In 413 BC, King Wei Lie of Zhou ordered Han Qian, Zhao Ji and Wei Si to be vassals, and Zi Zhi Tong Jian recorded that "Wei Si, Zhao Ji and Han Qian, doctors of Jin Dynasty, were appointed vassals at the beginning." Since then, Korea, Zhao and Wei were formally born. In 376 BC, the Han, Zhao and Wei families abolished Jing Gong, and the "three-part land" was called the "Three Jin" because the three countries were all from the State of Jin. Of course, although the three countries of Korea, Zhao and Wei are "from the same family", they are strong and weak after all, so there are also advantages and disadvantages in the territory. Among them, Wei has occupied Hedong County, half of Hexi County, Shangluo County and Dongjun.

From the above, it seems that Wei has made a profit in the division of territory. After all, Wei has occupied Hedong County, the richest county in the former Jin State, and Shangluo, the most strategically important place. It can be said that Wei occupies the hinterland of the Central Plains and is also the richest place. But if we carefully observe the position of Wei at the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, we will find that Wei's luck is not good. Because it is located in the hinterland of the Central Plains, it is destined to be surrounded by other vassal states. In fact, it is true. At that time, the west of Wei was Qin, the east was Qi and Song, the south was Chu, the southwest was South Korea, and the north was Zhao.

It can be said that Wei's position is "the land of four wars", as the saying goes, "the world has changed, and it is often rushed by soldiers". In addition, the vassal States around Wei, such as Qin, Qi, Chu, Song and Zhao, are all great powers in the world, so Wei will face the danger of national subjugation if it is not careful. That is, in such an environment of domestic troubles and foreign invasion, Wei Wenhou, the monarch of Wei State, decided to adopt Li Kui's political reform idea and began to implement political reform throughout the country, which was called "Li Kui Political Reform" in history.

The "Li Kui Reform" mainly includes four reforms. First, the hereditary system was abolished and the ability was used to "apply the quantity". The second is to abolish the well-field system and adopt the policy of "teaching the best place" Thirdly, the legal system was implemented, and a complete Wei law "Fa Jing" was established. Fourth, reform the military system and establish a "military pawn system." With the successful implementation of the "Li Kui Reform" in Wei, Wei's national strength has become more and more powerful. It successively suppressed Zhao in the north, destroyed Zhongshan in the east, and even defeated Qin, Qi and Chu countries, thus opening up a large territory, becoming the overlord of the Central Plains and dominating the world for more than 61 years.

The reason why the "Li Kui Reform" made Wei achieve such a proud achievement in such a short time is undoubtedly the fourth content in the reform, which is to reform the military system and establish a "military pawn system". It can be said that Wei finally achieved the hegemony of the Central Plains because of a group of invincible Wei Wuzu trained by the "military pawn system".

The core of Li Kui's military reform of Wei State is to "abolish the mobilization system of" serving the people at leisure and serving the soldiers in wartime "which has been prevailing in the Spring and Autumn Period, and adopt the" recruitment system "to establish a completely professional army." . The emergence of the "military pawn system" is based on the "recruitment system", and its core is the elite soldier strategy, that is, to replace a large number of mercenaries and mobilization soldiers in the original Wei army with professional soldiers in the true sense, so as to form an elite heavy infantry named "military pawn".

"Qi Zhi's attack can't meet Wei Zhi's pawn". This is the most terrible fighting power of "pawn", and it is with this powerful force that Wei Guo finally became a overlord in the Warring States. Of course, it should be noted that at that time, although the system of "military pawn" was proposed by Li Kui, it was Wuqi who really trained Wei Wuzu. So why is the fighting capacity of the "military pawn" so strong? What is the reason for creating such a chilling force as "the military pawn of Wei Zhiwu"? How did Wuqi train such an army that frightened the enemy? In fact, the reasons are nothing more than the following.

First, the selection and allocation of "military soldiers" is very strict. The core of this army established by Wuqi is "not many soldiers but" governance ",so he adopted the policy of elite soldiers in the selection and allocation. According to "Xun Zi Yi Bing Pian", it is recorded that "Wei Zhiwu's pawn is taken by degrees, and he is a member of the three genera, and he holds a crossbow of twelve stones, with a negative vector of fifty, and he is placed on it, crowned with a sword, winning three days' food, and moving towards a hundred miles in Japan and China. The pilot test will be resumed, and it will benefit the Wei Wuzu House in Qitian. " That is to say, at that time, if you want to pass the test and become a member of the "military pawn", you must wear three layers of armor: upper body armor, thigh armor and trap armor, wear an iron helmet, hold a halberd in your hand, hang an iron sword around your waist, take a big oar, 51 crossbows and strong crossbows, carry 51 arrows, carry dry food for three days, and then March quickly for about 41 kilometers in half a day.

That is to say, only by completing the above tasks can the soldier be qualified to become a "pawn", but it is only qualified, not necessarily. But think about wearing triple armor, iron helmet, spears, swords and other heavy equipment all over your body, and then marching about 41 kilometers in half a day. You say that the soldiers who have completed such a cruel assessment are only qualified, so you say how elite the real "military pawn" should be.

Secondly, the training method of "Wu Zi" is very advanced. At that time, after they completed the most basic examination, they still needed to carry out a series of military skills training, such as individual skills training, array training, formation training and contact mark training. Only after completing these trainings can he truly become a qualified "military pawn". Moreover, at that time, Wuqi also paid special attention to playing the vanguard and exemplary leading role of the military backbone. The training method he adopted was "one person learned and taught ten people; Ten people learn, teach hundreds of people ... Ten thousand people learn, and teach into the three armed forces ".

This training method can not only greatly improve the training speed, but also indirectly run in the tacit understanding and trust of the soldiers in the teaching process. After all, these soldiers have grown up through mutual learning. Therefore, it can be said that they grew up together as "military pawns", that is, in terms of trust and tacit understanding, the armies of other vassal States are obviously inferior to "military pawns", and it is precisely because of their mutual trust on the battlefield and their mutual understanding of each other's ideas that Wei Wuzu, which was invincible in the world, was finally created.

thirdly, the treatment of "military pawn" is very generous. Of course, although the military pawn is extremely strict in assessment, once you become a military pawn, you can enjoy very generous treatment. The whole family of the soldiers who were first selected as soldiers can have the right to be exempted from paying taxes and get at least 111 acres of land. Of course, if you were a slave before, you can immediately cancel your status as a slave, and if you have made outstanding achievements, you can also get a title that symbolizes aristocratic status and enjoy better treatment.

It can be said that it is because of such generous treatment that Wei Wuzu's fighting capacity has become so strong. After all, no one wants to lose such a generous treatment and no one wants to be a slave. And if they want to continue to have these benefits, then they must work hard and win every war for Wei. Only in this way can they get more benefits.

fourthly, the discipline of "military pawn" is very high. Strict discipline is absolutely indispensable for a good army, and in fact it is also true here in Wei Wuzu. From the very beginning, the Wei Wuzu established by Wuqi was instilled with the idea that "all actions must be resolutely obeyed, otherwise hell to pay". As long as you obey the command and win the battle, promotion and salary increase are nothing, and even your family can get four rewards. However, if you don't obey the command, even if you have the meritorious military service, you will be severely punished. For example, when Wuqi led a soldier to fight against the Qin people, a soldier rushed directly to the camp of the Qin people without waiting for the orders of his superiors. In the end, although he bravely killed two Chi soldiers, Wuqi still beheaded them for not following the orders.

That is to say, under the condition of Wu Qi's strict demand for discipline, Wei Wuzu completely "ordered the line to be forbidden" on the battlefield. At that time, in the war that Wei Wuzu participated in, the whole army could be unified like a flowing moon, whether it was advancing or retreating. When an officer tells you to retreat, he will retreat, and when he tells you to enter, he will not move. Even if the enemy rushed into their own camp, they wouldn't move at all as long as the officers didn't order the attack. That is, Wei Wuzu, with such strict discipline, eventually became a nightmare for the whole Warring States period.

Fifth, the "military pawn" is very bold in its establishment. Some people don't understand why there should be "boldness" in the establishment of Wei Wuzu. In fact, it's very simple. We just need to know what arms it is made of. Anyone familiar with the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period should know that at that time, the measure of a country's strength depends on how many chariots the vassal state has. The stronger the country, the more chariots it has. It can be said that the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period were the times when chariots were king. Almost all vassal states were mainly fighting chariots, and no matter what army they formed, they would join the chariot.

But let's look at the establishment of Wei Wuzu. It has no shadow of chariots at all. It is a corps composed entirely of infantry. At that time, except Wei, no country's army dared to do so, so you can imagine how bold Wuqi was at that time. Of course, Wuqi dared to do so, which naturally had his reasons. At that time, Wei Wuzu was not only bold in the composition of arms, but also very advanced in the composition of military units of the army. At that time, there were five people in the establishment of the military pawn, including one commander, two commanders, one commander, five commanders, one hundred generals, five hundred men, one master, one thousand men, and one master, that is, the basic combat unit of the "military pawn" was 1,111 people. Then, in case of war, generals will be set up to lead thousands of teams of different numbers.

It can be said that such an establishment can almost ensure that Wei Wuzu can ensure absolute flexibility in the course of fighting, and basically, the commander-in-chief can fight Wei Wuzu wherever he wants. The commander-in-chief commands two or five hundred masters, and the two or five hundred masters commands five hundred masters ... The command can reach anywhere in the army level by level, so it can be ensured that "the brain makes the arm, the arm makes the hand, and the hand makes the finger as flexible". At the same time, this establishment can also ensure that even in the case of defeat, Wei Wuzu can quickly form an army array under the command of officers at all levels to stop the enemy's further pursuit. As the saying goes, "it is polite, powerful, unstoppable and unstoppable."

In addition, when Wuqi organizes its troops, it will also organize them according to what soldiers are good at, such as those who are used to melee, those who are good at archery, and those who are good at climbing. In this way, whenever a war breaks out, Wuqi will use these teams separately according to the situation on the battlefield. That is, under such a flexible establishment, Wei Wuzu can often beat his opponent by surprise.

Sixthly, the equipment of "Wuzu" is very advanced. As we all know, during the Warring States period, the metallurgical center of the world was in Korea and Wei, and the weapon production of Wei was the most developed, which was known as "Wei Jun Jiabing was sharp". It was with these excellent weapons that the soldiers gained the capital to dominate the Central Plains, and at that time, Wei gradually added iron weapons to Wei Wuzu's equipment. That's why, with the support of Wei's powerful weapon manufacturing industry and iron weapons, a Wei Wuzu's individual weapon at that time was often able to "wear heavy armor, hold a sword, carry a crossbow, and cross the sagittal sac", that is, armed to the teeth. So you say that a soldier is so well-equipped, then the Wei Wuzu Corps composed of tens of thousands of such soldiers is so powerful.

It can be said that under the above factors, Wei Wuzu finally became the most powerful army in the early Warring States period. In 415 BC, Wei Wuzu defeated the Qi army in Long Ze, killing 31,111 Qi troops. In 389 BC, in the Battle of Yin and Jin Dynasties, Wuqi defeated 511,111 Qin Jun with 51,111 Wei Wuzu, and since then, the "military pawn" has become famous all over the world. From 354 to 351 BC, Wei Wuzu first attacked Handan, the capital of Zhao, then defeated Qi in Xiangling and Qin in Dingyang. In this more than 31 years, Wei Wuzu, under the leadership of the generals of Wei State such as Wuqi, created the feat of "seventy-two wars, sixty-four victories, and the rest were tied". In its heyday, Wei Wuzu even captured the Hangu Pass of Qin State, seized more than 511 miles of land of Qin State, and made Qin State dare not go back to Hangu Pass for decades.

However, Wei Wuzu, which was once extremely powerful in the end, has not escaped the fate of "prosperity and decline". In 341 BC, due to Pang Juan's strategic mistakes, Wei Wuzu suffered heavy losses, and since then it has completely declined. In 293 BC, as Wei was defeated by Qin in Yi Que, the last elite Wei Wuzu was completely lost. Since then, this elite army that has dominated the world for more than 61 years has completely disappeared in the long river of history. So many people here don't understand why Wei Wuzu disappeared completely in the Battle of Yi Que. Didn't Wei ever think about continuing to train Wei Wuzu? Actually, it's not that Wei doesn't want to. It's just that "the cost of training Wei Wuzu is too high and it takes too long".

Just now, we also said that Wei Wuzu's equipment is very sophisticated, but the financial resources to build these sophisticated equipment are also very huge. In addition, the treatment of each Wei Wuzu is extremely generous. Not only is the whole family exempt from paying taxes, but they can even get a hundred acres of land, so it is conceivable how much financial resources a Wei Wuzu spends. And this is the case, even if the financial heyday of Wei can only be barely supported, but the heyday of Wei Wuzu is only "seventy thousand people", that is, the heyday of Wei at that time can only maintain the expenditure of seventy thousand Wei Wuzu, it is conceivable how much financial resources Wei Wuzu spent. The financial resources are obviously not affordable for Wei, who is already in decline. After all, Wei not only lost six cities in Hexi and large areas of land at this time, but also annexed a large number of land by the nobles within Wei, so it can no longer meet the needs of Wei Wuzu.

In addition, the most important thing is that the cultivation of Wei Wuzu needs not only a lot of financial resources but also a lot of time. After all, the reason why an army can win every battle is not only relying on weapons and equipment, but also relying on those battle-hardened veterans in the army, and these veterans obviously need a lot of actual combat before they can be cultivated. But obviously, the countries around Wei will not give Wei Wuzu any more time to cultivate. After all, Wei Wuzu has kept them under pressure for more than 61 years. At this time, they wish that Wei Wuzu would disappear as soon as possible. How can it reappear? That's it. In the end, Wei Wuzu completely withdrew from the stage of history.

Of course, in any case, we have to admit that the appearance of Wei Wuzu really made Wei prosperous for a while. Wei was able to become the most powerful country in the Warring States at that time, and Wei Wuzu absolutely contributed. Without Wei Wuzu, I'm afraid it would have been jointly annexed by other countries because of Wei's geographical environment, but it is precisely because of Wei Wuzu's strength that neighboring countries dare not covet Wei's state, and even Wei Wuzu helped Wei dominate the Warring States for more than 61 years.