After Shang Yang's reform, Qin's national power became increasingly powerful, and its development speed far exceeded that of the other six eastern countries. The increase in economic and military strength made Qin's ambitions more and more inflated. In 325 BC, King Qin Huiwen of Qin became king. At this time, as long as there were powerful countries, they all became kings one after another during this period. This shows that the Zhou royal family had declined at that time and it had completely lost its prestige among the vassal states.
In 288 BC, King Zhaoxiang of Qin claimed to be the Great Emperor of the West (Western Emperor) after using force to suppress the Chu State. In fact, his move was just to bring Qi, a powerful country in the east, into the same boat. So while proclaiming himself emperor, he also sent people to Qi to ask the King of Qi to be the Eastern Emperor (Eastern Emperor). This is enough to show that the Qin State at this time has completely ignored the Zhou royal family.
King Qi believed that Qin's move was a recognition of Qi's equal status, so he readily accepted King Qin's proposal and divided the entire world into two. However, doing so was undoubtedly equivalent to shooting himself in the foot and putting himself at the mercy of Qi. In the predicament of being criticized by the public. Because the king's status is already high enough, changing the title to emperor would not only bring no substantial benefits, but would also give unnecessary stimulation to other countries. In the end, the king of Qi's proclaiming himself emperor turned into a farce, and the title of emperor was canceled just two days later. But Qin is still able to face the pressure brought by other countries. It only needs some cooperation from Qi in the east to have the power to dominate the world.
On the surface, although there is no sign that Qin's eventual unification of the world was the result of any long-term strategic plan or strategy deliberately formulated by Shang Yang or Qin Xiaogong, it seems that Qin has been brewing a subversion since Qin Xiaogong. Six Nations plan. During the period of King Qin Zhaoxiang, Qin's foreign wars always had ups and downs. As long as Qin attacked a country, the strategy of cooperating with other countries would bring Qin back to its original shape. The six eastern countries seem to have this tacit understanding. They have never wanted to destroy Qin.
Qin's geographical location has a natural advantage. As long as it breaks through the Hangu Pass, it can gallop across the Central Plains and covet the sacred artifacts of Sheji. Even if it has no enterprising spirit, it can rely on its geography of being surrounded by mountains and having one man in charge of the pass. Advantages, in an invincible position. Of course, if you want to conquer the world, you need to further occupy Longxi, Hanzhong and Shuzhong. The first two places can ensure the stability of the rear and obtain a strong source of troops. The Shuzhong in the back can ensure strategic supplies, and then you can use the north and south routes. Enter the Central Plains.
That's why in 316 BC, the Qin State took the territory of Shu (now the Chengdu Plain area of Sichuan) into its own hands at a huge cost from the Chu State. Then the territory of the Ba State (the area near today's Chongqing) was also occupied by the Qin army. . It can be seen that by occupying these areas, Qin not only realized Qin's strategic intentions, but also weakened the national power of Chu. Chu was declining day by day under the attack of Qin.
In order to unify the world, Qin continued its diplomatic activities one after another. Facts have proved that the victory achieved by measures such as continuous cross-country and close attacks established a good external environment for the Qin army to fight, making the Qin army invincible in the process of fighting on the battlefield. The person who concretely realized Qin's transformation from internal political reform to external diplomatic strengthening was Bai Qi, who can be called the most famous general of the Warring States Period.
The small border countries that Wei, Han, Chu, Qi and other countries disdained, gradually spread their murderous intent during the southern and northern campaigns under the command of Bai Qi. The countries in the east gradually became uneasy about Qin's power, and they always felt the threat of a sharp sword.
In order to fight against Qin's cavalry, the various vassal states also stepped up their military training. During this period, a large number of famous generals emerged. Under the command and participation of these famous generals, many famous battles were recorded in history. Looking at the records in "Historical Records", the most eye-catching events at the end of the Warring States Period were the many large-scale battles. In the more than 130 years from 364 BC to 234 BC, the Qin State participated in or led at least 15 major battles. The Qin Army alone caused about 1.5 million casualties to its fighting armies. Fourteen of the 15 wars led by the Qin State caused at least 20,000 casualties to the opponent, including 4 battles with more than 100,000 casualties. The Battle of Changping between Qin and Zhao took place in 260 BC. In just over five months, the Zhao army suffered as many as 50,000 casualties. The end of the war was that Bai Qi used a surprise force to defeat Zhao She, who could only talk on paper. Zhao's 400,000 troops surrendered, but Bai Qi "used them to deceive and kill them all." In the end, only 240 people from Zhao's army were able to return to their hometown. people.
Of course, some scholars do not trust the above figures for the following reasons:
First, they believe that these data are all given in "Historical Records". They only have casualties for the other six countries, but there is no data for Qin, which paid huge casualties.
Second, "Historical Records" only briefly introduces 15 more famous battles. From the word "war" in the Warring States Period, we should know that the late Zhao Kingdom entered a critical moment of fighting for the world, and there must be friction between the various vassal states. Continuously. If those unknown battles are also recorded in the annals of history, it means that the number of casualties suffered by Qin and other vassal states, including those captured, injured, and killed, must be much higher than what history has seen now. .
Third, it is reflected in the wording. The standard word used at that time was "kill" (the usage of this word can be traced back to the era of Shang Yang), and the battle of Changping was "pit". The former refers to killing people in battle, and the latter It refers to the immoral killing of people by burying them alive. It is conceivable that there are many more ways of killing that result in death data that are not recorded.
Fourth, many scholars compare Qin’s wars against other vassal states with modern or modern wars. For example, Napoleon's expedition to Russia in 1812 resulted in the loss of 300,000 horses within 6 months. At first glance, this is roughly similar to the 5 or 6-month Battle of Changping (including the final encirclement and killing), because France at that time (actually not only France, but more of the vast territory occupied by France) Europe) was much larger than the population of Qin or Zhao during the Warring States Period.
Therefore, some scholars finally concluded that in a literal sense, the number of casualties caused by Qin in its wars with other vassal states was not credible, either too large or too small. For example, in the Battle of Changping, Qin finally killed 400,000 Zhao soldiers. Considering the technical conditions at the time, it was unlikely that it could be completed in a short period of time. Even if the Zhao army was deprived of food and grass before the end of the war due to its lone army going deep and far away from the rear, it would not be willing to submit. After Zhao State experienced the Battle of Changping, it continued to recruit troops to guard against Qin's invasion. Everything seemed in order. This is incredible, because for a country that has lost almost half of its young and middle-aged men, it should be difficult to maintain economically, and it is also likely to collapse politically. Instead of what history has recorded, the Zhao people share the same hatred for the Qin people. Incomparable.
But today it is difficult for scholars to come up with a more convincing answer from the existing historical data. In the end, they concluded that the word "ten thousand" has only a symbolic meaning. Because throughout all the annals of the Warring States Period, military records (which can also be seen in non-military records) often mention casualties of hundreds, thousands, or dozens, but more often “ten thousand.” Therefore, just like "three" equals "people", it becomes an approximate number: "large army".
It is no longer possible to completely restore the historical truth. Regardless of whether these data are accurate or not, one thing is irrefutable, that is, the Qin State has transformed from the initial struggle for land to the effective force of destroying the enemy. The small border country that used to be looked down upon by the six countries is already gaining momentum.
In the process of increasing Qin's military power, Bai Qi's role cannot be ignored. It is roughly estimated that the number of young and middle-aged people who died because of Bai Qi in the war is no less than one million. Bai Qi is a professional soldier. In his eyes, there are only two choices: killing and being killed; in his ideology, there is only one way to achieve great success and kill enemies for the country. He is not familiar with politics and diplomacy, and disdains the roundabout ways of legalists and political strategists. He will only carry out straightforward practical actions and bravely kill the enemy on the battlefield.
Cao Song of the Tang Dynasty had this description in one of "Two Poems on the Year of Jihai": "When the country is at war, how can the people live in Qiaosu? If you don't talk about the matter of making a marquis, one general will make thousands of bones dry." "Bai Qi was holding countless bloody heads, looking at the bones that were gradually submerged in the dust of the years. He climbed up step by step from an ordinary soldier, and finally became an invincible commander of the Qin army.
The final evaluation given to him by history is - massacre.
But different historical figures also have different evaluations of Bai Qi. It's more about the evaluation of his life record.
Bai Qi expected the enemy to combine forces and make surprises, which shocked the world, but he could not save Ying Hou.
----Sima Qian
They conquered Yanying in the south and Changping in the north, then surrounded Handan, led by Wu'an.
----Sima Qian
He is good at using soldiers and has destiny.
(It is the use of troops for attack, and it also has destiny.)
----Su Li
The king of Wu'an defeated the powerful Chu in the south, and Wei Yan and Zhao in the north. He defeated and captured the city. He destroyed the city and fell into the city. He didn't know how many of them. The merits of his ministers were not as good as they were.
(When Lord Wu An captured the enemy during the Warring States Period, he did not know how many of them he had captured; when he captured the city and captured the city, it was unknown how many of them he captured. The merits of my ministers were not as good as those of Lord Wu An.)
----Zhang Tang
Chu's territory was thousands of miles away, and he held millions of halberds. Bai Qi led tens of thousands of troops to fight against Chu. In the first battle, he raised Yan Ying and burned Yiling, and then fought in the south to annex Shu Han. He also crossed Han and Wei and attacked the powerful Zhao. He marched to the north and slaughtered more than 400,000 people. They were all killed under Changping. The blood flowed into the river and the boiling sound was like thunder. Then he surrounded Handan and made Qin an emperor. Chu and Zhao were the most powerful countries in the world and the enemies of Qin. From then on, Chu and Zhao both frightened those who did not dare to attack Qin, and their power was in vain. After serving more than seventy cities, he was given a sword and died in Du You.
(The land of Chu [thousands of miles away] has millions of halberds. Bai Qi led tens of thousands of troops to fight Chu. He lifted Yan Ying in one battle, burned Yiling in another battle, merged with Shu and Han in the south, and crossed Han and Han. Wei, [and] attacked the powerful Zhao, marched to the north and slaughtered more than 400,000 people, bleeding into rivers, boiling like thunder, and making Qin Yedi emperor. From then on, Zhao and Chu were intimidated and did not dare to attack Qin. , the power of white rise. More than seventy cities have been conquered. The work has been completed, and Du You died.)
----Cai Ze
Lord Wu'an captured more than seventy cities for Qin's victory. He defeated Yan, Ying, and Hanzhong in the south, and captured Zhao Kuo's army in the north. Although the achievements of Zhou, Zhao, and Lu Wang were not beneficial to this.
(Wu'an Jun conquered Qin and captured more than 70 cities. Yanying and Hanzhong were defeated in the south. The army in the north was defeated by birds and horses, but not a single armor was lost. Even though Zhou, Zhao, and Lu Wang's achievements were no more than this. )
----Su Dai
My husband attacked the city and fell into the city. Please envoy Wu Anzi.
----Hanquanzi
Have you ever used a small number to defeat a large number and achieved victory like a god? How about using a strong force to defeat a weak one and using a large number to defeat the few?
----Ying Ji
Bai Qi was a general of Qin. He conquered Yan and Ying in the south and marched to the north. He attacked cities and captured territory. He was unable to defeat the enemy and was sentenced to death.
(Bai Qi was a general of Qin. He attacked Yan and Ying in the south and pitted his horses in the north. He attacked the city and captured the territory. He was unable to win and was sentenced to death.)
----Chen Yu
In the past, Bai Qi was a general of the Qin Dynasty. He captured the capital of Ying in the south and pitted Zhao Kuo in the north. He made Du You dead because of his faults. The people of Qin pity him and all of them shed tears.
----Gu Yong
Xi Baiqi served as a general of Qin, conquered Han and Wei in the east, conquered the capital of Ying in the south, responded to the marquis's defiance, and granted Du You's death;
---- Husan Husband Chengxing et al.
In the past, when the Qin Dynasty was white, some generals came out unexpectedly and planned to annex Sun Wu. Although Sun Wu came back to life, he did not do this. He was ordered by heaven. Isn't he a god? ?
"Twenty-Four Histories·Qishu·Volume 5·Wenxuan Benji·Volume 2"
