Throughout the ages, there is no hero to be found, and Sun Zhong is looking for a place. On the dancing pavilion and singing stage, the wind is always blown away by the wind and the rain. The setting sun, the grass and trees, the ordinary alleys, where the slaves of humanity once lived. I think back then, when we were strong and strong, we could swallow thousands of miles like a tiger.
Yuan Jia hastily sealed the wolf in Xu, and won a hurried visit to the north. Forty-three years later, I still remember the beacon fire on Yangzhou Road. But looking back, under the Buddha and Li Temple, there is a sacred crow drum. Who can ask: Lian Po is old, can he still make a living?
——Xin Qiji's "Yong Yu Le·Nostalgia for the Past in Beigu Pavilion, Jingkou"
Xin Qiji had no way to serve his country, and he had no passion for it, but he could only sigh sadly because of the government's incompetence. He knew that he was not alone, and he knew that he was not alone. At that time, Sun Zhongmou was chatting and laughing, and his oars were flying away. He was so happy with his grudges, but nine out of ten people in history were unhappy. Although Lian Po in the past was famous for a while, he was often jealous of King Zhao and became a greedy minister. Not tolerated?
Not long ago, Lian Po was replaced by Zhao Kuo due to Qin's counter-intentional plan, and Changping was ultimately defeated; but now, Zhao was desperate, and King Zhao could only continue to trust Lian Po. But once the crisis is over, what will be Lian Po's fate?
In fact, before this, Lian Po had deeply felt what it means to be in a cold world and the people's hearts are not as old as they used to be. After Lian Po was dismissed from his post, he stayed at home doing nothing. Seeing that Lian Po had lost his power, the disciples rushed to leave one by one, and few of them even gave Lian Po a second look.
After the Changping Battle, Lian Po regained the attention of the king and was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the three armies. At this time, those who had left him all returned to him. Lian Po thought to himself that these people are all people who follow the influence of others, and few of them are truly loyal to him. Rather than raising a group of disloyal people who may turn against him at any time, it is better to be alone and pure. So Lian Po directly rejected their request and let them find their own way out.
What made Lian Po even more astonished was that not only was this disciple not ashamed of his behavior, but he also told Lian Po plausibly that in the era of chaos, the decision of whether a disciple left or came back was based on the owner's financial situation. That should be a common thing. Just like buying and selling, if a person is rich and powerful and has ambitions to achieve great things, he will naturally be willing to join him. If a person has no money and no power, even ordinary talents will know that a gentleman will naturally leave if he does not stand behind a dangerous wall. . With such a clear truth, everyone understands it tacitly, and there is no need to blame each other.
Lian Po said nothing more. He knew that with his own efforts, it would be difficult to change the values that the world had already formed. If the disciples are like this, what about the king? Perhaps one day, when he is no longer useful, the king will abandon him without hesitation. Even though he can still be of great use, what will happen to him if the monarch finds someone who can better replace him?
Lian Po didn't dare to think about it, because what was supposed to come would always come, and there was no use worrying. Lian Po could only use all his strength to protect Zhao's great rivers and mountains.
In 247 BC, King Qin Yingzheng ascended the throne. Two years later, King Zhao Xiaocheng, who had always relied on Lian Po, died, and his son King Zhao Daoxiang took the throne. The year of birth of King Zhao Daoxiang is unknown, and he died in 236 BC. His surname was Ying, Zhao, and his given name was Yan. Originally, the throne of King Zhao Xiaocheng should be taken by the prince who was still a hostage in Qin. However, with the help of minister Guo Kai, Zhao Yan got his wish and became the king of Zhao.
This approach will of course arouse opposition from many prince factions and loyal monarch factions, and Lian Po is considered a member of King Zhao Xiaocheng's faction.
Speaking of King Zhao Daoxiang, we have to start with his posthumous title. Among them, there is the word "mourning" for "mourning", which is mainly explained from three aspects: first, it means "mourning" when there is fear; secondly, it means "mourning" when someone dies early in the middle of the year; finally, it means "mourning" when someone performs labor and sacrifices. There are two interpretations of the word "xiang": it is said to be virtuous when opening up land, and it is said to be xiang when the armor is full of labor. This shows that King Zhao Daoxiang died before his ambition was fulfilled, and he also liked war, hoping that through war, he could restore the prosperity of Zhao State.
Of course, King Zhao Daoxiang had subjective conditions to realize his ideals. Although he came to the throne two years later than King Qin, he did not serve as a puppet monarch for eight years like Qin Shihuang. Because at the beginning of his accession to the throne, he vigorously attacked powerful ministers and concentrated the power of the whole country into one person.
Lian Po was King Zhao Daoxiang's primary target.
As the saying goes, once the emperor and one courtier, just when Zhao's national power was restored and Lian Po was determined to assist the king and prepare to restore the glory of Zhao, the treacherous minister Guo Kai appeared. Guo Kai was a popular figure around King Zhao Miaoxiang. Before he ascended the throne, Guo Kai was a close confidant around him. But this person has no real talents. He is just good at flattering others and is a complete villain. Lian Po's temperament is just like that of Bai Qi: he is straight forward and hates evil as much as hatred. The two of them were officials in the same dynasty, so it was inevitable that they would have enmity and enmity. There was even a banquet held by King Zhao, and Lian Po accused Guo Kai of something wrong in front of everyone, thus laying the root of trouble.
Later, in the Battle of Changping, Qin used Fan Ju's counterintuitive plan, saying that Lian Po had an affair with Qin and passively avoided the war. What Qin feared was not Lian Po, but Zhao Kuo, Zhao She's son. Therefore, King Zhao prepared to use Zhao Kuo to replace Lian Po. Even though Lin Xiangru and Zhao Kuo's mother tried to persuade him, King Zhao refused to listen. The reason is that in addition to King Zhao being domineering and arbitrary, Guo Kai's slander was also an important reason why King Zhao made such a decision that harmed the country and the people.
Throughout history, treacherous ministers and cowardly kings always go hand in hand and complement each other. Therefore, "Shang Jun Shu·Xiu Quan" says: "If the king is good at the law, upright men will be in front; if the king is good at words, then the ministers who ruin the reputation will be at the side." It was precisely because of King Zhao's stupidity and incompetence that he appointed treacherous and sycophants. Guo Kai and others had an opportunity.
The past is the lesson of others, Bai Qi has been almost invincible throughout his life, but he was finally defeated by Fan Ju's words. Isn't Lian Po facing this kind of crisis today? Of course, this cannot entirely place the blame on those greedy ministers and slanderers. If the king can understand others and restrain himself, and does not envy the virtuous and capable, how can the greedy ministers easily frame up loyal ministers and good generals? Lian Po started with King Zhao Huiwen, then assisted King Zhao Xiaocheng, and now King Zhao Daoxiang, he can be said to be the elder of the three dynasties. No matter how stupid he is, he still knows that King Zhao may be wary and suspicious of him because of his high position and outstanding performance.
Sure enough, as soon as King Zhao Daoxiang came to the throne, he put more emphasis on Guo Kai. Lian Po naturally fell into a dangerous environment where the king was afraid, the sycophants hated him, and his life was precarious. Soon, King Zhao Daoxiang listened to Guo Kai's advice, relieved Lian Po of his military power, dismissed him from all official positions, and replaced Lian Po with Lecheng.
At the same time, he also sent an envoy to ask Lian Po to return to Handan and wait for him. Lian Po naturally knew that as soon as he returned, he would most likely be killed. Out of righteous indignation, Lian Po led an army to attack Lecheng. Everyone in the Zhao army respected Lian Po, and they were naturally unwilling to see their general humiliated, so they developed a common hatred for the enemy. Soon, Lecheng could no longer hold on and had to flee back to Handan.
At this moment, there are two options before Lian Po: either start an army to cause trouble and establish a new leader; or change the dynasty and establish himself as king. Lian Po is good at conquering and fighting, and is powerful among the princes. For him, it is really easy for him to achieve the great cause of becoming a king. However, he neither established a new master nor established himself as king, and finally chose to "run to Daliang in Wei Dynasty". What is the reason for this?
In fact, before this, there was a precedent for Le Yi to go to the State of Zhao. Lian Po went to the State of Wei just to awaken the King of Zhao. At first, Le Yi was a famous general in the Yan State. He once led an army to defeat the powerful eastern country Qi. Unfortunately, when the new king of the Yan State came to the throne, he felt resentful towards him and forced Le Yi to defect to Zhao. Later, Tian Dan of the Qi State defeated the Yan army, and the Yan State was in a critical situation. In the end, he had no choice but to send envoys to Zhao to ask Le Yi to return to the mountain.
Lian Po wanted to use this move to enable King Zhao to reflect on his mistakes and then re-enable himself. It is a pity that "employing virtuous people is like turning a stone, and removing sycophants is like lifting mountains" ("History of the Song Dynasty, Biography of Liu Fu"). Appointing virtuous people is as easy as turning a stone, but eradicating sycophants is as difficult as moving mountains. King Zhao Daoxiang was stubborn, so how could he feel Lian Po's good intentions?
At that time, Lian Po could have gone to Qi, which was more powerful than Wei, or to Yan, which had stronger military power. Why would he choose Wei, which was defeated by Bai Qi? It can be seen that Lian Po actually wanted to fight the Qin army through Wei, so Lian Po finally fell into the arms of Wei.
The King of Wei had always heard of Lian Po's talents. At the same time, he also knew that Lian Po was in Cao's camp and his heart was in the Han Dynasty, so it was impossible for him to devote his life to Wei. Therefore, when Lian Po arrived in Daliang, the King of Wei did not reuse him. Lian Po didn't care about all this. What he values is that one day, King Zhao can really wake up. At present, the power of Zhao State is declining day by day, and Qin State has also besieged Zhao State many times. I believe that people from Zhao State asking for help will arrive soon.
As Lian Po expected, the person asking for help was the eunuch Tang Jiu.
This man and Guo Kai are like a den of snakes and rats, and he is a jealous person. In addition, before this, Guo Kai secretly gave him a lot of money, asking him to speak ill of Lian Po to King Zhao when he came back. I'm afraid Lian Po's hopes will be dashed.
Under the instruction of King Zhao, Tang Jiu brought a pair of expensive armor and four fast horses and traveled to Daliang at night to express condolences to Lian Po. In fact, it is to see if Lian Po can still take on the big responsibility. Lian Po had been the prime minister for so many years, and he was very clear about the intention of King Zhao's move, so Lian Po had a feast in front of Tang Jiu. According to historical records, Lian Po ate a bushel of rice and ten kilograms of meat in one meal in order to show that he was old and strong. After eating, he didn't even bother to go to the toilet and directly put on his horse. He wielded a sword with ease. His wisdom and prowess were still the same as before. Lian Po wanted Tang Jiu to convey a message to King Zhao: he could eat and drink, he was in good health, and he was in good health on the battlefield. He is still invincible, and I hope the king can re-activate himself.
It's a pity that it's easy to dodge open guns and hidden arrows. Just when Lian Po secretly rejoiced that he still had some strength and the king found him, Tang Jiu, lured by Guo Kai's fame and fortune, truthfully told King Zhao that Lian Po could Eating a bushel of rice and ten pounds of meat in one meal even intentionally deepened King Zhao's understanding of Lian Po: Lian Po and Tang Jiu were together and went to the toilet three times in a short period of time, which shows his powerful metabolism.
But King Zhao didn't think so. When a person goes to the battlefield, he must have the ability to endure. Lian Po can't even stop urinating and urinating, which happens frequently. How can King Zhao safely deliver the country's army to Lian Po? As a result, Lian Po lost his last chance to support Zhao State.
However, Lian Po was not disappointed. Just when King Zhao decided not to use Lian Po, the King of Chu quietly welcomed Lian Po to the Chu State and made him a general, in an attempt to use Lian Po to increase the military strength of the Chu State. Be strong again. Lian Po also hoped to use Chu's military power to coordinate the Zhao army's actions against the Qin army, so as to reduce Zhao's military pressure. It's a pity that after the Chu State moved its capital, the Chu army's talents were withered and their morale was low. Lian Po had just arrived, so they were naturally dissatisfied. In the end, Lian Po could only be disappointed with no success.
At this moment, no one can understand Lian Po's thoughts. He always thinks about being able to do something for the people of Zhao State and shoulder the heavy responsibility for the Zhao army to fight against the Qin Dynasty. Unfortunately, he has no way to serve the country and can only sigh: "I I want to use Zhao people."
Lian Po, who was full of concern for the country and the people, finally had no choice but to die in a foreign country because he had no way to serve the country. In 241 BC, this veteran who had supported Zhao's military for decades finally closed his eyes in Shouchun of Chu. .
As one of the famous generals of the Warring States Period, Lian Po fought countless battles in his life and almost never lost. He conquered cities and territories, recruited disciples to fight against the enemy, and was respected by people at the time. He was a warm-hearted person who spoke uprightly. Once he made a mistake, he corrected it after he knew it, and he was open-minded. , admired by future generations. Sima Qian commented on Lian Po in "Historical Records": "Whether Lian Po is used or not is actually related to the survival of the State of Zhao. This can really serve as a lesson for future generations in employing people." It appropriately discusses the rise and fall of Lian Po in the rise and fall of the State of Zhao. , further illustrates that in the Warring States Period, talent was the fundamental factor that determined the destiny of a country.
