400,000 hungry and exhausted prisoners died in the "Killing Valley" in endless despair. The 240 people originally selected watched helplessly as their compatriots and former comrades-in-arms died one by one. There were no tears in their bodies for a long time, only hatred filled their hearts. When they were released and returned to their country, while spreading the horrific news, they secretly swore in their hearts that they would take revenge in the future. However, at this moment, Zhao State no longer had this strength, and even this idea became a delusion.
When the 240 people returned to Zhao State, there was no censure as expected, but only wailing that shook the world. Almost all the young and middle-aged people of Zhao State died in this year. In many places of Zhao State, only women, children and the elderly were left. How could such a country not decline?
Bai Qi wanted this effect. Zhao State went out with 450,000 troops, but only 240 young people were able to return home. The Zhao court in Handan City was filled with an air of panic. In the midst of the sad wind and rain, I could only hear the son crying for his father, the father crying for his son, the brother crying for his younger brother, the younger brother crying for his older brother, the grandfather crying for his grandson, the wife crying for her husband, the daughter-in-law and mother-in-law hugging each other and crying, and the husband and wife mourning after the separation of the world. All I could see were the white flags of the Zhao State's filial piety flag covering the sky and the sun, and paper money floating everywhere.
When this bad news reached the State of Zhao, and the whole country was shocked, the government and the public were frightened, and thousands of families were grieving, only one person did not shed a tear. This person is the mother of Zhao Kuo, because her tears had already dried up before Zhao Kuo set out; because she had already anticipated this ending before Zhao Kuo set out: "When I became a general, my old concubine had already Do not treat him as a stranger." This was her last warning to King Zhao and her last advice to Zhao Kuo. Unfortunately, they did not follow her advice.
Therefore, before the war was over, Zhao Kuo's mother changed her surname to Zhao She's "Ma Fu", which was later shortened to Ma, because she knew that Zhao Kuo would definitely lose in this battle.
King Zhao finally came to his senses at this time and understood the good intentions of Zhao Kuo's mother in admonishing him in the past. But time cannot be turned back. What's the use of talking about it now? King Zhao knew that all his faults were due to his failure to listen to good advice, and because he was too eager to achieve success and did not trust his old ministers. But he could do nothing but admit his mistake. Reform your past? Maybe he will make the same mistake next time; should he blame Zhao Kuo? He had already served his country loyally and died in battle. His family had already warned him and they did not hesitate to draw a clear line with Zhao Kuo. King Zhao knew that the most saddened person about Zhao Kuo's death was not other Zhao people, but Zhao Kuo's mother; the most sad and angry person was not himself, but Zhao Kuo's mother.
This time, King Zhao seemed very wise. On the one hand, he paid a lot of money to support Zhao Kuo's family so that they could live in peace of mind; on the other hand, he re-appointed Lian Po, hoping that through Lian Po, Zhao Kuo would not be destroyed. This was a process of waiting for a miracle to appear. Its cruelty and miracles Just as rare.
Bai Qi was still ready to take action. He knew that the plan he had made to destroy the Zhao Kingdom was about to come true. As long as the Zhao State is destroyed, the world will be initially settled. He will send his troops back to occupy the entire three Jin areas, then attack the Chu State, and then plan for the Yan State and Qi State to unify the world. It will no longer be a dream.
In October 260 BC, just one month after the Battle of Changping, Bai Qi led the newly adjusted 300,000 troops and captured the remaining cities in the Shangdang area with lightning speed. Since then, Shangdang has The whole territory was included in the territory of Qin.
Immediately afterwards, in order to further expand the victory, Bai Qi directly divided the 300,000-strong army into two groups: heading west, led by Sima Geng, and captured Zhao's Taiyuan County in Shanxi within a few days. At this point, the entire territory of Shanxi was completely destroyed. Returning to Qin, Zhao's so-called Taihang danger almost became a decoration; the other road went north along the Taihang Mountains, led by Wang Lu, and also captured the military towns of Pilao and Wu'an in a few days. Soon, Qin The two armies and horses converged, and the front line of troops approached Handan City.
In an instant, Zhao State truly felt the danger of national subjugation, and the entire city of Handan was filled with fear. The tragedy of the Changping War was still vivid in their minds, and they were afraid that if Handan was captured, Bai Qi would directly massacre Zhao.
Because the strength gap between the two sides is really too big, for Zhao Guo, the current war is unbeatable no matter what. Today, only the old, the weak, the sick and the disabled are left in Zhao State. If they are dragged onto the battlefield, they can only be regarded as cannon fodder and will not play any other role.
King Zhao was almost desperate. Could it be that the Zhao Kingdom, which had been passed down for generations, would be destroyed in his hands? He was unwilling to give in.
At this time, the appearance of a key figure raised hope in King Zhao's heart. This person is Su Dai, the younger brother of the great political strategist Su Qin. Seeing that the ministers were helpless, Su Dai knew that his opportunity to make a fortune had come, so he promised King Zhao that as long as he was sent to the State of Qin and asked him to say a few words to Fan Ju, the Qin army would definitely retreat without a fight.
King Zhao Xiaocheng was like a drowning man grabbing a life-saving straw. He was immediately overjoyed and gave Su Dai a large amount of gold, silver and jewelry. King Zhao gave all his favorite treasures to Su Dai. As long as he could keep Handan, he would agree to all requests.
So, Su Dai walked out of Handan and walked into Xianyang without hesitation in the eyes of hope. There was no words along the way, and Su Dai met Fan Ju smoothly.
As soon as they met, Su Dai opened the skylight to speak frankly and asked Fan Ju: "I heard that Bai Qi, Lord Wu'an of Qin Dynasty, is about to attack Handan of Zhao State?"
Fan Ju said: "That's true."
When Su Dai heard this, he suddenly exclaimed: "Then your position will no longer be guaranteed! This is really heartbreaking." Fan Ju was also shocked and pretended not to know the reason, so he asked Su Replace the reason.
Su Dai smiled and replied: "Bai Qi, Lord of Wu'an, used his troops like a god and made great achievements. Under his leadership, the Qin army was invincible in the world and became the most popular figure in the world. In the battle of Changping, Bai Qi captured and killed him in one fell swoop. Zhao Kuo is now taking advantage of the situation to besiege Handan. Once Zhao is destroyed, Qin will be able to proclaim himself emperor, and Bai Qi will also be named the Third Duke."
"Since Bai Qi led the army, he captured more than 70 cities for Qin and beheaded more than 1 million people. He conquered Yan, Ying, and Hanzhong in the south, and captured Zhao Kuo's army in the north. Even the achievements of Duke Zhou, Duke Zhao, and Lu Wang could not surpass him. In this way, you You will inevitably be under Bai Qi, but are you willing to be like that? Even if you don't want to be in his inferior position, you have to succumb to his unparalleled achievements. In addition, I believe the prime minister knows that Qin once attacked South Korea, besieged Xingqiu, and trapped Shangdang. The people of Shangdang directly surrendered to Zhao. It can be seen that few people in the world are willing to surrender to Qin and become residents of Qin. Now even if the Qin army destroys Zhao, Qin’s territory in the north From Yan State, to Qi State in the east, to Han and Wei in the south, it has indeed expanded a lot, but Qin State has not gained many people. How can we ensure that chaos does not occur in these areas? According to the following, the Prime Minister It is better to suggest to the King of Qin that Han and Zhao cede territory for peace. In this case, Bai Qi will not get the credit for destroying Zhao, and Zhao will gradually surrender to Qin."
In fact, Fan Ju had already considered this. He wanted to destroy Zhao at this moment. He could achieve it in terms of strength, but it was not yet mature in terms of timing. In addition, if Bai Qi takes the lead, his status will plummet. Bai Qi has always looked down on him. In this case, simply allow Han and Zhao to cede territory to make peace with Qin. In this way, he can not only relieve Wu'an Jun's military power, but also cede territory, and his position will be as stable as Mount Tai.
Jingchun of the Wei Dynasty once said of them: "What a dishonest man! When you are angry, the princes are afraid, and when you live in peace, the world is destroyed." It can be seen that the politicians at that time were able to achieve the effect of thousands of troops with their sharp tongue.
Fan Ju immediately accepted the gold and silver treasures brought by Su Dai, and arranged a place for Su Dai to stay. He couldn't wait to come to Xianyang Palace to see King Qin Zhaoxiang, and said to King Qin Zhaoxiang: "Qin Bing After years of fighting, we are now exhausted. Please allow South Korea and Zhao to cede territory for peace, so that the soldiers can rest and recuperate, and Qin can also rest and prepare for further wars in the future."
King Qin Zhaoxiang did not understand Fan Ju's thoughts and was very hesitant. You must know that he had already discussed with Wu'an Lord Bai Qi. After winning the battle of Changping, he quickly captured Handan, occupied Zhao State, and then unified the world. Seeing that the Qin army was already approaching the city, it was really easy to occupy Handan and destroy Zhao.
Of course, King Qin Zhaoxiang also had reasons not to attack. Just as Su Dai said, the time is not yet ripe.
The territory of the State of Zhao is really too large, and after the Changping War, the people of Zhao will definitely not be willing to surrender to the State of Qin. In their hearts, they want to sleep with the Qin people, eat their skin, eat their flesh, and break their bones. Once Qin occupied Zhao, it would be difficult to stabilize. If it wanted to seek stability, it would have to send a large number of troops, which would greatly disperse the Qin army's combat effectiveness. In addition, the land in the northeast of Zhao State borders Qi State and Yan State, and is thousands of miles away from Guanzhong of Qin State. Once Zhao State is destroyed, these areas will either surrender to Yan State or Qi State, or be conquered by these two countries. The state occupies the country, and Qin has no need to make wedding clothes for others. When the time comes, Qin will not be willing to let Yan and Qi gain benefits, and will not be able to go against the strategy of distant relations and close attacks and start a war with these two distant countries.
Moreover, the strength of the Qin State at this time does not allow it to start a war with a third country without authorization, especially the powerful Qi State. After several years of Changping War, the Qin State was depleted of its troops and its treasury was empty. In the past, it was under such circumstances that the Qi State attacked the Song State without permission and was jointly attacked by other countries, resulting in the destruction of the country and the family. King Qin Zhaoxiang did not believe that a person like Tian Dan could appear in Qin. And even if Qin can be restored, that monarch will no longer be King Qin Zhaoxiang.
In addition, the Qin State also has vast newly occupied areas. The residents of these areas are all residents of the Three Jin Dynasties. They have always been interested in the three countries of Han, Zhao, and Wei. Now they are forced to live under the haze of the Qin State. They were originally Just unwilling to do so. In addition, Bai Qi killed 400,000 Zhao Jun's surrendered soldiers, leaving those residents with lingering fears. Qin's top priority is not to expand its territory, but to stabilize the existing occupied areas so that those residents can settle down.
As the saying goes, you must not have the intention to harm others, and you must have the intention to guard against others. King Qin Zhaoxiang knew that when he was in their position, he could no longer describe them as loyal. When the supreme power was in the palm of his hand, who could It’s impossible to describe that feeling, and no one can resist that temptation. It is unobjectionable that Bai Qi is loyal to the Qin State, but whether he is loyal to the King of Qin is unknown. Perhaps he was just loyal to himself, but now he had a large number of troops and made great contributions to the world. His authority in the Qin army was even greater than that of King Qin Zhaoxiang. In addition, Bai Qi once again showed his ruthlessness in the Battle of Changping, and King Qin did not believe that he would not covet his position.
Throughout history, people with great achievements often met a tragic end. No matter how wise and powerful the King of Qin was, he still had a grudge against his ministers who were such a threat to his position. Therefore, not long after, Bai Qi received an edict from Xianyang, requiring him to return to the court with his troops.
