During the Warring States Period, the six countries stood side by side, you came and went, fighting wits and courage. Among them, although the Qin State was located in a remote area, it finally dominated the world with its tenacious and unyielding fighting spirit and extraordinary resourcefulness. In this brutal war that lasted for decades, Zhao, as the most stubborn opponent of Qin, repeatedly missed good opportunities and demolished itself, which eventually led to the tragedy of destruction. How did the state of Zhao come to an end step by step? How did the state of Qin give the state of Zhao a chance to turn over, but was let down by the state of Zhao himself? Let us find out.
In the early days of the Zhao Kingdom, he won many battles and was arrogant
In the late Warring States period, the state of Zhao was strong, the monarch Zhao Wuling Wang was wise and martial, and the generals Pang Xuan and Lian Po produced many talents. At that time, although the Qin State had already begun the journey of unifying the Six Kingdoms, it was difficult to progress under the continuous resistance of the Zhao State Iron Cavalry.
In 293 BC, the Qin army attacked the state of Zhao and was severely defeated by the Zhao army in the Battle of Changping, suffering heavy losses. At that time, the main force of the Qin army was more than 400,000, and it was completely annihilated by the Zhao army, and only more than 100,000 remained. The prince of Qin led a large army to reinforce it, but was severely damaged by the Zhao army and was almost completely annihilated by the Zhao army.
Ten years later, the Qin army attacked again, but was heavily damaged by the Zhao army in the Battle of Handan. At that time, the main force of the Qin army was more than 300,000, but it was defeated by the Zhao army and lost more than 200,000. The King of Qin had to go out in person to barely avoid the annihilation of the entire army.
The successive victories made Zhao Guo's prestige greater. King Wuling of Zhao was even more complacent, and he was full of contempt for the Qin State. He once said to his ministers: "The Qin people are not enough to worry about, and the strength of the few people is enough to subdue them!"
However, it was this arrogance that became the source of Zhao's future decline. After the death of King Wuling of Zhao, the quality of the monarch of Zhao gradually declined, and the national strength also declined. The Qin state, on the other hand, became increasingly powerful after annexing the princes. In the end, Zhao's arrogance brought it a catastrophe.
The Qin State fell into internal and external troubles, but the Zhao State did not take advantage of the situation
In the fourth year of the reign of King Qin (243 BC), the Qin state suffered an unprecedented locust plague. The blackened locusts obscured the sky and devoured most of the country's crops. Subsequently, the plague also raged in the Qin State, and countless people died.
At the same time that the Qin State was in internal trouble, Pang Xuan, a veteran general of the Zhao State, led the Five Nations Alliance Army to take advantage of the weakness and attacked all the way to the heart of the Qin State "Yu" (now Lintong North, Shaanxi). Pang Xuan's attack on the city was unsuccessful, and he instead went east to conquer the Qi State, captured the seaport of Rao'an, and opened an outlet to the sea for the landlocked Zhao State.
In the following year, the Qin State was again hit by a comet, and the famous general Meng Fu was killed in battle, and the six countries all rejoiced. To make matters worse, when the younger brother of the king of Qin, Chang'an Junchengjiao, led his army to attack Zhao, he rebelled and defected to Zhao, causing a heavy blow to the prestige of Qin. King Zhao gave Rao Yang to Cheng Jiao.
The general wall sent by King Yingzheng of Qin continued to attack Zhao, but was defeated by Pang Xuan. The two Qin armies of Tunliu and Pu Yu also rebelled because of this, and continued to kill Jiangbi and surrendered to Zhao. Zhao's prestige was so great that Wei even gifted Yecheng and other important towns to Zhao in order to make friends with the only powerful country that could compete with Qin.
In the following years, the Qin State suffered from cold, civil strife and other disasters one after another, and a large number of people fled from Guanzhong in search of food. King Yingzheng of Qin had to depose Qin Prime Minister Lü Buwei and pardon the relocated Chang Yumenke, quelling the internal strife in Qin.
During this period, the Qin State fell into unprecedented internal and external troubles. However, Zhao failed to take advantage of the situation, but missed the opportunity in this critical period. In 236 BC, King Zhao Mourning Xiang listened to the reconciliation trick of King Yingzheng of Qin, and personally led an army to the north to attack Yan, but was attacked by the Qin army and suffered heavy losses.
Zhao has been fighting endlessly, and his talents have withered
After King Zhao Mianxiang ascended the throne, Zhao's domestic and foreign troubles followed. The king of mourning Xiang was obsessed with advocating excellent singing and dancing, and he was extravagant, and the government was becoming more and more deserted. He deposed the crown prince Zhao Xiangzi and set up another loser as the crown prince.
Zhao famous generals Pang Xuan, Lian Po and others were deeply worried about this, and repeatedly tried to mourn King Xiang, but King Xiang turned a deaf ear. Pang Xuan was angry and left Zhao and went to Wei. Lian Po was demoted to a county magistrate and was unable to display his talents.
Li Mu, another general of Zhao State, although he was still serving for King Mourning Xiang in the army, was also worried about the future of the country. He had advised King Xiang several times, hoping to reverse the decline of the Zhao State. It's a pity that King Mourning has completely indulged in lustful dogs and horses, and is indifferent to state affairs.
At this juncture, the state of Qin launched an all-out attack on the state of Zhao. King Yingzheng of Qin personally led the main force of three routes, with a total of 300,000 troops, and launched a decisive attack on Yecheng, an important town of Zhao State.
Yecheng is the economic lifeblood of Zhao, and once it is lost, Zhao will be in a desperate situation. However, the Zhao army was in a state of withering talent and discouragement at that time. King Mourning Xiang panicked, and first ordered Hu to command an army of 100,000 to go for reinforcements, but Hu Xuan misused people, commanded the army to pieces, and finally the 100,000 army was wiped out.
Zhao suffered heavy losses, and King Mourning Xiang had to re-recruit famous generals such as Pang Xuan and Lian Po to return to the division. However, it was too late, and the Qin army had already captured Yecheng, cutting off the economic lifeline of Zhao. The Zhao army was defeated and retreated, and finally lost 100,000 troops again in the battle of Wucheng.
Qin went eastward, and Zhao was defeated and retreated
After King Youmiao of Zhao recalled Li Mu, the main force of the Qin army had captured Yecheng, cutting off the economic lifeline of Zhao. King Yingzheng of Qin personally supervised the battle and ordered the general Wang Jian to continue to advance eastward.
In the spring of 233 BC, Wang Qian's army set out from Yecheng and went straight to Handan, an important town of Zhao. The Zhao army was in chaos and retreated. Under the city of Handan, Wang Jian personally supervised the army, the Zhao army retreated in a hurry, and Handan fell.
The Zhao army continued to retreat north, followed by the Qin army. The two sides met in a decisive battle in the vicinity of Wucheng. Li Mu led the main force of the Zhao army of 100,000 people, and encountered the main force of the Qin army of 300,000 people.
In the battle of Wucheng, the two sides fought fiercely for several days. In the end, the Zhao army was defeated by the Qin army's iron cavalry, and fled in defeat. Li Mu personally led the remnants of the 3,000 cavalry palace, and barely survived a glimmer of life.
The Zhao army suffered heavy losses, and only a few thousand remained of the 100,000-strong army. In the Battle of Wucheng, Zhao completely lost its strength to compete with the Qin army. As a result, the Qin army rushed straight to Handan, the capital of Zhao, and the survival of Zhao was about to be decided.
In the face of the pressure of the Qin army, King Zhao Youmiao had nothing to do. He had no choice but to re-recruit Li Mu and order him to lead the last border army of Zhao with 100,000 people to turn the tide.
Li Mu knew that this would be Zhao Guo's last fight. He selected 50,000 elites and took his family to the south of King Qin. Another 50,000 men were left to defend the frontier. For a time, the two strongest iron armies in the history of the Warring States faced each other head-on, and the survival of Zhao was tied to this battle.