During the Warring States Period, the competition between the two great powers of Qin and Zhao was unprecedentedly fierce. In that iron-blooded era, the heroic deeds of the four generals shined in the annals of history - Bai Qi, Lian Po, Li Mu and Wang Qian. Among them, although the first three have made many achievements, they have all suffered different tragic fates. Although Bai Qi was undefeated in his life, he was finally given a sword by the King of Qin to commit suicide; Lian Po tossed and turned, but in his later years, he died of depression in the state of Chu; Li Mu, as the pillar of the Zhao State, was assassinated by the Qin people to sow discord. However, only Wang Jian was able to die a good death, why did this happen? Is this the impermanence of fate, or is there something different about the wise Wang Qian? Let's find out.
1. The Scourge of Killing the King: Bai Qi was brave and conceited, and was finally given death by the King of Qin
Yi County, Longxi County, Qin State, has been the hometown of soldiers since ancient times, and has given birth to many outstanding military talents. Bai Qi is an outstanding representative of this. After years of practicing martial arts since childhood, he was familiar with all kinds of tactics and strategies, and finally was made the general of the Praetorian Guard by King Qin Zhaoxiang by virtue of his brave and good fighting skills. Since then, Bai Qi has been invincible, invincible, and has made outstanding achievements, and has been repeatedly rewarded by the King of Qin, and has risen all the way to the noble title of "Wu Anjun".
In the "Battle of Yique", Bai Qi led his army to defeat the Wei and Han coalition forces, annihilating 240,000 enemies and sweeping the Hedong region. The "Battle of Yanying" inflicted heavy losses on the Chu army, completely destroyed the living force of the Chu State, and made great achievements. It can be described as an invincible famous general in the world. However, Bai Qi has a violent temperament and has a lot of powerful actions.
In the middle of the Warring States period, Zhao began to dominate the Central Plains and became the greatest threat to Qin. In order to get rid of the curse of Zhao, King Zhaoxiang of Qin personally supervised the army and ordered Bai Qi to command the army to attack Handan, in an attempt to hit the heart of Zhao. Unexpectedly, Bai Qi openly disobeyed the king's orders, disregarded military discipline, and repeatedly refused to go on the expedition. What's more, Bai Qi actually mocked King Qin, "Qin doesn't listen to his ministers, what is going on now?" This is nothing less than disrespectful rhetoric.
The King of Qin was furious and made up his mind to kill Bai Qi to thank the world. So soon, a sword-giving order was sent to Bai Qi. Although Bai Qi has countless feats, he can't resist this life and death after all. At that moment, this famous general, who had never been defeated in his life, was forced to isolate himself under the sword. The arrogant Bai Qi paid the price for his rudeness. Perhaps Bai Qi was too conceited, relying on his own great military exploits, and ignoring the etiquette of the monarch and ministers, and was finally killed by the King of Qin.
2. The important minister of the country: Lian Po had a brilliant life, but he was gradually abandoned
Zhao Guo's Lian Po is a fierce general of the dragon and phoenix. In his early years, he accompanied King Zhao Huiwen to conquer the Qi State, and became a blockbuster, and since then he has established an invincible prestige when the wars of the vassal states are raging. With his outstanding strategy and command quality, Lian Po repeatedly made military exploits and was named the secretary of Zhao State, becoming the most effective military general in Zhao State.
In the Battle of Changping with Qin, King Zhao ordered Lian Po to lead his army to hold his position and confront the Qin army. After months of stalemate, the Qin army suffered heavy losses and finally had to retreat. This great victory further demonstrated Lian Po's outstanding military talent.
However, as he grew older, Lian Po was gradually snubbed by King Xiaocheng of Zhao Guoxin. After the Battle of Changping, the Qin State conspired to sow discord and told the King of Zhao that Lian Po was just an empty name and had lost the wisdom and courage of his ancestors. King Zhao easily listened to the slander, relieved Lian Po of his military power, and replaced Lian Po's son Zhao Kuo to command the army.
In this way, this famous general of Zhao State, with high merit and prestige, was finally abandoned. Lian Po, who is over the age of old, has no long belongings, so he has to go into exile, and finally dies of depression, which is really sad and lamentable.
Lian Po took effect on the Zhao State, and he has repeatedly performed miraculous feats, which can be described as an important minister of the country, and should be reused until the end of his life. However, Zhao Guo categorically made the decision to be sorry for Lian Po, this famous general who went down in history was trapped and displaced, and finally died depressed. The reason for this is that King Zhao was afraid that Lian Po's prestige would be too powerful and affect his monarchy, so he would so abruptly remove Lian Po's position and leave him away from the frontier. Or perhaps the heir prefers new ideas to veterans, believing that Lian Po is no longer useful in being conservative. In any case, this is a major loss for Zhao Guo.
Three. The good general: Li Mu was extremely brave and was assassinated by King Zhao
Li Mu is another famous general of Zhao State, and is known as the "Two Masters of Zhao State" along with Lian Po. He has been in martial arts, experienced in a hundred battles, and has repeatedly performed miracles, and is a well-deserved fierce general. During the Battle of Changping, it was the prime of Li Mu's bravery, he personally led the elite troops to directly confront the Qin army, and with his excellent military command ability, he repeatedly attacked the Qin army, and suffered heavy losses.
Although Zhao lost to Qin in the end, Li Mu also made great achievements. Unexpectedly, shortly after the war, Li Mu suffered a rare conspiracy to assassinate, and his life came to an end. What is the reason for the fate of this veteran who has been on the battlefield for a long time and has made countless meritorious achievements in the end?
It turned out that the state of Qin was desperate and adopted extremely despicable means. Qin first bribed Zhao Gao, a close confidant of King Zhao, with a lot of money, and asked them to spread rumors that Li Mu had bad intentions and rebellion in front of King Zhao. King Zhao has always been timid and suspicious, and he was bewitched by slander, so he finally became wary of Li Mu.
In order to get rid of the thorn in the flesh, Qin colluded with Li Mu's enemies and secretly supported them to assassinate Li Mu. Taking advantage of Li Mu's unguarded return period, the murderers assassinated Li Mu on the street, and in this way, a general who should have been a tiger general encountered an ominous end.
It is regrettable that Li Mu has also had many merits in his life, and he should have been rewarded with great wealth and enjoyed his old age in peace. However, because of King Zhao's timidity and fear, coupled with the conspiracy and calculation of the Qin State, his precious life was buried. It is really a sigh that such a clever strategy and such a great military exploit were put into a conspiracy and assassination.
Fourth, the king's teacher: Wang Jian is both wise and brave, and finally reused by the country
Among the four famous generals of the Warring States, Wang Jian is undoubtedly the most proud. He is not only outstanding in martial arts, but also strategic, which can really be described as both wise and brave. With his outstanding military command skills, Wang Jian made great contributions to the Qin State in attacking cities and plundering land.
In the early days, Wang Jian helped King Qin Zhao to conquer the Central Plains and conquered the three Jin vassal states. He led his army to connect Keliqiu, Wucheng, Song and other places, and expanded the territory of the Qin State to the Hedong region. The victory in this battle made Wang Jian famous, and he was named the Marquis of Wucheng.
After that, Wang Jian relied on his brilliant military talent to push the vast territory of the Qin State to the south. He successively conquered the kings of Jiujiang and the princes of Xiongyi, settled the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and incorporated the Baiyue princes into the territory of Qin. In the end, Wang Jian personally led a large army to regain control of the Jiangnan region and completely wiped out the remnants of resistance in Jiangnan.
Fighting and killing countless enemies along the way, Wang Jian established unparalleled martial arts. In order to commend Wang Qian's major military exploits, King Qin Zhaoxiang successively promoted Wang Jian from the Marquis of Wucheng to the Marquis of Wuyang and Wu'an, and finally after Wang Jian settled in Jiangnan, he was re-named Wucheng Jun and gave him gold Wanyi, which was really an honor.
In this way, Wang Jian became famous all over the world in his lifelong career and made many great achievements. The Qin State also obtained a vast territory from Wang Qian's hands, which was obtained by Wang Qian's superb military command ability. In the end, Wang Jian enjoyed the evening and was awarded the title of prince and marquis, which can be called the leader of a generation of famous generals.
It can be said that Wang Jian has been loyal, diligent and loyal all his life, and has lived up to the trust of the country. Although he commanded countless battles, he was never arrogant or did anything to delay the military aircraft. Wang Qian's career was smooth sailing, and he was finally promoted to the title of Marquis of Wuyang, which was well deserved. This is precisely because Wang Jian is wise and brave, and humble and diligent, which has won the appreciation and reuse of the monarch of Qin.
5. Heavy history: the change of government and opposition, and the fate of heroes are different
Looking back at the Warring States Period, it was an era of Iron Horse Jingo. In the smoke of this life-and-death war, countless warriors and heroes have wandered the rivers and lakes and achieved supreme hegemony. However, in the end, the heroes also have very different fates, some die on the battlefield, some suffer unjustly, and some are lucky.
Bai Qi, Lian Po, Li Mu, and Wang Qian, as the four famous generals of the Warring States Period, also reflect the impermanence of this fate. Although they all made great achievements, the final outcome was very different. Bai Qi was killed by the king of Qin, Lian Po died of depression after being alienated from Jiangcun, and Li Mu was assassinated by Qin's tricks. Only Wang Jian has always been reused by the monarch, and finally the evening is healthy.
The reason for this is, first of all, the frequent changes in the government and opposition camps of the Warring States at that time, which put these famous generals in the whirlpool of power struggles. Bai Qi was regarded as a thorn in the side of the new king, Lian Po was suspicious of King Zhao and was kept away from military power, and Li Mu was even slandered by Wang's private prisoner and was poisoned. It can be seen that no matter who loses the trust of the power center, it is very easy to fall into prison and encounter accidents.
Second, the political situation in the Warring States period was chaotic, and slander was particularly rampant. Bai Qi regarded himself very high and was dissatisfied with the King of Qin, Lian Po was alienated by the Qin State and was alienated by the King of Zhao, and Li Mu was framed by the Qin State conspiracy and plotted to die. At that time, the social law and order were not yet perfect, and the powerful people often listened to slander and ordered the killings. Righteous heroes often cannot escape the murder of traitors and thieves.
Moreover, the war is merciless, and life is out of your own hands. Although Bai Qi died by suicide, more famous generals died on the battlefield. In those days, life and death were at stake, confusing, and war was so ruthless.
Only Wang Jian seems to have been favored by God. Wang Jian has experienced many monarchs, but he has always been respected, and he has been promoted to a marquis and a heavy minister. King Qin's appreciation of Wang Jian may also be precisely because Wang Jian is cautious in his words and deeds, diligent and loyal, and does not anger the king like Bai Qi's empty eyes.