In the twenty-third year of the reign of Duke Xian of Qin (362 BC), after the death of his father Duke Xian of Qin, Duke Xiao of Qin succeeded to the throne. Duke Xiao of Qin was only 21 years old when he succeeded to the throne.
As early as before the birth of Duke Xiao of Qin, the State of Qin experienced several generations of turmoil in the monarchy since the Duke of Qin Li, and its national strength was greatly weakened. The State of Wei took advantage of the political instability of the State of Qin to seize the Hexi region (the area west of the southern section of the Yellow River between present-day Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces). After Qin Xiangong, the father of Duke Xiao of Qin, succeeded to the throne, he cut off the land, made peace with the State of Wei, stabilized the border, moved the capital to Liyang (栎阳, in present-day Yanliang District, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province), recuperated, and made several eastern expeditions to regain the lost land in Hexi, but died without realizing his wish.
When Duke Xiao of Qin succeeded to the throne, he was co-located with King Wei of Qi, King Xuan of Chu, King Hui of Wei, Duke Wen of Yan, Marquis Zhaohou of Han, and Marquis Cheng of Zhao. At that time, the Warring States Liuxiong east of the Yellow River and the Kunshan Mountains had already formed, and there were more than ten small countries between the Huai River and Surabaya. The power of the Zhou royal family declined, and the princes used force to conquer and annex each other. Among the Six Heroes of the Warring States, the Chu and Wei states bordered the Qin state. The State of Wei occupied the Hexi region, which originally belonged to the State of Qin, and built the Great Wall from Zheng County (present-day Hua County, Shaanxi Province) along the Luo River. The State of Chu moved south from Hanzhong County, occupying Wu County and Qianzhong County. The State of Qin was located in the remote Yongzhou, did not participate in the alliance meetings of the princes of the Central Plains, was alienated by the princes, and treated like Yidi. After succeeding to the throne, Duke Xiao of Qin took it as his duty to restore the hegemony of the Qin Mugong period, widely extended kindness, relieved orphans and widows, recruited soldiers, clarified the decree on merit and reward, and promulgated the famous order of seeking merit in the country, ordering the ministers of the country to offer the strategy of enriching the country and strengthening the army.
In the same year, Qin Xiaogong sent two troops to besiege Shaancheng (陕城, in modern Hancheng, Shaanxi Province) to the east, attack Xirong to the west, and behead the King of Xirong. Zhao and Han also took advantage of the unstable succession of Duke Xiao of Qin to lead an army to attack the State of Qin.
In the second year of Qin Xiaogong (360 BC), Qin Xiaogong's recruitment order was announced to the world, and under his efforts, many people of insight came from all directions. It was also in this year that Qin Xiaogong met Shang Martingale. As a result, the two staged a Spring and Autumn drama hand in hand. Shang Martin lobbied Qin Xiaogong three times. The first time he took Li Wu's "Book of Laws" to the Qin State, met Qin Xiaogong through relations, said Filial Piety with the art of Emperor Dao and Wang Dao, Qin Xiaogong listened drowsily, and finally did not quite understand and criticized Shang Martingale; the second time, Shang Martin said Filial Piety with the art of hegemony, Qin Xiaogong's reaction was much better than the first time, there was no affirmation or denial of Shang Martingale, but Shang Martingale was not used for this reason; the third time, Shang Martingale took the rich country and strong soldiers as the main speech content, and stated to the Qin State how to strengthen the army and the rich country. Finally succeeded in impressing Qin Xiaogong.
Since then, the relationship between Qin Xiaogong and Shang Martin has heated up in a straight line. The two of them could talk hand in hand for a few days over state affairs, without getting tired, and the two had a lot of common views on politics. It can be said that the two are monarchs and friends. This harmonious relationship between monarchs and subjects is extremely desirable. They trust each other, understand and support each other, and are rare wise men and wise men.
Under the persuasion of Shang Martin, Qin Xiaogong decided to change the law in the Qin state, but the change was opposed by the conservative faction represented by Gan Long and Du Zhi, and a fierce dispute arose between the two sides. After the end of the dispute over the change of law, Qin Xiaogong ordered Shang Martin to promulgate the "Order of Reclamation of Grass" in the Qin state in 359 BC as a prelude to a comprehensive change of law. The main contents are: stimulating agricultural production, inhibiting commercial development, reshaping social values, improving social awareness of agriculture, weakening the privileges of nobles and officials, allowing domestic nobles to join agricultural production, implementing a unified tax and rent system, and other measures.
After the successful implementation of the Order of Reclamation in the Qin State, Qin Xiaogong appointed Shang Martin as the Left Shu Commander in 356 BC, and implemented the first change of law in the Qin State. The main contents are: reforming the household registration system, implementing the Shiwu Lian Sitting Law and the Explicit Military Law, rewarding military merit, abolishing the Shiqing Shilu system, establishing a system of twenty-grade military meritorious titles, rewarding farming and weaving, emphasizing agriculture and suppressing commerce, severely punishing private struggles, changing the law into law, formulating the Qin law, and implementing the small family system.
After the first change of law, the national strength of the Qin state began to grow stronger. In 358 BC, the State of Qin defeated Korea at Xishan (西山, west of present-day Bears Ears Mountain, Henan Province). In 357 BC, King Xuan of Chu sent The Right Yin Hei to marry a Qin woman and marry the Qin state. In 355 BC, Duke Xiao of Qin and King Hui of Wei met at Duping (杜平, in present-day eastern Chengcheng County, Shaanxi Province), ending the long-term non-alliance between the Qin state and the princes of the Central Plains.
After the Pingding Prince Incident, Qin Xiaogong worshipped Shang Martingale as Daliang zao and began a second change of law.
Xianyang (present-day Xianyang City, Shaanxi Province) is located in the middle of the Guanzhong Plain, bordering the Plateau to the north, the Wei River to the south, the Wei River down to the Yellow River, and the Zhongnan Mountain and the Wei River to Hangu Pass. In order to facilitate the development east of Hangu Pass, In 350 BC, Qin Xiaogong ordered Shang Martingale to recruit soldiers and soldiers, build the Jique court according to the scale of the capitals of the Lu and Wei states, create a new capital, and move the capital from Liyang to Xianyang the following year, and at the same time order Shang Martin to carry out a second change in the Qin state. The main contents are: opening up the territory of the strange, abolishing the well field, making the land, allowing the private ownership and sale of land, implementing the county system, increasing the collection of mouth endowments, unifying weights and measures, burning poetry books and making clear decrees, plugging private doors, prohibiting eunuchs and enforcing household separation orders.
After two changes in the law, the qin state was strong, and the people's families were rich and sufficient. The Qin people did not pick up the road, and there were no thieves in the mountains. The people have the courage to fight for the country, are afraid of private struggles, and the order in the villages and towns is stable. King Xianwang of Zhou sent envoys to give Qin the title of overlord of Xiaogong, and all the princes sent emissaries to congratulate him. In 348 BC, Han Zhaohou personally went to the State of Qin and signed an armistice with Duke Xiao of Qin. In 342 BC, Duke Xiao of Qin sent Crown Prince Si to lead the Ninety-two Kingdoms of Western Rong to meet King Xian of Zhou, showing the status of the Western hegemon of the Qin State.
Recovering the lost land in Hexi and restoring the hegemony of the Qin Mugong period was the wish of the two generations of monarchs of Qin Xiangong and Qin Xiaogong. As early as the qin dynasty, the state of Qin and the state of Wei fought many wars over the Hexi region, in which the state of Qin won three battles in three battles: Luoyin (southwest of present-day Dali County, Shaanxi Province), ShimenShan (southwest of present-day Yuncheng, Shanxi), and Shaoliang (southwest of present-day Hancheng, Shaanxi). After two changes in the shang martingale, the Qin state was strong and had the ability to recover the Hexi region.
In the eighth year of Qin Xiaogong (354 BC), the State of Zhao invaded Wei's ally Wei state, capturing Qi and Fuqiu (both in present-day Changyuan County, Henan Province). This led to the intervention of the State of Wei, which sent troops to assist and besieged the Zhao capital Handan (present-day Handan, Hebei). Taking advantage of the main attack of the Wei army, Qin Xiaogong sent an army to sneak into the State of Wei and attack Yuanli (元里, an important stronghold of the Great Wall west of the Wei River (in present-day chengcheng County, Shaanxi Province), defeating the Wei army, annihilating 7,000 defenders, and occupying Shaoliang. In the same year, Duke Xiao of Qin ordered Gongsun Zhuang to lead an army to attack Korea and besiege Jiaocheng (jiaocheng, west of present-day Sanmenxia, Henan), but did not capture it, occupying Shangyu, Anling (present-day north of Yanling County, Henan Province), and Shanshi (northeast of present-day Xinzheng City, Henan Province) and building a city to insert it into the border area between Wei and Han.
In the ninth year of The Duke of Qin (353 BC), the Qi army joined forces with the forces led by the Song state Jing enemy and the Wei state Gongsun Cangshou to besiege the Wei state of Xiangling (襄陵, in present-day Sui County, Henan Province). At this time, the main force of the Wei army had attacked the capital of the Zhao state, Handan, but at the Battle of Guiling was defeated by the Qi army that came to rescue the Zhao state, and King Xuan of Chu also sent the general Jing She to lead troops to rescue the Zhao state and seize the land between the Wei state of Suishui and Shuishui. Taking advantage of the emptiness in the State of Wei, Duke Xiao of Qin appointed Shang Martin as The Great Liangzao in the tenth year of the Duke of Qin (352 BC), led his troops to drive straight in, besieged the State of Wei, and occupied the old capital of the State of Wei, Anyi (in present-day northwest of Xia County, Shanxi Province). King Hui of Wei hurriedly sent an army to build the Great Wall of Kunshan (from Kunshan in the southeast to the Yellow River in the northwest) east of Guyang (定阳, in present-day Eastern Yan'an, Shaanxi Province) east of the Shangjun stronghold to stop the Qin army's attack. In the eleventh year of Qin Xiaogong (351 BC), Shang Martin led an army to besiege and occupy Guyang.
In the tenth year of qin xiaogong (352 BC), King Hui of Wei mobilized korean troops to defeat the combined forces of Qi, Song, and Wei who were besieging Xiangling, and the State of Qi was forced to ask the Chu general Jing She to mediate, and the countries made a truce. In the eleventh year of Duke Xiao of Qin (351 BC), King Hui of Wei and Marquis Chenghou of Zhao formed an alliance at the Zhanghe River and withdrew from the capital of the Zhao state, Handan. After successive peace talks with various countries, the State of Wei concentrated its forces to counterattack to the west, retake Anyi and besiege Guyang. In order to buy time for a second change of law in the country, Qin Xiaogong reconciled with King Hui of Wei in 350 BC at Tongdi (present-day southwest of Hua County, Shaanxi Province), easing tensions between the two countries.
King Hui of Wei, in the name of meeting Zhou Tianzi, summoned the twelve princes of Sishang to hold an alliance in an attempt to attack Qin. Duke Xiao of Qin ordered the defenses to be strengthened, and adopted Shang Martin's strategy of "honoring Wei as king" to change Wei's intentions in attacking the State of Qin. In the eighteenth year of Qin Xiaogong (344 BC), Duke Xiao of Qin sent Shang Martin to persuade king Hui of Wei to persuade him that in addition to ordering Song, Wei, Zou, lu and twelve other small foreign countries, he should also unite with the State of Yan to the north and attack the State of Qi to the east, forcing the State of Zhao to submit; to unite with the State of Qin to the west and attack the State of Chu to the south, forcing Korea to submit, so that hegemony could be achieved. Shang Martin also suggested that King Hui of Wei obey the will of the world, first claim the title of king, and then seek hegemony. King Hui of Wei, following Shang Martin's persuasion, began to claim the throne, built a palace according to Tianzi's specifications, made Danyi and the Banners of the Nine Shi and the Seven Stars, and summoned all the small countries to participate in the Fengze (present-day Kaifeng City, Henan Province) Alliance, and the Young Officials of Qin and The Marquis of Zhao Su were also invited to participate, and the princes went to see Zhou Tianzi after the alliance. King Hui of Wei's act of usurping the etiquette system caused the anger of the States of Qi and Chu, and the princes fell to the State of Qi.
In the twenty-first year of The Duke of Qin (341 BC), the State of Wei suffered heavy losses from the State of Qi at the Battle of Maling, and the main general Pang Juan committed suicide and Crown Prince Shen was captured. Shang Martin took the opportunity to say to Qin Xiaogong: "The relationship between the State of Qin and the State of Wei is like a person suffering from a heart disease, either the State of Wei annexes the State of Qin, or the State of Qin annexes the State of Wei. The State of Wei was located in the western part of the mountainous terrain, occupying the east of the Kun Mountains and bordering the Yellow River with the State of Qin. When the situation is favorable, it will invade the Qin state to the west, and expand the territory to the east when it is unfavorable. Now that the emperor is a saint and a sage, the Qin kingdom is prosperous. The State of Wei had just been defeated by the State of Qi, and could take advantage of this opportunity to attack the State of Wei. The State of Wei could not resist the offensive of the State of Qin and was bound to retreat eastward. As soon as the State of Wei retreated to the east, the State of Qin occupied the dangerous terrain of the Yellow River and the Kunshan Mountains, and to the east could control the princes of various countries, which was the imperial inheritance of unifying the world! Qin Xiaogong took Shang Martin's advice and decided to take advantage of the fact that Wei's strength had not yet been restored and launched a major attack on Wei.
In the same year, the State of Qin united with Qi and Zhao to attack the State of Wei. In September, Qin Xiaogong sent Shang Martin to attack Wei Hedong, and Wei sent Gongzi Jie to meet the battle. When the two armies confronted each other, Shang Martin sent an emissary to deliver a letter to Gongzi Jie, saying: "I was very happy with Gongzi at the beginning, and now that you and I have become generals of the two enemies, I can't bear to attack each other, I can meet Gongzi face to face, make a covenant, drink a few drinks and then withdraw their troops, so that Qin and Wei can be at peace." When Gongzi Wei went to the meeting, he was captured by the Jia soldiers who were ambushed by Shang Martin, and Shang Martin took the opportunity to attack the Wei army, and the Wei army was defeated. King Hui of Wei was forced to cede part of the land in Hexi for peace, and Shang Martin was given the title of Shang Jun (商君) for his military exploits.
In the 24th year of Qin Xiaogong (338 BC), Qin attacked Wei again, defeated the Wei army at Anmen (岸門, in present-day south of Hejin, Shanxi), and captured his main general Wei Guo. In the same year, the State of Qin joined forces with Da Li Rong to besiege the State of Wei at Guoyang (郃陽, southeast of present-day Heyang County, Shaanxi Province).
In the twenty-fourth year of Qin Xiaogong (338 BC), Qin Xiaogong's Concubine Qu Liang was critically ill, and the Warring States Policy records that Qin Xiaogong wanted to pass it on to Shangmartin, but Shangmartin refused to accept it. After the death of Duke Xiao of Qin, he was buried in his brother-in-law, and was succeeded by his son King Huiwen of Qin.
Throughout the life of Qin Xiaogong, he reused wei martingale (i.e., shang martingale) to implement changes, reward farming wars, and moved the capital to Xianyang (present-day northeast of Xianyang, Shaanxi), established a county administration, opened up a strange way, and continuously improved agricultural production while strengthening centralized power. Externally, Qin made peace with Chu, made a pact with Han, joined Forces with Qi and Zhao to attack Wei Anyi (northwest of present-day Xia County, Shanxi), and expanded the land to the east of Luoshui, thus strengthening the country's strength and laying the foundation for Qin to unify China.