Chapter 14 Chapter Eleven Third Century BC-1

In this century, the eastern countries continued to fight for cities and land and attacked each other without vigilance amidst the sound of the Qin Kingdom sharpening its knives.As a result, in the 1970s, it was all annexed by the Qin Kingdom.The two hundred and sixty years of the Warring States Period, which saw political slashing and killing, came to an end, and a new situation of great unification emerged. The Qin Kingdom established China's first centralized and powerful dynasty with legalist ideology. However, the heirs of the emperor of this dynasty had no leadership ability, so that in the 1990s, they died suddenly.The short-lived Western Chu Kingdom took over to unify China. After a short period of bloody civil war, in the last second year of this century, the Western Chu Kingdom also perished, and another emerging Western Han Dynasty took over to unify China again.

At the end of the century, wars followed and a long peace entered. All the nations of the East fight each other The military power of the Qin Kingdom has become unrivaled in this century (the first three years). It has caused a series of traumas to the Chu Kingdom, and now it wants to strengthen its attack on this neighbor. In 299 B.C., King Yingji of Qin invited Kouhuai, King of Chu, to Wuguan (Shangnan, Shaanxi) to hold a high-level meeting. ), ordered him to meet Yingji with the etiquette of a subject, and forced him to cede the land in central Guizhou (Guizhou). The kingdom imprisoned him.

When the Kingdom of Chu heard the news of the incident, it immediately supported Kou Huai's son, Kou Heng, as king.Yingji was disappointed when he found out that he could not use the locust locust tree to blackmail him, so he attacked from Wuguan. The Chu army was defeated again, but he still insisted on not ceding the land.Kouhuai once escaped, but was captured on the way. Three years later, he died of illness in Xianyang, and the Kingdom of Qin sent his body back. ——It was a common thing in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods to imprison or even kill the monarchs of friendly countries by taking the opportunity of meetings or audiences.It can be proved by referring to the records of chasing kings and killing kings in previous centuries.The Kingdom of Chu often used this kind of rogue method, but it seemed that it was the first time for the Kingdom of Qin.However, the king used to deal with a powerful country like the Chu Kingdom made the countries sweat.

After Yingji suppressed the Kingdom of Chu, in 288 BC, he declared that he was the Great Emperor of the West (the Western Emperor), and sent people to the Kingdom of Qi to ask Qi Tian to be the Great Emperor of the East (the Eastern Emperor).This obviously means that the two superpowers will carve up the world, and Tiandi readily accepts it, but his ministers think that the status of the king is high enough, and changing the title to the emperor has no real benefits, but it will give unnecessary stimulation to other countries.Therefore, Tian Di called the Eastern Great Emperor only two days later, and then he automatically canceled it.Yingji also had no choice but to quietly take down his Western Great Emperor's signboard, but he did not let go of the already sluggish Chu Kingdom. In 278 BC, he ordered his general Bai Qi to lead an army to attack the Chu Kingdom. A fatal injury to the kingdom, captured the capital Yingdu (Jiangling, Hubei), and burned the tombs of the kings of the Chu Kingdom.The regular national defense forces of the Kingdom of Chu were all defeated, and Kou Hengcang moved the capital to Chenqiu (formerly Chen State, Huaiyang, Henan), temporarily respite.

Although Qi Wang Tiandi canceled the title of emperor, he did not cancel his ambition.Two years after the abolition of the emperor's title (before 286), he attacked the Song Kingdom. The king Song Yan, who had won the victory in shooting the sky and challenged his strong neighbors, was defeated and killed, and the Song Kingdom perished.This was the first country to perish among the eight great powers, and all countries did not respond to its demise. The Kingdom of Yan, far in the north, never forgets the devastation of the Kingdom of Qi in the last century (the first four).After 28 years of hard work, it was ready to be completed in the 1910s of this century (first three).In 284 BC, that is, the second year after the Qi Kingdom annexed the Song Kingdom, the international prestige of the Qi Kingdom was reaching its peak, and the Yan Kingdom secretly signed an alliance with Zhao, Qin, Han, and Wei. Under the leadership of General Le Yi of the Kingdom of Yan, they launched a general attack on the Kingdom of Qi, and all the troops of the Kingdom of Qi were wiped out. The land and important cities of the whole country, including the capital Linzi, were swept away by the storm of the Allied Forces of the Five Kingdoms like fallen leaves.Only Jimo (Pingdu, Shandong) and Jucheng (ancient Ju State, Ju County, Shandong) remained, two outlying cities still guarded by remnants of the army.After Le Yi sent back the other four-nation expeditionary forces, he himself led the army of the Kingdom of Yan to stay and besiege Jimo.

Qi Wang Tiandi, the clown character in this cartoon movie, after escaping from Linzi, the dignity of the Eastern Emperor.Still the same.He first defected to the state of Wei (Puyang, Henan), and the state of Wei received him grandly and thoughtfully, but the fields acted as if he was still sitting on the throne, bossing around the king of the state of Wei, and the king of the state of Wei stopped providing him with food.Tian Di had no choice but to defect to the State of Lu (Qufu, Shandong). The State of Lu sent envoys to the border to meet him. Tian Di asked how the State of Lu received him.But Tiandi requires the etiquette of a king, that is to say, the king of Lu must stand under the hall from morning till night, waiting for Tiandi to eat and listen to his call, because he is the king, and it is not enough for Lu to treat him as a state guest. Treat him like a master.The State of Lu couldn't help being taken aback, and ordered the border to be closed.Tian Di then defected to the State of Zou (Zoucheng, Shandong). It happened that the king of Zou State passed away. Tian Di declared that he would mourn him as a king. Jucheng was still holding on, so he fled to Miyagi.

At first, Tian Di asked the Kingdom of Chu for help, and now the reinforcements of the Kingdom of Chu, led by General Nao Chi, also arrived in Jucheng.Naochi received a secret order from the King of Chu, Kouheng, to support Tian Di if there is still hope for the Qi Kingdom.If the Qi Kingdom has no hope, join the side of the Yan Kingdom and occupy Jucheng.Naochi soon discovered that the field was a pustule, and the reputation in the past was just a false reputation caused by the current situation.So he invited Tian Tian to a military parade, and he captured Tian Tian on the parade stand, and executed him in a very cruel way: Tian Tian's tendons were pulled out, hung on a beam, and he wailed for three days and nights before he died.

——There were a total of 559 emperors in Chinese history, about one-third of them, that is, 183 emperors died unexpectedly, and the death of the fields was the worst.I don't know why Nao Chi was so cruel to him. There is only one possible explanation, that is, the noble frame of the field hurts Nao Chi too much. However, the purpose of the Kingdom of Chu to annex Jucheng was not achieved. The people of Jucheng rioted, expelled the Chu army, killed Naochi, and supported Tian Fazhang, the son of Tiandi, as the successor king. Le Yi besieged Jimo (Pingdu, Shandong) for five years, but could not take it. He switched to the policy of Huairou, trying to make Jimo collapse on its own.However, changes occurred within the Kingdom of Yan. In 279 BC, the wise old king Ji Ping, who had Si Goujian's advantages but not Si Goujian's shortcomings, passed away, and his young son Ji Lezi succeeded to the throne. Loyalty is in question.The Qi Kingdom, a huge superpower, collapsed within a month, while Jimo, an isolated city, was besieged for five years. Obviously, as described by Ji Lezi's cronies, there must be some kind of conspiracy lurking.So Ji Lezi ordered Le Yi to be dismissed, and another trusted general, Qi Jie, was appointed to replace him.Qi Jie immediately forcibly attacked the city, and the defender Tian Dan counterattacked with his newly invented secret weapon "Fire Bull Formation".The fire ox array is to tie a sharp knife to the horns of the ox, and then burn its tail. This group of oxen with their tails on fire turned into countless tanks, rushing into the Yan army camp like mountains and seas. The unseen weapon was terrified, defeated in an instant, and was killed by robbery.The defeat of the Yan army was like a series of avalanches. The people of the Qi kingdom responded and attacked the Yan army. In just a few days, all the occupying troops of the Yan kingdom were driven away.

This is a famous miraculous victory in history, and the restoration of the Qi Kingdom.However, just like the Restoration of the Kingdom of Chu in the 6th century BC 300 years ago, the Kingdom of Qi was unable to restore its strength even though it was too dilapidated, and it fell from the status of a superpower.Now there is only one hegemony left in China - the hegemony of the Qin Kingdom. 2. Brand-new foreign policy - long-distance friendship and short-term attack Beginning in the 1930s of this century (the first three), the foreign policy of the Qin Kingdom underwent drastic and important changes.King Yingji of Qin adopted Prime Minister Fan Sui's suggestion of "making friends at a distance and attacking at a distance", and greeted some distant or distant countries, such as the Kingdom of Qi, the Kingdom of Yan, and the newly defeated and shrinking Kingdom of Chu, with a smile on his face.As for the Wei, Han, and Zhao countries that bordered him, he resolutely resorted to force.

This foreign policy is terrible and actually isolates all countries so that enemy countries can defeat them.Its producer, Fan Sui, is not from the Kingdom of Qin, but from the Kingdom of Wei. He loves his motherland and has been serving as a low-level official under Wei Qi, the prime minister of the Kingdom of Wei. His only hope is to have the opportunity to be appreciated by the chief. Gradually promoted.He never thought that one day he would become the prime minister of the Qin Kingdom and offer such a highly intelligent strategy. This is a miracle forced by an unjust prison. When Fan Wei was still a low-level official of the Kingdom of Wei, he was once sent as an attache of the diplomatic envoy Xu Jia to the Kingdom of Qi.Qi Wang Tian Fazhang admired his talent and secretly invited him to be an official in the Qi Kingdom. Fan Sui was unwilling to betray his motherland. Tian Fazhang was very disappointed and presented him with five kilograms of gold and a table of food and wine.Fan Sui rejected the gold and only accepted food and wine.After Xu Jia heard about it, he was jealous and angry, and insisted that Fan Sui must have leaked some important secret, otherwise the Qi Kingdom would not have rewarded him so heavily.After returning to the country and reporting to Wei Qi, Wei Qi was also furious, indiscriminately, immediately summoned all the officials and all the guests, held a grand banquet, tied Fan Sui to the hall, and taught him to confess.When Fan Sui's confession could not satisfy Wei Qi, Wei Qi believed that he was not telling the truth, and he ordered the torture. Fan Sui's ribs were broken and his teeth fell out, and the torture continued. He ordered someone to drag him to the toilet, and ordered all officials and guests to take turns peeing on the bloody corpse to show their loyalty to the king and hatred of traitors.

Fan Sui waited until the crowd of officials who had abused him dispersed, and begged and bribed the jailer to save him. When the jailer was ordered to drag Fan Sui out of the burial, he secretly sent him home to recuperate.Fan Sui finally recovered from his injuries and fled to the Kingdom of Qin, where he proposed to King Yingji of Qin a foreign policy of long-distance friendship and short-term attack. Yingji was overjoyed and appointed him as prime minister. Soon, Xu Jia was sent as an envoy to the Kingdom of Qin. Fan Sui disguised himself as a beggar and asked Xu Jia for food.Xu Jia was astonished that Fan Sui was still alive, but he still sympathized with his old friend's downfall and gave him a leather robe.After Fan Sui left, Xu Jia discovered the truth. He was out of his wits (in that era, killing a foreign envoy was like killing a sparrow), took off his clothes, shoes and socks, naked, with bare feet, Kneel in front of the prime minister's mansion to plead guilty.Fan Sui also imitated the same pattern and summoned government officials and guests, held a big banquet, and told Xu Jia who was prostrate on the ground: "You are destined to die, but the reason why you are not dead is because of the leather robe you gave me. There is still a little affection for an old friend." He was ordered to return to the country and tell the king of the Kingdom of Wei that if Wei Qi was not executed immediately, he would soon attack the Kingdom of Wei.When Wei Qi shed other people's blood to show his loyalty, he was very impassioned. Now he needs to shed his own blood to maintain national security, but he despicably abandons his post and absconds.But after running away, until the end, no country dared to offend the angry prime minister of the Qin Kingdom for such a fool, and he was still forced to commit suicide.But his soul is nobler than Pang Juan, and he admitted his mistakes when he was dying. ——The Kingdom of Wei is located in the Central Plains, rich in products and developed in education.More than half of the most outstanding statesmen, military strategists, and thinkers at that time were born or concentrated here.However, the ruling class of the Kingdom of Wei not only could not use them, but humiliated and persecuted them, forcing them to defect to the enemy country.We can't imagine what the development of history would look like if the Kingdom of Wei appointed Wu Qi, Gongsun Yang, Sun Bin, Fan Sui, and Le Yi (he was also from Wei). Under the new foreign policy of the Qin Kingdom, the three countries in the Far East achieved temporary stability, but the three countries in the Near East suffered from bad luck.They have no choice but to accept constant beatings and have nowhere to call for help. There is no overlord to appeal to, and no other superpower to check and balance with the Qin Kingdom.One of the most tragic slaughters was the Battle of Changping, which plunged the Kingdom of Zhao into irreversible doom. In 264 BC, the Qin Kingdom attacked the Han Kingdom, marched east along the north bank of the Yellow River, and occupied Nanyang (west of Xiuwu, Henan).Two years later (before 262), Yewang (Qinyang, Henan) was occupied again, cutting off the connection between the Kingdom of Han and Shangdang County (the eldest son of Shanxi) in the northern territory.Feng Ting, the county magistrate (prefect) of Shangdang County, surrendered to the Kingdom of Zhao.This was throwing a hot potato to Zhao Kingdom. Zhao Kingdom couldn't refuse the temptation of this 20,000-square-kilometer land, and still happily accepted it, praying to God that it would not be a hot potato. Of course, the Qin Kingdom did not allow the fat that had already arrived to be poached by others. Two years later (260 BC), General Wang (Chiqi) attacked Shangdang. fall.However, the Qin army was still unstoppable, and Lianpo lost steadily, and finally retreated to Changping Pass (Wangbao Village, Gaoping, Shanxi), built a camp, and could not hold out.Lian Po believed that the Qin army would not last long if it came far away, and he would wait until the Qin army retreated before inviting an attack.The Kingdom of Qin saw that it would be impossible to annihilate the field corps of the Kingdom of Zhao if this scheming Lian Po was not eliminated.The spy system established by Fan Sui promptly spread whispers to those in power in Handan, the capital of the Zhao Kingdom (Handan, Hebei), saying: "Lianpo is too old and has lost his vigor, so he has been defeated repeatedly. The blow was severe. He knew that he was no match for the Kingdom of Qin. He had become a coward and did not dare to fight, fearing that he would one day surrender to the Kingdom of Qin under pressure. What the Kingdom of Qin feared most was Zhao Kuo, the young general sent by the Kingdom of Zhao. If Zhao Kuo does not come out to be the commander-in-chief, the Qin Kingdom will definitely win." Under the unanimous request of the whole country, King Zhao Dan dismissed Lian Po and appointed Zhao Kuo as the successor commander-in-chief. Zhao Kuo was the son of Zhao She, a famous general of the Zhao Kingdom. He was extremely intelligent and eloquent. He thought that his military ability was unparalleled in the world.When Zhao She was alive, father and son talked about the art of war, and the father was often speechless when criticized by his son.Zhao Kuo's mother said happily, "It's really good to be a general." But his father didn't think so. When Zhao Kuo was appointed commander-in-chief, his mother immediately wrote to King Zhao Dan, saying: "Zhao Kuo is actually an idiot. He can only read father's books, but he can't use them flexibly. He is not a general. Please don't send him. Zhao Dan thought his mother was modest, so she said: "When his father was the commander-in-chief, all the rewards he received were given to his subordinates. On the day the order was issued, he lived in the barracks, shared the joys and sorrows with the soldiers, and no longer interfered with family affairs. When encountering difficulties , must seek everyone's opinions, and never dare to be self-righteous. But Zhao Kuo was majestic when he was appointed as the commander-in-chief. No one in the barracks dared to look up to him. All the rewards were sent home. Tell me, no matter what, Zhao Kuo must not be allowed to command large armies to fight.” Of course, Zhao Dan refused to change his mind just because of his mother’s words, and the mother begged: “If you must use him, if you lose your teacher and humiliate the country, please forgive us. The whole family." Zhao Dan agreed. When Qin Wang Yingji received the news that Zhao Kuo was appointed commander-in-chief, he was so happy that he almost went crazy. He appointed Bai Qi, the most feared general in all countries, as commander-in-chief.However, I am afraid that Bai Qi's prestige will make Zhao Kuo frightened and dare not go out to fight. Then he will not be able to capture the main force of the Zhao Kingdom. Ying Ji ordered that anyone who dared to reveal the name of the commander-in-chief be beheaded immediately.Then mobilize all the reserve forces in the country, and put all men over the age of fifteen into the battlefield.The biggest battle in the world has been secretly arranged.What the Qin Kingdom wants is not only victory on the battlefield, but also the complete destruction of the Zhao Kingdom's combat power. Zhao Kuo adopted a central breakthrough tactic. He hated defense. He believed that the best defense was attack. To win, one must launch continuous attacks. After wedging into the enemy's position, spread it left and right, causing it to collapse across the board.After he took office, he dismantled the fortifications and personally led the elite to attack the weakest camp of the Qin army. Bai Qi ordered to retreat.After Zhao Kuo broke through the Qin army's position, he still maintained a fierce offensive to expand the results of the battle. Bai Qi ordered to retreat again, and then sent a surprise attack force of 25,000 people to cut off the retreat of Zhao Kuo who was advancing sharply.So the Zhao Kingdom's army was divided into two, Zhao Kuo and some of the elite troops were separated in front, and the remaining troops were still in the Changping Pass position.Then Bai Qi cut off Zhao Jun's food road, and Zhao Jun suddenly had a food panic and lost contact with the central government.Zhao Kuo launched several times of the most violent attacks, hoping to highlight the encirclement of the Qin army, but the Qin army resisted firmly and did not waver.Zhao Kuo's military theories that made his father shut up were all ineffective. He had to follow Lian Po's method and changed from offensive to defensive, waiting for reinforcements.But now the situation has changed, the troops have been divided, and the food and supplies are exhausted, it is impossible to defend, and it is impossible to report the emergency to Handan.Zhao Kuo barely supported it for forty-six days. The soldiers went crazy with hunger. At first they killed the horses to satisfy their hunger.Zhao Kuo was forced to make a final sprint. He divided his troops into four teams and took turns to attack, but he still couldn't break through the steely defense line of the Qin army.At this point, Zhao Kuo was at a loss. He personally selected the death squad to break through for the last time. As a result, the whole army was wiped out, and he himself died under the random arrows.There were 400,000 remaining Zhao troops, all of whom surrendered. The tragedy happened after the surrender of the Zhao army. Bai Qi ordered the 400,000 hungry and exhausted captives who had been regenerated in Deqing to enter a deep valley called "Killing Valley" near Changping Pass, and block both ends of each mouth.The Qin army, who had ambushed on the top of the mountain in advance, threw earth and rocks like a torrential rain. 400,000 people were all buried alive, and only 240 people were released back to the country to spread the terrible news.The whole country of the Zhao Kingdom cried loudly, and the sound shook the world. Their young generation all died in this battle, and the Zhao Kingdom fell from then on. Four years after the Battle of Changping Pass (256 BC), when the Qin Kingdom's army attacked Han and Zhao again), it passed through the territory of the poor and ancient Zhou Kingdom in Luoyang, as if entering no one's land.Ji Yan, the last king of the Zhou Kingdom, was furious and personally called on all countries to resume the long-awaited covenant of joint vertical confrontation, and organized an international coalition to crusade against the Qin Kingdom.The lifeblood of the Zhou Kingdom is endless, small and poor, even the sacred and inviolable national treasure Jiuding was melted down and sold to live.Now it is really a feat to put your head in the mouth of a hungry tiger to bump into the aggressive king whom everyone fears, even more absurd than Cao Yang and Song Yan. Ji Yan finally recruited five or six thousand people, and had no food to pay, so he had to borrow money from landlords and wealthy businessmen, and agreed on the day of victory and triumph, and repaid them with the spoils of war.Chu and Yan sent troops to the appointment, but when they found that there were no other troops, they retreated in panic.Of course, the mob of five or six thousand people in the Kingdom of Zhou couldn't act alone. After a while of excitement, they had to disband.There was no loot, and the debt could not be paid off. The creditors demanded the debt day and night, but Ji Yan couldn't cope with it, so he hid on a high platform and dared not meet anyone.But Qin Guo was very displeased when he heard about his playful behavior.Send an army to Luoyang, capture Ji Yan, and depose him as a civilian.The Zhou Dynasty, which was founded 879 years ago and was praised by the Confucian school, perished without a sigh. In the year following the fall of the Zhou Kingdom (255 BC), the army of the Chu Kingdom entered Qufu and exiled Ji Yu, the last monarch of the Lu Kingdom.Six years later (249 BC), he was deposed as a commoner, and the state of Lu also perished. Now, within the territory of China, seven great powers stand side by side. Sanlu Buwei Han Fei In 247 BC, the throne of the Qin Kingdom passed to a thirteen-year-old boy, Ying Zheng, who was regented by Lu Buwei, an old friend of Ying Zheng's father, Ying Yiren. Lu Buwei is a native of Zhao, and he is one of the most politically minded capitalists in history.Ying Yiren was once a hostage in Zhao Kingdom, and his father Yingzhu was the prince of Qin Kingdom.Like any nobleman at that time, Yingzhu had many concubines, and Yingyi was born to one of them.His mother was not favored, and therefore he was not valued.During the time in Handan (Handan, Hebei), the capital of the Zhao Kingdom, he was poor and destitute, almost like an exiled refugee.Lu Buwei took a fancy to him, treated him as a rare commodity, and bet a lot.He also went to Xianyang in person, and relied on tricks and bribes to convince Yingzhu's favorite Mrs. Huayang—she had no son.At the request of Mrs. Huayang, Ying Yiren excluded all his brothers and was established as the legal heir of the crown prince.Not only that, Lu Buwei also gave his favorite concubine Ji to Ying Yiren. This concubine gave birth to a son a year later, Ying Zheng.Lu Buwei's luck was good. Before long, the old king Yingji passed away and Yingzhu succeeded him.Yingzhu died of a disease after only three years as king, and Yingyi succeeded him.Ying Yiren was king for only three years, and died of an illness, so Ying Zheng sat on the throne.Lu Buwei's wonderful political investment has received astonishing profits. Taking advantage of the series of power transfers of the Qin Kingdom, the eastern countries once again formed a joint vertical confrontation alliance that was too late.In 241 BC, Chu, Zhao, Wei, Han, and Wei (Qi and Yan refused to participate, which was the result of long-distance friendship and short-term attack), elected the king of Chu, Kou Wan, as the commander of the vertical contract.Zou Wan ordered Prime Minister Huang Xie to lead the five-nation coalition to arrive outside Hangu Pass.This is the second time for the Hezong Confrontation Alliance to challenge Hangu Pass, and it has been 77 years since the first challenge in the last century (the first four).But this time was worse than the last time. When the Qin army opened the door and beat the drums to fight, the Allied forces of the five countries were frightened. When they saw the Qin army's banner later, it was like a group of mice seeing the cat's ears. They panicked all of a sudden. , broke up in a hurry.In particular, the still huge Chu Kingdom seems to have caused some catastrophe. It abandoned Chenqiu (Huaiyang, Henan Province), which had been capitalized for 38 years, and moved the capital to the east, farther away from the Qin Kingdom. The Shouchun (Shou County, Anhui).This was the last time that the eastern countries united, but this time it was better not to unite than to unite. Their ugliness was exposed, which encouraged the Qin Kingdom to arouse greater ambitions and began to seriously consider destroying them as soon as possible. In 237 BC, Yingzheng was twenty-three years old. He was displeased with Lu Buwei's monopoly and dismissed him.Yingzheng himself was in charge of the government, and Li Si of the legalist school was the prime minister.Yingzheng likes reading very much. He found "Lonely Anger" and "Five Beetles" in the extensive books. Death without hatred." Li Si told him that the author, Han Fei, was a nobleman of the Kingdom of Han, and because he suffered from a stutter, he was not good at speaking and debating, but his wisdom was contained in his writings.Ying Zheng was very excited and informed the Kingdom of Han to invite Han Fei to visit the Kingdom of Qin. In 233 BC, Han Fei arrived in Xianyang. As the king's distinguished guest, he was greatly respected and welcomed.However, things in the world do not always develop positively. The stories of Pang Juan and Sun Bin are repeated in the Qin Kingdom.Li Si panicked about his position and determined to kill Han Fei.He warned Yingzheng: "Han Fei is an aristocrat of the Han Kingdom, not an ordinary commoner. He will never be loyal to the Qin Kingdom. Instead of using him and risking being betrayed, it is better to send him back. But instead of sending him back to reform If you want to be strong and become a great enemy, it is better to kill him to avoid future troubles." Most autocratic emperors are ruthless and moody, and no matter what they do, they will get the support of the tail wagging system. So Yingzheng pulled Han Fei from the VIP position and put him in prison. Although Yingzheng later changed his mind and ordered Han Fei to be released, Li Si poisoned Han Fei in prison before he changed his mind. Han Fei, a scholar who combines glory and tragedy in one focus, is a summary of the legalist school: the center of his thought is that the monarch should have strong power, and he does not need to hope that the people are grateful, nor does he care about the people's resentment, as long as the rewards and punishments are strict, he will Can make the government omnipotent. After Han Fei's death, scholars who admired him compiled his works into a book named "Han Feizi".Although Ying Zheng and Li Si killed Han Fei, they accepted all of Han Fei's ideas and built their ever-expanding empire. Four or six countries destroyed In the 1970s (the first three) of this century, the internal and external conditions for the demise of the six eastern kingdoms were met.The internal conditions are that the ruling class is becoming increasingly corrupt and incompetent, the poverty of the people is increasing, and the psychological state of longing for an earlier change is becoming stronger and stronger.The external condition is that the Qin Kingdom's determination and powerful strength to unify the world at that time are expanding day by day.So in the ten years of the 1970s, like smashing six eggs with an iron rod, all the six kingdoms were easily conquered.The order of their demise is listed in the following table: The first to suffer bad luck was the Kingdom of Han, whose national power had never recovered. In the third year after Han Fei's death (230 BC), the army of the Kingdom of Qin captured its capital Xinzheng (Xinzheng, Henan). The first king, Han An, surrendered. The demise of the Kingdom of Han caused shock to other kingdoms. In the midst of excessive tension, the Kingdom of Zhao jumped into the trap set by the spies of the Kingdom of Qin, and forced Li Mu, the only loyal general who could save the country, to commit suicide. Those of the Kingdom of Qin From then on, the generals had no opponents to compete with.Two years later (before 228), Wang Jian, the famous general of the Qin Kingdom after Bai Qi, attacked the Zhao Kingdom, and the king Zhao Qian surrendered.Zhao Qian's elder brother, Zhao Jia, fled north and gathered the remnant army in Daijun (Yu County, Hebei Province) to continue to resist. The Kingdom of Yan was even more flustered. Prince Ji Dan, the prince of Yan King Jixi, presided over the state affairs. The ministers advised him to form a vertical confrontation alliance with Qi, Chu, and Wei. Ji Dan thought it was impractical and too urgent.Determined to take heresy methods, he sent assassins to coerce Yingzheng, ordering him to promise to return the invaded land and promise not to continue the invasion.If he refuses, stab him to death.The assassin chosen by Ji Dan is the famous warrior Jing Ke. The whole plan is: Kingdom of Yan requests Qin Kingdom to merge, and Jing Ke is sent to present the map of Kingdom of Yan. Yingzheng will definitely meet him personally. The dagger appears on the map. In 227 BC, Jing Ke arrived in Xianyang (Xianyang, Shaanxi), the capital of Qin State.Everything is going according to plan.However, when Jing Ke picked up the dagger with his right hand and Ying Zheng's sleeve with his left, and was about to speak, Ying Zheng broke free from Jing Ke's hand and ran around the pillar.Jing Ke chased after him, obviously, the opportunity was lost.Ying Zheng drew his waist sword and cut off Jing Ke's left leg.Jing Ke fell to the ground, barely sat up, and threw the dagger at Yingzheng with his right hand, hitting the Tongzhu and shooting sparks.Ying Zheng slashed at him with his sword again, Jing Ke caught him with his hands, and five fingers fell in response.With a smile on his face, he said to Ying Zheng: "I planned to hijack you and force you to return the land that you invaded neighboring countries. Unfortunately, it failed, probably because of God's will." He died under the chaos of the sword. The army of the Qin Kingdom immediately launched a punitive attack on the Yan Kingdom.Next year (before 226), the capital Jicheng (Beijing) was captured, and Ji Xi fled eastward to Xiangping (Liaoyang, Liaoning).The Qin army continued to pursue, and Ji Xi had no choice but to hang the prince Jidan to death, and offered his head to the Qin army, so the Qin army retreated.But Qin Jun did not forgive the Kingdom of Yan, but was eager to go back and offer the head of the culprit. The Qin Kingdom's large-scale unification of China's military operations will not stop.The year after Ji Dan was hanged to death (225 BC), the Qin army attacked the Kingdom of Wei and broke the embankment of the Yellow River, so that the river water falling from the sky poured into the capital Daliang (Kaifeng, Henan). The last king Wei Jia was captured and died. executed. Two years later (before 223), Wang Jian, a famous general of the Qin Kingdom, led a force of 600,000 elite soldiers to attack the still vast and populous Chu Kingdom. After a series of decisive battles, the last king Negative surrender. Next year (before 222), the army of the Qin Kingdom swept north, attacked Xiangping (Liaoyang, Liaoning), captured Ji Xi alive, and the Kingdom of Yan perished.On the way back to the army, the Qin army captured Daijun, and Zhao Jia committed suicide, but he finally extended the life of the Zhao Kingdom for five years. Next year (before 221), it will be the turn of the only surviving Kingdom of Qi. Fan Sui's long-distance and short-range attack policy exerted the highest effect on the Qi Kingdom.For more than fifty years, the diplomatic relations between Qi and Qin were extremely harmonious, and government envoys and private business travelers came and went, very close.King Tianjian of Qi once visited the Kingdom of Qin in 237 B.C., and Ying Zheng welcomed him with extremely noble etiquette.A grand banquet was set up in the capital Xianyang (Xianyang, Shaanxi). Senior officials of the Qin Kingdom and envoys from various countries prostrated themselves at Tian Jian's feet, terrified and afraid to raise their heads.Tian Jian was deeply moved and became sworn brothers with different surnames with Ying Zheng, and the two kingdoms naturally became the closest brothers.The envoys sent by the Kingdom of Qi to Xianyang received cordial hospitality and considerable valuable gifts. They were all elated and praised the strong friendship of the Kingdom of Qin.The Qin Kingdom also continued to send various envoys, including guest officials of other nationalities, to Linzi, the capital of the Qi Kingdom (East of Zibo, Shandong), with a large amount of gold and jewelry. The trap of corruption.Therefore, the Kingdom of Qi refused to participate in any form of joint confrontation.Moreover, whenever the Qin Kingdom conquered a country, Tian Jian sent envoys to Xianyang to congratulate him.When the whole world is fighting bloody battles to defend the motherland, only the Kingdom of Qi watched the fire from the other side, stayed out of it, and enjoyed prosperity and peace for more than half a century. However, the doomsday finally came. In the last year of the 1970s (before 221), five of the six eastern kingdoms had been wiped out, and only the Qi Kingdom was left alone surrounded by the Qin Kingdom.Tian Jian and the prime minister who had been bribed by the Qin Kingdom for 30 years won the victory. Their numb nervous systems felt something was wrong, but it was too late.After destroying the Zhao Kingdom, the army of the Qin Kingdom turned its head south and occupied Linzi without encountering any resistance.The Kingdom of Qi died in a daze. What happened next was that Yingzheng executed Housheng, who took the most bribes, and exiled his brother Tian Jian, who used to be like a brother, to Gongcheng (Huixian, Henan).Tian Jian, who has been the king of Taiping for forty-five years and has enjoyed all the glory in the world, built a house and settled down in the desolate Taihang Mountains among pines and cypresses.The courtiers who followed him soon fled, and the father had only one son, who was still young, and the heir to the throne cried every night, which broke his heart.However, the supply of local officials was cut off from time to time, so that Jinji Yuye's family often suffered from hunger and cold. The father was even more sad, and died of illness, and the whereabouts of the children were unknown.When the survivors of the Qi Kingdom heard the news, they wrote a mourning song for him: The roar of the pine trees full of cypress trees can't eat when hungry can't drink when thirsty Who made Tian Jian end up like this Is it those— The guest ministers around him The six eastern kingdoms came to an end here, and the Warring States Period, which lasted for 260 years, also came to an end.Only one feudal state still exists, and that is the State of Wei (Qinyang, Henan).It may be that it is too small, so small that it was forgotten by Ying Zheng.It was not until 209 BC, twelve years later, that Ying Huhai, the successor of Yingzheng, probably suddenly remembered it, and ordered it to be abolished. Five glorious eighties The dust has settled, the long-term melee between feudal states and independent kingdoms has passed, and China has been unified under a central government, becoming a single country, and the first and most powerful dynasty in Chinese history has emerged.Driven by its powerful command, a strange and huge empire was established. Emperor Yingzheng was the chief engineer of this unprecedented great cause. Almost at the same time as he conquered the six countries, he immediately transformed the vigorous destructive power in the military into a political, economic and cultural construction power, and became a big gold in the 1980s. The peak of the era. When we describe what Emperor Yingzheng has done for China, we must understand that every measure of his, no matter whether people in later generations are happy or unhappy, praise or curse, almost all of them have affected Chinese history for at least two thousand years. Long. He started with a little thing, that is, he stopped being called king and called himself emperor.This is the first time that the words "emperor" and "emperor" have been combined into a proper noun. Since then, its status is higher than that of the king, representing the supreme head of state and the supreme power without any restrictions.Emperor Yingzheng also stipulated that the emperor's orders are called edicts, and the emperor used a special character as his own pronoun, that is, he no longer called "I" but changed his name to "Zhen".And abolished the Zhou Dynasty's most proud overflowing law system. The difference between emperors was based on simple and clear numbers. Emperor of all ages".However, the Chinese people simplified the title of Emperor Yingzheng, unanimously calling him "Qin Shihuang". ——周王朝有两种专属于贵族阶级的文字游戏，第一种是避讳制度，依儒书的规定，地位高贵的人的名字，神圣不可侵犯。地位低微的人必须提心吊胆的不去触及它，即令同音的字也不允许在文字上出现，有时候更不准说出口，否则便是“犯讳”，凡是“犯讳”的人，轻者要受处罚，重者可能处斩。赢政大帝所以没有明令取消这个制度，大概它在本世纪（前三）还没有造成特别灾害的缘故。第二种就是溢法制度，依儒书的规定，一个尊贵的贵族死后（不够尊贵的贵族，如官职稍小和普通平民，都没有资格），他的儿子或部下，即根据他生前的行为特征，给他一个恰如其分的绰号，如周王朝第一任国王姬发，被称为“武王”，即武功盖世之王。如第十二任国王姬宫涅，被称为“幽王”，即黑暗不明之王。周王朝认为谥法制度是礼教的一部分，一个人为了顾虑死后的恶劣绰号，会主动地约束自己的行为。这个构想太天真了，它没有想到，满身罪恶的死者，如果权势仍然存在，便没有人敢提出恰当的形容词，而摇尾系统还会把字典上所有的高贵字句，全部堆到他头上。秦王朝灭亡后，儒家当权，谥法恢复，遂成为一个小丑表功制度。我们举一个例子作为说明，十七世纪明王朝那位吸毒的断头政治皇帝朱诩钧，他的绰号是：“范天合道哲肃敦简光文章武安仁止孝显皇帝”，二十世纪那位把清王朝搞垮了的老太婆那拉兰儿，她的绰号是：“孝钦慈禧端佑康颐昭豫庄诚寿恭仁献崇熙显皇后”，这种必须喘一口气才读得完的头衔，使人倒尽胃口。 废除谥法制度只是一件小事，但它显示一种动向。赢政大帝跟他的政府已完全摆脱儒书里那些同王朝的重要传统，眼前展开的是一个自由自主的新的天地。在这个基础上，中国疆域开始轰轰烈烈的向外扩张。周王朝只限于黄河中游，战国时代七个强大的王国各自开疆拓土，几乎每一个王国都膨胀到有周王朝那么庞大。赢政大帝完成统一的工作后，疆域已包括了黄河、长江，以及桑干河三大流域的大部分，这已是够大的帝国了，然而有一个新兴的威胁使他不能安枕，就是北方沙漠上，强大的匈奴民族，悄悄崛起。当秦王国刚刚扫平六国，收兵回营的时候，匈奴那个毛茸茸的阴影，忽然笼罩下来。匈奴最南的边界，在被称为“河南地”的河套北部，距秦王朝的中华帝国的首都咸阳，只四百公里，骑兵一天就可以抵达城下。这使赢政大帝决心把匈奴逐出河套。 这项任务由大将蒙恬胜利的完成，秦兵团而且越过黄河，挺进到阴山山脉（高阙·内蒙古乌拉特后旗东南）。沿着固有的边界一带，战国时代各国为了抵御北方蛮族的劫掠，都建有属于自己的边防长城，现在，蒙恬为了阻止匈奴的反攻复仇和南下侵略，他发动军队和民众，把它衔接起来。这个在当时长达两千余公里而被称为“万里”的长城，东端起自辽东半岛辽东郡（辽宁辽阳、的东南，西端到临挑城（甘肃氓县），使本来分为三段的长城：燕王国长城，赵王国长城，秦王国长城，联而为一。这对匈奴以及后来代之而起的其他北方蛮族，是一个阻挡力量，他们必须承受重大的死伤损失之后，才能攻破长城，进入中国本土。 在南方，有两块广袤的蛮荒土地，等待开发，那就是“闽中地”和“陆梁地”。闽中地即现在的福建省跟浙江省南部。陆梁地包括现在的广东、广西和湖南、江西两省的南部，陆梁的意义是“陆地上的强梁”，形容土著民族的强悍善战。我们不知道什么原因促使赢政大帝决心征服这两个地方，反正是当北方的河套被并入版图后，秦兵团立即排山倒海般南下，投入这个懊热难当，到处丛山峻岭和恶雾毒虫的原始地带。 秦兵团一面开路一面前进，完成两项伟大的工程，一是打通了大庾岭，一是开凿了灵渠运河。大庾岭属于五岭之一，它有效的把南中国分隔为二，秦兵团用双手在岭上辟出一条山道，使长江流域跟珠江流域豁然相通。灵渠运河连接长江的支流湘江跟珠江桂江，穿过野蛮部落和巨山峡谷，使南北交通发生戏剧性的变化，船只可由帝国首都咸阳（陕西咸阳）出发，直达南方的海口番禺（广东广州）。 闽中地散处着越王国瓦解后残存的部落，所有的酋长们都以国王自居，但他们跟秦兵团一经接触，即行投降。陆梁地的一些强悍民族的激烈抵抗，在配备现代化武器的秦兵团水陆夹攻下，也被粉碎。 这是一个空前广袤的帝国，过去从没有过。比上世纪（前四）西方的亚历山大帝国还大。而且亚历山大帝国只昙花一现，秦王朝建立的中华帝国却一直矗立不坠。帝国面积大约三百万平方公里左右，包括当时中国人已知的全部世界。赢政大帝再摆脱周王朝最洋洋得意的另一个制度——分封制度，把帝国划分为四十一个郡。郡是地方行政单位，直属中央政府，郡下再划分为若干县，县下再划分为若干乡。完全遵照公孙鞅变法时在秦国所定的制度。 四十一郡是： 内史郡（首都咸阳） 上郡（陕西榆林南鱼河堡） 北地郡（甘肃西峰） 陇西郡（甘肃临洮） 汉中郡（陕西汉中） 蜀郡（四川成都） 巴郡（四川重庆） 河东郡（山西夏县） 上党郡（山西长治） 太原郡（山西太原） 雁门郡（山西右玉） 九原郡（内蒙古包头） 云中郡（内蒙古托克托） 代郡（河北蔚县） 黔中郡（湖南沅陵） 象郡（广西崇左） 上谷郡（河北怀来） 渔阳郡（北京密云） 右北平郡（内蒙古宁城西南） 辽东郡（辽宁辽阳） 辽西郡（辽宁义县） 巨鹿郡（河北平乡） 邯郸郡（河北邯郸） 东郡（河南濮阳西南） 琅邪郡（山东胶南西南琅邪乡） 泅水郡（安徽淮北） 九江郡（安徽寿县） 闽中郡（福建福州） 南海郡（广东广州） 齐郡（山东淄博东临淄镇） 薛郡（山东曲阜） 杨郡（河南商丘） 三川郡（河南洛阳东） 颍川郡（河南禹州） 南阳郡（河南南阳） 南郡（湖北江陵） 会稽郡（江苏苏州） 鄣郡（浙江安吉） 长沙郡（湖南长沙） 桂林郡（广西凌云） 广阳郡（北京） （秦郡有三十六郡说，有四十一郡说，有四十六郡说，四十六郡说为较新的研究。还未被学界普遍接受。此书作四十一郡，但郡非同时设。前二二一年初平六国时分为三十六郡。三十六郡为内史、三川、河东、南阳、南、九江、郭、会稽、颍川、砀、泗水、薛东、琅邪、齐、上谷、渔阳、右北平、辽西、辽东、代、巨鹿、邯郸、上党、太原、云中、九原、雁门、上、陇西、北地、汉中、巴、蜀、黔中、长沙。数年后即前二一四年又增桂林、南海、象郡三郡。又有广阳郡设于前二二三年、闽中郡设前二二○年。——编者） 这是一个划时代的突破和最骇人听闻的政治结构，没有封国封爵，没有公侯伯子男。当时没有一个人敢于想像皇帝的儿子们竟会跟平民一样，竟没有拥有土地，更没有拥有奴隶群。尤其是崇古的儒家学派的学者，面对着这么大的巨变，大惑不解，而且不久就大起恐慌，这简直是敲碎他们的饭碗了。