The most glorious general in Chinese history, the most prominent general in the Warring States period, who has been on the battlefield for more than thirty years, the armies of the six countries tremble when they hear that he is leading the troops to fight. "Historical Records: Biography of Fan Sui and Cai Ze" records: All countries did not dare to fight Qin. A note was added at the end, just because the Qin people had this general! It is rare in the history of war for a general to reach such a point. He made great contributions to the unification of Qin. His achievements created the highest practical model of Chinese military art------the God of War------Wu'an Jun Baiqi!
Bai Qi led troops in countless battles throughout his life, and he annihilated more than one million troops from the six countries. He attacked more than 70 cities of various sizes in the Six Kingdoms. The miracle is that in those days of constant war, he never lost a battle in his life (various historical data show that he never lost once) and often defeated more with less. He is both a superb tactician and a brilliant strategist. The scale of the wars he commanded and the cruelty of the battles are rarely matched by others in later generations! What is the Warring States Period? It means that wars, politics and other national events all happened in spring and autumn! Bai Qi made a surprise attack on Hanoi, Wei State, in winter, setting a precedent for winter warfare. It was the first time in Chinese military history that infantry was used in large-scale siege warfare. Bai Qi commanded the Battle of Changping and completely annihilated the Zhao army. More than 400,000 Zhao soldiers were killed (also said to be more than 600,000 soldiers, and more than 400,000 soldiers were killed and surrendered). The Battle of Changping was not only a key battle for China to unify and rewrite history, but also the most cruel and cruel battle in the world's military history. The most heroic major battle was the earliest and most thorough encirclement and annihilation war in Chinese history. Its scale and brilliant results are rare in the history of world wars. It is a precedent for China's large-scale encirclement and annihilation tactics.
The Battle of Changping was a life-and-death battle between two countries. The scale of the war at that time was very rare in the history of ancient wars. It was the largest war during the Warring States Period, between Qin and Zhao. Judging from historical records, the total number of troops mobilized should be about 1 million. In that era, more than 2,000 years ago, this was a very scary statistic, more than 1 million. Therefore, no one on either side can afford to lose in this war, including Qiang Qin. In fact, this was a war to decide who would unify China in the late Warring States Period. In this war, Bai Qi once again played the leading role.
In that war era, Bai Qi fought a war of annihilation. He destroyed the enemy's effective forces. He always followed this principle, which was the most efficient principle at the time. Because we must not forget that during the Warring States Period when the population was small and recovery was slow, human resources were more valuable than land resources. At that time, wars broke out every year, and the kings of all the vassal states were fighting. If in a war, you captured a large number of soldiers, well, the war was over, and you took them Let him go, and after he returns to his country, they will still be soldiers in the next war. Wars will always be fought, and wars will continue one after another. If they don't surrender in the battle of Changping, the 450,000 Zhao army will turn back to form another large army, and the Qin army will fight in vain. Bai Qi is planning for the country - kill!
The Battle of Changping was a feat in Chinese military history and even diplomatic history, but it was accomplished by the Qin State, which was despised by later generations of Confucian literature and history and pursued legalist governance (ruling the country according to law)!
Bai Qi is a military genius and a illustrious god of war, but he ignores political intrigue and is not worthy of the word "hero". As for heroes, they have always been given to people who are highly respected by later generations of Confucian kings. Because Bai Qi killed too many enemies, he was also excluded by these "benevolent, righteous and moral" scholars. Therefore, later generations often call him the murderer king. Some historians even believe that Bai Qi is not worthy of being called a famous general at all. But we all know that Bai Qi actually occupies a very important position in the history of world military affairs. He is the "God of War" who was truly born for war!
Among the famous generals of the Warring States Period, Wu Qi and Pang Juan of the Wei State, Sun Bin of the Qi State, and Le Yi of the Yan State all studied under their masters first. After becoming famous military strategists, they went to their favorite country to "become a general" in the hope of being wise. The appreciation of the monarch - this is the good atmosphere of two-way selection of talents in the Warring States Period. The so-called "a hundred schools of thought contend, choose the best and the most suitable". Most of these "famous generals" wrote books after they retired or lost power, hoping to pass on their military theories and practices to future generations.
The four famous generals of the Warring States Period—Bai Qi, Lian Po, Wang Jian, and Li Mu—none of them had undergone systematic military training. They were purely “from the military.” They started as small soldiers, and in the killing and fighting Relying on his military exploits and leaving a name for future generations.
Qin and Zhao were the most bloody and belligerent in the Warring States Period, especially the Qin State, which thoroughly implemented the military merit system established by Shang Yang and measured merit based on heads. Therefore, generals are all born in wars. Even if they are children of aristocratic families, without merit, they are still veterans and cannot be knighted. In this environment, a generation of war gods like Bai Qi was born, who rose from grassroots generals to glory step by step with their military exploits! Bai Qi's famous saying: He would rather die under a heavy strain than become a general who humiliates the army.