If you include those before Qin Shihuang, King Wuling of Zhao was the first. In the first 299 years, he passed the throne to his second son, Zhao He, namely Zhao Haoqi Huiwen. Historians who call themselves "main fathers" call him Zhao Zhu's father.
King Wuling of Zhao was born in Zhao Suhou for about ten years (the first 340 years) and died in the fourth year of Zhao Huiwen (the first 295 years). He was named Yong, the sixth-generation monarch of Zhao after the three clans were divided into Jin (he reigned for 27 years from 325 to 299). During the reign of Zhou Nanwang 16 years (299 BC), he passed the throne to his second son, Zhao He, namely Huiwen of Zhao Haoqi, calling himself "the father of the country", and historians also called him "the father of Zhao Zhu". He was an outstanding politician and strategist in the early feudal society of China, and his policy of "riding and shooting with a huff" had a positive impact on the social development of China at that time and later.
During the period of King Wuling of Zhao, during the middle and late Warring States period, wars were frequent among countries, and the trend of merger became more and more fierce. All the client countries are striving to be invincible. Then annexed countries and dominated China. At that time, Zhao was the capital of Handan, and its territory mainly included the southern part of Hebei Province, the central part of Shanxi Province and the northeast corner of Shaanxi Province. Surrounded by Qi, Zhongshan, Yan, Loufan, Donghu, Qin, North Korea, Wei and other countries. When people call Zhao a "country of four wars", its sinister situation can be imagined. Before King Wuling of Zhao ascended the throne, Zhao's national strength was very weak, and he was often unable to resist the intrusion of Zhongshan, a small second-and third-rate country. After King Wuling of Zhao ascended the throne, Zhao repeatedly defeated Qin and Wei in 18 years before riding and shooting. In addition to losing troops, losing troops, we must also endure humiliation and separatism. Hu Lin and Lou Fan also took this opportunity to launch a military plunder against Zhao, and every year, Zhao was powerless to fight back.
Faced with such a grim situation, King Wuling of Zhao made up his mind to revive the declining State of Zhao. He objectively analyzed the actual situation and environment of Zhao at that time and carefully studied the methods to strengthen Zhao's strength. With extraordinary talent and courage, he resolutely abandoned the traditional dress system and combat form in the Central Plains, boldly absorbed the military superiority of the northern nomadic people, and ordered the implementation of "Khufu riding and shooting" throughout the country. He believes that it is impossible to fundamentally change Zhao's passive beating situation, eliminate Sun Yat-sen's "heart disease", and then inherit the cause of the ancestor of "replacing Rong and prospering Hu", relying on the traditional infantry fighting mode of the Central Plains, because heavy fighting vehicles are only suitable for fighting in relatively flat places, and it is very inconvenient to fight on complex terrain; Many infantry can't deal with agile cavalry. We must learn from Hu's strengths and strengthen ourselves in order to avoid passive beatings. Only by fighting cavalry against cavalry is the only way to enhance Zhao's military strength. At the same time, only by changing the wide-sleeved robes in the Central Plains into short-sleeved Hu clothes with tight sleeves and leather boots can we meet the needs of riding operations. He dared to reform the traditional dress system and adopt the dress customs of the Hu people under the atmosphere of orthodoxy in the Central Plains and general conceit of China's ritual and music culture, which showed that he was indeed a very talented and verve strategist and politician.
Because Khufu's riding and shooting is not only a military reform measure, but also a reform to change national customs and update traditional concepts, there was great resistance at the beginning of its implementation, which was unacceptable to the people and also in the imperial court. Noble bureaucrats, represented by Gongzi Cheng, Zhao Wen, Zhao Zao and Zhou Shao. Holding the traditional concept of "obeying the law without error and saluting without evil", he refused to ride and shoot in Khufu. They either openly oppose it or call it a disease. Ministers are also reluctant to wear Hu clothes, complaining. In the face of such great resistance, King Wuling of Zhao did not lose heart. With unshakable faith and perseverance, he patiently persuaded education to convince people. Because riding and shooting complied with the requirements of the times, represented Zhao's interests, and complied with the people's desire to resist the intrusion of powerful enemies, and Zhao Wuling took measures of persuasion and education, which was gradually popularized from top to bottom, and finally spread rapidly throughout the country.
In the early days of Khufu's riding and shooting, King Wuling of Zhao captured Yuanyang (south bank of Heishui River in southeast Hohhot, Inner Mongolia), which is a good natural pasture and an ideal place to train cavalry. In addition, people here are familiar with riding and shooting, and it is easy to succeed, so it has become a pilot of Khufu's riding and shooting. "The Warring States Policy" notes: "King Wuling broke the mandarin duck, thinking that those who ride the city will teach a city and then travel in the territory." This method, which was popularized to the whole country after gaining experience in Yuanyang, ensured the final victory of the reform. As for whether Zhao Wuling's Hu Fu riding and shooting is widely carried out in Zhao State or confined to the northern border areas, there are different opinions in academic circles. Some scholars believe: "King Wuling of Zhao's military reform-Khufu riding and shooting, has been widely implemented among the military and civilians throughout the country." We think this view is closer to history itself.
In the process of carrying out riding and shooting, Zhao Wu Ling recruited people who were good at riding and shooting all over the country, especially in the northern areas near Hu, and adapted some infantry into cavalry. By collecting the riding skills of nomadic people in border areas, a powerful cavalry force was quickly established. And through the management of Huma, forcing King Hu Lin to give horses in the local area and other channels, a large number of good horses were obtained, which provided an important guarantee for the construction of cavalry units.
With the development of military reform, Zhao's military strength has increased rapidly, which has changed the situation of passive beating for many years: Zhao conquered Zhongshan in the northeast, defeated in the northwest and was annoyed. Zhao became a military power in the north, and its military strength was not affected until several years after the death of King Wuling, so that when the "vertical treaty" of the great powers collapsed and countries were divided into Qin countries, Zhao Shang was able to defeat repeatedly and deter the Huns.
After Wang Wuling of Zhao carried out the riding and shooting of Khufu and defeated Hu Lin and Loufan, he set out from Wuji Gate in the northeast (now outside Zhangjiakou, Hebei Province) and built the Great Wall along Yinshan Mountain to Gaoque Plug in the west (now at the place where the Yellow River flows eastward in the northwest of Wuyuan, Inner Mongolia), stationed troops and defended the border, and implemented the progressive policy of national harmony, which freed the border areas from Hu Qi's intrusion. It has protected the production and life of the frontier people, consolidated the northern frontier and strengthened local unity. King Wuling of Zhao set up Yunzhong, Yanmen and Daishan counties in the newly opened areas in the north, liberated the slaves attached to officials and doctors in the mainland, enriched Jiuyuan and other places, accelerated the process of feudalism and developed a vast frontier.
The influence of Khufu's riding and shooting was not only limited at that time, but also had a very positive impact on China's future social development. King Wuling of Zhao changed to Hu clothing for the objective requirements of riding and shooting, but in fact Hu clothing not only meets the needs of combat, but also is more convenient for people's production, labor and other social activities than the original clothing in the Central Plains, thus having a far-reaching impact in history. At that time, in addition to imitating Chu and Qi, the Han Dynasty had become an official costume. Since the Northern Dynasties, all officials of civil and military affairs have worn Hu clothes. Later, ordinary people, even women and children, gradually put on Hu clothes. The superiority of Khufu is more and more accepted by the people of the Central Plains.
The riding and archery advocated by King Wuling of Zhao also had a great influence on the war and traffic in China. Before the Spring and Autumn Period, the war and traffic in the Central Plains were all carriage-driven, and horses only rode. In the Book of Rites Quli, Confucius said in the Tang Dynasty, "The ancients didn't ride horses, so they learned from the scriptures and recorded them without mentioning the riders. This is a weekend gift ride. " Zhao Wuling's riding and shooting practice promoted the development of riding and shooting in the whole Central Plains, which marked that China entered the riding and shooting era from the era of chariot fighting, which was of epoch-making significance in the military history of China. With the development of riding and shooting, horses are gradually used in riding and shooting, which greatly strengthens the exchanges and contacts between regions and promotes the economic and cultural exchanges between regions, especially between the Han nationality in the Central Plains and the border ethnic minorities. It can be said that the riding and shooting of Zhao Wuling and Wang led to the cultural integration of the Chinese people in the Central Plains and the nomadic people in the north, which played a positive role in promoting the development of Chinese culture.
After stabilizing the situation in the north with absolute superiority, King Wuling of Zhao was no longer satisfied with his original goal, but moved his main goal to the Central Plains in order to finally complete the great cause of reunification. He has realized that at that time, only Qin and Zhao had unified strength, and Qin was his real opponent. So in the twenty-seventh year (299 years ago), he bravely broke the tradition of setting up a new monarch after the death of the monarch, and voluntarily ceded the throne to his beloved youngest son, Zhao He, namely Zhao Haoqi Huiwen, and became an old minister with rich political experience, Fei Yi, who became the prime minister and called himself "the father of the country". He freed himself from complicated government affairs and commanded his own cavalry to attack Qin from Hetao area. In order to be a shoo-in, King Wuling of Zhao took great risks and disguised himself as an envoy to enter the State of Qin, spying on the situation of the King of Qin, scouting the terrain in Guanzhong and seriously studying the strategy of attacking Qin.
Just as his father was ambitious, a coup took place in Zhao. He made Zhao queen, and he was still emotional and indecisive about who should inherit the throne for his eldest son. In the fourth year of Wang Huiwen (296 BC), he wanted to divide Zhao into two parts, making Zhao He Zhao Yu the king of Zhao and Zhang Zhao the acting king. Just as he was hesitating, a coup took place. According to Records of Historical Records Zhao; In the fourth year of King Huiwen, childe Zhang "made an insurrection" and killed Fei Yi first. Childes Li Cheng and Li Dui rose up and defeated childe Zhang. After the defeat, childe Zhang defected to his father, who took him in. Gongzi Cheng and Li Dui besieged the dune palace where father lived and killed Gongzi Zhang. They were afraid that their father would settle accounts after the autumn, so they besieged him in the palace. "My father wants to go out, but he can't eat. He visited the sparrow and ate it. Starved to death in Dune Palace after March. " This is how Zhao Zhu's father died among his own people.
After Zhao Zhu's father died, according to his deeds before his death, Zhao Li became the "King of Wuling" posthumous title. Cai Yong's dogmatism explains that in ancient times, there was a saying that "chaos should control the military" and "chaos should not damage the spirit". This meaning can be described as an evaluation of his father at that time.
Any historical figure has its limitations, and King Wuling of Zhao is no exception. He focused on military reform, but downplayed political and economic reform; In dealing with the issue of the throne, emotion and indecision led to infighting and weakened national strength. Nevertheless. He is still a generation of talents. In the late Qing Dynasty, Liang Qichao believed that during the more than 4,000 years since the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, the northern minorities suffered from Huaxia, and in the war between Huaxia and Rongdi, less than one tenth of the winners. Only King Wuling of Zhao, Qin Shihuang, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and Song Wudi were slightly glorified in history. He even called King Wuling of Zhao the first great man after the Yellow Emperor. Although this has the prejudice of Han chauvinism, it can be shown that King Wuling of Zhao was indeed an outstanding strategist and reformer in ancient China and had a positive and far-reaching influence on the history of China.