The news of Qin's destruction of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty quickly spread throughout the princes and countries. After all, the Lord of Eastern Zhou was still the nominal ruler of the world. The prestige he had built up for more than 800 years was shattered by Qin within one month. The world was shocked by this. !
Han, Wei, and Zhao are all adjacent to the Qin State, and they feel the most miserable. When the Eastern Zhou Dynasty alliance attacked Qin, they also expressed support, hoping to take this opportunity to weaken Qin. But when the Qin army sent troops to attack the king of Eastern Zhou, they hesitated again, wondering whether they should send troops to ask for help. At this time, Meng Ao deployed another 200,000 troops on the border, making it even more difficult for them to make up their mind.
Just when the princes were hesitant, Lu Buwei destroyed the Eastern Zhou Dynasty with lightning speed. The king of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty was captured, and the common ruler of the world perished from then on. At this time, the kings of the Three Kingdoms were like ants on a hot pot, always worried about Qin's invasion, so they exchanged news and wanted to form an alliance to resist the Qin army.
The news that Han, Zhao and Wei were planning to form an alliance was quickly learned by the State of Qin, and King Zhuang Xiang summoned his courtiers to discuss countermeasures. Lu Buwei said: "Although the Eastern Zhou Dynasty has been destroyed, the strength of the princes still exists. Once the alliance is successful, the Qin army is still not sure of victory. Now we still need to make friends far away and attack closely, to form a good alliance with Qi and Yan, and at the same time appease Chu and attack Han and Wei , Zhao needs to use both kindness and power to divide their alliance."
Grand Master Ying Liang said: "The continuous use of troops consumes a lot of money, and the national strength needs to be restored. Now that the Eastern Zhou Dynasty has been destroyed, we should make peace with all the vassal states to gain more opportunities to recuperate!" Ying Liang still felt that it was time to conquer the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. If it is excessive, any further use of troops will inevitably anger the world and attract the princes to join forces to attack Qin.
Xiong Zhuang retorted: "It only took a month to conquer the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, and the expenditure of manpower and material resources was very small. At the same time, we got a lot of food and fertile land from the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, so the old master was overly concerned about this!" Xiong Zhuang is originally from the Chu State. As long as the interests of the Chu State are not involved, he is a war fighter and is eager to make contributions. Whether he stays in the Qin State or returns to the Chu State in the future, this will be of great help to his future.
Han Qi said: "Qin and Han have always been in harmony. Using troops against South Korea will inevitably chill the world, and the princes will become more resistant to Qin!" Han Qi did not want Qin to attack his homeland. At this time, he also stood firmly on the side of Ying Liang. , glanced at Ying Liang, and then said: "What the old master just said makes sense. At this time, Qin needs to reconcile the princes instead of starting another war!"
At this time, King Zhuang Xiang's ambition was gradually expanding, and he was not satisfied with annexing the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. He said: "My lords, there is no need to say more. The national policy of the Qin Dynasty is to engage in distant relations and attack at close range. Han, Wei and Zhao must be deterred by force!" King Zhuang Xiang actually confirmed it. Lu Buwei's strategic policy.
Ying Liang's opinions were not adopted twice in a row. He realized that it was finally time for him, a veteran of three dynasties, to retire, so he wrote a letter requesting to retire and return to his hometown. King Zhuang Xiang only stayed for a while as a courtesy, and soon agreed to his request. In order to thank him for his contribution to the Qin State, King Zhuang Xiang expanded his food estate and gave him a hundred gold as a gift!
At the end of the first year of King Zhuang Xiang, the State of Qin sent envoys to send large amounts of gold, silver and jewels to the powerful officials of Qi, Chu and Yan to express Qin's friendship with the three countries. At the same time, he trained soldiers and prepared food and fodder to prepare for war against the three kingdoms of Han, Wei and Zhao. King Zhuang Xiang's first target was the weak South Korea, and he ordered Meng Ao to send 200,000 troops to attack South Korea.
Seeing that a war with Korea was unavoidable, the Queen Mother of Xia said to King Zhuang Xiang: "Korea is weak and has always been in awe of Qin. Now the king just wants to get more land. He can send Han Qi as an envoy to Korea to persuade the King of Han to give up the city. This way It not only reduces the damage of the Qin army, but also preserves the relationship between the two countries."
King Zhuang Xiang said: "If there is no need for soldiers, how can King Han offer the city?"
Empress Dowager Xia said: "We might as well let Han Qi give it a try. If it doesn't succeed, it won't be too late to send troops to attack!"
King Zhuang Xiang thought for a while and agreed with the Queen Mother Xia's opinion, ordered Meng Ao to postpone the attack, and at the same time sent Han Qi as envoy to South Korea.
When the King of Han saw Han Qi, he thought he was here to persuade him to surrender. He became very angry and cursed: "Yesterday I held your hand and asked you to find a way to protect South Korea. Today I will help King Qin conquer Han! Don't forget Even though you are Korean, your sacrifice is still in Korea!"
Han Qidao: "Your Majesty is wrong. I am not here for Qin. On the contrary, I am here to help South Korea."
King Han was stunned and said, "How do you say this?"
"Excuse me, Your Majesty, which one is more ferocious, the soldiers of Qin or the soldiers of South Korea?"
"Of course Qin's soldiers are fierce!"
"Then once Qin invades South Korea, is your Majesty sure of winning?"
"Although we are not very sure, we still have to fight! The outcome is not yet known." Although King Han felt guilty, he was unwilling to admit defeat.
"So what if South Korea is defeated?"
"The worst that can happen is that we have to cut off the land!"
"Since it is all about ceding land, your Majesty, instead of letting his soldiers fight to death and then cede it, it is better to cede it before the Qin army attacks. This will not only save South Korea from disaster, but also preserve the harmonious relationship between Qin and Han. What's wrong with that?" Okay?" Han Qi saw that King Han was silent and knew that he was moved, so he continued: "I heard that King Qin's purpose of sending troops is to obtain the land of South Korea. If the king can offer two cities, I can go back. Persuade the King of Qin to continue to be friendly with South Korea and not to send troops to attack South Korea."
King Han hesitated for a moment and said, "Just do as you say!"
After Han Qi returned to Xianyang, he conveyed to King Zhuang Xiang that King Han hoped to continue to have good relations with Qin, and at the same time King Han was willing to dedicate the two cities of Chenggao and Gong to King Qin. King Zhuang Xiang was overjoyed when he heard this, so he sent an envoy to South Korea, hoping that Qin and South Korea would always be friendly.
One month later, the King of Qin sent troops to take over the two cities of Chenggao and Gong. From the Qin boundary to Daliang, Sanchuan County was established. Han Qi was also worshiped as Lord Changwen because of his meritorious service on his mission, and he was granted a livelihood of 100,000 households.
Since South Korea surrendered, Meng Ao's army turned to attack Zhao. The Qin army was well prepared and overwhelming, and quickly captured Taiyuan. At this time, South Korea did not send troops to rescue Zhao because it had received the guarantee from Qin that it would not invade again; Wei sent 50,000 people to support Zhao. The Qin army had already learned of the Wei army's movements. Wang Lu led his army to ambush and attack halfway. The Wei army suffered heavy losses and was forced to withdraw.
At this point, in less than two years after taking the throne, King Qin Zhuangxiang annexed the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, conquered South Korea, defeated the Zhao Wei coalition forces, and shocked the world! King Zhuang Xiang was very satisfied with everything he had done and often called himself King Wu of Zhou. However, Lu Buwei thought that the Qin army had been fighting for a long time and was tired of men and horses, so it needed to rest and recuperate, so he went to see King Zhuang Xiang and said: "Now South Korea has surrendered, Zhao and Wei have been defeated, and the whole world has already known the king's sage! Don't chase after the poor enemy. Once the princes from all walks of life are defeated, If the alliance is successful, it will be difficult for our army to win, and the soldiers of the Qin army will need to rest and recuperate after a long campaign!"
At this time, King Zhuang Xiang was obsessed with victory after victory. Seeing that the princes were so vulnerable, he wanted to complete the great cause of unifying the world! He replied: "Sir, there is no need to be too cautious. The coalition of princes is no more than this. We only need to take advantage of the victory and pursue it, and we will definitely accomplish our great cause! Sir, there is no need to say more!"
Lu Buwei knew that he could not convince King Zhuang Xiang at this time, so he never talked about it again. King Zhuang Xiang began to celebrate his success very much, and he kept drinking and having sex.
King Zhuang Xiang wanted to destroy Zhao Wei in one go. He sent Meng Ao to continue the attack and successively captured 37 cities including Gaodu and Ji in Wei State and Yuci, Xincheng and Langmeng in Zhao State. King Zhuang Xiang sent Wang Luo to attack Shangdang and established Taiyuan County.
Facing the Qin army's fierce attack, the Wei army could only parry but had no power to fight back. King Anli of Wei fell into deep worry. At this time, he remembered his younger brother Xinlingjun who lived in Zhao State. Lord Xinling once stole amulets to save Zhao, defeated the arrogant Qin army, and solved the siege of Handan. Commanding the army, maybe Wei can still fight. Although King Anli of Wei was still angry that Lord Xinling had stolen his tiger talisman and killed his general Jin Bi, the life of Wei was now hanging by a thread and he could no longer care about that much, so he kept sending envoys to ask Lord Xinling to return to the country. .
After Lord Xinling stole the talisman to save Zhao, he knew that he had offended King Anli of Wei, so he stayed in Handan and did not dare to return to Daliang. He did not even see the Wei envoy. This matter was known to Lord Xinling's two disciples, Duke Mao and Duke Xue. They both felt that Lord Xinling was violating justice, so they paid a visit to Lord Xinling.
Mao Gong said: "Young Master is highly respected in Zhao State and is famous among the princes, just because of the existence of Wei State! Now Qin State is attacking Wei State, Wei State's life is hanging by a thread, but Young Master does not care. Suppose Qin State breaks through Daliang and kills your ancestors." If the ancestral temple is razed to the ground, how can the young master still have the dignity to live in this world?"
Lord Xinling suddenly realized that he was wrong in refusing to receive the envoy from Wei. He was very ashamed and said: "I was enlightened after hearing what Mr. Wu said. Wuji was wrong. What should I do now according to Mr.'s plan?"
Mao Gong said: "Now the Qin army is attacking Wei with all its strength, and the Wei and Zhao coalition forces are unable to win. Now the young master needs to unite the princes of various countries to fight against Qin! Duke Xue and I will definitely work hard for the young master!"
Mr. Xue said: "I am a native of Chu. As long as the young master regains control of the army, I will definitely be able to persuade the King of Chu to send troops to fight against Qin!"
Lord Xinling bowed deeply to Duke Xue and Mao Gong: "It's all down to these two gentlemen!"
The next day, Wei Wuji bid farewell to King Zhao and returned to Wei. King Anli of Wei was very happy when he heard that Lord Xinling had agreed to return to the country, and went out thirty miles from Daliang to welcome him personally. Lord Xinling paid a visit to King Wei Anli and apologized to King Wei Anli: "Brother Wang, my brother was forced by the situation to steal the talisman to save Zhao. It was a serious crime. I am ashamed of myself!"
At this time, King Wei Anli didn't care about that anymore and said: "Let him go by the past. I have been looking forward to our brothers being reunited. My brother's coming back now is the greatest support for me!" So he worshiped Lord Xinling as his successor. General, command the army of the whole country to fight against the Qin Dynasty.
When Lord Xinling returned to Daliang, he sent his retainers and cronies to ask for help from the princely states. When the princes heard that Wei Wuji, who had defeated the Qin army, had returned to power, they sent their elites to follow Lord Xinling's orders and join forces to fight against Qin. In less than a month, 400,000 troops from the five kingdoms of Qi, Chu, Yan, Zhao, and Wei were gathered in Wei State. The morale of the coalition forces was greatly shaken. Lord Xinling prepared the camp step by step and commanded the coalition forces to fight against the Qin army.
At this time, the Qin army had been fighting for years, and was exhausted and exhausted. Facing 400,000 coalition troops, they were exhausted and could not win in several battles. At this time, Lord Xinling sent a partial force to copy the Qin army's retreat. Seeing the danger of being encircled, Meng Ao led his army to retreat. The coalition forces followed and attacked, and successively recovered large areas of lost land. In the end, the Qin army was forced to retreat into Hangu Pass and could not escape.
The Qin army turned from a great victory to a great defeat within two months, and King Zhuang Xiang was extremely angry. I thought I could prove my prowess to the world, but instead I became a laughing stock. I regret not listening to Lu Buwei’s advice! In a fit of anger, his already weak body suddenly fell ill. On his sickbed, he invited Lu Buwei to come and discuss countermeasures, saying: "I regret that I didn't listen to the Prime Minister's advice, which led to today's defeat! Now that the matter has come to this, how should we deal with it?"
"Your Majesty, there is no need to blame yourself. Now we have returned to Hangu Pass and cannot hold out. We rely on natural dangers and the coalition forces cannot conquer it in a short time. The princes of various countries have no worries about their survival. As time goes by, conflicts of interest will inevitably appear, and the coalition forces will not be able to conquer it in a short time." I am ashamed of myself, so your Majesty, there is no need to worry too much."
King Zhuang Xiang was still worried and said: "If the coalition forces attack Hangu Pass, then our great Qin will be in danger!"
"I have sent people to the Kingdom of Wei to spread rumors that Wei Wuji will proclaim himself king. King Wei Anli does not trust Lord Xinling, and I believe he will be dismissed from his post soon!"
"We have Prime Minister Lao!"
Under the leadership of Lu Buwei, the Qin army stood firm at Hangu Pass and refused to fight no matter how provocative the coalition forces were. The coalition forces were temporarily caught in a dilemma.
At this time, Lu Buwei's men were not idle in Wei. They spread rumors everywhere in Daliang, saying that Lord Xinling wanted to replace King Wei Anli. The world only knew that Lord Xinling existed, but not King Wei Anli. All this quickly reached the ears of King Wei Anli, and King Wei Anli began to be suspicious of Lord Xinling again.
One day, a group of people came from Daliang, beating gongs and drums, and bringing heavy gifts. They strolled to Lord Xinling's mansion. Lord Xinling's housekeeper was very surprised and asked, "What do you do?"
"We are here to give gifts. Is this the residence of Lord Xinling?"
"This is Lord Xinling's Mansion! Who are you? Why do you want to give gifts?"
"It should be Lord Xinling's Mansion. I am a retainer of the Prime Minister of Great Qin. I heard that Lord Xinling is going to succeed the King of Wei, so I came here to congratulate you!"
"I'm afraid your Prime Minister made a mistake. King Wei Anli is well now. Why do you say that Lord Xinling wants to be the King of Wei?"
"My Prime Minister will not make mistakes, please accept the gift!"
When the steward saw that the visitor had indeed brought many valuable gifts, he thought to himself, Qin is our enemy, and their property will not be accepted for free, not to mention that they themselves brought it to us, so he thanked them and accepted the gifts.
This matter quickly reached Lord Xinling’s ears, and he was shocked! He understood that this was a counter-trick by the Qin people, and since Brother Wang was always jealous of his talents, he would definitely fall into the trap! He was about to write a letter to King Wei Anli to defend himself, but the order from King Wei Anli had already arrived, ordering Lord Xinling to be relieved of his military power and replaced by a deputy general. Lord Xinling was dismissed, and the coalition forces retreated without a fight.
Although the coalition forces retreated, King Zhuang Xiang's condition continued to worsen. He regretted that he had not listened to Lu Buwei's advice, which resulted in the five kingdoms uniting and the Qin army being defeated. He knew that his time was running out, so after repeated weighings, he formally ordered the appointment of his eldest son Ying Zheng as the crown prince.
When Queen Mother Xia learned about this, she urgently summoned Han Qilai to discuss countermeasures and said, "Now that the king's condition is getting worse and worse, I'm afraid it won't be possible for much longer!"
"Once the king dies of illness, Ying Zheng will inherit the throne, and then the power of the Queen Mother Huayang will be even greater!" Han Qi was worried. He also understood that Ying Zheng's accession to the throne would mean that their influence in Qin would be greatly reduced.
"This is also what I am worried about. Lu Buwei relies on the Queen Mother Huayang. If the young King Qin is controlled by them, our situation will be even more passive!"
"Now the troops guarding Xianyang are all in the hands of Xiong Xiang. Although the military generals also support Cheng Jiao, it is not easy for them to mobilize the army to enter the palace! Unless there is a decree from the Queen Mother!"
The Queen Mother Xia knew that Han Qi wanted to help Cheng Jiao take the throne through a coup. After a second thought, she knew that doing so would only lead to death. In the military, only Lu Gong and Fan Yuqi expressed their explicit support for Cheng Jiao, not to mention Hua. The number of troops controlled by Queen Mother Yang is far greater than her own, and her own safety is now in the hands of others! So he quickly rejected Han Qi's proposal. Said: "It is impossible to succeed through a coup now. We can only fight for more rights while the king is still alive, and we can make plans later!"
Queen Mother Xia came to King Zhuang Xiang's bedside and burst into tears. When King Zhuang Xiang saw this, he said weakly: "Mother, there is no need to cry for the child. Everything depends on people and it depends on heaven. It's God who won't help me!" At this time, he was still worried about the unfinished business!
"I pity you, and I pity Chengjiao! He is still young now, how will he survive if you are not here?"
King Zhuang Xiang understood what Empress Dowager Xia meant. Once Ying Zheng came to the throne, Cheng Jiao would inevitably be in danger of being killed, so he asked, "What arrangements do the Queen Mother think should be made to preserve Cheng Jiao?"
"We can arrange for Duke He to be the general and Han Qi to be the order of Xianyang, so that Cheng Jiao can be trusted!"
King Zhuang Xiang agreed to Queen Mother Xia's request. In May, King Zhuang Xiang's condition worsened again, and he left after explaining his affairs.
