Written by Hiroshi Chibun
Edited by Zhiwen Boshi
At the end of the Qin Dynasty, in the face of the strong attack of the rebel army, the Qin Dynasty chose a bunch of prisoners to face the battle, and this special army was able to win consecutive victories.
01
The Qin Dynasty was in crisis
At the end of Qin, Qin II fell into a panic in the face of the escalation of the crisis, and he did not pay enough attention to the threat of the rebel army, until they approached the capital Xianyang, and began to realize the dire situation.
At this time, the forces of the Great Qin Empire had been scattered in the north and south, ready to deal with the threat of the Xiongnu and South Vietnam, and only a small part of the main forces in the interior were trapped in Chen County.
Zhang Han advocated using the prisoners of Lishan to form a new army, and under the astonished gaze of everyone, he believed that these abandoned people had great potential and could become the saviors of the Qin Dynasty.
Although the Lishan prisoners had been tortured, they were deeply resentful, and their hatred of the Qin dynasty made them full of motivation to fight, and Zhang Han believed that by pardoning these prisoners and forming an army with them as the main force, he would be able to repel the strong forces of the rebels.
The formation of the new army can be described as a twist and turn, and the chaos and sinister performance in the disbandment and selection process are not uncommon, but under the command of Zhang Han, they quickly became a well-trained and effective army. The rise of the Lishan Prisoner Legion caused a shock among the Qin and rebel armies, who showed extraordinary courage and determination in battle.
02
Lishan Prisoner Combat Effectiveness
As the commander of the Great Qin, Zhang Han had made many meritorious achievements in the Qin Dynasty's army and was able to be made a marquis; he possessed rich combat experience and a high degree of military attainment, and he was very familiar with all aspects of the army's operation, while the commanders of the rebel army, Chen Sheng and Xiang Liang, showed great enthusiasm for fighting, but because of their poor military attainment, their means of combat command were relatively simple, and they caused a great disadvantage on the whole.
The equipment advantage of the Lishan Prisoner Army is also a factor that cannot be ignored, during the Great Qin Empire, the weapons and equipment industry was very developed, and the equipment of the army was much more advanced than that of the rebel army. With the help of advanced technological means, the Qin Dynasty produced sophisticated weapons and equipment. On the other hand, in the rebel army, due to the lack of resources and the manufacturing level of the Qin Dynasty, they could only resist at any time by "raising the rod".
More importantly, the morale of the Lishan Prisoner Army was very high, and this prisoner army had a relatively firm will to fight in the face of the opportunity to retire, and they were not afraid of hardships and dangers, risking their lives in order to win. In contrast, the rebel army lacked experience and initiative. Once faced with difficulties, morale is likely to collapse, affecting combat effectiveness.
They played an important and decisive role in becoming a deterrent force for Great Qin rule, but in the end, they could not escape the fate of the bold and unexpected Xiang Yu raid and the internal strife of the Qin army, making the fall of the Great Qin Empire a footnote in history.
03
Analysis of the deep reasons for the fall of the Qin Dynasty
The Qin Dynasty, although the time is short, but it is remembered that this once glorious dynasty finally sang parting on the stage of history, what caused its demise?
The government agencies and talent selection mechanisms of the Qin Dynasty don't seem to have practiced much, and political corruption and power struggles are common, which is even more exciting than TV dramas. After the death of Qin Shi Huang, this drama of "power struggle" ushered in a climax, because they did not set up a decent "system of succession to the throne", so it evolved into a feast of power for each other, resulting in the prestige and order of the ruler as crumbling as leaves on the edge of a cliff, very unstable.
Its economic policy is like a big drama of "Shang Nong's Suppression of Business", the businessmen are simply treated as "unwelcome guests", and the government's disdain and abuse of the businessmen has resulted in the businessmen hiding in other places, causing the government to sigh.
The basic system of the Qin Dynasty, which emphasized that all the country's resources were poured into the military, was effective at the time, but it was not feasible in the long run. What's even more terrifying is that the construction of Afang Palace, the Great Wall, the Qin Emperor's Mausoleum and other projects is simply a "luxury money-burning show", which makes the people feel as if their pockets have been emptied, so the society is like a powder keg about to explode, and a big explosion may occur at any time!
Its military policy and frontier warfare were also important factors in its demise, and after Qin Shi Huang destroyed the Six Kingdoms, he sent a large army to garrison the frontier, and the domestic army was empty.
At the same time, after the unification of the six kingdoms, the Qin Dynasty needed to deal with the threat and resistance of nomadic peoples such as the Xiongnu in the north and the local princes in the south, which increased the military burden and pressure on the state and made the country's territory unstable.
At the same time, some local princes and warlords took the opportunity to set off a chaotic situation and "seced" one after another, and the ruling power of the Qin Dynasty was like dust that was blown away.