Text/Boiling Wine Jun
King Zhaoxiang of Qin (325 BC – 251 BC), also known as King Zhao of Qin, courtesy name Zhao, Zhao, mingze, also known as Ji, son of King Huiwen of Qin, half-brother of King Wu of Qin, monarch of the State of Qin during the Warring States period. In his early years, he was a hostage in the Yan Kingdom. In 307 BC, King Wu of Qin died, and King Zhaoxiang of Qin competed with his brother for the throne. Reigned from 306 BC to 251 BC, he was one of the longest reigning monarchs in Chinese history and the oldest monarch in history when he was pro-government.
During the reign of King Zhaoxiang, the state of Qin grew in strength, launching large-scale attacks on the eastern states, constantly encroaching on the territory of the State of Wei and Korea, and achieving decisive victories in the Battle of Changping with the State of Zhao. It is reasonable to say that such a capable monarch should be pro-government when he is crowned as an adult, but in fact, it was not until he was in his fifties that King Zhaoxiang of Qin was able to pro-government. What is it that has led to such a capable monarch being a puppet for so many years?
King Zhaoxiang of Qin was originally a prince of the State of Qin who was a hostage in the State of Yan, and if it were not for the death of King Wu of Qin and his smashing to death, King Zhaoxiang of Qin would have spent his miserable life in the State of Yan.
In the fourth year of the reign of King Wu of Qin, the King of Wu, who was born with divine powers, broke his patella while talking to Li Shi Meng and died soon after. Since King Wu had no heirs, the issue of succession to the throne became a major problem that haunted the ruling clique of the Qin state. Among them, the Wei foreign relatives, mainly Empress Wei, and the Chu foreign relatives led by the eighth son of Qi (that is, Empress Xuan) waged a fierce struggle against the succession to the throne. After some competition, King Wu's half-brother Gongzi Ji was able to succeed to the throne, that is, King Zhaoxiang of Qin.
In this struggle between the Wei and Chu clans, in addition to Empress Wei and Qi Bazi, there was also an extremely key figure. It was this person who eventually fell to the Chu clan headed by Qi Bazi, and King Zhaoxiang of Qin was able to inherit the throne. This person was The uncle of King Zhaoxiang of Qin, Wei Ran, who himself was the half-brother of the eighth son of Qi, and was "the most virtuous among the Chu foreign relatives, serving as the King of Hui and the King of Wu". However, Wei Ran himself was also quite related to the State of Wei, so such a person who held the power of military fact became the object of contention between the two major factions. In the end, Wei Ran still fell to his sister Chu (in fact, it is not wei Ran who fell to the Chu clan, because at first Qi Bazi recommended her other son, Gongzi Fu, in order to increase his own chips, Wei Ran privately cooperated with King Wuling of Zhao to take back Gongzi Ji, who was a proton in the Yan kingdom. In desperation, Qi Bazi gave up Gongzi Ji and finally chose Gongzi Ji)."
Although King Zhaoxiang of Qin succeeded to the throne smoothly, the position of monarch at the beginning of the succession was not solid. According to the "History of Qin Benji", "In the second year, the comet was seen. Shu Changzhuang rebelled against the ministers, princes, and princes, and all of them were cursed, and Neither Huiwen was allowed to die well. After mourning Wu, he returned to Wei". The Biography of the Marquis of Yong also says: "The Rebellion of the Emperor Jijun. And after the Queen wu came out of Wei, the brothers of King Zhao were destroyed, and the Qin state of Wei Zhen was destroyed." It can be seen that the reason why King Zhaoxiang of Qin was able to successfully inherit the throne was achieved with the help of Wei Ran and Qi Bazi. This was also an important reason why Wei Ran and Qi Bazi were able to control the government and prevent King Zhaoxiang of Qin from personally ruling the government.
In the early days of The reign of King Zhaoxiang of Qin, his mother Empress Xuan was in power, and his maternal relative Wei Ran was the prime minister, and the history was called "Wang Shao, Empress Xuan's autonomy, Wei Ran as the ruler, and Wei Zhenqin as the ruler". In the seventh year of King Zhao of Qin (300 BC), Li Lizi died, and King Zhaoxiang of Qin appointed Zhao Renlou as xiang, and then under the persuasion of Qiu Liu, he changed to Wei Ran as xiang. In the fourteenth year of King Zhao of Qin (293 BC), Wei Ranju used Bai Qi as a general and sent him to replace Xiang Shou to lead troops to attack Korea and the State of Wei, defeating them at Yiqu, beheading 240,000 people, and capturing the Wei general Gongsun Xi. The rise of Bai Qi once again strengthened Wei Ran's power. After that, Wei Rantuo was dismissed from his post due to illness, and the King of Qin appointed Keqing Shoucang as a chancellor. The following year, Shou Zhan was relieved of his post, and wei ran was appointed as the chancellor, and Wei Ran was given the title of Yongdi(穰地), and later he was given the title of TaoYi (陶邑), known as the Marquis of Yong (穰侯). In the nineteenth year of King Qin Zhao's reign (288 BC), he was run by Wei Ran, who proclaimed himself The Western Emperor and King Zun Qi as the Eastern Emperor. After Wei Ran's second appointment as chancellor, he was once again removed from his post, but in the second year of his removal, he served as chancellor of the State of Qin for the third time. He was dismissed from office several times and reinstated several times, and many attempts by King Zhaoxiang of Qin to seize power ended in failure.
According to the "Warring States Policy and Qin Ce III", "It is advisable for a widow to be ordered for a long time. Now that the matter of righteousness is urgent, the widow asks himself to be the empress. Now that the matter of righteousness has been done, the widow has been ordained. Min Ran is insensitive, and honors the courtesy of the guest and the Lord." At that time, Empress Xuan had an indescribable relationship with the King of Yiqu, and King Zhaoxiang of Qin, out of security concerns about the northwestern border, believed that it was necessary to eliminate Yiqu, connect Longxi and Shangjun, and build the Great Wall of Northwest Qin, so as to protect him from Rong Di. In the end, Empress Xuan agreed to attack Yiqu, and it can be said that it was only after the "Yiqu Incident" that King Zhaoxiang of Qin gradually regained the royal power from Empress Xuan.com. This incident also became a watershed in whether King Zhaoxiang of Qin was pro-government.
Just as Qin Xiaogong reused Shang Martin and King Huiwen of Qin reused Zhang Yi, King Zhaoxiang of Qin, who had been the King of Qin for more than fifty years, finally waited for his right-hand man, Fan Ju.
At the beginning of Fan Ju's entry into Qin, he was treated with courtesy by King Zhaoxiang of Qin zhaoxiang for advice on "five knees". According to the Warring States Strategy, Qin Ce III: "The King of Qin knelt down and asked: 'Why is the gentleman fortunate enough to teach the widow?' Fan Suiyue: "Only Wei". In a while, the King of Qin replied, Fan Sui said: 'Only Wei'. If it is three. The King of Qin said, "Mr. Unfortunately, he taught the widow? ’··· King Qin said, "Sir, what a word!" Fu Qin Guo is far away... Undoubtedly oligarchs also. 'Fan Sui said goodbye, and so did the King of Qin. "King Zhaoxiang of Qin knelt five times and Keqing offered the strategy of long-distance and close-range attack, but in fact, Fan Ju did not only bring a long-distance close-range attack to King Qin Zhaoxiang. He also gave Qin Zhaoxiang Wang, analyzing the so-called "four nobles" and "Shandong kingdoms only know the Marquis of Yong and do not know that there is a King of Qin", and King Zhaoxiang has some understanding. And under Fan Ju's impeachment, he "collected the seal of the Marquis of Rang and returned to Tao", "It is to exempt the Xiangguo, so that all the subordinates of Jingyang will be released from the customs and returned to Fengyi".
Under a series of power grabs, King Zhaoxiang of Qin finally fully grasped the supreme power of the Great Qin Empire. This monarch, who had endured for more than forty years, finally became the true "king" of the Qin State when he was nearly sixty years old.