The great poet Qu Yuan threw himself into the river and died. The water of the Miluo River did not become clear because of this, the Chu State was not awakened by his dedication, and the world of the Warring States Period was not reversed by his life. Everything remained the same.
From a political point of view, Qu Yuan died in the power struggle between the warring states, especially the power struggle between Chu and Qin. He was crushed to death by the wheels of power.
There is no emotion in political struggle. Qu Yuan was full of emotions and was most suitable for writing articles, but not suitable for participating in political struggle. If you want to participate in political struggle, you should be like Zhang Yi.
After leaving Chu State, Zhang Yi did not report the good news to King Qin Hui but went straight north to South Korea. When Su Qin lobbied the King of Korea at that time, he said that Korea was a great military power and the arsenal of the Warring States Period. It made the best bows, crossbows and swords in the world.
This time Zhang Yi came, but he avoided the advantages of South Korea. First, he said that South Korea has a narrow geographical area, poor land, and not rich products. Korea is a small country, and even though its soil is fertile, its products are not as rich as those of large countries such as Qin, Chu, Qi, and Zhao. Zhang Yi compared the shortcomings of South Korea with the strengths of other countries. The King of Korea had been led into his thinking, and he was naturally led by Zhang Yi.
Su Qin lobbied for benefits, but Zhang Yi threatened with force. Zhang Yi threatened the King of Han, saying that Qin had millions of troops, and all of them were as powerful as Meng Bi and Wu Huo. Meng Bi was from the Wei State and Wu Huo was from the Qin State. Both of them were famous for their natural powers.
Zhang Yi said, "The people of Qin donated their armour, their armor, and their coats of clothing to ward off the enemy, grabbing heads on the left and captives on the right" ("Historical Records: Biography of Zhang Yi"). It means that the Qin army was very brave and did not bother to wear armor, but pounced on the enemy naked. The Qin army was not only naked, but also held the enemy's head in his left hand, and held the unkilled prisoners under his arm with his right hand.
After talking about the shortcomings of South Korea and the strengths of Qin, Zhang Yi threatened the King of Han with force. If South Korea does not surrender to Qin, the Qin army can attack Chenggao and Xingyang (now northeast of Xingyang, Henan) in one go.
From a geographical point of view, Chenggao and Xingyang are in the middle of South Korea. If the Qin army captures these two places, South Korea will be cut into two parts. South Korea is originally a small country. If it is cut into two parts, each other will not be able to rescue each other, and its military strength will be even more insufficient.
When Zhang Yi threatens other countries, he always likes to say that Qin will send troops to occupy the city, and the cities he chose are crucial, as they are all in the middle. If the Qin army takes over, the invaded country will be cut into two parts. Zhang Yi used this move to threaten the Chu State, and also used this move to threaten South Korea, with only one purpose: to divide the enemy and defeat them one by one.
When lobbying the State of Wei, Zhang Yi asked the State of Wei to attach itself to the State of Qin and pass on the disaster. Now lobbying South Korea, Zhang Yi also used this trick. He told King Han that Qin wanted to weaken Chu the most, and South Korea was the most convenient to weaken Chu. If South Korea helps Qin to weaken Chu, Qin will definitely be grateful and treat South Korea well.
King Han lives in a closed self-world and does not compare his feelings with others. If every king is like the King of Han, relying on Qin to deflect disasters for his own benefit, disasters will eventually turn to them.
The kings of Wei, Chu, Han and other kings did not consider long-term interests, but only sought temporary safety. Disaster was not far away from them.
After convincing Chu and Han one after another, most of China was under Qin's control. After convincing Queen Han, Zhang Yi returned to Qin to report the good news to King Qin Hui.
Zhang Yi made extraordinary achievements. King Qin Hui was very happy and awarded him five cities. The State of Zhao once named Su Qin the Lord of Wu'an to create momentum. In order to retaliate against the reunification of the country, King Qin Hui granted Zhang Yi the title of Lord Wu Xin. There is only one word difference between Lord Wu An and Lord Wu Xin. King Qin Hui's intention is very obvious. Su Qin can lobby the princes to unite, and Zhang Yi can also lobby the princes to unite.
In order to complete the great cause of Lian Heng, Zhang Yi went to Qi State without stopping after accepting the reward.
Qi State has strong national strength and strategic location. It is rarely threatened by the three powerful countries of Zhao, Qin and Chu. After Su Qin's destruction of Qi's national security was exposed, Qi suddenly felt that small countries such as Yan, Han, and Wei were in danger and should be eliminated as soon as possible. Qi wants to destroy the weak countries, so it needs to form alliances with the powerful countries. Therefore, Zhang Yi's mission to Qi State happened to catch up with such a rare opportunity.
There were three major battles between Qi and Lu, and Qi failed in all three battles. Although the state of Lu was a victorious state, it eventually perished; the state of Qi was a defeated state, but in the end it developed and prospered.
So Zhang Yi made a big fuss about this matter. What he meant was that although Lu defeated Qi, Lu paid the price of national subjugation, which was very unwise. Lu is a small country and cannot sustain a long war. When a small country goes to war with a big country, even if the small country can win, its citizens will certainly not be able to bear the weight of the war. The burden of war is too heavy for small countries to bear, and in the end they are destined to perish.
Based on this logical reasoning, Zhang Yi also said that Zhao State was not a small country. It fought five major battles with Qin State, winning three times and losing two. Overall, it had the upper hand. However, after five battles, Zhao Guo lost hundreds of thousands of young men and suffered heavy economic losses. At the cost of hundreds of thousands of lives and countless economic losses, Zhao State only managed to preserve the capital of Handan City, which was an act that was not worth the gain.
After listening to two examples, King Qi understood. If Qi and Qin go to war, even if Qi defeats Qin every time, the price of Qi will be the destruction of the country, because Qi's national power is not as good as Qin's. Besides, Qi may not necessarily be able to defeat Qin. If Qi loses on the battlefield, the possibility of national subjugation is greater, because Qin will definitely take advantage of the victory to pursue it, and other countries will definitely take advantage of it.
Zhang Yi reminded King Qi that Wei, Chu, and Han had already surrendered to Qin and joined the alliance. If the State of Qi refuses to drink wine, the State of Qin will offer a fine wine. By that time, if several countries attack Qi together, Qi will definitely not be an opponent.
Zhang Yi easily convinced Chu, Han, and Qi, but there was still one powerful country left, namely Zhao, the core of the Hezong Kingdom.
Although Zhao's national strength is not strong, it has a huge army, so it is difficult to deal with it. Qin fought five wars with it, but only won twice, which is enough to show the strength of Zhao's military power. The State of Zhao is the axis of the Hezong Kingdom. In the past, only a piece of alliance alliance prevented the State of Qin from making any plans east of Hangu Pass for 15 years.
Zhang Yi told King Zhao that Qin had not dared to send troops to the east of Hangu Pass for 15 years. This did not mean anything because Qin could bend and stretch. Qin had been hiding for 15 years, and he had hated Zhao for 15 years. Without sending troops to Hangu Pass, Qin sent troops to the south, first conquered Ba and Shu, then annexed Hanzhong and controlled the Eastern and Western Zhou Dynasties. Although the Zhou Dynasty has declined, there are still nine large tripods, and these bulky tripods represent the nine states and symbolize the power of the country. Zhang Yi said this to tell King Zhao that the Qin State did not even pay attention to the Zhou Dynasty, let alone Zhao State.
The State of Zhao relied on the alliance of Su and Qin to threaten the State of Qin, and Zhang Yi also used "the way he treated others to treat them in kind." Zhang Yi said that Su Qin "taken right as wrong and wrong as right", and finally suffered retribution and was cut into pieces by the five horses of Qi. After Su Qin's death, the vassal states woke up and surrendered to Qin one after another. The countries participating in the alliance included Wei, Chu, Han, Qi and other countries.
Now that the Hezong State has collapsed, the Zhao State, which is alone, is weak and weak. If Zhao State competes with Qin State, the result can be imagined.
Lianheng has become a major trend, and Zhao Guo has no choice but to follow the trend.
After successfully pulling Zhao Guo to Lianheng Camp, Zhang Yi went to Yan State, the birthplace of Hezong.
Yan State is located in the north and is a small country. It is sandwiched between the powerful Zhao State and Qi State, and its survival is very difficult. When Zhao and Yan were on good terms, King Zhao Xiang married his sister to King Yan Dai, and the two countries established an in-law relationship.
The princess of the great country got married, and the king of Yandai was very happy. Yan and Zhao became in-law states, just like Chu and Qin. King Zhao Xiang invited the king of Yan Dai to meet in Juzhu (now northwest of Dai County, Shanxi, that is, Yanmen Mountain).
Before the meeting, King Zhao Xiang ordered craftsmen to make a very exquisite little gold bucket, which contained a machine that could kill people.
King Zhao Xiang arranged everything in advance, and King Yan Dai died like this. King Zhao Xiang was unrighteous, but his sister was very affectionate. After learning about her husband's death, she sharpened the hairpins on her hair and committed suicide.
The husband died unexpectedly, and the wife committed suicide. The locals felt deeply about this, so they named a mountain Moji to commemorate this loyal woman.
As soon as he met King Yan Zhao, Zhang Yi mentioned this matter with the purpose of driving a wedge between Yan and Zhao. The State of Yan and the State of Qi are already at odds with each other. If there is another stalemate with the State of Zhao, the State of Yan will inevitably seek the protection of a big country because of its weak national strength.
This time in lobbying the Yan State, Zhang Yi was not only satisfied with establishing the great cause of Lianheng, but also further damaged the relationship between the vassal states. If the feudal states are at odds with each other and have grudges, Qin will be able to reap the benefits.
Regardless of the insults from Yan's courtiers and people, King Zhao of Yan followed Zhang Yi's advice, served Qin, and cut off five cities at the foot of Mount Heng as a gift.
Over the years, Zhang Yi first lobbied the Wei State, then went south to lobby the Chu State, persuaded the Chu State, and then went north to conquer South Korea. This was the first stage of victory. In the second stage, Zhang Yi first persuaded the easternmost state of Qi, then went west to persuade Zhao, and finally went north to persuade Yan.
Drawing Zhang Yi's lobbying trajectory on the map, you will find that Zhang Yi has taken many paths, but he has not taken the wrong path because he is selecting major countries or countries that are easy to persuade.
Zhang Yi relied on the strength of the Qin State to select countries to carry out lobbying work. The remaining countries that did not listen to the enlightenment could be directly dealt with with the army. Su Qin's backing is only a weak country, which is unable to use military force to deal with countries that do not listen to lobbying. Therefore, every country must lobby, otherwise a joint vertical alliance cannot be established.
Carrying the five cities of Yan State on his back, Zhang Yi returned to Qin State. Along the way, Zhang Yi's face was full of joy and contentment. But before arriving in Qin, Zhang Yi received bad news - King Qin Hui was dead.
After the death of King Qin Hui, King Qin Wu succeeded to the throne. King Wu of Qin was a strong man. He liked people similar to himself and did not like people like Zhang Yi who could only talk.
The owner changed, and Zhang Yi's sky changed and became dark clouds. Thinking that after the death of Qin Xiaogong, Shang Yang was quartered by five horses, and that Su Qin also died when the new and old masters changed, Zhang Yi couldn't help but worry about her future.
He is a mediocre person who does not attract jealousy. Zhang Yi is full of talents and has offended many people in the court. At the beginning, Zhang Yi did things that were detrimental to Chen Zhen and Gongsun Yan. Now that Zhang Yi's backer had fallen, the people who had been punished by him began to work together to slander Zhang Yi in front of King Wu of Qin one after another.
King Wu of Qin was obsessed with "power". He only thought about how to increase his power all day long, but he did not take the courtiers' slander against Zhang Yi to heart. Immediately afterwards, taking advantage of the emotional rift between King Qin Wu and Zhang Yi, all the Lianheng countries rebelled one after another and resumed their unification. What made Zhang Yi even more confused was that Qi State actually added insult to injury and openly sent envoys to Qin to insult Zhang Yi.
Zhang Yi does everything with his sharp tongue, which naturally offends many people, and now he has become the target of public criticism. So Zhang Yi had to think of a way to escape. He told King Wu of Qin that Qi State hated him very much, and Qi State would attack any country he went to. Once the feudal states fight, Qin will be able to reap the benefits. King Wu of Qin loved the nine great cauldrons of the Zhou Dynasty, and Zhang Yi liked him and made a suggestion that would enable King Wu of Qin to "aspire" to the tripod.
The plan is this: Zhang Yi goes to Wei State, and Qi State will definitely attack Wei State. When Wei and Qi are at war and the two countries have no time to take care of other things, Qin can take the opportunity to send troops to attack South Korea, pass through Hangu Pass, and advance directly to the capital of the Zhou Dynasty.
The Zhou Dynasty was unable to resist and must sacrifice its nine cauldrons, and the world would belong to Qin. This move is called "Leaving Sanchuan, approaching for two weeks, holding the emperor hostage to command the princes." Zhang Yi once mentioned it to King Qin Hui, but was replaced by Sima Cuo's plan to attack the southwest.
Unlike King Hui of Qin, King Wu of Qin loved the great tripod. With a long-standing wish to be the capital of the Zhou Dynasty, King Wu of Qin prepared 30 luxurious carriages and sent Zhang Yi to Wei with great fanfare.
Zhang Yi had just entered Wei State, and before Wei State's city gates had time to close, Qi State's army marched under the city wall. King Xuan of Qi was determined to kill Zhang Yi, so he mobilized a large number of troops.
As expected, Qi fell into the trap. Zhang Yi told King Wei Ai not to worry, as his sharp tongue could stop thousands of troops. If you want to retreat the Qi troops, you must see the King of Qi. At this time, the Qi army was about to attack the state of Wei, and the envoys of the state of Wei could no longer play their role. Looking at the world, the country that has good relations with Qi is Chu, so Chu's envoys can play the most effective role. Even so, Zhang Yi did not dare to enter Chu easily. The people of Chu hated Zhang Yi more than the people of Qi, because King Huai of Chu was indirectly killed by Zhang Yi, and so did Qu Yuan. How could the people of Chu not hate Zhang Yi?
Therefore, Zhang Yi sent his disciple Feng Xi to Chu, and then paid homage to the King of Qi through the Chu envoy.
When Feng Xi saw Queen Qi, he asked King Qi: "Since the king hates Zhang Yi, he should leave Zhang Yi with no support for his survival. How can he help Zhang Yi increase his support instead?"
King Qi Xuan was stunned for a long time after hearing this, not understanding what the other party wanted to say. Wherever Zhang Yi hides, King Qi Xuan will attack him. How can you help Zhang Yi increase his support?
Feng Xi told King Qi about the conspiracy between Zhang Yi and King Wu of Qin. King Qi suddenly realized and quickly withdrew his troops. Zhang Yi's plan not only escaped the slanderous remarks of Qin's courtiers, but also prevented the princes from causing trouble to him. It was really clever.
Thinking back to the beginning, if Su Qin had not been carried away by the feelings of revenge against Qi, but instead thought about strategies to protect himself, he would definitely not be quartered by five horses.
After staying in Wei for more than a year, Zhang Yi died.
King Wu of Qin had his heart set on Jiuding and longed to possess it.
These nine tripods are said to have been built by Dayu, and the materials for their construction came from tributes paid by Kyushu, thus symbolizing Kyushu. Whoever owns these nine tripods means that he has the right to rule the nine states.
Any ambitious king hopes to own these nine cauldrons because they are symbols of power. Back then, King Zhuang of Chu, claiming to be the best in the world, rashly led his army to the capital of the Zhou Dynasty to "ask" the importance of the nine great tripods. Although the Zhou Dynasty was in decline at that time, the ministers of the Zhou Dynasty still reprimanded King Chuzhuang, saying that the tripod was an important national weapon and could only be enjoyed by the emperor. A minister was not qualified to aspire to the throne. King Zhuang of Chu was furious and said that the weapons of Chu were so powerful that even if only a small piece was knocked off from the weapons, several identical cauldrons could be made.
At that time, there was no Jade Seal of Chuan Guo. The nine large tripods were equivalent to the Jade Seal of Chuan Guo. They were symbols of the country’s ultimate power and were not allowed to be cast at will. The intention of King Chu Cheng was not to cast the cauldron, but to show that Chu State was very powerful.
In order to obtain Jiuding, King Wu of Qin first carried out personnel reforms and divided the prime minister into two, with Qiliji and Gan Mao as the prime ministers. After two years of talent training, King Wu of Qin gathered a group of powerful people around him, such as Ren Bi, Wu Huo and Meng Shuo.
In 308 BC, King Wu of Qin mobilized his army to attack Yiyang in South Korea. Judging from the military strength of the Qin State, it is more than enough to enter the capital of the Zhou Dynasty. The biggest trouble is Yiyang City.
Yiyang is South Korea's key barrier against Qin's eastward advance. If Yiyang is captured, South Korea will be in danger of national subjugation, so South Korea attaches great importance to Yiyang City.
The generals responsible for capturing Yiyang were Gan Mao and Xiang Shou, with Gan Mao being the main person in charge. For Gan Mao, the solidity of Yiyang city was only the second problem. The real problem was how to gain the trust of King Wu of Qin. Because, within the Qin State, a faction headed by Qi Liji and Gongsun Hao had always opposed the capture of Yiyang. The reason was simple: the city wall of Yiyang was high and the river was deep, and there were more soldiers stationed there, making it uneconomical to attack by force.
Gan Mao and Qi Liji were both prime ministers, with equal status. If anything goes wrong in the siege of the city, Chuiliji, who was next to King Qin Wu, would definitely take the opportunity to slander him, and Gan Mao would definitely have a difficult life.
At that time, Gan Mao led his army outside and was stationed in Xirang. The task of lobbying King Wu of Qin and gaining the highest trust fell on Xiang Shou. Xiang Shou told King Wu of Qin that it was difficult to capture Yiyang City, so it was better not to capture it.
After hearing this, King Wu of Qin hurried to Xirang to ask Gan Mao the reason. Gan Mao did not answer directly, but told King Qin Wu a story.
There was a man named Zeng Shen in the state of Lu who killed someone. Outsiders told Zeng Shen's mother about Zeng Shen's murder. At first, Zeng Shen's mother didn't believe it and continued to weave peacefully. The second wave of people came to tell Zeng Shen, but Zeng Shen's mother still didn't believe it. However, when the third wave of people said the same thing, Zeng Shen's old mother immediately dropped the machine and ran away.
Through the short story "Zeng Shen kills people", what Gan Mao wants to express is that Yiyang City is very strong and cannot be captured overnight. If time drags on for a long time, or if the Qin army fails, someone will definitely slander him behind his back.
Since Gan Mao's moral character was not as noble as Zeng Shen's, King Qin Wu's trust in Gan Mao was not as high as Zeng Shen's mother's trust in Zeng Shen. By then, there will not only be three waves of slanderers. If King Wu of Qin could not resist the slander and instead abandoned Gan Mao like Zeng Shen's mother abandoned Zeng Shen, Gan Mao would surely suffer greatly.
After telling the story, Gan Mao cited the fact that Leyang captured Zhongshan Kingdom as an example. At that time, Leyang led the army to attack Zhongshan Kingdom and fought for three years before winning. After the army returned to China, Marquis Wei Wen gave Leyang a large number of letters accusing him. Le Yang was deeply moved and knelt down to thank him, saying that the conquest of Zhongshan was not due to him but to Wei Wenhou's trust in him.
King Wu of Qin finally understood the meaning of Gan Mao's words. It was not that Yiyang City could not be attacked or that the Qin army was not brave enough, but that Gan Mao did not trust him. So King Wu of Qin promised that no matter how the battle to capture Yiyang went, he would never listen to the slanderous words of Qiliji, Gongsun Hao and others. Gan Mao and King Wu of Qin entered into this alliance, which was called the Xirang Alliance.
In order to cooperate with the army's march into Yiyang, minister Feng Zhang suggested returning Hanzhong to Chu State first. Feng Zhang believed that if he did not win over Chu, Chu would definitely invade Qin while Qin's main force was attacking Yiyang. The King of Chu is greedy for profit. If Hanzhong is given to Chu State, Chu State will not interfere. King Wu of Qin agreed and sent Feng Zhang as envoy to Chu.
When he came to Chu State, Feng Zhang found that Qi State was also wooing Chu State at this time. There is a war in Yiyang City. Qin is trying to win over Chu for Yiyang, and Qi is also trying to win over Chu for Yiyang. After seeing this situation, the King of Chu did not side with either Qi or Qin. Instead, he sent General Jing Cui to lead the army north under the banner of rescuing South Korea.
The Battle of Yiyang lasted for more than five months. Both Qin and Han suffered heavy casualties, but there was still no winner. Winter came in a blink of an eye, the weather was freezing and the Qin army was miserable when they garrisoned the city.
At this time, as Gan Mao expected, Qiliji, Gongsun Hao and others all slandered King Qin Wu and slandered Gan Mao. After fighting for more than half a year, with only casualties and no fruits of victory, King Qin Wu wanted to withdraw his troops. However, Gan Mao reminded King Wu of Qin not to forget the alliance between monarch and ministers. Thinking of the Xi soil alliance, King Wu of Qin came to his senses and once again recruited troops, collected food and grass, forged ordnance, and sent it to the front line continuously.
The internal enemies have been dealt with, but the external enemies are still watching, such as the Chu general Jing Cui, and King Qin Wu is very worried about this.
Gan Mao told King Wu of Qin that the Chu State sent troops to rescue South Korea in name, but actually to take advantage of the situation. The Chu army will never unite with the Korean army, and King Wu of Qin can sit back and relax.
As spring approached the following year, the Qin army launched another large-scale attack. However, Yiyang City is very strong, the city walls have been thickened and reinforced, and the moat is very deep. The Qin soldiers were exhausted from the fighting. Even though the military drums beat several times, no one charged. They all lay on the ground panting.
The battle of Yiyang was of great significance to Gan Mao. For the sake of the future, Gan Mao moved out his personal property and distributed it all to his powerful soldiers. After the mobilization work was completed, Gan Mao ordered the Qin army to attack Yiyang again.
Yiyang City was finally breached, and the Qin army stormed in and started street fighting with the Korean soldiers. The battle was over, and 60,000 Korean troops were beheaded in street fighting alone. There were hundreds of thousands of Korean troops guarding Yiyang City, and it is unknown how many of them survived. The year was 307 BC.
