Was there really no trust between the various vassal states during the Warring States Period? Since Qin is so unfaithful and benevolent, other countries must do the opposite if they cannot keep pace with Qin. The representatives of this group of people are the "four princes of the Warring States Period": Lord Xinling of Wei, Lord Pingyuan of Zhao, Lord Mengchang of Qi, and Lord Chunshen of Chu. Wei, Zhao, Qi, and Chu were all powerful countries at that time. Qin was also a powerful country but there were no such people because Qin did not believe in this at all.
Seeing that Qin is becoming more and more powerful, all countries are naturally not willing to sit still and wait for death. In order to deal with Qin's invasion and save their own countries from destruction, all countries have tried their best to recruit talents. Among them, a large number of people are famous for their loyalty. They treat virtuous people and recruit guests (diners or diners). In this way, they hope to expand their power, demonstrate their reputation, and protect their homeland at critical moments. Their method was to compete to raise "scholars" (including strategists, alchemists, academicians or sorcerers, and diners). The outstanding representatives among them were what people at the time called the "Four Young Masters of the Warring States Period."
Sima Qian once commented on Lord Mengchang of the State of Qi: "I have tasted Xue, and there are many violent Jie children in his common village, like Zou and Lu Shu. When asked why, he said: ' Lord Mengchang has attracted all the knights in the world, and traitors have entered Xue Zhonggai Liu. There are more than ten thousand families. 'It is said that Lord Mengchang is hospitable and enjoys his hospitality, and his reputation is well-deserved." It can be seen that Lord Mengchang is a man, as mentioned before, who likes to recruit talents from all over the world, which is known to the world. It is precisely because of the existence of people like Lord Mengchang that Qi State has been able to survive for many years, and powerful countries such as Qin State did not destroy it easily.
Lord Mengchang was quick-thinking and well-versed in ancient and modern knowledge, and he had a high reputation at that time. When King Zhaoxiang of Qin heard that Lord Mengchang was a virtuous man, he first sent Lord Jingyang to Qi as a hostage, and then asked to see Lord Mengchang.
Just when Mengchang was about to go to Qin, the guests disapproved and everyone tried to persuade him, but he insisted on going. At this time, Su Qin, who had accompanied King Yan's hostage as a minister in Qi due to his estrangement, made a speech. In order to destroy the alliance between Qin and Qi, he strongly opposed Mengchang's entry into Qin. He gave a very high-sounding reason: instead of uniting with Qin, becoming Qin's pawn, and providing a convenient door for its eastern expedition, in the end nothing happened. It would be better to turn around and destroy the neighboring country Song to the west to open the way for Qi to advance westward. This sentence implicitly conformed to King Qi's ambition to annex Song State, but Lord Mengchang seemed to have seen Su Qin's intention, so he took advantage of the scheme and believed that only by uniting with Qin could he provide the best conditions for Qi to annex Song State.
At this time, Mengchangjun's retainer Su Dai also gave him advice. At this time, Mengchangjun had to carefully consider entering Qin.
Like his brother Su Qin, Su Dai was also a political strategist during the Warring States Period. Regarding the Su Dynasty, there are relevant records in "Warring States Policy", "Historical Records·Su Qin Biography", Qiao Zhou's "Ancient History", and Yu Hua's articles. Records say that Su Dai was from Luoyang in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty and was the younger brother of Su Qin. At first, he was concerned with King Kuai of Yan, and then with King Min of Qi. When he returned to Yan State, he encountered the rebellion of Zi, and returned to Qi and Song Dynasties. Finally, he was summoned by King Zhao of Yan to serve as Shangqing. It was said at that time that Su Qin had five brothers, the others being Dai, Li, Pi and Hu. They studied under Gui Guzi, a strange man from the Warring States Period. At this time, Su Dai was working under Mengchangjun.
Seeing that Lord Mengchang insisted on going to Qin, Su Dai stood up and said to him: "This morning, I came to the palace from outside and saw a puppet and a local puppet. They were actually talking. One of the puppets said: "When it rains, you will collapse." Another clay puppet said: "I was born from the soil. Even if I collapse, I will return to the soil, so I have nothing to fear. And what about you? If you are innocent When it rains, the water will rush towards you. Once you are washed away by the water, you will be at home all over the world and have no place to turn to. 'Today's Qin State is a country as fierce as a tiger and a wolf, and you insist on going there, don't you? Do you want to be that puppet? If you can't come back, how will the puppet laugh at you?"
After hearing this, Lord Mengchang felt that it seemed to make some sense. Unfortunately, it was hard to disobey the king's orders. Just when he was about to not go to Qin, the King of Qi ordered him to go and make peace with Qin.
Amidst the cheers of Queen Mother Xuan and King Qin Zhaoxiang, Lord Mengchang was ordered to come to Qin. Queen Mother Xuan and King Zhaoxiang of Qin discussed that since Lord Mengchang is so talented, why not let him be the prime minister of Qin? Lord Mengchang also saw that Qin's future development prospects were indeed unlimited. Looking at all the countries in the world, they either have strength but no ambition, or they have ambition but no strength. Even if they have both, there are no wise people to assist them or a talented and strategic king to sit in charge. Only the state of Qin can unify the country, and everything is ready except the east wind.
Lord Mengchang thought that he was the general style, so he readily agreed to become the prime minister of Qin.
It's a pity that Lord Mengchang is from Qi and is really a dangerous person to Qin. King Zhaoxiang of Qin Yingji was only a nominal monarch, while Empress Dowager Xuan was the one in charge of power. Empress Dowager Xuan had a fatal weakness: suspicion.
Someone suggested to King Zhaoxiang of Qin that although Lord Mengchang was virtuous, he was from the state of Qi. How could he forget his origins after reading all the classics? Once he has the opportunity, he is likely to fight back, and by then it will be too late for Qin to regret it. King Qin Zhaoxiang did not dare to make the decision without authorization, so he asked the Queen Mother Xuan for advice. The Queen Mother Xuan dismissed Lord Mengchang without any hesitation.
I thought that Lord Mengchang would be unworthy of being without an official position, but unexpectedly Lou Huan actually took action against him.
Lou Su's life has been full of twists and turns. There is a record of him in "Warring States Policy". His birth and death years are unknown. We only know that he was a native of Zhao during the Warring States Period and a minister during the period of King Wuling. While serving as an official in the State of Zhao, he advocated alliance with Qin and Chu and supported King Wu Ling in implementing the reform measures of riding and shooting in Hufu. In order to form an alliance with Qin, King Wuling of Zhao had a close relationship with King Zhaoxiang of Qin and conspired against Qi, Wei and Han. The State of Zhao then sent Lou Huan to the State of Qin and asked the State of Qin to accept him as the prime minister. Therefore, Lou Huan was ordered to enter the Qin State under such circumstances. However, King Wuling of Zhao did not expect that after Lou Huan entered the Qin Dynasty, he would turn his back on the State of Zhao and do things that harmed the interests of the State of Zhao many times.
In order to completely destroy the alliance between Qi and Qin, Lou Huan ordered the arrest of Lord Mengchang as soon as he became the prime minister of Qin, and planned to choose a good and auspicious day to behead him in public.
Now, Lord Mengchang has really become the puppet Su Dai mentioned.
Fortunately, Mengchangjun finally escaped from the clutches of Qin Guo Louhuan. His escape experience is the source of a famous idiom: cocks crow and dogs rob.
The retainer suggested to Lord Mengchang that in order to escape King Qin's murder, he must find someone who could persuade him to change his mind. Of course Lou Huan and others have this qualification, but it would be difficult to use them as a breakthrough. So who should this possible person be? The retainer mentioned one of the most favored concubines of the King of Qin - Yan Ji.
So Lord Mengchang quickly asked King Qin's younger brother, Lord Jingyang Yingkui, who had been a hostage in Qi, to give a piece of white jade wall presented by Lord Mengchang to Concubine Yan, so that she could intercede on behalf of King Qin in his ear. But Yan Ji dismissed the priceless white jade and claimed that she only wanted the fox white fur. That piece of fox-white fur was known to everyone in the court. It was a gift from Lord Mengchang to the King of Qin, and it was a treasure of Qi that was famous all over the world.
Lord Mengchang did not think carefully. He only presented the treasure to King Qin, but ignored Queen Mother Xuan. Empress Dowager Xuan didn't really want Fox White Fur, but she liked a false reputation and the respect other countries showed her.
Empress Dowager Xuan is in charge of the harem, so she naturally knows everything about Yan Ji. When she saw Lord Mengchang coming to plead for mercy, she thought that Lord Mengchang was nothing more than that. He had done nothing during his one year in Qin. Maybe he was just good at winning people's hearts.
So, under her instruction, Yan Ji made a request to offer fox white fur. She believed that as long as this request was made, Lord Mengchang would definitely retreat in the face of difficulties. If he killed Lord Mengchang then, he would not be able to blame Qin for being unkind; even if he really had the ability, he would take it out of the hands of King Qin and give it to the King of Qin. Yan Ji is also a capital offender.
As the saying goes, "There are policies from above and countermeasures from below." Since Yan Ji is determined to get the fox white fur, Mengchang Jun must find ways to get it again, and there are a few people among his retainers who are good at stealing.
As the saying goes, "raising an army for a thousand days and using it for a while", one of the retainers who is best at climbing over walls and households stood up and said that he had a way to "take" Hu Baiqiu out of the palace.
It is said that when night fell, the doorman dressed up as a dog and climbed into the palace through the dog hole in the darkness. After he found the door to the inner chamber, he found that the inner chamber of King Qin was tightly guarded and could not be entered. At this time, the doorman had an idea. Since he was pretending to be a dog, he simply stopped doing it and learned how to bark like a dog. As soon as the guard heard the dog barking, he was deceived. The guest jumped into the inner room, found and stole the fox white fur. After the fox white fur was stolen, Lord Mengchang handed it over to Lady Yan. Yan Ji was very happy and dedicated it to Queen Mother Xuan. So Empress Dowager Xuan instructed Yan Ji to persuade King Qin to release Lord Mengchang. Since his beloved concubine asked for help, the King of Qin was willing to be a favor and released Lord Mengchang, and gave him a customs clearance document allowing him to return to Qi.
Just this time, can Lord Mengchang return to Qi safely?
Anti-Qin Alliance
Lord Mengchang knew that he could never stay in the Qin State for a long time. As long as the King of Qin learned that the fox white fur was stolen, or Yan Ji told the King of Qin about the fox white fur, he, Lord Mengchang, would definitely end up dead without a burial place.
So, after getting the customs clearance documents, Mengchangjun took a group of retainers and fled eastward at night. When he arrived at Hangu Pass, it was already midnight. At this time, King Qin had already learned the news, so he sent two groups of troops to the east. One group was responsible for chasing Lord Mengchang, and the other group was responsible for rushing to Hangu Pass and announcing King Qin's will to the generals guarding the pass.
Since the time of Qin Xiaogong, the Qin State has issued a decree: "Retreat at sunset, switch on and off when the rooster crows." If Mengchangjun and his party wait until the rooster crows to leave the seclusion, they are likely to be overtaken by Qin's pursuers. If he blocked him, there would be troops chasing him, so Lord Mengchang could only be captured without hesitation. Seeing that Lord Mengchang was anxious, a disciple who was good at ventriloquism came up with a plan. He ran to the hilltop near Hangu Pass and imitated the crow of a cock. The crow became clearer and louder, piercing the sky. It doesn't matter what he crows, it actually makes the roosters inside and outside the pass crow. It can be said that he responds to a hundred calls. When the soldiers guarding the gate heard the rooster crow, they naturally didn't expect that someone had done it deliberately. They thought it was dawn, so they habitually opened the door. Mengchang Jun handed the customs clearance documents to the gatekeepers. The gatekeepers were not suspicious, so they Soon we left Hangu Pass. By the time King Qin's pursuers arrived, Lord Mengchang had already led his disciples on a new journey.
In order to commemorate this incident, later generations built the "Cock Crow Platform" in front of Hangu Pass. It is said that those who climb this platform can vaguely hear the crowing of cocks one after another, which is quite magical.
After Mengchangjun fled from Qin, he passed by Zhao. The people of Zhao heard that Lord Mengchang was a virtuous man, and they all wanted to come out to see him. When passing through a certain county, people in the county saw that Lord Mengchang was not as tall and tall as they had imagined, so they laughed and said, "Jun Mengchang is really disappointing. It turns out that he is just a skinny man." Lord Mengchang was not angry after hearing this. But laugh it off. But his disciples were unwilling to do so. The people accompanying him jumped out of the car and killed hundreds of people before leaving.
Soon after Mengchangjun and others returned to Qi State, King Qi Min appreciated his talent very much, so he made him the prime minister and let him take charge of the state affairs.
Although Lord Mengchang was able to make friends with wise people all over the world and had the magnanimity of "the sea is open to all rivers, and tolerance is great", it did not mean that he could endure the insults he received from Qin. However, the strength of the Qin State forced Mengchangjun to weigh whether he had the ability to avenge his past humiliation. At this time, one of his disciples named Gongsun Hong made a suggestion, asking Mengchang to explore the depths of Qin first.
"Warring States Policy" records that Gongsun Hong, also known as "Gongsun Hong", was a strategist from the Qi State during the Warring States Period. Since he thought of and put forward this suggestion, there must be a solution, so Lord Mengchang asked him to send an envoy to Qin on behalf of Qi to find out the reality of Qin.
When Gongsun Hong went here, it could be said that he knew that there were tigers in the mountains, so he went to Hu Mountains. King Zhaoxiang of Qin Yingji had just let Lord Mengchang go because of his carelessness. Now Gongsun Hong blatantly re-entered Qin. Wouldn't he be seeking death?
When King Zhaoxiang of Qin met with Gongsun Hong, he wanted to humiliate him, so that he could escape the humiliation of his birth by defeating Lord Mengchang. So when he met Gongsun Hong, he asked aggressively and arrogantly: "Mr. Mengchang is a relative of the emperor and the prime minister of Qi. How big is his fiefdom?"
Gongsun Hong said truthfully: "About a hundred miles."
King Qin Zhaoxiang smiled and said disdainfully: "I have taken advantage of the power of the king, so the land of Qin stretches thousands of miles from east to west, north to south, and the soldiers of Qin are brave and good at fighting. They now have millions of armors and thousands of chariots. Compared with the three men of Lord Mengchang, With thousands of disciples, it’s clear who is strong and who is weak, but even so, I don’t dare to do anything without permission. Lord Mengchang only has three thousand disciples in a mere hundred miles away, how dare he be an enemy of me? By doing this, Lord Mengchang is not overestimating his own capabilities.”
After hearing this, Gongsun Hong retorted: "Of the three thousand disciples of Lord Mengchang, which one is not a wise man, and which one is not a capable person? Lord Mengchang knows how to use people, so as long as he raises his arms, heroes from all over the world will gather to respond. Your Majesty, you understand These?"
This made King Qin Zhaoxiang interested, so he hurriedly asked Gongsun Hong what kind of magical people those disciples were.
Seeing that King Qin finally took the bait, Gongsun Hong took a step forward and said: "There is a kind of people who exist specifically to eliminate evil and uphold justice. They are never impressed by the majesty of the emperor or bowed by the tyranny of the princes. Frustrated Regardless of whether they are proud or proud, they will only be loyal to one person. There are at least three such people; in governing the country, seeking social stability and national prosperity, they can even become teachers of Shang Yang and Guan Zhong to help the king achieve dominance. There are at least five people who have great fame and great achievements; even if the king has thousands of chariots, he will not dare to insult a guest, because he always insists on the belief that he is willing to die. As long as the king dares to speak disrespectfully, he will be angry and angry. Blood splattered five steps, there are at least ten such people in Mr. Mengchang's place, and I can be counted among them."
When King Zhaoxiang of Qin heard this, he knew that Lord Mengchang was by no means an idle person. He did have many capable people under his command. Therefore, the King of Qin changed his arrogant tone at the beginning and said to Gongsun Hong calmly: "I don't mean to ask this maliciously. I know Lord Mengchang very well. He is a friend of Qin State. Qin State wishes to have friendship with him. Please convey this to Lord Mengchang. "
After this incident, Gongsun Hong finally knew that Qin was actually quite afraid of Lord Mengchang, but he couldn't show it at the moment, so he could only give in and agreed to King Qin for the time being.
As the saying goes, "Know yourself and the enemy, and you can fight a hundred battles without danger." Through this section, Lord Mengchang understood that King Qin was not fearless. So Lord Mengchang made his final determination and decided to unite with Qin's old enemies, South Korea and Wei, to attack Qin together.
In the seventeenth year of King Nan of Zhou Dynasty (298 BC), the three kingdoms of Qi, South Korea and Wei allied forces and borrowed the road from Wei to attack westward. This time the Three Kingdoms went through careful planning and were under the unified command of the Qi State. The Qin State was caught off guard and was quickly defeated. In just one month, the Allied Forces of the Three Kingdoms reached the Hangu Pass of the Qin State.
The power of Qin alone could not withstand the power of the three kingdoms, so Qin thought of uniting with other countries. The country Qin chose to unite this time was Song. It turned out that when Lou Huan was the prime minister of the Qin State, he appointed one of his men named Qiu Hao to be the prime minister of the Song State. The Qi State was always ready to annex the Song State, but now that Qin State had such a big backer, the Song Dynasty Guo naturally agreed happily.
As a result, the Warring States Period at this time formed a confrontation between two major forces, one was the alliance of Qin and Song, and the other was the alliance of Qi, South Korea, and Wei. After a life-and-death struggle, the two major military groups finally decided the winner. Qin was defeated, while Zhao and Song took the opportunity to seize land and expand their power. The Song State was not bribed by the unrealistic benefits promised by the Qin State to work for the Qin State. Instead, it lost no time in sending troops to the Xue State to annihilate the Teng State. It also marched towards the Chu State and took away the Huaibei territory of the Chu State and its strength. experienced tremendous growth. Zhao State took advantage of the situation and when Qin State had no time to look eastward, it quickly marched to Linhu and Loufan in the north, acquired vast land, and established two major counties, Yunzhong and Yanmen.
Although the State of Zhao was the country where Lou Huan made his fortune, and the State of Song was an ally of the State of Qin, neither of these two countries gave Qin any actual support. Therefore, the Qin State was finally unable to survive alone. After persisting for three years, the Allied Forces of the Three Kingdoms finally broke through Hangu Pass, the most important gateway in the east. The allied forces of Qi, Han, and Wei became increasingly powerful and pointed directly at Xianyang.
Now Empress Dowager Xuan and King Qin Zhaoxiang Ying Ji were anxious. They did not expect that they had left a big trouble behind when they let the tiger return to the mountain. In order to protect the country, the Qin State finally decided to cede territory and ask for peace. This method was the favorite of other vassal states in the past in their strategies against the Qin State. Unexpectedly, the Qin State also borrowed it this time. But every time after Qin ceded territory, not only did it not give up its attacks, but it intensified its attacks, and gained a reputation of being unfaithful.
Naturally, Qi, Han, and Wei did not believe in Qin's credibility, and they wanted to retaliate in the same way. After learning the news, Queen Mother Xuan and King Qin became very worried, fearing that one day, the Allied Forces of the Three Kingdoms would descend from the sky and attack Xianyang.
After analyzing the situation, Lord Mengchang’s retainers hurriedly said to Lord Mengchang:
"Learn from the past and learn from the future. In the past, you used Qi's troops to help South Korea and Wei attack Chu. In 9 years, Wei and South Korea took away the area north of Wan and Ye. Therefore, Han and Wei And gradually became stronger. Things today are so similar to those before. Imagine that Qi is so far away from Qin. Even if Qin is destroyed, it will not benefit Qi at all. It will only give Han and Wei an advantage. By then , Korea and Wei do not have the troubles of Qin in the north, and Chu in the south to worry about, they will target Qi, and Qi will be in danger. When Han and Wei become strong, they will cross the river and tear down the bridge. If they are allowed to If this situation continues to develop without stopping, the consequences will be worrying. You might as well make good friends with Qin in private, do not attack Qin, and do not borrow weapons and food from it. When Qi's army arrives at Hangu Pass, Don't rush to attack now. You can send an envoy to convey your thoughts to King Qin Zhaoxiang: "Mr. Mengchang will never attack Qin to strengthen the power of South Korea and Wei. His purpose of attacking Qin is just to ask the king to instruct Chu to take control of Qin." The land occupied by the State of Qi, the Eastern State, will be returned to the State of Qi, and by the way, I ask you to send King Chu Huai back to the State of Chu for peace.'"
"In this way, Qin can not be attacked and can use Chu's territory to protect itself. Why not? King Chu can be released, and he must be grateful to Qi for rebuilding. Qi has obtained Chu With the fertile soil of the Eastern Kingdom, why not worry about becoming more and more powerful? Lord Mengchang, your fiefdom of Xue Yi will also maintain peace forever. As we all know, Qin is very powerful. As long as it exists in the west of South Korea and Wei, it can restrain these two countries. In order to attack Qin, both Korea and Wei must rely on Qi, so Qi can remain invincible."
After hearing this, Lord Mengchang felt that it made sense. Since he had achieved his purpose of revenge this time, he had no need to put Qi in danger for his own sake. And he also knew that it was actually very difficult to destroy Qin, and he would definitely pay a heavy price. After comparing the pros and cons, Mengchangjun accepted the guest's opinion. Therefore, under the control of Qi, South Korea and Wei turned to congratulate Qin, and the plan of the Three Kingdoms Allied Forces to attack Xianyang was dropped. The State of Qin was preserved and became stronger and stronger under the painstaking management of Empress Dowager Xuan and King Qin Zhaoxiang Ying Ji.
Although Qi State avoided the power of South Korea and Wei State, it could not avoid destruction in the end. In the eyes of many people in Qi State, Qin State is just a small border country. They believe that it is located in a barbaric land and has no qualifications to compete in the Central Plains.
Unfortunately, they all got it wrong!
