Zhao Kuo

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For the Song emperor, see Emperor Ningzong of Song.

Zhao Kuo (趙括; d. 260 BC) was a general, son of the more famous Zhao She, during the epic Battle of Changping between the States of Zhao and Qin in ancient China.

Zhao Kuo was sent, on the orders of King Xiaowen of Zhao to the battlefield to replace the previous general, the famous commander Lian Po. The King, under the influence of several of his courtiers (many of whom were bribed by Qin emissaries), and heedless of the advice given by his most important minister, Lin Xiangru, was dissatisfied by Lian's defensive strategy: while Lian Po was in command, he set up camp, built forts, and stayed in them, not responding to any of the enemy's taunts or lures designed to get his army out onto the field. This dragged on for several years, and the King felt that the time for decisive action had come.

As soon as Zhao Kuo's mother heard that he was going off to the front, she immediately went to the King and told him this tale: one day, when the late Zhao She and Zhao Kuo were talking military tactics and playing Chinese chess, she was amazed to see the son beating the more experienced father every single time. However, Zhao She was not impressed. When asked why, Zhao She said, "This boy treats a battle like a game of chess, his men like mere pawns that can be sacrificed at will. He has no idea what real warfare is like! He can never command an army."

However, her tale was ignored by the King. On the other hand, when Bai Qi knew of the replacement, he laughed and told his men that the battle was won. When the Qin king heard of it, he immediately went to the nearby provinces, bestowed one noble rank on all of the citizenry there, and then ordered every single man over the age of 15 to go and assist the Qin cause.

With Zhao Kuo now in control of the largest force Zhao had ever mustered, numbering about 400,000 men, he decided to attack the Qin forts, confident of his strength in numbers. At first the offensive went extremely well: many Qin forts fell and for a moment it seemed as if Bai Qi was going to admit defeat. Seeing this Zhao Kuo became haughty and complacent.

What he didn't know was that Bai Qi had planned all this in order to encircle and annihilate the entire Zhao force. Bai Qi had decided that, in order to defeat the large Zhao army, the best method would be to trap them, and slowly starve them to death. And with the Zhao army in the command of the over aggressive Zhao Kuo, who only sees victory and not defeat, the timing was perfect. Now with the enemy deep inside the trap planned by Bai Qi, Bai Qi sent elite cavalry brigades to take the lightly defended Zhao fortresses back in Changping. Zhao Kuo was trapped, with most of his force, in a tiny area.

With food and water supplies being cut off by the Qin army, Zhao Kuo's force slowly began to thirst and starve. After 30 days of torture, a desperate Zhao Kuo finally ordered a general breakout. It was already too late. Qin forces had by this point totally outnumbered their Zhao foes, and a general massacre ensued as the weakened Zhao soldiers were cut down by the fresh Qin troops. Zhao Kuo himself was shot down by Qin archers.

Thus with Zhao Kuo's death the lives of 400,000 people, and the hopes of a nation, went down with him as well.