Battle of Handan

Battle of Handan
Part of Warring States Period

Battle of Handan
Date259 BCE－257 BCE
LocationHandan
Result With reinforcements from states Wei and Chu, Zhao defeated Qin
Belligerents
Qin Zhao
Wei
Chu
Commanders and leaders
Wang Ling
Wang He
Zheng Anping		 Zhao: King Xiaocheng, Lian Po and Lord Pingyuan
Wei: Lord Xinling
Chu: Lord Chunshen
Strength
Qin: 650,000 Zhao: All forces
Wei: 80,000
Chu: 100,000
Casualties and losses
Qin suffered a major defeat, which was rare in the late Warring States period. Zhao slightly recovered from the Battle of Changping and managed to survive for several more decades.

The Battle of Handan began in 259 BC and concluded in 257 BC, during which the garrison of Handan, the capital city of Zhao, joined by the allied force of Wei and Chu, defeated Qin. It was one of the most remarkable failures of Qin army after the Reform of Shang Yang.

Background

Zhao suffered a major loss in Battle of Changping during which more than 400,000 soldiers were killed by the Qin army led by Bai Qi. When the state of Zhao was still in pain, Qin launched another attack to the Shangdang region of Zhao. Qin quickly captured Pilao and Taiyuan which caused panics in Zhao and Han states. To stop Qin's invasion, Han and Zhao ceded several towns to Qin. Fan Ju, the chancellor of Qin, persuaded the King Zhaoxiang of Qin to take those towns and stop the military campaign, while the general Bai Qi wanted to keep on invading those two states aiming to wipe them out completely. The king accepted Fan Ju's strategy and stopped the campaign, which caused some conflict between Fan Ju and Bai Qi.[1]

When King Xiaocheng of Zhao planned to cede six towns according to the treaty, some governors stopped him. A governor called Yu Qing told the king that ceding towns to Qin would only made Qin a bigger threat. He suggested that instead of ceding six towns to Qin, Zhao should cede six towns to Qi in order to gain the support from the powerful state in the east. Meanwhile, Zhao should form an allied force with Han, Wei, Yan and Chu to stop the eastward expansion of Qin together. The king took the suggestion of Yu Qing and began to prepare a potential total conflict against Qin.[2]

Qin was annoyed by Zhao after Zhao refused to cede six towns as promised. The king of Qin decided to launch another war. He wanted to make Bai Qi the general, but Bai Qi refused to do so because he knew that this was not a good chance to defeat Zhao since Zhao was well prepared and was allied with other states.[3]

The war

The besiege of Handan

In the July of 259 BC, Qin started the war against Zhao. Wang Ling was appointed as the leading general of Qin forces. Wang led Qin troops to Handan and besieged the city. Soldiers of Zhao fought very hard because they knew that if they lost, the state of Zhao would no longer exist. Wang Ling was trapped under the wall of Handan for almost two years, and five of his vice generals were killed in the battle. The king of Qin asked Bai Qi to replace Wang Ling but Bai Qi refused once more. Then, the king sent Wang He to the frontline to reinforce Wang Ling.[4]

Call for help from Chu and Wei

In 258 BC, when the defense of Handan was hard, Zhao decided to call for help from Chu and Wei. The king of Zhao sent Lord Pingyuan to Chu to ask for the reinforcement. Lord Pingyuan planned to select 20 assistants from his entourages but only 19 spots were filled. An entourage named Mao Sui recommended himself to be the 20th assistant. Lord Pingyuan said, "Talent is to a person what a pin is to a bag. The pin would break the bag no matter what, so people would see it. Talent could not be hidden. You have been here for three years but you have done nothing amazing. If you were talented, I should have noticed it." Mao Sui said, "You never saw the pin of my talent because you have never put it into a bag." Lord Pingyuan thought it was a good reply, so he let Mao Sui to go with him.[5]

Lord Pingyuan and his 20 assistants arrived in the capital city of Chu. Lord Pingyuan met the King Kaolie of Chu and asked for the reinforcement but the king was hesitating. Mao Sui drew his sword out and approached the king of Chu, yelling at the king, "Why are you hesitating?" The king of Chu asked, "Who is this man?" Lord Pingyuan answered, "He is one of my assistants." The king said, "How come a low-ranked assistant could yell at me?" Mao Sui said to the king, "You are respected by others because you are the king of Chu, a state with great military strength. However, at the present, I am only five steps away from you, so your soldiers could not save you if I am going to kill you. Now you should listen to me. " Then he listed importance and benefits of rescuing Zhao. The king of Chu was impressed, so he agreed to send a troop of 100,000 soldiers, led by Lord Chunshen, to Handan to fight along with Zhao.[6]


At the same time, the wife of Lord Pingyuan wrote to the king of Wei to ask for help. Her younger brother was Lord Xinling of state Wei. Wei agreed to send 80,000 men to Handan to rescue Zhao. This troop was led by general Jin Bi. Knowing Wei was attempting to join the force with Zhao, Qin sent a word to the king of Wei to threat him. The envoy of Qin told the king of Wei that if Wei gave Zhao any reinforcement, Qin would attack Wei after wiping out Zhao. The king of Wei was scared, so he asked Jin Bi to stop moving forward. Jin Bi and the troop set a base at the city of Ye and stopped from marching towards Handan. Lord Xinling tried to persuade the king of Wei to continue supporting Zhao, but the king refused due to the fear. Therefore, Lord Xinling decide to led his own army (about 100 chariots) to Handan in order to save his sister, even though he knew that this would be more like a suicide attack.[7]


A hermit changed Lord Xinling's mind. He gave Lord Xinling some advise. Following the hermit's words, Lord Xinling asked a concubine of the Wei king to steal the Tiger Seal (虎符, a seal for the highest-ranked military commander with which one can give orders to the entire army in the region) from the king's bedroom. Then, Lord Xinling asked a warrior to take the Tiger Seal to see Jin Bi and order him to continue moving forward. Jin Bi checked the Tiger Seal and confirmed it was real, but he still refused to move forward because he somehow knew the Tiger Seal was not given by the king but stolen from the bedroom. Then, the warrior killed Jin Bi and gave the order to the army. The army of Wei then continued marching towards Handan under the lead of Lord Xinling.[8][9]。

The defeat of Qin

In the December of 257 BC, armies of both Wei and Chu arrived at Handan. They launched an attack from the backside of Qin army. Meanwhile, Lord Pingyuan led 3,000 soldiers to attack Qin's army from the side of Handan. The army of Qin was defeated by the allied forces of Zhao, Wei and Chu. Wang He and the remnant of Qin army retreated to Fencheng; the vice general of Qin, Zheng Anping, surrendered to Zhao.[10][11][12]

Influences

The king of Qin was angry about the result of the war. He thought that Bai Qi was the one to blame because he refused to be the general. Later, Bai Qi was forced to suicide by the king. Fan Ju was also blamed by the king and lost the position of chancellor.

State Zhao survived from the total attack. It would last for about 30 years before being eventually conquered by Qin in 222 BC (Handan was captured in 228 BC).

References

  1. ↑ Shi Ji, Chapter 73: Biographies of Bai Qi and Wang Jian：四十八年十月，秦復定上黨郡。秦分軍為二：王齕攻皮牢，拔之；司馬梗定太原。韓、趙恐，使蘇代厚幣說秦相應侯…於是應侯言於秦王曰：「秦兵勞，請許韓、趙之割地以和，且休士卒。」王聽之，割韓垣雍、趙六城以和。正月，皆罷兵。武安君聞之，由是與應侯有隙。
  2. ↑ Shi Ji, Chapter 76: Biographies of The Lord Pingyuan and Yu Qing：秦既解邯鄲圍，而趙王入朝，使趙郝約事於秦，割六縣而媾…虞卿對曰：「今坐而聽秦，秦兵不弊而多得地，是強秦而弱趙也。以益強之秦而割愈弱之趙，其計故不止矣。且王之地有盡而秦之求無已，以有盡之地而給無已之求，其勢必無趙矣…秦索六城於王，而王以六城賂齊。齊，秦之深仇也，得王之六城，并力西擊秦，齊之聽王，不待辭之畢也。則是王失之於齊而取償於秦也。而齊、趙之深仇可以報矣，而示天下有能為也。王以此發聲，兵未窺於境，臣見秦之重賂至趙而反媾於王也。 從秦為媾，韓、魏聞之，必盡重王；重王，必出重寶以先於王。則是王一舉而結三國之親，而與秦易道也。」趙王曰：「善。」
  3. ↑ Strategies of the Warring States, Chapter 33, Strategies of Zhongshan State： 昭王既息民繕兵，復欲伐趙。武安君曰：「不可。」王曰：「前民國虛民飢，君不量百姓之力，求益軍糧以滅趙。今寡人息民以養士，蓄積糧食，三軍之俸有倍於前，而曰『不可』，其說何也？」武安君曰：「長平之事，秦軍大克，趙軍大破；秦人歡喜，趙人畏懼。秦民之死者厚葬，償者厚養，勞者相饗，飲食餔饋，以靡其 財；趙人之死者不得收，傷者不得療，涕泣相哀，戮力同憂，耕田疾作，以生其財。今王發軍，雖倍其前，臣料想趙國守備，亦以十倍矣。趙自長平已來，君臣憂懼，早朝晏退，卑辭重幣，四面出嫁，結秦燕、魏，連好齊、楚，積慮並心，備秦為務。其國內實，其交外成。當今之時，趙未可伐也。」王曰：「寡人既以興師矣。」
  4. ↑ Shi Ji, Chapter 73: Biographies of Bai Qi and Wang Jian：其九月，秦復發兵，使五大夫王陵攻趙邯鄲。是時武安君病，不任行。四十九年正月，陵攻邯鄲，少利，秦益發兵佐陵。陵兵亡五校。
  5. ↑ Shi Ji, Chapter 76: Biographies of The Lord Pingyuan and Yu Qing：秦之圍邯鄲，趙使平原君求救，合從於楚，約與食客門下有勇力文武備具者二十人偕。平原君曰：「使文能取勝，則善矣。文不能取勝，則歃血於華屋之下，必得定從而還。士不外索，取於食客門下足矣。」得十九人，餘無可取者，無以滿二十人。門下有毛遂者，前，自贊於平原君曰：「遂聞君將合從於楚，約與食客門下二十人偕，不外索。今少一人，原君即以遂備員而行矣。」平原君曰：「先生處勝之門下幾年於此矣？」毛遂曰：「三年於此矣。」平原君曰：「夫賢士之處世也，譬若錐之處囊中，其末立見。今先生處勝之門下三年於此矣，左右未有所稱誦，勝未有所聞，是先生無所有也。先生不能，先生留。」毛遂曰：「臣乃今日請處囊中耳。 使遂蚤得處囊中，乃穎脫而出，非特其末見而已。」平原君竟與毛遂偕。十九人相與目笑之而未廢也。
  6. ↑ Shi Ji, Chapter 76: Biographies of The Lord Pingyuan and Yu Qing：毛遂比至楚，與十九人論議，十九人皆服。平原君與楚合從，言其利害，日出而言之，日中不決。十九人謂毛遂曰：「先生上。」毛遂按劍歷階而上，謂平原君曰： 「從之利害，兩言而決耳。今日出而言從，日中不決，何也？」楚王謂平原君曰：「客何為者也？」平原君曰：「是勝之舍人也。」楚王叱曰：「胡不下！吾乃與而君言，汝何為者也！」毛遂按劍而前曰：「王之所以叱遂者，以楚國之眾也。今十步之內，王不得恃楚國之眾也，王之命縣於遂手。吾君在前，叱者何也？且遂聞湯以七十里之地王天下，文王以百里之壤而臣諸侯，豈其士卒眾多哉，誠能據其勢而奮其威。今楚地方五千里，持戟百萬，此霸王之資也。以楚之彊，天下弗能當。白起，小豎子耳，率數萬之眾，興師以與楚戰，一戰而舉鄢郢，再戰而燒夷陵，三戰而辱王之先人。此百世之怨而趙之所羞，而王弗知惡焉。合從者為楚，非為趙也。吾君在前，叱者何也？」楚王曰：「唯唯，誠若先生之言，謹奉社稷而以從。」毛遂曰：「從定乎？」楚王曰：「定矣。」毛遂謂楚王之左右曰：「取雞狗馬之血來。」毛遂奉銅槃而跪進之楚王曰：「王當歃血而定從，次者吾君，次者遂。」遂定從於殿上。毛遂左手持槃血而右手招十九人曰：「公相與歃此血於堂下。公等錄錄，所謂因人成事者也。」……平原君既返趙，楚使春申君將兵赴救趙，
  7. ↑ Shi Ji, Chapter 77: Biography of The Lord of Wei：公子姊為趙惠文王弟平原君夫人，數遺魏王及公子書，請救於魏。魏王使將軍晉鄙將十萬眾救趙。秦王使使者告魏王曰：「吾攻趙旦暮且下，而諸侯敢救者，已拔 趙，必移兵先擊之。」魏王恐，使人止晉鄙，留軍壁鄴，名為救趙，實持兩端以觀望。平原君使者冠蓋相屬於魏，讓魏公子曰：「勝所以自附為婚姻者，以公子之高義，為能急人之困。今邯鄲旦暮降秦而魏救不至，安在公子能急人之困也！且公子縱輕勝，棄之降秦，獨不憐公子姊邪？」公子患之，數請魏王，及賓客辯士說王萬端。魏王畏秦，終不聽公子。公子自度終不能得之於王，計不獨生而令趙亡，乃請賓客，約車騎百餘乘，欲以客往赴秦軍，與趙俱死。
  8. ↑ Shi Ji, Chapter 77: Biography of The Lord of Wei：行過夷門，見侯生，具告所以欲死秦軍狀。辭決而行，侯生曰：「公子勉之矣，老臣不能從。」公子行數里，心不快，曰：「吾所以待侯生者備矣，天下莫不聞，今吾且死而侯生曾無一言半辭送我，我豈有所失哉？」復引車還，問侯生。侯生笑曰：「臣固知公子之還也。」曰：「公子喜士，名聞天下。今有難，無他端而欲赴秦軍，譬若以肉投餒虎，何功之有哉？尚安事客？然公子遇臣厚，公子往而臣不送，以是知公子恨之複返也。」公子再拜，因問。侯生乃屏人間語，曰：「嬴聞晉鄙之兵符常在王臥內，而如姬最幸，出入王臥內，力能竊之。嬴聞如姬父為人所殺，如姬資之三年，自王以下欲求報其父仇，莫能得。如姬為公子泣，公子使客斬其仇頭，敬進如姬。如姬之欲為公子死，無所辭，顧未有路耳。公子誠一開口請如姬，如姬必許諾，則得虎符奪晉鄙軍，北救趙而西卻秦，此五霸之伐也。」公子從其計，請如姬。如姬果盜晉鄙兵符與公子。公子行，侯生曰：「將在外，主令有所不受，以便國家。公子即合符，而晉鄙不授公子兵而復請之，事必危矣。臣客屠者朱亥可與俱，此人力士。晉鄙聽，大善；不聽，可使擊之。」於是公子泣。侯生曰：「公子畏死邪？何泣也？」公子曰：「晉鄙嚄唶宿將，往恐不聽，必當殺之，是以泣耳，豈畏死哉？」於是公子請朱亥。朱亥笑曰：「臣乃市井鼓刀屠者，而公子親數存之，所以不報謝者，以為小禮無所用。今公子有急，此乃臣效命之秋也。」遂與公子俱。公子過謝侯生。侯生曰：「臣宜從，老不能。請數公子行日，以至晉鄙軍之日，北鄉自剄，以送公子。」公子遂行。至鄴，矯魏王令代晉鄙。晉鄙合符，疑之，舉手視公子曰：「今吾擁十萬之眾，屯於境上，國之重任，今單車來代之，何如哉？」欲無聽。朱亥袖四十斤鐵椎，椎殺晉鄙，公子遂將晉鄙軍。
  9. ↑ Shi Ji, Chapter 77: Biography of The Lord of Wei：勒兵下令軍中曰：「父子俱在軍中，父歸；兄弟俱在軍中，兄歸；獨子無兄弟，歸養。」得選兵八萬人，進兵擊秦軍。
  10. ↑ The comments on Shi Ji：司馬遷諱其父司馬談改李同也
  11. ↑ 《Shi Ji, Chapter 76: Biographies of The Lord Pingyuan and Yu Qing》：於是平原君從之，得敢死之士三千人。李同遂與三千人赴秦軍，秦軍為之卻三十里。亦會楚、魏救至，秦兵遂罷，邯鄲復存。李同戰死，封其父為李侯。
  12. ↑ ZIzhi Tongjian, Vol. 5, Chapter 5 of Zhou Dynasty：王齕久圍邯鄲不拔，諸侯來救，戰數不利。……魏公子無忌大破秦師於邯鄲下，王齕解邯鄲圍走。鄭安平為趙所困，將二萬人降趙，應侯由是得罪。
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