After Shang Yang's reform, Qin State implemented a series of policies to strengthen the country. Driven by these policies, Qin State quickly walked out of the bitter cold land in the northwest, and continued to expand to the six eastern countries through Hangu Pass, an important gateway to the Central Plains. Launch an orderly attack. Although a series of accidents forced the policy to make temporary adjustments, such as the defeat of Chu's capital, and the alliance between Qin and South Korea, which finally won over Wei. But these adjustments are temporary, and Qin's eyes are always fixed on the two most powerful countries in the east. One is Qi State, and Qin State chose to unite with it; the other is Zhao State, and Qin State chose to fight it decisively.
If the six eastern kingdoms at the end of the Warring States Period are divided into Near Qin and Far Qin, at this time, Qin chose to reach a temporary peace with the Three Kingdoms of Far Qin, and chose to hang a sharp sword over the heads of the Three Kingdoms of Near Qin. At this time, no country in the East could rival Qin in terms of military strength, economic strength or diplomatic system. Therefore, the three countries near Qin either chose to surrender to Qin in humility or chose to go to war with Qin. Undoubtedly, the monarch of any country does not want to live on the bedside of others. At the beginning, all countries chose to fight.
In the first battle at Shangdang, Zhao Jun failed.
There can be three explanations for the result of this war. Either the combat effectiveness of the Qin army and the Shangdang defenders is too disparate; or the geographical location of Shangdang County is not suitable for defense; or the Qin general Wang Lu used some tactics that can quickly Disrupt the enemy's strategy - such as attacking the mind. However, a series of phenomena showed that Feng Tingzhi was very intelligent, otherwise he would not have successfully persuaded Zhao Guo to accept the party. In this way, it is difficult for the Qin army to succeed in attacking the heart. In addition, South Korea's crossbows were very powerful at that time. Later, Feng Ting directly brought 200,000 Shangdang defenders to the Zhao army's garrison. It can be seen that although the Qin army was powerful, it did not inflict a big blow to Feng Ting's troops. . The reason why Zhao State lost Shangdang was probably because its geographical location was not suitable for defense.
But this is all just speculation. Because there is not much introduction to this battle in the history books, it is said: "In the forty-seventh year of King Zhaoxiang of Qin's reign, Qin sent Wang Lu, the chief of Zuo Shu, to attack Han and capture Shangdang."
Feng Ting's defeated army retreated like a tide to the garrison of Lian Po's army, and refugees also continued to gather in Changping. Judging from the records of Changping at that time and in later generations, although Changping was important, it was difficult for the two great powers at that time to fight for life and death. So, what led to the final battle of Changping? The Qin State has a good explanation. The Qin Army adheres to Bai Qi's strategy of pursuing and attacking the fleeing enemy, and never believes in the military strategy of "not chasing the enemy when the enemy is poor"; while the Zhao Army is motivated by the lack of confidence in its own military strength. Confidence and unwillingness to lose Shangdang.
There are many historical records about this battle, but when the Qin Dynasty later burned books and harassed Confucian scholars, many records about the Battle of Changping disappeared into the dust of history. However, even if there are only a few words about this battle, it will be remembered by people.
At that time, the armies of Qin and Zhao had already launched a series of tentative attacks around Changping, and it was "the storm is coming".
Beginning in April 264 BC, Wang Lu's army began to attack the Zhao army. Until July, there were a total of three major battles between the two sides. In April, the Zhao army fought with the Qin army, and the general Zhao Jia was killed in the melee; two months later, the Zhao army lost two forts, and four lieutenants were killed again, and the Zhao army fell into greater passivity; in July , according to Lian Po's strategy, Zhao Jun built a strong fortress and dealt with the enemy. However, under the fierce attack of the Qin army, the western barrier of the Zhao army was breached, and two lieutenants were killed. The three confrontations all ended in Zhao's defeat. Although the Qin army did not inflict a substantial blow on Zhao Jun, it can be seen that Zhao Jun's morale was greatly affected. If such a head-on encounter continues, Zhao Jun will eventually be unable to resist.
Lian Po has experienced hundreds of battles and understands all this. Lian Po is good at defense rather than offense, so at this time he must use his own advantages to deal with the enemy's attack with defense. Obviously, at this time, the Qin army was thousands of miles away from the homeland, so it was naturally difficult for them to fight for a long time. As time passed, the Qin army would inevitably be burdened by insufficient logistics and eventually collapse without a fight. The Zhao army followed this strategy to prevent the Qin army from entering. The Zhao army defended and the Qin army attacked. This state lasted for three years.
However, the Zhao army was surprised to find that under such unbalanced consumption, Qin was on par with Zhao and even slightly better. You know, the State of Qin has traveled thousands of miles, while the State of Zhao is right at your doorstep. Anyone with a discerning eye can see the gap between them at a glance. Gradually, Zhao State found that it was difficult to sustain itself at first, so it decided to work hard on politics and diplomacy to force Qin State to withdraw its troops.
In fact, when his general Zhao Jia was killed, King Zhao Xiaocheng was already restless. At that time, the general position could be said to be the largest military position besides the head coach. In the Qin army, when Bai Qi was the chief general, Wang Lu was the assistant general. Zhao Guo had just fought with the Qin army and lost its first-class general. The situation of the war was very unclear. King Zhao Xiaocheng was naturally very anxious, so he decided to lead the expedition himself, but his ministers Lou Chang and Yu Qing did not agree.
Regarding Lou Chang and Yu Qing, history has very few records about the former. We only know that Lou Chang was a close minister of King Xiaocheng of the State of Zhao. But Yu Qing is a famous scholar. When King Zhao Xiaocheng first met Yu Qing, Yu Qing was just an unknown lobbyist, but King Zhao saw that he was very eloquent and gave him a pair of golden yi and white jade. When King Zhao met Yu Qing for the second time, he was already famous among the countries for his clever tongue. King Zhao named him Shang Qing, hence his name Yu Qing. He put forward thoughtful strategies for the Battle of Changping and the Battle of Handan, which determined the fate of Zhao State, which shows his talent. Later, Wei Qi, the Prime Minister of Wei, fled to Zhao State, and he also participated in the rescue plan. Later, because he was forced to have no choice, he could only abandon the high-ranking official Houlu and leave the state of Zhao. Finally, he was trapped in Liang, so he wrote a book angrily. He is the author of fifteen chapters of "Yu Shi Zheng Zhuan" and "Yu Shi Chun Qiu", which have been lost today. Among them, "Yu Shi Chun Qiu" has an edition compiled by Ma Guohan of the Qing Dynasty.
Lou Chang was just a flatterer who followed the Qin army. Seeing that the Qin army was so powerful, he immediately suggested to King Zhao that since the stalemate continued, it would be better to send envoys to make peace. This would not only solve the immediate dilemma, but also avoid Qin's invasion. With the damage done to Zhao, other countries cannot try to reap the benefits. Moreover, the current strength comparison between Qin and Zhao is very obvious. Zhao will definitely be defeated in the end. Instead of remaining passive and eventually defeated, it is better to sacrifice some land now to preserve one's own strength.
No matter how stupid King Zhao Xiaocheng is, he still knows that Qin came here with the determination to destroy Zhao's vitality. After listening to what Lou Chang said, Yu Qing made a more reasonable suggestion: send envoys to Chu and Wei to bribe them with priceless treasures. This will make Qin feel that another round of alliance between the three countries has begun. The Qin State formulated strategies such as continuous horizontal campaigns, distant friendship and close attacks, all because it was afraid that the six eastern countries would unite to deal with it. The balance of war was already at a balance. At this time, any small incident may tip the balance.
At this time, Yu Qing's policy was the best solution to Zhao's crisis, but the fatuous King Zhao could not listen to any pertinent words. Yu Qing's opinion was rejected, and the outcome of the Battle of Changping was determined.
The reason why King Zhao Xiaocheng did not accept Yu Qing's suggestion was because he thought he had a more reasonable plan. Instead of bribing and contacting Chu and Wei, he sent envoys into Qin. Similar to what Lou Chang said, he wanted to start from the highest decision-making level of Qin and express to them that the people of Zhao wanted peace and wanted to be with Qin. The country's desire to stop violence and stop violence.
The tiger and wolf divisions of the Qin army traveled thousands of miles from the northwest, transporting countless amounts of money, food and weapons with almost all the strength of the country, just to be able to complete their success in one battle and completely defeat or even eliminate the main force of the Zhao State. Now three years have passed, and the Qin State has not yet achieved How can any breakthrough progress be abandoned halfway?
Although Qin chose to sit down and negotiate with King Zhao Xiaocheng, it was definitely not the way King Zhao Xiaocheng imagined, shaking hands with Zhao and making peace. According to the vision of the wise Fan Ju and the talented and strategic King Qin Zhaoxiang, peace talks with the State of Zhao are simply a fantasy. Therefore, Qin's decision-makers must be brewing a bigger conspiracy.
Yu Qing saw the clues of the matter. His heart instantly became cold and his face turned pale. He knew that Zhao Guo had no hope. However, King Zhao Xiaocheng still said complacently in front of Yu Qing that Yu Qing's plan was simply superfluous.
When Zhao's envoy was still a hundred miles away from Xianyang City, Qin sent a chariot to greet him. The whole scene was solemn and grand. The news that Zhao's envoys had entered Qin was quickly spread by spies from all directions. The news had spread throughout the six eastern countries. It was spread by word of mouth: Qin and Zhao had reconciled, and the two countries were preparing to form an alliance. What the Qin State hopes to see is this effect. Once the Shandong states learn the news and King Zhao Xiaocheng confirms it, they will isolate the Zhao State.
In order to turn the assumption that other countries were on the sidelines into a reality, Qin did not hesitate to promise Wei heavy profits and promised to transfer the land of Yuanyong to Wei, provided that Wei would not interfere in the war between Qin and Zhao; Chu State was no longer there Any threat, so Qin directly ignored Chu; based on the strength of Qi and Yan, if Zhao could be given economic support, the outcome of the war between Qin and Zhao would be difficult to predict, but they themselves Their military strength is not very strong, so Qin directly uses force to deter them. As long as they do not act rashly, Qin will ensure their temporary peace.
