Almost without a fight, Zhao Jun captured Xinzheng, the capital of Han.
Although it is a bit unexpectedly fast, it is also reasonable.
Today's Kingdom of Han is no longer the Kingdom of Han after the three families were divided into Jin Dynasty. The area under its jurisdiction is not even one-fifth of what it was back then. The Korean army, which was once considered an elite, only had 30,000 people left before the war.
Such a weak and small country, let alone the Warring States period where wolves and tigers were like wolves, could not survive long even in the relatively peaceful late Spring and Autumn Period.
Of course, in history, Han was not destroyed by Qin until 230 BC. Although it was still the first to be destroyed by Qin among the six kingdoms, it was only decades later.
Is it because Qin is unable to destroy Han?
Obviously not.
The reason why it took so long to launch the war to destroy Korea is simply two reasons.
Externally, Qin was not ready to unify the six countries.
Although in history, the Qin State has basically eliminated the possibility of the Six Kingdoms re-rising to threaten the Qin State through the Changping War, the Qin Army has actually been facing the direct attack of the Six Kingdoms because of the alliance between Xinling Lord and the vertical attack on Qin. I am still afraid of cutting.
Naturally, the Qin State also pushed forward the unification matter slowly, trying to adopt the method of cannibalization, gradually taking over the land without destroying the country.
Internally, in fact, in the court of the Qin State, in addition to the military merit group and the old gentry group, there were also one or even multiple political forces from the Kingdom of Han and the Kingdom of Chu that could not be ignored.
These political forces from Han and Chu often exist in the form of foreign relatives.
For example, Mi Bazi, the mother of the current King of Qin, who was brought to the screen, is a familiar example of the political power of relatives.
However, regardless of Mi Bazi's political wisdom and methods, unlike other foreign relatives, Mi Bazi obviously did not fight for any interests for his mother country because of his origin.
But even so, Bai Qi sent an envoy to Xianyang to explain the situation before diverting water to Yandu.
Although the arrow was already on the string and had to be fired at that time, Empress Dowager Mi was still very powerful to make a murderer like Bai Qi have some scruples. (Bai Qi himself was promoted by Wei Ranghou, the Queen Mother’s younger brother.)
The Queen Mother Mi, who had never done anything for the Chu State, was still like this, let alone the other Queen Mothers and Queens who still loved their motherland.
This makes it understandable why Qin Shi Huang issued such a puzzling order as the "Expulsion Order".
As the first emperor of the ages, Ying Zheng, wouldn't he know that the prosperity of Qin began with Wei Yang, the guest minister? Wouldn't he know that the expulsion order would weaken Qin's national power?
Never underestimate the political wisdom of one emperor through the ages, nor the determination of a king when he wants to implement a policy.
The same First Emperor burned books and humiliated Confucians, unified weights and measures, kept books in the same text, and drove cars on the same track. Every single one of them was met with fierce opposition.
But has the emperor wavered?
No! Not at all.
But what about the "expulsion order"? This was easily resolved by a "Letter of Remonstrance and Expulsion" from Li Si, who was still unknown at the time.
When did the First Emperor become so easy to talk to?
What? That was because the First Emperor had not yet unified the world and could still hear opinions.
So when he was attacking Chu, why did the First Emperor insist on using Li Xin and other generals instead of following the advice of more people and using Wang Jian as his general?
Obviously, it is not a question of whether the First Emperor can listen or not.
But the "Expulsion Order" has actually achieved its purpose.
What purpose?
The purpose of expelling the influence of foreign relatives in the Qin court.
Combined with historical events, the purpose of this expulsion order will become even more obvious.
In 239 BC, Cheng Jiao, the younger brother of the First Emperor, rebelled and was executed. The foreign relatives from the Kingdom of Han, headed by the Queen Mother of Han, were uprooted;
In 238 BC, Lao Ai rebelled and was executed.
The foreign relatives of Zhao, led by the Queen Mother Zhao, the mother of the First Emperor, ceased their activities;
In 237 BC, the Zheng Guoqu case came out, and the "Order to Expulsion of Guests" was issued. Immediately after, the "Book of Remonstrance and Expulsion of Guests" was issued, and the expulsion of guests stopped. Among them, what is easily overlooked is that Lu Buwei was dismissed as prime minister in this year and sent out of the capital to the fiefdom in Henan.
After sorting it out in this way, the problem became obvious. What the First Emperor wanted to expel was not the unfounded Qin guest ministers represented by Li Si, but the intertwined influence of foreign relatives in the court.
To be precise, it is the remaining forces headed by Lu Buwei.
Because their existence has firmly affected the First Emperor's efforts to unify the six countries. Whether they do it intentionally or not, these foreign forces that try to unite for warmth must be eliminated.
And with Lu Buwei's resignation as prime minister becoming a foregone conclusion, the First Emperor naturally no longer needed to make fearless "sacrifice". Taking advantage of Li Si's "Book of Remonstrance and Expulsion of Guests", the First Emperor naturally got off the road.
Fortunately, these two problems are not problems at all for Zhao Kuo.
Externally, today's Warring States situation is still a situation where the two powers Zhao and Qin are in opposition. Zhao and Qin have even reached a tacit understanding of dividing their respective countries.
Therefore, even if the Zhao State starts a war to destroy the country, the opponents it will face are only one or two countries. The current Zhao State obviously already has such capabilities.
Internally, Zhao Kuo promoted the small sect to the large sect, and the influence of the foreign relatives who originally belonged to King Zhao died. The new policy completely disrupted the original court structure system. In addition, Zhao Kuo himself did not establish a The queen naturally has no new relatives formed.
Therefore, within Zhao State, there is almost no resistance to the destruction of other countries.
In this way, under the pressure of the soldiers, the destruction of the country of Han is almost inevitable.
Of course, although it is easy to destroy Korea, how to deal with the Qin army's revenge next is the key.
The good news is that because Xinzheng was captured almost without a fight, the city wall defense included a variety of defensive equipment and there was almost no damage. This made Zhao Kuo's back a little harder.
Soon, King Han was arrested, which made Zhao Kuo feel numb.
It is impossible to kill, otherwise in the future war to destroy the country, it will inevitably arouse the desperate resistance of the remaining countries. This is not what Zhao Kuo wants to see.
However, leaving him alone seems not only meaningless, but will cause unnecessary trouble.
If during the confrontation between Qin and Zhao, the King of Han suddenly ascends to the throne and shouts, with the support of the Qin army, there may not necessarily be few responders. If you rise to the level, even if there are only a few candidates, it is enough to make you sick.
Then move him, along with all the dignitaries of Xinzheng, away!
Although this will be a big project, whether it is for the long-term peace and stability of Xinzheng or to deal with the possible fierce battle with the Qin army, this is the best way.
As he said, Zhao Kuo immediately summoned Li Mu, and immediately arranged personnel to knock on the doors of each house overnight, asking him to follow the army to evacuate to Handan.
What?
Not willing?
This is not asking for their opinion, this is the king’s order!
Many of the nobles in Xinzheng City had seen the King of Han's envoy beaten to death. When faced with Zhao Kuo's order, they naturally did not dare to say anything. They all persuaded their heads and fathers to clean up the matter. Pack your bags and head to Handan.
Of course, just having a sharp sword is not Zhao Kuo's character.
Seeing that everyone had already started moving, Zhao Kuo also ordered someone to announce that the first ten families who left Xinzheng would be given residences in Handan City by the Zhao court based on their homes in Han; the first five families who left would be given additional gifts. Acres of land; the first three to leave will be given a title.
In just a moment, everyone's enthusiasm was aroused.
Of course, in fact, houses and acres are nothing to these aristocratic families. After all, after so many years of accumulation, some houses and acres are really not considered by them.
But these things are not just wealth, they also come from King Zhao
official recognition.
This is a crucial matter for a family that has just surrendered. With this level of recognition, at least for a long period of time, they did not need to worry about being annexed by Handan's noble families.
Not to mention the final title, which is the foundation for a family to stand up again.
Even in the Kingdom of Han, these well-informed families have long known Zhao's current national policy. This title is not as easy to obtain as in the Kingdom of Han.
As a result, the patriarchs of various aristocratic families who had just been ordering their men to pack their things while thinking of ways to break the situation started jumping up and down urging everyone to move faster.
However, these are obviously not smart people.
As soon as the truly smart man received Zhao Kuo's share of the reward, he took his family with him, almost empty-handed, drove a carriage out of the city, and went directly to the camp to meet them.
Looking at the disciples of the aristocratic family who were almost empty-handed and didn't even bring food, the general who was responsible for taking care of them also looked confused.
"Are these Han people working so hard?" Even General Pi was cursing in his heart: "This place is hundreds of miles away from Handan. Aren't you afraid of starving to death on the way?"
But smart people are smart people after all. They dare to be the first to come to the military camp empty-handed. They obviously have full calculations in their minds.
Sure enough, soon, Zhao Kuo personally met with the family head of this group of people, and personally gave them the house, fields in Handan, and the title they longed for - even though it was only an earl.
In the country of Han, this is naturally nothing, but in the country of Zhao, where titles are rare, it is definitely an existence that can go sideways.
Not only that, Zhao Kuo also promised that they could come back to get Xinzheng's property at any time after the war.
When Zhao Kuo informed that the second and third people who came were only the viscount and the baron, everyone felt extremely admirable for the family master's ingenious calculation.
Also, as the first positive example to respond to Zhao Kuo's call, Zhao Kuo must of course reward him well.
Soon, the deeds of this intelligent family spread throughout Xinzheng City, and at the same time, the news of the third-class title also spread. While the major families were lamenting and lamenting, they did not care about these many things, and rushed to the military camp outside the city with their people.
However, as the top ten reward quotas were gradually taken up, the speed of the families arriving was visibly slowed down. Zhao Kuo also immediately announced the last step of his three-step process: the last three families who arrived at the military camp were deprived of their rewards. All wealth.
In an instant, the silent military camp became lively again.
In this way, Zhao Kuo almost gave a sweet date with a stick, and in just one day, he packed up the nobles in Xinzheng City and sent them on their way to Handan.
