zhao He can slowly learn how to govern the country.
What was the task that King Zhao Wuling had arranged for himself? Presided over the military and continued foreign expansion.
After his abdication, King Wuling of Zhao called himself the main father, which was the king's father. The main father Ling Fei Yi assisted the new king in ruling the country, and he led the Hufu soldiers to establish hegemony in the northwest.
This is the development strategy of the Zhao State formulated by King Zhao Wuling.
In this year, King Wuling of Zhao made another risky act that shocked the princes: he even pretended to be an envoy to the Qin State and personally met his neighbor King Qin Zhao.
According to Sima Qian's account, after King Qin Zhao received the envoy of the Zhao State, the more he thought about it, the more he felt that it was wrong. He felt that the envoy of the Zhao Kingdom, who was strong and had extraordinary appearance, really did not look like a courtier in his expression and manners. So who is he? Could it be...?
King Qin Zhao shouted and hurriedly sent someone to chase, but the magnificent messenger had already appeared and could no longer catch up.
Why did King Zhao Wuling send an envoy to the Qin Kingdom? Because the Qin Kingdom was also the target of his expansion, he wanted to personally observe the terrain, and also wanted to see what kind of enemy King Qin Zhao was.
A momentary affection leads to catastrophe
Heroes like King Zhao Wuling should also have rich feelings.
In his early years, he married a Korean woman and grew a son.
Eleven years later, King Zhao Wuling dreamed of a woman and sang: "Beauty is gorgeous and moving, her face is like a blooming flower, fate, just at the right time, no one knows me." ”
The next day, the Martial Spirit King drank happily and mentioned his dream many times, wanting to see the person in the dream.
When Wu Guang heard about it, he sent his daughter Meng Yao to the palace through the queen.
Meng Yao became the favored woman of King Zhao Wuling, and also gave birth to a son, Zhao He, the youngest son of King Zhao Wuling.
King Zhao Wuling's marriage to Meng Yao occurred before Hufu rode and shoot, which shows that his favor for Mengyao did not make him a comatose prince.
Meng Yao died nine years after marrying King Wuling of Zhao.
Perhaps it was King Wuling of Zhao's deep love for Meng Yao, and two years after Meng Yao's death, he passed the throne to Zhao He, the son born to Meng Yao.
Zhao He is only 7-8 years old and is a child. But it didn't matter, King Zhao Wuling gave him the politically experienced old minister Fei Yi, and made Fei Yi swear in person, "Never change the purpose, never change the heart, stick to one heart and be loyal to the death!" And let Fei Yi record the oath.
And his eldest son Zhao Zhang, born to a Korean woman, was given the title of Dai Di, known as Anyang Jun, and became a courtier of his half-brother Zhao He.
Zhao Zhang stills
Of course, Zhao Zhang's heart was not convinced, and Tian Buli, the assistant minister arranged by King Zhao Wuling for Zhao Zhang, was not a good stubble, in Fei Yi's words, this person was hypocritical and cunning, not a good son, nor a good courtier; And very greedy, lustful, once he gains the trust of the lord, he will be tyrannical to the outside world.
As soon as the combination of Zhao Zhang and Tian Buli was released, the Fei Yi faction felt a strong threat. Fei Yi gave a strict order to his men, "The king cannot see anyone without my verification. ”
Who can summon King Zhao? Only the father of the king, the main father of King Zhao Wuling. Although he had already surrendered the throne, King Wuling of Zhao, who still had heavy troops, was still the de facto master of the State of Zhao.
Since Fei Yi was entrusted by King Zhao Wuling and swore allegiance to the new king, then his loyalty and his wealth and life were tied to Zhao He instead of King Zhao Wuling.
So, what is King Zhao Wuling's attitude? His feelings did change subtly.
The new king, Zhao He, held a great pilgrimage meeting and accepted the worship of the courtiers. King Zhao Wuling observed from the side, and saw his eldest son Zhao Zhang reluctantly kneeling down to bow down to his younger brother, looking extremely reluctant to look aggrieved, and pity and cherishment were still born in his heart.
Therefore, he had an extremely wrong idea: he actually wanted to divide the state of Zhao into two and make Zhao Zhang the acting king to compete with Zhao He.
However, the plan to split the Zhao Kingdom had not yet been implemented, but both Zhao Zhang and Zhao He knew the mind of the main father. This is the worst-case scenario.
From the perspective of Zhao He and Fei Yi, the danger increases, and we must be vigilant, and even if possible, we must start first. But Fei Yi did not.
From Zhao Zhang's point of view, his father's pity increased his grievances, and Tian Buru's prodding gave him the courage to act.
When King Zhao Wuling and Zhao He toured the dunes together, they lived in two palaces.
Zhao Zhang really rebelled.
He pretended to be the order of King Wuling of Zhao and summoned Zhao He. Fei Yi really stepped forward as he had promised before, blocked Zhao He's front, and was killed by the rebels. The rest protected Zhao He, defeated the rebels, and killed Zhao Zhang and Tian Buli.
When this fratricidal tragedy occurred, King Zhao Wuling was in another palace nearby.
When Zhao Zhang was defeated, he lost his armor and was covered in blood, and ran to his father for help. King Zhao Wuling asked people to open the door and enlarge his son to come in.
Unexpectedly, the youngest son's army surrounded the palace.
In desperation, King Wuling of Zhao handed over his eldest son Zhao Zhang.
But Zhao He's army had no way to retreat, and they discussed: In order to chase Zhao Zhang, we actually surrounded the palace of the Lord Father, even if we withdraw our troops now, as long as the Lord Father lives, we will still be killed and exterminated.
So they continued to besiege King Zhao Wuling's palace and ordered the people in the palace to "be destroyed later".
So the people in the palace all ran out, leaving only one Zhao Wuling King, who couldn't get out or eat, so he had to take out the birds on the tree to fill his hunger.
In this way, after being besieged for more than three months, the great hero King Zhao Wuling was starved to death in the Dune Palace.
At the last moment of his life, what did King Zhao Wuling think?
After more than three months of hard struggle, he had enough time to reflect on his life:
As the king of the state of Zhao, he was enough to sue the ancestors; As a father, he loved his two sons, but there was only one throne, and he gave it to Zhao He because he loved Zhao He's mother more.
Since he has given the throne to his youngest son Zhao He, he should be like Fei Yi, stick to his heart, strengthen his rights, and assist him in governing the country; However, he was moved by Zhao Zhang's grievances, and finally buried Zhao Zhang's life and the father-son relationship between him and Zhao He.