Bearing a thorn to plead guilty

During the Warring States Period, there were seven great powers: Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, Zhao, Wei and Qin. They were historically known as the "Seven Heroes of the Warring States Period". Among these seven countries, Qin is the most powerful. Qin often bullied Zhao. Once, King Zhao sent Lin Xiangru, a subordinate of a minister, to the State of Qin to negotiate. Lin Xiangru met the King of Qin and won a lot of face for Zhao with his wit and bravery. When King Qin saw that Zhao had such talents, he no longer dared to underestimate Zhao. King Zhao saw that Lin Xiangru was so capable. He was first named "Doctor" and then Shangqing (equivalent to the later prime minister).

The king of Zhao valued Lin Xiangru so much that he made Lian Po, the general of Zhao, angry. He thought: I fought desperately for the State of Zhao, wouldn't my contribution be as good as Lin Xiangru's? Lin Xiangru has such great abilities with just one mouth, but his status is higher than mine! The more he thought about it, the more unconvinced he became, and he said angrily: "If I meet Lin Xiangru, I will embarrass him in person and see what he can do to me!"

Lian Po's words spread to Lin Xiangru's ears. Lin Xiangru immediately ordered his men to be polite and not to quarrel with Lian Po's men in the future. He went out by himself in a carriage. As soon as he heard that Lian Po was coming from ahead, he would ask the coachman to drive the carriage into a small alley and wait for Lian Po to pass before leaving.

Lian Po's men were even more complacent when they saw Shang Qing giving in to their master like this. When they saw Lin Xiangru's men, they laughed at them. Lin Xiangru's men couldn't stand this anger, so they said to Lin Xiangru: "Your status is higher than General Lian's. He scolds you, but you avoid him and give in to him. He will treat you less and less! If this goes on, , We can't stand it."

Lin Xiangru asked them calmly: "Compared with General Lian, who is more powerful?" Everyone said, "Of course King Qin is more powerful." Lin Xiangru said: " That's right! I'm not afraid when I see King Qin. Am I still afraid of General Lian? You know, the reason why Qin dares not attack Zhao is because the two of us are like two tigers. When a fight breaks out, one person will inevitably be injured or even die, which will give Qin a good opportunity to attack Zhao. Think about it, which is more important, national affairs or personal dignity?"

Lin Xiangru's men were very moved after hearing these words. When they saw Lian Po's men in the future, they were cautious and always gave way to them.

Lin Xiangru’s words later reached Lian Po’s ears. Lian Po was extremely ashamed. He took off one sleeve, exposed his shoulder, carried a thorn stick on his back, and went straight to Lin Xiangru's house. Lin Xiangru hurriedly came out to greet Lian Po. Lian Po knelt down in front of Lin Xiangru, holding the thorn stick in his hands, and asked Lin Xiangru to whip him. Lin Xiangru threw the thorns on the ground, hurriedly helped Lian Po up with both hands, dressed him, took his hand and asked him to sit down.

Lin Xiangru and Lian Po became very good friends from then on. These two men, both civil and military, worked together to serve the country, so Qin did not dare to bully Zhao. "Bearing under a thorn to apologize" has become an idiom, which means to apologize to others and admit mistakes.

Arguments on paper

In the 19th year of King Zhao Huiwen (280 BC), after Le Yi defeated Qi, King Huiwen ordered Zhao She to be his general and attack Maiqiu of Qi (today's Northwest of Shanghe, Shandong). Zhao Jun had attacked the isolated city of Maiqiu many times before, but due to sufficient food and grass in Maiqiu and the help of Mohist disciples among the defenders who were good at defending the city, they were unable to capture it. King Huiwen was very angry and ordered Zhao She to capture Maiqiu within a month.

As soon as Zhao She arrived at Maiqiu, he ordered an attack. Zhao Kuo believed that it would be difficult to capture Maiqiu within a month using a hard attack. Judging from various signs, although Maiqiu's food has not been completely exhausted, it is definitely running out. Zhao Kuo hoped that his father would understand the situation first and suspend the attack to avoid unnecessary losses caused by hard attacks. But one month was too short. Zhao She did not listen to Zhao Kuo and ordered an attack on the city. Zhao Jun lost many people but failed to capture Maiqiu. Zhao Kuo told Zhao She that there were Mohist disciples among the city defenders, and they were very defensive against Zhao Jun's attack, so that Zhao Jun failed to return after attacking for several years.

In the past, when Zhao She and Zhao Kuo returned from victory and received rewards from King Zhao, they would mostly distribute them to the generals. The father and son did not value money. Zhao Kuo was puzzled and asked his mother. Kuo's mother said, "You will command no less than one million troops in this expedition, and half of Zhao's army is at your disposal. This cannot help but worry King Zhao." Moreover, the Shangdang area is naturally dangerous and can stand on its own. If you hold a heavy army here, over time, someone will inevitably slander King Zhao. In the decisive battle between Qin and Zhao, Bai Qi, Lord Wu'an of Qin, will definitely fight with you. The victory or defeat should be between brothers. If we fail, my family will not survive. If he wins, he will be so powerful that he will be feared by King Zhao. You and your son have been famous for a long time and have been envied by others. You often ask for rewards from the King of Zhao, buy family property, and seek titles for your children; but you have to go out alone, leaving all your children in Handan, to show that you will return home if you love your family. Kings never like generals who are greedy for fame. Your father is so honest that his officials often reject him. It's really helpless for you to beg for money and pollute yourself. In such a huge battle, it is actually difficult to distinguish the winner from the loser. It all depends on the focus of the judge, so King Zhao must not doubt it. (This King Zhao Xiaocheng has the true heritage of his father, King Zhao Huiwen. He is an expert in internal fighting and an outsider in external warfare. Of course, the Zhao Kingdom after experiencing the "Dune Rebellion" planned by King Zhao Huiwen behind the scenes is no longer that person. The State of Zhao during the reign of King Wuling of Zhao——It was at that time that the State of Zhao could not unite its rulers and ministers as one, which led to the "Sand Dune Rebellion"... Now it is even more difficult. In other words, Zhao Kuo has been suppressed for a long time. "Xue Zang" was hindered by Lin Xiangru, a powerful minister. The deeper reason was the infighting between the powerful ministers and the Duke of Zhao. However, their infighting was taken advantage of by King Zhao. This was also the reason why Pingyuan Lord Zhao Sheng was unsuccessful--- - Because they are all people who can threaten the throne of King Zhao, and they are also members of the young faction that emerged during the Hu Fu Cavalry and Shooting Reform - Zhao Kuo's father, Zhao She, fled the State of Yan to avoid the "Sand Dune Rebellion" , who also went to Yan State was Le Yi---this is why Le Yi always said good things to Zhao Kuo. They were family friends.) Zhao Kuo followed his mother's words. Kuo's mother demoted Zhao Kuo to King Xiaocheng and persuaded King Zhao not to make Zhao Kuo a general, in order to test King Zhao's determination to appoint Zhao Kuo. Seeing that King Zhao was determined to use Zhao Kuo, he induced King Zhao to promise that no matter whether Zhao Kuo wins or loses, he has nothing to do with his family. King Zhao agreed.

After Zhao Kuo arrived in Changping, he strictly enforced military discipline and dismissed many of the generals used by Lian Po. Lian Po is good at using brave soldiers as generals, but most of them are not good at planning and commanding. After Zhao Kuo reorganized the Zhao army, (Zhao Kuo's problem came out. He was a commander who changed his mind before the battle. The morale of the army was already unstable. He also added a general on the battlefield. This is a sign of the army's inexperience) If he fights Wang Lu again, Wang Lu will be disadvantaged. When King Zhao heard that Zhao Kuo had arrived in Changping, he urgently transferred Bai Qi, Lord Wu'an.

Zhao Kuo saw that the Qin army's assembly and deployment had changed greatly, and he knew that Lord Wu'an had arrived in the army.

In August, Bai Qi saw that Zhao Kuo was gradually losing ground, so he proposed a decisive battle with Zhao Kuo. King Xiaocheng ordered Zhao Kuo to seize the opportunity, defeat Bai Qi as soon as possible, and then go east to deal with Wei Ran. Therefore, Zhao Kuo agreed to a decisive battle.

Bai Qi is in the west and Zhao Kuo is in the east. Fifty miles west of Baiqi is the deep and wide Qinshui River, and ten miles east of Zhao Kuo is the Danshui River with a wide bed but shallow water. To the south of the two armies were Taihang and Wangwu, which were occupied by the Qin army, and to the north were several passes in the Taihang Mountains, which were divided between Qin and Zhao. This rectangular battlefield is located in the Shangdang Basin.

Zhao Kuo ordered the Zhao army stationed in Pilao on the west bank of Qinshui River (now northeast of Yicheng, Shanxi Province) to wipe out the Qin army along the Qinshui River, control Qinshui River, and attack Bai Qi's army with Zhao Kuo's army to the east. The Zhao army stationed in Jinyang was ordered to go south to Linfen and Anyi to protect the Pilao army and deter the empty Qin mainland in Hexi.

The decisive battle has begun. Zhao Kuo led his army to attack Bai Qi's army, and Bai Qi's army retreated westward. We are about to retreat to the east bank of Qinshui River. Suddenly, Zhao Kuo discovered that there were Qin army camps along the east bank of Qinshui River. This is the camp that Bai Qi ordered the Qin army stationed at Guanglang on the east bank of Qinshui River (now northwest of Duanshi, Shanxi Province) to set up overnight. Bai Qijun entered the backwater formation and defended with all his strength. Zhao's Pilao garrison was blocked by Wang Lu and failed to complete Zhao Kuo's order to control the Qinshui coast and cross eastward to attack Bai Qi's army. The defenders of Jinyang were blocked by Qin general Sima You and were unable to move south to complete the support for the Pi Lao army. Although Zhao Kuo's army repeatedly broke into the Qin army's backwater formation, the Qin warships in the Qinshui River immediately cooperated with the Qin army on the shore to eliminate the Zhao army that entered the Qin village.

Although the Zhao army suffered slightly greater losses, the Qin army consumed almost the same amount of manpower and material resources. The pattern of confrontation between Qin and Zhao has not changed. Zhao Guo's biggest loss was the loss of Zhao Kuo. Although the Qin army was temporarily able to occupy Hedong, it was already weak and would inevitably be driven away. King Xiaocheng gave it to Zhao Kuo's family and the general of Yilingchuan. (Strategically, Zhao Kuo’s tactics consumed most of Qin’s troops. In this way, in the upcoming Battle of Handan, Qin had no choice but to retreat in despair. In other words, the international situation at that time, Zhao Guo's greed for the land of a Dang County was originally a losing move - it was a good thing done by Pingyuan Jun Zhao Sheng; looking at the Hantan battle alone, Zhao Guo lost first and then won, and this loss first means losing in Changchun. The Battle of Ping. But without the consumption of the Qin army's strength in the Battle of Changping, how could there be a small victory in the Battle of Handan?)

All of Zhao's troops. After the battle, Bai Qi sent people to search for Zhao Kuo's body, but found only Zhao Kuo's sword and armor. Bai Qi was extremely sad, buried him in rich clothes, and took Zhao Kuo's sword for his own use. Zhao Kuo grew up, was beautiful, strong and powerful, and had an outstanding personality.

After the war, Bai Qi met with King Zhao of Qin to discuss Zhao Kuo. Bai Qi said, I used 500,000 men to surround Zhao Kuo's 200,000 troops, and only then did I completely annihilate Zhao Kuo's army with more than half of his casualties. This is something that has never happened before in my history of using troops. There is no food in his belly, but he uses people to satisfy his hunger and his fighting spirit is unremitting. This is Zhao Kuo's skill. In the Battle of Changping, the Qin army lost more than half of its elite troops, and its outstanding generals suffered numerous casualties. In fact, the Qin army was not victorious and the Zhao army was not defeated. The only difference is that Zhao Kuo is dead and I am still alive. King Zhao of Qin said that in the great battle of Changping, Qin lost 600,000 and Zhao lost 700,000. Qin could be said to have a small victory. However, Zhao Kuo's death and Wu'an Jun's survival can be described as a great victory. Afterwards, Fan Ju called King Zhao of Qin. There was a huge battle in Changping, and it was King Qin who won the victory. King Qin smiled but did not answer. Three years later, in the fiftieth year of King Zhao of Qin (257 BC), King Zhao killed Bai Qi. Qin general Zheng Anping surrendered to Zhao, and Shangdang returned to Zhao.

Zhao Kuo became the laughingstock of the ages because of his defeat, which cost the lives of more than 400,000 soldiers and the future of Zhao. His deeds became the idiom of "talking on paper", but this was unfair to him.

Another Zhao Kuo in history: appeared in the "Trouble in the Lower Palace" in the Spring and Autumn Period, and was the younger brother of Zhao Shuo. He was executed in this disaster of the Zhao family.