Shang Yang launched a series of creative reform measures during the period of Qin Xiaogong. In view of the greed, weakness, and depravity of some powerful nobles in the Qin State, Shang Yang specifically stated in the reform decree that only those with military exploits can be promoted. This was a heavy blow to the aristocratic power at that time, because no matter how high their status or wealth was, they could not hold government positions without military merit. The direct result of not having an official position is that he has no status in society and eventually becomes a commoner.
On another level, this inspires those empty-handed people. As long as they dare to fight the enemy and contribute in the war, they may change their destiny and realize the miracle of the carp leaping over the dragon's gate.
Bai Qi achieved this miracle. The history is unclear about Bai Qi's origin, but it is said that Bai Qi was named Mi, after Bai Gong of Chu State won the victory.
During the Spring and Autumn Period, the royal family of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty declined, and after the Chu State became strong, the king of Chu assumed the title of king. As a result, one person attained enlightenment, chickens and dogs ascended to heaven, and the officials and county magistrates of Chu also claimed the title of public servant. Bai Qi was the successor of Bai Gong, so he was also called Gongsun Qi. "Historical Records: Biography of Bai Qi and Wang Jian" also simply said about Bai Qi's life experience: "Bai Qi is a Xiren. He is good at using soldiers and serves King Zhaoxiang of Qin." Xiren is a native of the northeast of Xixian County, Shaanxi Province. Judging from the geographical location, Bai Qi should be an authentic Qin person. It is very likely that his ancestors came to Qin during the period of good relations between Chu and Qin, and then derived Bai Qi's lineage.
No matter what, Bai Qi eventually became a general of the Qin State. He was a famous commander in the Qin State who rose from the grassroots level after Shang Yang's reform. The reason why it is said that Bai Qi rose from the bottom of the Qin State is because the content of Shang Yang's reform mentioned earlier made Bai Qi have to start from the first head to earn military merit and obtain a title.
At the age of sixteen, Bai Qi was still an ignorant boy. He embarked on a marching journey with the dream of serving the country and establishing meritorious deeds.
The Qin army has the most specific reward method for military merit: the number of heads killed.
There is an order in the Qin army that any soldier who captures the head of an enemy soldier can obtain a first-class title, a hectare of land, a house and a servant. The more heads you kill and the higher your military exploits, the higher your title will be.
For ten years, Bai Qi continued to train in the army and made great achievements in battle. In the 13th year of King Zhaoxiang of Qin (294 BC), Bai Qi obtained the title of "Zuosu Chang" and became the youngest general in the leadership of the Qin army.
At that time, the Qin State's military merit titles could be divided into twenty levels, and the position of "Zuo Shuchang" happened to be the tenth level, which already belonged to the category of Qing. For today, it is almost equivalent to a division commander. At this moment, the heroic and heroic Bai Qi has begun to stand out in the army, and increasingly becomes a unique figure in the Qin army.
After ten years of sharpening his sword, Bai Qi is ready to face greater challenges. However, at his current speed (which should be considered the fastest among ordinary soldiers), if everything goes well, it will take at least thirty years before he can hold an army. At that time, it was difficult to predict whether Bai Qi still had ambitions and ambitions. So what Bai Qi needs is an opportunity, an opportunity to soar ninety thousand miles and soar into the sky.
The opportunity Bai Qi was waiting for was a person who could change his destiny. This person was the brother of Empress Dowager Xuan, the actual ruler of Qin at that time, the uncle of Qin Zhaoxiang King Ying Ji, and the respected Wei Ran who held a heavy army.
Both Wei Ran and Empress Dowager Xuan were emerging forces in the Qin State. They came all the way from the Chu State, and without any foundation, they gradually broke through the blockade of the old aristocrats of the Qin State. Like Shang Yang, they eventually became a prominent figure in the Qin State. Calling for the wind and rain in the Qin State.
However, "the trees that are beautiful in the forest will be destroyed by the wind." Wei Ran understood that in order to gain a foothold in the Qin State, in addition to holding the military power of the Qin State, he must also continue to cultivate his own power. Once a big tree becomes shady, it will become tangled and intertwined. If anyone wants to shake this big tree, they need to think carefully.
Just in time, Bai Qi walked into Wei Ran's field of vision. In Wei Ran's eyes, Bai Qi fought bravely and resolutely, was cruel and decisive, but lacked scheming and did not understand politics. This kind of talent was exactly what Wei Ran needed.
Soon Bai Qi's style of life and work was clearly understood by Wei Ran, and Bai Qi could just use Wei Ran's power to help him rise to the top.
At that time, Qin's biggest rival in the east was Zhao. Unfortunately, King Wuling of Zhao was killed by Zhao Cheng and Li Dui, and he eventually starved to death in his palace in the sand dunes. After the civil strife, Zhao Guo's vitality was seriously damaged. Qin's other big rival, Qi, was at war with Chu in full swing.
While various countries were fighting endlessly, Qin felt that an opportunity had come, and the person who implemented this opportunity was Wei Ran's right-hand man Bai Qi.
In 294 BC, Qin set its strategic sights on the new city. The new city is now Yichuan in Henan, located at the junction of Korea and Chu. The reason why Qin took a fancy to this little-known place was because as Qin's power moved eastward, the combined forces of hostile countries continued to grow, and this area was where Chu and South Korea met each other. As long as the Qin army controls this place, the connection between Han and Chu can be cut off by the Qin army. South Korea is forced to abandon its chariot to protect its commander, abandon its plan to unite with Chu against Qin, and instead join forces with Qin. joint. At this time, it was already sunset in Chu State. South Korea, Wei State, Zhao State, etc. all united with Qin State, seeking to annihilate Chu State in one fell swoop and realize their wish to divide their territory into four parts.
The Chu State also knew the importance of the strategic position of the new city, so it gathered a large number of elite soldiers and generals to guard it. This place was easy to defend but difficult to attack. If the Chu State attached great importance to it, there would inevitably be a fierce battle.
But when South Korea hesitated to move forward and other princely states were still hesitant about the situation in Xincheng, Bai Qi took action. With lightning speed and with less than 10,000 troops, Bai Qi captured the strategic location of Xincheng. The six countries were shocked and Bai Qi began to attract people's attention.
In fact, Bai Qi also knew that this battle was not only related to Qin's future military process, but also related to his own military process, so he calmly thought about the key to victory before the war - momentum.
First of all, before the war, Bai Qi promised the soldiers huge benefits such as promotion and promotion, taking the opportunity to boost the morale of the Qin army; at the same time, Bai Qi also gave Xincheng's enemy troops a disincentive before the war, so that the Xincheng's defenders As you know, the Qin army killed countless people, and after their enemies died, their heads would be cut off to receive military honors. This made the Central Plains defenders, who had always regarded themselves as civilized, feel terrified and timid, and their combat effectiveness quickly declined.
Secondly, Bai Qi also carefully analyzed the situation of the Warring States Period and spread rumors to the soldiers and civilians of Xincheng, saying that Bai Qi's army was approaching. At that time, South Korea would face a multi-faceted attack from Qi, Wei, and Zhao. After hearing the news, the soldiers of Xincheng were in high morale. Naturally disrupted.
Bai Qi led the troops to fight, and was able to analyze the situation faced by Xincheng from a small battle in Xincheng, which is a good testimony to what Sun Wu said: "Those who are good at fighting seek for their own strength and do not blame others for their actions." Those who are able to choose people and use their power. Those who are good at fighting people are like turning wood and stones. The nature of wood and stone is that they are quiet when they are safe, they move when they are dangerous, they stop when they are square, and they move when they are round. Therefore, those who are good at fighting people's power are like turning round stones. Those who are on the Qianren Mountain are powerful."
When Wei Ran first introduced Bai Qi to Empress Dowager Xuan, Empress Dowager Xuan still didn't believe that such a person existed. After this battle, she saw how powerful he was and couldn't help but feel happy. She immediately promoted Bai Qi to an official position without waiting for Bai Qi to return after his success. Two levels, named "Zuo Geng", this title is already very high, and the famous Pingshu general Sima Cuo was no more than this.
At this time, Bai Qi could be said to be rising through the ranks. There were many brave and skilled warriors in the Qin army, but there were only a handful of people like Bai Qi who were promoted so quickly. What's more, in the eyes of those who are shallow or have ulterior motives, how can a small new city be compared with the country of Tianfu in the middle of Shu? Sima Cuo's achievements are really beyond the reach of Bai Qi.
In fact, Bai Qi at this time was indeed slightly inferior to Sima Cuo, who was famous all over the world, but he seized the opportunity. Firstly, he gained the trust of Wei Ran and Empress Dowager Xuan; secondly, he was in a critical period when Empress Dowager Xuan and Wei Ran tried their best to promote talents and win over them for their own use; thirdly, the victory in the battle of Xincheng made him famous; finally, both Empress Dowager Xuan and Wei Ran admired him. Reached Bai Qi’s potential.
But Bai Qi's outstanding performance later made those rumors finally fall apart.
In 293 BC, in order to restore the decline, South Korea united with the always wavering Wei State to attack the Qin Army in an attempt to recapture Yiyang, Xincheng and other places occupied by the Qin Army. The State of Wei also knew the truth about the dangers of losing one's lips and teeth, and destroying one's household. The Qin army's position in the new city not only cut off the connection between South Korea and the State of Chu, but also directly threatened the Wei State's capital, Daliang. In order to remove the threat from the Qin army, Wei agreed to unite with South Korea and directed its troops directly at Xincheng and other places where the Qin army was stationed.
This time, Bai Qi once again proved his strength.
However, the first person Qin sent to resist the coalition forces of South Korea and Wei was not Bai Qi, who was popular at the time, but Xiang Shou, the "right concubine".
Xiang Shou, whose birth and death years are unknown, is only known to be the nephew of Empress Dowager Xuan, but because he was with King Zhaoxiang since childhood, he was loyal to King Zhaoxiang and became King Zhaoxiang's confidant. King Qin Zhaoxiang will not send Bai Qi to meet the enemy again regardless of the strength of the enemy this time. Because once Bai Qi wins, it means the defeat of King Zhaoxiang. Bai Qi is Wei Ran's power after all. In order to restore his decline, King Qin Zhaoxiang decided to ask Xiang Shou to teach South Korea and Wei a lesson, and also let Empress Dowager Xuan and others know that he was not weak.
Naturally, Empress Dowager Xuan and Wei Ran could no longer understand this trick of King Qin Zhaoxiang. Therefore, when King Qin Zhaoxiang said that he would go to war with General Shou, Wei Ran and Queen Mother Xuan did not agree. Regardless of Xiang Shouhui taking the opportunity to seize military power, based on his strength alone, it is really difficult to predict who will win or lose.
Seeing that both Empress Dowager Xuan and Wei Ran were putting pressure on him, the ministers in the DPRK were also partial to Empress Dowager Xuan's choice, believing that Xiang Shou lacked experience and was probably an armchair person. King Zhaoxiang suddenly felt that it was not wise for him to compete with the two major forces of Qin at this time. One is that it is still fledgling; the other is that the Qin State has just emerged from civil strife and needs to recuperate; the third is that the Eastern countries also have the intention of fishing in troubled waters towards the Qin State. At this time, Qin State could only deal with the outside world unanimously. After thinking about it again, sending Bai Qi there might not necessarily be a bad thing. On the one hand, the number of troops Qin can fight this time is only 100,000 at most. Because most of the remaining troops have gone to Shu, and some of them have to guard Qin's territory; on the other hand, even if Bai Qi wins by chance, it will not be a bad thing for Qin. It goes without saying that Bai Qi has become famous, but Queen Mother Xuan is not a true ruler of Qin after all, and it is not impossible to win over Bai Qi when the time comes.
So Bai Qi embarked on the journey again.
Only by knowing yourself and the enemy can you win a hundred battles. After receiving the order to send troops, Bai Qi made a more systematic comparison of all aspects of the two sides:
First of all, in terms of military strength, there is a huge disparity between the strength of the Qin State and the Han-Wei coalition forces. The Qin army finally only recruited 100,000 troops, and many of them were old, weak, sick and disabled, not the elite force of the Qin State. On the other hand, the Wei-Han coalition forces had a smaller number of troops. Reaching 240,000, it can be described as fierce. In addition to being the main force that participated in the Battle of Chuisha, the military forces of South Korea and Wei also had their own characteristics. Among them, the "talents" in South Korea are all crossbow infantry. Regarding the main force of the Korean army at that time, "Historical Records" discussed that "strong bows and powerful crossbows were all produced in Korea", "the most precious sword in the world was Korea", "shooting beyond the reach of the foot, with hundreds of shots, reaching the chest at far distances, and reaching the chest at close range". He hides his heart." Therefore, the Korean army will have a great advantage when attacking a city from a distance. On the other hand, the Wei army is not easy to deal with. Wei's "martial soldiers" all have amazing endurance. Although they are all heavy infantry wearing heavy armor, they can walk as fast as flying. In this way, the two armies of Wei and Han were perfectly matched, both offensive and defensive, and the Qin army could not gain any advantage at all.
Secondly, the Qin army is geographically weak. If the Qin army wants to really attack the vitality of Wei and South Korea, it must not sit still and wait for death. Bai Qi naturally understood this simple truth, so he decided to achieve a central breakthrough and move the battlefield from the areas occupied by Qin to the areas occupied by South Korea and Wei. The key to realizing this strategic intention is to break through Yique. However, Yique's location was the gateway of Han and Wei, so South Korea and Wei naturally sent heavy troops to guard it. What's even more deadly is that the terrain here is composed of two mountains confronting each other, with the Yi River flowing through them, making the terrain difficult. The allied forces of South Korea and Wei occupied Yique Fortress, which was equivalent to placing themselves in an invincible position. It is really difficult for the Qin army led by Bai Qi to break through this barrier.
In the end, the soldiers did not trust Bai Qi. Although Bai Qi himself is "a newborn calf not afraid of tigers", on the surface he shows disdain for Wei General Gongsun Xi and Han General Baoyuan, two veterans who have been famous on the battlefield for many years. But in fact, he understood very well that if the Qin army did not obey and trust him, the army would be disengaged and its morale would be unstable. The two generals from South Korea and Wei had been cooperating for many years. They once invaded Chu's Fangcheng, and in the battle of Chuisha, all of Chu's elite were injured. Therefore, the enemy cannot be underestimated in this battle. After inspiring the morale of the army, what Bai Qi has to do is to defeat the enemy tactically.
Bai Qi's method of fighting this time is: defeat them one by one.
As long as the Qin army does not fight with the Wei and South Korean coalition forces, it will be able to rely on Qin's sharp weapons and courageous momentum to kill the enemy and not lose to one side. Bai Qi is not only a brave and capable general, but also a resourceful general.
Bai Qi knew how to use time. Although South Korea and Wei at that time seemed to be monolithic, in fact the two countries had never been peaceful on the border. As long as any country was promised huge profits, it would definitely be able to isolate the other country. nation.
Therefore, Bai Qi made a decisive decision and wrote a letter to Wei General Gongsun Xi. He pretended to be on good terms with Wei and hoped that the Wei army would remain neutral. He also promised that the spoils of war would be shared equally with Wei, and the Qin army would find an opportunity to fight a decisive battle with South Korea, which had fewer troops.
Gongsun Xi had many years of experience in leading troops in wars, so he could easily see through Bai Qi's counterintuitive plan. So after reading Bai Qi's letter, he threw it aside and thought to himself: Bai Qi is really a waste of fame. He has such a simple truth that even passersby on the roadside know it, so how can he be deceived? Where is Gongsun Xi!
Not only Gongsun Xi, but also Bai Qi's generals felt that Bai Qi's move was really not very clever. Anyone who knew a little about the art of war would easily see Qin's intentions with such a simple strategy. And this is Bai Qi's real plan. If even one of his own people is deceived, then Gongsun Xi will definitely underestimate the enemy.
When studying the art of war, the most taboo thing is to "talk about war on paper". The key is to be able to keep the enemy busy based on the actual situation. So Bai Qi wrote a second letter to Gongsun Xi. In the letter, he said that he was very grateful to Gongsun Xi for his cooperation. The Qin army will attack the Han army tomorrow, and the Wei army only needs to sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight. Wei will benefit from it afterwards.
Bai Qi's generals were immediately puzzled. The previous alienation tactic had caused the Qin envoy to hit a wall. Gongsun Xi had clearly seen the Qin army's intention. Bai Qi knew the result, so why did he send the second letter?
The answer is simple. In fact, from the beginning, the real target of Bai Qi's counterintuitive scheme was not Gongsun Xi, but the Korean general Bao Yuan. Naturally, like many famous and successful countermeasures in history, this letter reached its destination - the hands of Bao Yuan very smoothly.
Bao Yuan had a bad temper. When he saw that Gongsun Xi was secretly communicating with Bai Qi, he was very angry and lost trust in Wei. Since Wei is unreliable, South Korea can only rely on itself. Therefore, Bao Yuan ordered all the archers and crossbowmen guarding Que to be on full alert. As long as the Korean army could hold Yique, an important gateway, and prevent the Qin army from reaching the bounds of South Korea, South Korea would be safe.
The next day, the Qin army indeed appeared outside Yique. Both sides were ready to fight, and the war was about to break out.
