Zhao Kuo (about 3 10-260) was a general of Zhao in the Warring States Period. Also known as the groom, his father is Zhao's famous Zhao She.

When Zhao Kuo was young, under the influence of his father Zhao She, he was familiar with the art of war and eloquent, but he had no actual combat experience. In the sixth year of Zhao's rule (260 years ago), Zhao and Qin used Zhao Kuo instead of Lian Po as generals. After taking office, he turned from defending to attacking, and took the initiative to lead the troops to attack Changping (now northwest of Gaoping, Shanxi Province), surrounded by Qin Jun, and organized many breakthroughs during the period, but none of them succeeded. After being besieged for 46 days, Zhao Kuo was shot and killed by Qin Jun Fu Nu when he broke through. More than 400,000 Zhao soldiers had to surrender and were all besieged and killed by the generals of Qin. This campaign is the famous battle of Changping.

Zhao Kuo's defeat ruined the lives of more than 400,000 soldiers and Zhao's future, making him a laughingstock and his deeds an armchair idiom.

According to Records of Historical Records, Biography of Lian Po and Lin Xiangru, before the battle of Changping, Zhao Kuo's mother wrote to Zhao Wang, saying that Zhao Kuo could not be a general, pointing out that Zhao Kuo had a personality problem (without mentioning his ability) and said, "What does your majesty think of his father?" Father and son have different minds. I hope not. "But the prince of Zhao didn't listen, and the prince of Zhao's mother asked, if Zhao Kuo is defeated, can she not be implicated? The prince of Zhao agreed. After Zhao Kuo's defeat, Zhao's mother really survived the collective punishment.

However, it must be taken into account that during the battle between Qin and Zhao Changping, Qin was already very strong after reform, and its national strength was far above that of the other six countries. Although Zhao occasionally won a partial victory, it is impossible to really defeat Qin, and the failure is irreversible. The defeat of Changping should be a historical necessity.

Before the war, General Zhao She was dead and Lin Xiangru was seriously ill, so the prince of Zhao had to send Lian Po to battle. But Lian Po lost the first battle, and there was no way out, so he had to stay in the camp.

Zhao Kuo was shot (stills of TV series "Iron Blood Changping")

Let Zhao Kuo replace Lian Po, not Zhao Kuo well-documented, nor is Zhao Kuo secretly buying an official, but the will of the prince of Zhao. To say the least, even if Zhao Kuo well-documented, as a young man, he wants to defend the country against the enemy, which is beyond reproach. The problem is that on such an important issue, the central government is actually the prince of Zhao under the autocratic system, and Zhao Kuo, who has no war experience, should not be allowed to go out to fight. In the Biography of Historical Records, Lian Po and Lin Xiangru, Lin Xiangru said: "Wang uses a name to surround himself. If he sticks a column, he will drum his ears." Kuoto can read his father's biography, but I don't know if it will change. "It was Wang Zhao's fault that Zhao Kuo was appointed as the coach.

Historical Records Biography of Tian Lei and Wang Jian;

In September, Zhao died for forty-six days without eating, and they all killed each other. To attack the Qin base, we must go out. For the fourth team, four or five replies can't get out. Its general Zhao Kuo fought to the death, and Qin Jun shot and killed Zhao Kuo. After the army failed, 400,000 soldiers fell into the hands of Wu Anjun. Wu Anjun said, "The former Qin Dynasty has joined the Party, and Shangdang people are not happy to return to Zhao because of Qin." Zhao's soldiers killed him many times, fearing chaos. All the people cheat, and the small one belongs to Zhao. Beheaded 450,000 people before and after. Zhao was shocked.

Visible, until the death of Zhao Kuo, Zhao can still maintain the main lineup of Zhao Kuo four hundred thousand, Zhao Kuo is obviously not an armchair strategist. The battle of Changping almost became Wu Anjun's Waterloo. Wu Anjun refused to be commander-in-chief in the subsequent Battle of Han, pointing out that "although the State of Qin defeated the Changping Army, more than half of the soldiers of the State of Qin were killed and more than half of them were killed and wounded", which was the result of Zhao Kuo's killing the enemy.

Hu Sansheng said that "Zhao Zhi lost his teacher, not because Zhao Kuo replaced Lian Po, nor because of Qing Yu's plan (Chu and Wei joined hands to contain Qin)" (Wu Hu's note in Zi Tongzhi Jian). In other words, it is not Zhao Kuo who wants to defeat Zhao.

Xiong Dongao, a contemporary poet, wrote "Too Long to Pacify the Ancient Battlefield": "Don't laugh at generals, but they don't cherish life." In other words, Zhao Kuo should be commended for fighting to the end, heroically dying in Zhao Kuo and dying for his country.