The Battle of Changping is a famous battle in Chinese history and one of the important events of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. In this battle, Lian Po, the general of Zhao, led the Zhao army to fight against the Qin army, but in the end it was defeated, and this defeat was also inseparable from Zhao Kuo, the prime minister of Zhao at that time.
Zhao Kuo was an important military general of Zhao and a legendary figure in ancient Chinese military history. He experienced many legendary deeds in his life, especially his performance in the Battle of Changping, which has become the focus of future research.
Does Zhao Kuo's failure prove that he can only talk on paper?
During the Battle of Changping, Zhao Kuo, as the prime minister of Zhao, was supposed to provide the Zhao army with wise military decisions and help the Zhao army achieve victory. However, this was not the case, and Zhao Kuo's performance in this battle was criticized by people for his defeat, which proved that he would only talk on paper.
The reason why Zhao Kuo is considered to be only on paper is mainly because of his failed performance in the Battle of Changping. In the military command of the time, if a general was only good at talking on paper and could not achieve victory in actual combat, then his military talent would be questioned. And Zhao Kuo's defeat in the Battle of Changping seems to provide strong evidence for his statement that he can only talk on paper.
Was Zhao Kuo's ascendancy misled by King Zhao?
However, to discuss Zhao Kuo will only be on paper, and things are not so simple. In fact, the reason why Zhao Kuo lost in the Battle of Changping is not entirely related to his personal ability, and there are many other factors that we need to consider.
First of all, we need to think about Zhao Kuo's superiority. According to historical records, the reason why Zhao Kuo was able to become the prime minister of Zhao was mainly because the king of Zhao at that time was misled by the anti-intermediary plan implemented by Qin, so he trusted Zhao Kuo and handed over the heavy weapons of the military state to him.
In ancient warfare, counter-scheming was a very cunning tactic, which could achieve the goal of dividing the enemy and breaking the enemy's military spirit by fabricating false news. At that time, the king of Zhao was deceived by the anti-intrigue of the Qin State, so he trusted Zhao Kuo and handed over the military weapons of the Zhao State to him, which also laid the groundwork for Zhao Kuo's failure.
Is Zhao Kuo's military decision reasonable?
In addition, Zhao Kuo's defeat in the Battle of Changping also had a great deal to do with his military decisions. In a war, whether a general's military decisions are wise or not is directly related to the outcome of the entire war, but Zhao Kuo's performance in this regard has been questioned.
Originally, in the Battle of Changping, the main battle faction of Zhao was served by Lian Po, and Zhao Kuo, as the prime minister, should have given Lian Po enough support and trust. However, Zhao Kuo changed his strategic approach at this time, he took matters into his own hands and chose to take the initiative, which directly led to the Zhao army being finally killed by the Qin army.
From this point of view, Zhao Kuo's military decision-making does not seem to be very wise, and his blind self-confidence and distrust of Lian Po have become one of the reasons for his failure, and also provide evidence for the outside world to believe that he can only talk on paper.
Is Zhao Kuo's failure just personal responsibility?
However, if we judge Zhao Kuo only from the superficial phenomenon and think that he will only talk on paper, it is undoubtedly unfair to him. In fact, Zhao Kuo's defeat in the Battle of Changping was not entirely his personal responsibility, and there were many other factors that had a great impact on his defeat.
First of all, judging from Zhao Kuo's personal ability, he is not a person who can only talk on paper. On the contrary, he still has a certain ability in military affairs, and even some scholars believe that Zhao Kuo is a genius in military theory, and he once offered advice to help Zhao take cities in a short period of time, which shows that his military ability is very good.
Secondly, in the Battle of Changping, Zhao Kuo's military decision was actually quite reasonable, but he chose to take the initiative and was influenced by some people in the army at that time to make such a decision. Moreover, Zhao Kuo's defeat in the Battle of Changping was not entirely due to his problematic military decision-making, but more often because his prestige in the army was not enough, resulting in his orders being unable to be executed.
Is Zhao Kuo's failure just personal responsibility?
In addition, Zhao Kuo's defeat in the Battle of Changping was also related to his temporary takeover of the army. In this battle, the reason why Zhao Kuo became the prime minister of Zhao was mainly because the king of Zhao at that time had died, and the new monarch had not yet ascended the throne, so Zhao Kuo could only temporarily take over the army.
And the temporary takeover of the army meant that Zhao Kuo did not have enough time to run in with his soldiers and could not gain their true trust, which undoubtedly had a great impact on the outcome of the entire war.
Therefore, Zhao Kuo's defeat in the Battle of Changping was not entirely his personal responsibility, there were many other factors that had a great impact on his defeat, and we cannot judge him only from superficial phenomena, thinking that he would only talk on paper.
epilogue
Perhaps, Zhao Kuo's defeat was only temporary, and the various grievances and accusations he received in the Battle of Changping were only temporary and could not hide his true ability. For his failure, we can learn some useful lessons from it, and we can also understand more deeply that a person's failure is not only due to his personal reasons, but also the influence of many other factors.
Perhaps, it is precisely because of Zhao Kuo's failure that it will leave a profound warning for future generations, and also provide a rich space for future generations to think about.