During the Warring States period, in order to compete with the Qin state for the world, the State of Qi, the State of Chu and other countries repeatedly chose to unite together to launch a joint war. Although at the beginning the six kingdoms each won and lost a single battle with the Qin state, but with the strength of the Qin state in the later period, the joint offensive war launched by other countries ended in failure.
In 241 BC, King Chu Kaolie served as commander of the Hezhong commander and ordered Huang Xie, the Prince of Chunshen, to lead the soldiers and horses of five countries, including the State of Zhao, Korea, the State of Wei, the State of Chu, and the State of Wei, to attack the State of Qin. Originally, at the beginning of the war, the combined forces of the five countries had won a small victory, captured Shouling, and saw that they were about to attack Hangu Pass. However, the Five-Nation Alliance was finally defeated after the soldiers of the Qin State took the initiative to meet the enemy. This war is considered by historians to be the last joint attack on Qin in the Warring States period, and its defeat indicates that the torrent of Qin unification of the world can no longer be stopped.
Why, then, did such a powerful combined army fail in the end?
The united army is not in harmony
Although the main goal was to attack the State of Qin, it was often said that the three monks had no water to eat, and the monarchs of the five countries, including the State of Chu, had their own ideas. While attacking the State of Qin, some countries also wanted to get a piece of the pie in other countries.
According to the "Records of History", in 241 BC, while Chun Shenjun was busy leading the armies of the Six Kingdoms to cut down Qin, general Pang Yan of the State of Zhao led a small number of Zhao soldiers towards the direction of the State of Qi. It turned out that King Zhao wanted to beat up the State of Qi as well. Although the Zhao state did get forgiveness from the state of Qi this time, the distraction of the Zhao army made this joint operation still suffer a lot.
When attacking the enemy, some troops change their plans without authorization, and only listen to the demands of their own national generals and do not listen to the orders of the commanders of the combined columns; such behavior is naturally a major taboo in military operations, and this is only a small problem reflected in the combined columns. The respective armies are the preservation of the strength of the soldiers, how to distribute the territory laid, whether to repay the previous feuds after the joint indulgence, and these problems are always plagued by this joint army. If the heart does not think in one place, and the strength is not used in one place, it is naturally difficult to succeed in attacking Qin.
The Qin state's schemes were used properly
For Lü Buwei, the chancellor of the Qin State, many people have the impression of a generation of powerful ministers and have an ambiguous relationship with Empress Dowager Zhao Ji. However, in fact, the historical Lü Buwei still has his own strategy. Although he was born as a merchant, Lü Buwei also knew the truth that the thief should capture the king first. The Five-Nation Alliance seemed to be a monolith, but as long as the King of Chu retreated, the Five-Nation Alliance would naturally fly away like sand.
After making up his mind, Lü Buwei immediately sent elite Qin troops to sneak into the camp of the Chu state at night, and the chu state took other countries to fight the qin state this time, but instead of getting any oil and water, he suffered a big loss. After that, the King of Chu ordered the entire Chu state to move eastward to Shouchun. Since the commanders of the hezhong had all retired, other countries naturally did not want to fight against the Qin state all the time, so as not to suffer retaliation from the Qin state in the future.
Therefore, just a small action caused a crack in this iron plate, and from then on, it can be seen that the wisdom of the Qin State is not comparable to that of other countries.
The strength of the Qin state is not the same as that of the five kingdoms
In fact, long before Chun Shenjun and the King of Chu led a coalition army to fight Qin together, the soldiers of the Chu State and five other countries had already jointly attacked the Qin State once under the leadership of General Pang Yan. However, this war in Puti did not win, but ended in the same defeat as the Battle of Fencheng many years ago, and did not acquire a city in the Qin state.
Hearing that Pang Yan led the elites of Zhao Chu, Wei Yan and other countries to fight against the Qin State, the King of Qin also had some concerns. According to the Warring States Policy, when yao Jia, who learned that the Qin king was worried about Pang Yan's indulgence, Yao Jia, who was unhindered in his defense, took the initiative to request to go to four countries including the Zhao state and use diplomatic means to make the zhao king and other monarchs abandon this military operation. We can find that for the life and death of the Qin Kingdom, the King of Qin and the Qin Chen can really be called the same heart.
In addition to unity, the successive Qin monarchs before the Qin dynasty also played an important role in weakening and deterring the Six Kingdoms of Shandong. In the process of fighting the Qin army many times, it was difficult for the army of the six countries not to find a problem, that is, the weapons of the Qin state were particularly advanced. Take the archaeological results of the Changping Corpse Bone Pit, most of the hundreds of thousands of soldiers sacrificed by the Zhao State died in the crossbow machine of the Qin State, and this continuous long-range weapon had an overwhelming advantage in the Warring States period.
In addition, the Qin state attached great importance to the construction of the army's legal system as early as the qin zhaowang period, and Yunmeng Qinjian recorded that the soldiers of the Qin state implemented a strict military merit system to stimulate the soldiers' combat potential and initiative from the most fundamental interests. In the face of such a united team, with a high victory rate, advanced weapons, and strict military law, the combined and vertical coalition forces that have their own concerns are naturally vulnerable.
In general, the defeat of the hezhong coalition in the last War of Cutting Qin was not a surprising thing, and success or failure has always had its own causal decision.