In 221 BC, the Qin general Wang Ben destroyed the State of Qi, and the Qin king Yingzheng completed the great cause of unification. In the process of gradually incorporating the territory of the Six Kingdoms into the hands of Ying Zheng, there is one country that is most regrettable, and it is the Zhao State, which lives next to the Qin State.
During the Northern Song Dynasty, Su Xun, one of the "Three Sus", wrote a "Treatise on the Six Kingdoms", borrowing the lessons of Qin's destruction of the Six Kingdoms to acupuncture the shortcomings of the times. In the "Theory of the Six Kingdoms", Su Xun was also very indignant about Zhao Guo, saying:
Zhao tasted five battles against Qin, two defeats and three victories. After Qin attacked Zhao again, Li Mulian did not. Huan Mu is cursed, and Handan is the county...
During the Warring States period, Qin and Zhao were both powerful countries in the world, and for a certain period of time, the State of Zhao even dominated the Central Plains, which was more powerful than the State of Qin. In the late Warring States period, the four famous Zhao states occupied half of the situation, but they could not open the situation everywhere, and finally Lian Po fled, Li Mu was cursed, and from then on Qin was a knife trick and Zhao was a fish. Especially in the last eight years of Qin's destruction of Zhao, Zhao Guo was dying and struggling, which was heartbreaking.
The two countries of Qin and Zhao had the same origin and the same surname, and their ancestors were both fei lian (after the Yellow Emperor) under the king of Shang, of whom the ancestors of the Qin state were brothers and the ancestors of the Zhao state were brothers. After the Western Zhou Dynasty destroyed the Shang, the descendants of the Surname of Yin were snubbed by the Western Zhou, until the time of the fifth monarch of the Western Zhou Dynasty, King Mu of Zhou, there was a descendant of the surname of King Mu of Zhou who drove for King Mu of Zhou to help King Mu of Zhou quell the rebellion, so he was sealed to Zhao Cheng (Hongdong, Shanxi), and the father of the zhao was changed to the Zhao clan because the fief was a clan, which was the starting point of the Zhao clan of the Zhao state.
By the time of the eighth monarch of Western Zhou, King Xiao of Zhou, a man named Feizi of the Ying clan helped Western Zhou raise horses against Xi Rong, and was sealed to Qin (Tianshui, Gansu) for his merits, and Feizi became the starting point of "Qin Ying". At that time, the feizi lineage was the great sect of the Ying surname, and the descendants of the Zhao clan often went to the Qin dynasty to sacrifice.
After the three families were divided into Jin, the Zhao state had a special geographical location, with the nomadic Xiongnu in the north, the Qin state in the west, the Wei state in the south, and the Yan state and the Qi state in the east, which is the so-called "land of four wars". At that time, the Eastern Zhou Dynasty was corrupt, the princes were conquest, and the life of the Zhao State was not good, and it was repeatedly conquered. Until the time of the sixth monarch of the Zhao State, Zhao Wuling, the Zhao State implemented the "Hu Costume Riding Shooting", requiring soldiers to give up wearing wide battle robes nationwide and use tight and close Hu clothes, abandoning the infantry that the Zhao State had always relied on, and instead focusing on cavalry and crossbowmen.
The "Hufu Riding Shooting" had a far-reaching impact on the Zhao State, rapidly improving the combat strength of the Zhao State, and later the Zhao State annexed the Zhongshan State, Lin Hu, Lou Fu, etc., opening up the great power model. At this time, Zhao Guo's mighty power shocked zhuxiong, and Yan, Wei and other countries all had to look at Zhao Guo's eyes.
Zhao Wuling King Hero I, but because of the abolition of the long and young, causing the "change of the dunes", a generation of Ming Jun was finally starved to death. His successor, King Huiwen of Zhao, was also a generation of tyrants, and at that time, the famous ministers of the Zhao state were like clouds, such as Lin Xiangru, Lian Po, and Zhao Hao, who were all temporary leaders. However, the Qin state next door has completed the "Shang Martingale Transformation Method", the national strength is booming, and the Zhao state is gradually overtaken by the Qin state.
The State of Qin is located west of the Kunshan Mountains, and the kings of the State of Qin have been plotting to "go east", and if they want to "go east", the position of the State of Zhao bears the brunt of it. As the head of the Six Kingdoms of Shandong, Zhao Guo was bound to curb the qin state's way out of the east. As two great powers, there are many stories of conspiracy between Qin and Zhao, whether it is "returning to Zhao after the end of the bibi" or "meeting in the pond", in fact, it is the result of mutual temptation between Qin and Zhao.
After the Battle of Changping, this temptation came to an end. In 262 BC, the famous Battle of Changping was triggered by the Shangdang Dispute. At that time, King Xiaocheng of Zhao (Zhao Dan) had just succeeded to the throne for less than 3 years, and he was caught in the treacherous scheme of the Qin people and replaced Lian Po with Zhao Kuo, which eventually led to the fiasco of the Zhao State, and 400,000 loyal souls were killed miserably, and the Zhao State was unable to compete with the Qin State from then on.
After the Battle of Changping, King Zhaoxiang of Qin was ambitious and wanted to destroy Handan and the state of Zhao. King Xiaocheng of Zhao and Zhao Sheng, the Prince of Pingyuan, led the people of the State of Zhao to die for two years, and with the help of the State of Chu and the State of Wei, they finally defeated the Qin army. Although the Qin army was defeated and retreated, the Zhao state was already devastated. King Xiaocheng of Zhao and the state of Qin had a deep hatred, but they were powerless to recover the lost land.
King Xiaocheng of Zhao reigned for 21 years and died depressed. He was succeeded by his son King Xiang of Zhao (赵偃).
King Xiangxiang of Zhao was a monarch with "great ambitions" but poor strength. King Xiang of Zhao reigned for 9 years, and his slogans were loud, but things were not done well. He forced Lian Po to leave, and after marrying a prostitute, he abolished the long and young, which can be described as a frequent trick. In 241 BC, King Xiang of Zhao joined forces with the other four kingdoms to fight against Qin, and Zhao briefly attacked Pang Yan into Hangu Pass, but ultimately failed. In 236 BC, in order to make the Zhao state strong, King Xiang of Zhao raised an army to attack the State of Yan, but was unexpectedly copied by the State of Qin and lost nine cities, and King Xiang of Zhao mourned "unpaid ambition" and vomited blood and died.
After the death of King Xiang of Zhao, he and his son Zhao Qian, who was born to Empress Dowager, succeeded him to the throne as King Qian of Zhao. Regarding Zhao Wangqian, there are also history books that call him "King Youmiao of Zhao", and it can be seen from the word "Miao" that people are very disapproval of The life of Zhao Wangqian. After 8 years of Zhao Wangqian's reign, the Qin army attacked Handan and captured Zhao Wangqian. The nominal "Zhao State" no longer existed, however, the Zhao State did not completely perish. The "History of the Zhao Family" records:
Qin was deposed, and Zhao Zhi's death doctor GongJia was crowned king, and when Wang Dai was six years old, Qin jin invaded Jia and destroyed Zhao as a county.
That is to say, after King Qian of Zhao was captured, Prince Jia of Zhao's brother Gongzi Jia was supported by the chancellor of the State of Zhao as king, and he moved to Daidi, where Gongzi Jia inherited the Zhao Clan Temple and continued to resist Qin for 6 years before being destroyed by Yingzheng.
The Zhao general Li Mu died in 229 BC, King Qian of Zhao was captured in 228 BC, and Gongzi Jia died in 222 BC. That is to say, after Li Mu's death, the Zhao state only had eight years (two years for Zhao Wangqian and six years for Gongzi Jia), and these eight years for the Zhao state can be called the tears of the subjugation of the country, which is manifested in the following four aspects:
First, the famous general fell, and Wu Anjun could not calm his heart.
King Qian of Zhao was already misbehaving, and coupled with his mother Empress Dowager And The Chancellor Guo Kai,Zhao was worried about internal and external troubles, and was attacked by the State of Qin for many years. Fortunately, with the famous general Li Mu defending Handan, King Qian of Zhao was able to be safe and sound. However, Li Mu's life-saving straw was eventually destroyed by King Qian of Zhao, who listened to Guo Kai's rumors and killed Li Mu.
Qin Duo and Guo Kaijin, the favorite minister of king Zhao, rebelled, and Li Mu and Sima Shang wanted to rebel. King Zhao made Zhao Liang and the Qi general Yan Ju represent Li Mu. Li Mu was not ordered, and Zhao made people slightly capture Li Mu and behead him.
At that time, the Qin generals were afraid of Li Mu and bribed Guo Kai, a powerful minister of the Zhao state, with heavy money, and Guo Kai told King Qian of Zhao that Li Mu wanted to rebel. King Qian of Zhao did not know right from wrong and sent Zhao Liang to take over Li Mu's military power. Li Mu was not convinced and was killed.
After Li Mu was killed, King Qian of Zhao thought that Zhao Liang and other generals could still defend Handan, but as everyone knew, in addition to Li Mu, the Qin general Wang Qi was invincible, and the Qin army, under the leadership of Wang Qi, easily attacked Handan, and King Qian of Zhao was captured.
Li Mu's death was the result of Zhao Guo digging his own grave.
Second, natural disasters continue to occur, and people's hearts are not toward Zhao.
As early as the time when King Qian of Zhao killed Li Mu, Zhao Guo circulated a folk song, "History of the Zhao Shijia" Yun:
The great famine, the people said blackmail: "Zhao is the trumpet, Qin is laughing." Think unbelief, see the hair of the earth. ”
In the last two years of the reign of King Qian of Zhao, the Zhao state was in a famine, and the nobles of the Zhao state had been dressed for a long time, regardless of the lives of the people, and the folk song at that time said: "The people of the Zhao state are crying, the people of the Qin state are laughing, if you do not believe it, you can see that the ground is full of grass." In order to survive, many zhao people fled to the qin state, and the qin state treated the displaced people more kindly, which led to a large number of zhao people fleeing to the qin state. Soon, another earthquake occurred in the Zhao kingdom, and some people who were still hesitating thought that this was a signal of extinction in heaven, so they fled to the Qin state.
At that time, when the Zhao Kingdom was in danger, the people's hearts did not turn to the Zhao Kingdom, which made the Zhao Guo Temple even more difficult. The State of Zhao encountered huge problems in conscription and grain collection, and it was impossible to confront the State of Qin head-on.
Third, the king was captured and surrendered to the west in humiliation.
In 229 BC, Wang Qi led the Qin army to attack the Zhao state, and the Zhao generals Zhao Liang and Yan Ju were not Wang Qi's opponents, and were beaten into a sieve by the Qin army, Zhao Liang was killed and Yan Ju was captured. Wang Qi's army broke through the mouth of jingxing. King Zhao was at a loss for words and even planned to abandon the Temple and flee.
The following year, Wang Qi broke through Handan, King Qian of Zhao was captured, and in the presence of the people and widows of the State of Zhao, King Zhao moved to the west and surrendered humiliatingly.
Fourth, dying and struggling, Gongzi Jia died blind.
After King Qian of Zhao was captured, King Qian of Zhao's brother Gongzi Jia luckily fled to Daidi, and with the support of Grand Master Zhao Guo, Gongzi Jia proclaimed himself king in Daidi and rebuilt the Zhao Clan Temple. In 226 BC, after Jing Ke assassinated the Queen of Qin, the Qin army conquered the Yan state, and Gongzi Jia wanted to send troops to aid the Yan state, which was collectively opposed by the zhao masters. The doctors believed that the current major generals of the Zhao State army were few and had no strength to fight against the strong Qin, so it was better to let the Yan and Qin states fight desperately.
Gongzi Jia believed that at this moment, if the Yan state was not united to resist Qin, after the fall of the Yan state, the Zhao state would be destroyed sooner or later. Therefore, under the repeated insistence of Gongzi Jia, Zhao Guo dispatched only tens of thousands of troops to join forces with the Yan army on the banks of the Yishui River to jointly resist the enemy.
Yan Zhao has been singing sadly since ancient times, and at that time, both the State of Yan and the State of Zhao were struggling to survive, how could they be the opponents of Wang Qi and Xin Sheng? The result was no surprise, and the yan and Zhao armies were defeated miserably. After this battle, the King of Yan was forced to hand over the head of Prince Dan, and The prince jia of the Zhao state escaped and returned to Daidi.
In the next four years, Gongzi Jia tried all kinds of ways to resist the Qin State, but at that time, the Zhao State had no soldiers, grain and grass, and two unknown ministers and good generals, and what was waiting for Gongzi Jia could only be the destruction of the country. In 222 BC, the Qin army invaded Daidi, Gongzi Jia committed suicide after being captured, and his death was blind, and the Zhao Guozong Temple was destroyed and the country was destroyed.
The author believes that although the general trend of the unification of the six kingdoms of the Qin state at that time was unstoppable, there were still internal reasons for the demise of the Zhao state, which were manifested in three points:
The first is that the three consecutive generations of kings of the Zhao State have done nothing, starting from King Xiaocheng of Zhao, King Xiang of Zhao, and King Qian of Zhao, who did not do much in resisting Qin.
The second is that adultery is in charge, and good ministers have no way to serve the country. Lian Po, Le Cheng, Li Mu, and Sima Shangben were all loyal subjects of the Zhao State, and in the end they either ran away or were killed, how sad was it?
The third is natural and man-made disasters, the sky does not help Zhao, and Zhao does not value his people. The people of the Zhao Kingdom suffered famine and earthquakes, and the kings and clans of the Zhao Kingdom were still dressed in fine clothes and food, regardless of whether the people were dead or alive, could the people be with the Zhao Kingdom?
The destruction of the Zhao state was extremely tragic, and behind the tragedy, there was a "death" side.
This article refers to the "History", "Warring States Policy", "Chronicle of the States of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty"