Looking back at the development history of Qin State, there were two accidents that made Qin State stronger. After decades of development in the early Warring States period, no one expected that the unknown Qin State, which was located in the far west in the past, would be so lucky. It not only changed the weakness and poverty of the Qin State as a whole, but also regained The land occupied by the Wei State inside and outside Hangu Pass quickly became the Wei State's biggest rival and the most popular vassal state during the Warring States Period in the next 20 years.
All this can be attributed to two figures. The first is Qin Xiaogong Ying Quliang, and the other is Shang Yang, a fellow countryman of Wu Qi and a giant of the Legalist school. Of the two of them, one is ambitious and the other is full of experience. After the setback in Wei, Shang Yang came to Qin, and after going through many hardships, the two hit it off. Shang Yang, who was unable to exert his influence in Wei, was reused in Qin. Qin Xiaogong handed over the power to Shang Yang and asked him to carry out thorough changes in the Qin State based on his own thoughts and planned measures in order to strengthen itself.
An accident made Shang Yang, who could have flexed his muscles in the Wei State, become a loyal minister of the Qin State and an important figure who influenced the situation of the Warring States Period. He implemented a series of measures in the Qin State. Starting from the national conditions of the Qin State, which was almost in a semi-barbaric state, backward, poor, corrupt and chaotic, he carried out drastic reforms. He not only completely changed the laws, regulations and superstructure of the Qin State, but also It also completely changed Qin's military system, political rules, government organizations, social structure, and customs. In fact, even moral values and concepts of life underwent earth-shaking changes. Shang Yang's reform became the most thrilling event at that time. From then on, a country that was originally weak gradually embarked on the path of becoming strong.
As a relatively thorough reform movement, Shang Yang's Reform played a role in promoting social progress and historical development. Through this reform, Qin abolished the old system and replaced it with a new system that could adapt to the social and economic development of the time. Shang Yang's reform had an obvious effect. It promoted the economic development of the Qin State, strengthened the national strength, achieved the goal of enriching the country and strengthening the army, and laid the foundation for the future unification of the country by Qin. However, Shang Yang's hard work was not recognized by everyone. After Qin Xiaogong died, Shang Yang paid the price - he was even torn apart by a chariot after his death. Because the reforms harmed the interests of the old nobility, even the new King of Qin hated Shang Yang deeply. Qin Xiaogong's brother was punished because of the reform, and the prince was also exiled because of the reform. The vested interests of the great nobles in Hexi disappeared without a trace, and even Shang Yang eventually died of the law of continuous sitting promulgated by himself. However, the reform was eventually retained, and it became an important part of the Warring States pattern, just as it left the Qin State with internal stability and external subjugation.
The Qin State had the most suitable conditions for reform at that time: a backward and chaotic society, a wise king, determined Qin people, and a brave army, which other vassal states did not have. Before his death, the Prime Minister of Wei personally told the King of Wei: Shang Yang should either be reused or killed. Just as he failed to save the decline of Wei State, the King of Wei ultimately failed to prevent Shang Yang from entering Qin.
In addition to Shang Yang’s reforms, the rise of Qin also has its own special advantages:
First, Qin has geographical advantages. It is located in the Weihe River Basin in northwest China. It can attack the hinterland of the Central Plains when advancing, and when retreating, it can resist foreign enemies in the Hangu Pass area with the momentum of one man holding the pass and ten thousand men unable to open it.
Second, the internal stability of the Qin State after the Reform allowed the Qin rulers to attack other vassal states in the east without any worries.
Third, it has military strength and economic strength. Judging from the weapons and equipment at that time, the Qin army was the first Chinese to replace bronze weapons with steel weapons and replace chariot soldiers with cavalry. Looking at the economic strength at the time, in 318 BC, during the reign of King Qin Hui, the Qin army successfully occupied the grain-producing plains of Sichuan. This not only greatly expanded Qin's territory, but also greatly strengthened Qin's power. economic power. Taking advantage of the Kingdom of Abundance, the Qin army set off from the Yangtze River and Hangu Pass on both north and south routes to realize its strategic intention of unifying the world.
Fourth, the rulers of Qin were capable and ambitious realists. While vigorously and continuously introducing talents, they also took the lead in applying Legalist theory to centralize power, accumulate strength for the country and the army, and became one of the seven heroes of the Warring States Period. , the most vibrant and energetic one.
After Shang Yang's death, King Qin Hui continued to implement Shang Yang's reform strategy. Under the management of King Qin Hui, the State of Qin spent 27 years recuperating and recuperating, which further consolidated and expanded the achievements of Shang Yang's reforms. By the time King Wu of Qin Yingdang came to the throne, the strength of the State of Qin had been demonstrated in its military actions.
It can be seen from Ying Dang's name that King Qin Hui placed high hopes on him to dominate the Central Plains and bring peace to the world. According to historical records, King Wu of Qin Yingdang was tall and strong, had supernatural powers, and liked to compete with others. Whether it is words such as heroes seeing the same thing or collusion, they all tell the fact that King Qin Wu liked people like him. Therefore, during the reign of King Wu of Qin, the strong men Wu Huo, Ren Bi, Meng Shuo and others were all awarded high officials because of their great strength. Four years after he came to the throne, in 307 BC, the extremely powerful King Wu of Qin unfortunately broke his tibia while competing with Meng Shuo to lift the "Dragon Wen Red Cauldron" and died soon after.
The death of King Wu of Qin was not a major event for the Qin State, which was in its ascendant period. However, because he had no heirs, Qin fell into a period of political chaos.
Only after great chaos can great governance be achieved, and in times of great chaos, there must be some people, whether they are heroes or heroes, who will not be willing to be lonely and will gradually emerge from the water of history.
Just when the Qin State was facing the crisis of falling apart, the political group formed by King Qin Huiwen's first wife Queen Huiwen, King Qin Wu's queen Wu Queen, and King Wu's younger brother Gongzi Zhuang and Mi Bazi (later Queen Mother Xuan), Wei Ran The forces headed by foreign relatives began a three-year battle to seize the throne. Another accident that determined the fate of Qin happened during this period.
The orthodox group formed by the royal family has a legitimate name and its political advantages are even more obvious. But Wei Ran is not an ordinary person. As early as the period of King Qin Huiwen, he had already held an important position in the Qin State. When King Wu died violently, Wei Ran once again became the most powerful person in the Qin State. At this time, Wei Ran also received behind-the-scenes support from South Korea and Zhao because of his sister. In order to seize the initiative in politics, Wei Ran and Mi Bazi decided to support Ying Ji, Mi Bazi's eldest son and the half-brother of King Wu of Qin.
Ying Ji was sent to the State of Yan as a hostage in his early years. After the death of King Qin Wu, he was sent back by the people of the State of Yan. The strategic intention of Yan State is very obvious. With the help of Ying Ji, it can improve the relationship between Yan State and Qin State and further interfere in Qin State's internal affairs. Unfortunately, they did not expect that Ying Ji would become a key figure in determining the final outcome of the Warring States Period. He reigned for 56 years and made outstanding contributions to the expansion of Qin's territory and its attack on the forces of the six eastern countries.
Seeing that Ying Ji was welcomed back to the country, Hui Wenhou and others naturally would not sit still and wait for death. After the words and words lost their effect, it gradually turned into a war. If the current situation continues to develop, it will only be a matter of time before Huiwen Hou and others finally win. However, at this time, an accident happened again on the political stage of Qin. Their core figure, Chu Li, betrayed him immediately. When the fierce battle was in full swing, he held the military power in his hands but chose to remain silent. In fact, he sided with Wei Ran in disguise, which gave Hui Wenhou's group the upper hand. After the attack, the situation took a turn for the worse. Wei Ran took advantage of this to launch a massive attack, and the Huiwen Hou Group came to an end. Ying Ji successfully succeeded to the throne as the famous King Qin Zhaoxiang.
Although Hui Wenhou and others ultimately failed in the struggle to seize power, they did not recover from the fall. Instead, they kept a low profile and secretly attempted to make a comeback. Because of his meritorious service in supporting King Qin Zhaoxiang Yingji, Wei Ran became King Qin Zhaoxiang's founding hero and was highly used. He continued to hold military power and was responsible for the security of important areas in the capital. In the second year of King Zhaoxiang of Qin (305 BC), King Wu of Qin's half-brother Gongzi Zhuang ascended the throne and proclaimed himself king without authorization, with the support of his mother Queen Huiwen, Queen Wu and others, and was known as "Ji Jun" in history. I want to kill him first and then report it. After the major event is settled, I will replace King Qin Zhaoxiang. The princes Zhuang, Empress Huiwen, and related ministers and princes who committed rebellion were all wiped out under Wei Ran's active attack, and the Qin State once again entered a period of stable development.
An accident caused the death of King Wu of Qin; an accident caused the Wei Ran Group to turn defeat into victory; an accident made Mi Bazi become the Queen Mother Xuan, and this began the era in which the Queen Mother Xuan and Wei Ran jointly presided over the government. It seems like an accident, but it is actually reasonable. Judging from the situation of the Warring States Period at that time, the Qin State had an unshirkable responsibility for unifying the world. Although chaos broke out, the Qin State, governed by people's minds, would not only quickly return to stability, but also continue to grow stronger.
This is the so-called "general trend".
