Pang Juan led 100,000 Wei soldiers to come to support, Shaoliang had been captured, and the Qin army attacked Anyi, the old capital of Wei.
Since the implementation of the military merit conferment system, the morale of Qin's soldiers has been strong. After beheading one level, you can get the title of Duke. After obtaining the title of Duke, you can get an annual salary of fifty stones. At the same time, you will have an acre of land, a house, and a servant. Of course, you still need to serve.
In other words, as long as you obtain the title of Duke, you can ensure that your family of four will have enough food and clothing. If that's all, Qin Fa is not considered cool, and even the title reward is greater than that of several other countries.
The answer lies in the next system.
Qin's military merit and title are based on the whole rather than the individual. For example, if someone in a group of soldiers dies in battle, the rest will be punished, and the condition for avoiding punishment is that the enemy dies more than you. If three people from a regiment are killed in battle and four or more of the enemy are killed, they have achieved military merit. Otherwise, not only will there be no military merit, but they will also be punished.
And even if no one in the group dies in battle, it still takes five enemy heads to be promoted to the first level of title. This made it difficult to obtain the Qin title.
Gongsun Yang's reform did not just rely on the military merit award system to make Qin strong, but used the system to force the Qin people to follow this path. In the Qin Law, there are only two ways of farming and war.
Gongsun Yang's reforms blocked all Qin's upward channels except for military merit. Qin people could only obtain titles by relying on military merit.
Therefore, the Qin people took the lead one by one in order to obtain the title.
Do you think everything will be fine once you have a title? Qin Fa will tell you that you are dreaming. If the battle fails, everyone will be punished. If you want to avoid punishment, you need to pay for your crime with a title. If you don't have a title, you will be demoted to a slave. So if you want to avoid becoming a slave, you have to fight hard.
In addition to these, after the Qin Dynasty's reform, titles could also be used to offset crimes. Qin's laws were strict, especially the continuous sitting law. He didn't commit any crime, but he was imprisoned. If he wanted to escape the crime, he could only rely on his military merit and title.
You can even use your title to atone for the sins of your parents, wife, and son.
Therefore, although the rewards for Qin's military exploits and titles are generous, there are not many that can actually be obtained. Qin's laws will force you to fight for your life.
Compared with the laws of the Qin State, the system and laws of the Huai State restrained the nobles, protected the grassroots people, reduced the oppression of the grassroots people, made the grassroots people rich, and subtly made the grassroots people willing to sacrifice their lives and blood for the Huai Kingdom. Instead of forcing the grassroots people to fight for him like Qin Fa.
It may seem like the results are the same, but in fact they are completely different. Qin's system could only be strong for a while. According to what Wang Pu said at the time, the Qin State's reform was to treat all people as cattle and horses.
All Qin people are born as cattle and horses, and they can't retire until they are sixty years old as adults. But with the medical level of this era, how many people can live to be sixty years old?
Although this system has great hidden dangers, the effect is surprisingly good, and it only lasted twenty years. The Qin State, which was once oppressed by the Wei State and almost perished, became stronger.
Gongsun Yang led his army to attack Anyi. As the old capital of Wei, Anyi was very important in Wei. Pang Juan fought with 100,000 Wei soldiers and 200,000 Qin troops in Anyi.
Pang Juan commanded well, and the Wei soldiers also took the lead bravely, but Gongsun Yang was not mediocre. Even though his command was somewhat inadequate, the Qin army relied on its superior strength and forced Wei to retreat continuously. It could not resist it, and even Anyi was defeated. The Qin army broke through.
Although Pang Juan retreated, he was not defeated. Instead, he set up camp again and asked the King of Wei for reinforcements. However, after the last defeat, the Wei State did not recover its strength and could not mobilize many troops for a while.
Wei Weng asked the ministers if they had any solution. Prime Minister Hui Shi said: "Qin is strong, so it is better to ask other princes for help."
"South Korea is in civil strife and unable to provide assistance. Zhao State also has to deal with the Zhongshan Rebellion. Which other princes can help Wei State resist Qin?" King Wei asked.
"Your Majesty, do you still remember the Kingdom of Western Chu?" Hui Shi said.
"The few people in the Western Chu State naturally know that the Chu State was destroyed by the Huai State and the Western Chu State was rebuilt. The country is small and the people are weak. How can they help the Wei State defeat the Qin State?" King Wei said.
Hui Shi said: "Your Majesty, the King of Chu moved westward. He has worked hard for decades to govern and reform, and the land in Hanzhong, Brazil, is fertile. Now the Western Chu State is strong and has 200,000 soldiers. If it can be persuaded to send troops, the Qin State will definitely retreat!"
When the King of Wei heard this, he was surprised to learn that there were 200,000 soldiers in Western Chu, and he immediately agreed. Then he asked: "My lords, I wonder if anyone is willing to contact the Western Chu Kingdom. I will definitely reward you generously!"
Above the main hall, all the officials were silent. After all, most people didn't know anything about the Western Chu Kingdom.
When King Wei saw this situation, he frowned slightly, and then said: "Is there no one in the civil and military circles in the dynasty who can share the worries of others?"
"Your Majesty, my minister Gongsun Yan is willing to give it a try!" At this moment, a low-level official suddenly said.
King Wei was a little disappointed when he saw that he was just a low-level official, and asked, "Are you sure?"
"Your Majesty, I must go all out!" Gongsun Yan said. Gongsun Yan had been in office for three years but had never been reused. Now that the opportunity was presented to him, he naturally did not want to miss it. Although he didn't know much about the King of Western Chu, as a disciple of the Zongheng School, he was somewhat sure of convincing the King of Western Chu.
"In this case, I will appoint you as an envoy to go to Western Chu." King Wei had no choice but to treat the dead horse as a living horse doctor.
Gongsun Yan took a team of guards and quickly left Daliang, then passed through South Korea and Huai State, and finally came to Jiangzhou, the capital of Western Chu State, to ask for an audience with the King of Western Chu.
"Messenger from Wei State, why did you come to Chu State?"
Gongsun Yan saluted the King of Chu respectfully and said: "King Chu, the foreign ministers are here to save the Chu Kingdom."
"Bold!" The minister next to him shouted sternly: "Our country of Western Chu is now in strong military strength, so how can we be in danger of annihilation? Why do we need you to save us!"
"Your Majesty, the Wei envoy is making false threats, please drive the Wei envoy away!" Others also said one after another.
"Your Majesty, foreign ministers have heard that the sage kings in ancient times would listen to other people's opinions. You are a wise king, and you will not drive foreign ministers away without listening to their words."
The King of Chu said calmly: "Then tell me, why is our country of Chu in danger of being destroyed?"
"King Chu, you must be very aware of the strength of the Huai State. The Western Chu State has now moved into Badi. Therefore, although the Western Chu State has dangerous mountains and rivers, if the Qin State and the Huai State attack together, can the Western Chu State resist it? "
"The Qin State reformed and occupied Shu, which is adjacent to Western Chu. The Badi is fertile and has fertile fields thousands of miles away. Hanzhong can even go straight into the Weihe Plain and threaten Xianyang. Will the Qin people not take such an important land into their hands?"
"King Chu, do you still think that the Western Chu Kingdom is not in danger of being destroyed?"
(End of chapter)
