After the defeat of Maling, King Hui of Wei entered the trough of his life. He was forced to submit to king Qiwei, and in 334 BC, in coordination with King Qiwei, he proclaimed himself king of Qi at Xuzhou (in present-day southern Tengzhou, Shandong).
The reason why King Qi Wei wanted to claim the throne together with King Hui of Wei was to demonstrate to the Zhou royal family. King Xian of Zhou first gave his uncle to Duke Xiao of Qin, and then gave Wen Wu qi after King Hui of Qin succeeded to the throne, completely ignoring the king of Qiwei, who had won two great victories over the former overlord of Eastern Zhou. Since the royal family did not want to pay tribute to Bo Yuqi, simply the state of Qi declared itself king!
However, King Zhou Xian's deliberate cold encounter with King Qi Wei was also because of an old grudge between the two of them. In the early warring states period, few of the princes of the world came to make a pilgrimage to the King of Zhou. At this time, King Qi Wei had a unique idea and took the initiative to go to the royal family for a pilgrimage, which won him the reputation of benevolence and righteousness. Unfortunately, king Lie of Zhou died shortly after. Because of the long distance of the road, the emissaries of the State of Qi to Ping hang arrived at the Zhou royal family a little late. King Xian of Zhou, who succeeded to the throne, was extremely unhappy about this and sent people to the State of Qi to accuse him. Unexpectedly, King Qi Wei became angry and embarrassed, and he opened his mouth and scolded: "Oh! Your mother is just a slave! Since then, King Zhou Xian has completely turned his face with King Qi Wei.
The reason why the Zhou royal family is close to the Qin state and alienated from the Qi state can be described as "yesterday's cause, today's effect"!
Although the Zhou royal family did not want to see King Qi Wei, the State of Qin, which had high hopes from the royal family, did not dare to ignore the State of Qi so much. Since the Shang martingale transformation method, the Qin state is in a period of rising and thriving. By the time King Hui of Qin succeeded to the throne, the Qin army had repeatedly broken the Wei army, forcing the Wei people to move the capital to Daliang (大梁, northwest of present-day Kaifeng, Henan), showing an aggressive eastward expansion. But at this moment, the most powerful State of Wei in the eastern neighbors of the State of Qin was declaring himself a vassal to the State of Qi, how could this not make King Hui of Qin feel like he was on his back? In the unlikely event that Qi and Wei join forces to resist Qin, then the Qin State's plan to break through the natural dangers of Kunhan will surely encounter major setbacks - we must find a way to reverse this situation!
In 333 BC, King Hui of Qin suddenly announced that he would appoint the head of the Yin Jin Dynasty (present-day Huayin City, Weinan, Shaanxi) as The Great Liangzao! Rhinoceros is the official name of the State of Wei; but usually, the "Rhinoceros" mentioned in the history books mostly refers to one person, that is, Gongsun Yan of Wei. The people who can be named "Gongzi" and "Gongsun" in the Zhou Dynasty are not small, generally after the princes of the nations. Rhinoceros, also known as "Gongsun", was born in the State of Wei, and should also be after the Duke of Wei.
King Hui of Qin suddenly reused a Duke of Wei, and I wonder what his intentions were?
In the year that King Hui of Qin reused the rhinoceros, the situation in the State of Qi underwent dangerous changes.
For some reason, King Wei of Qi suddenly sent a large army north to cut down Yan, but at Quanyi (present-day Zhengdingbei, Hebei), he was met with strong resistance from the yan and Zhao armies, and was in a dilemma. At this time, the southern State of Chu took advantage of the fire and looting and invaded Xuzhou in the State of Qi. When the Great War between Qi and Chu was imminent, the Rhinoceros suddenly visited the State of Wei and said to King Hui of Wei, "Why not superficially make a good alliance with the State of Qi, but secretly ally with the State of Chu?" The two countries believed that with the support of the State of Wei, they were bound to go to war. If the State of Qi defeated the State of Chu, then the State of Wei could seize the opportunity to seize the land outside of Fangcheng; if the State of Chu defeated the State of Qi, then the great revenge of the capture of the prince in the Battle of Maling could be repaid! On the surface, Rhinoceros's remarks were entirely for the benefit of the State of Wei; but considering that Rhinoceros was in the Qin Kingdom, did his trip also carry the task of disturbing the Six Kingdoms of Shandong?
unknown. However, because the State of Qi was a two-front war and internally discordant, it eventually suffered a major defeat in Xuzhou.
The following year of the Battle of Xuzhou, Rhinoceros wanted to promote the Qi and Wei states to cut down Zhao.
In the Battle of Quan, Zhao Ren'en sent his troops to help Yan, which made the Qi people highly dissatisfied with the Zhao state, and the Wei and Zhao erguo had formed a deep hatred as early as the Battle of Guiling. Now Qi and Wei have suffered major setbacks, while Zhao Guo has suffered very little losses, which is inevitably a bit eye-catching.
Therefore, King Hui of Qin sent envoys to Qi and Wei to persuade him to persuade the two kingdoms to cut down Zhao. However, Qi and Wei Caigang had just suffered the pain of "clams fighting with each other and fishermen gaining profits", and naturally refused to easily send troops. Seeing this situation, the rhinoceros deliberately boasted to the two countries: "Please send 50,000 soldiers and horses each, in less than five months Zhao Guo will be broken!" ”
The rhinoceros head was so big that it caused the concern of Tian Pan, a famous general of the State of Qi. Zhao Guo's betrayal in the battle for power, Tian Pan also hated it to the bone, and had long wanted to take the opportunity to take revenge. It can be seen that the rhinoceros is like this, and Tian Pan is worried: "A country that uses troops recklessly is prone to crises; those who use reckless tactics are prone to difficulties." You say that it is too easy to break Zhao now, I am afraid that there will be troubles! ”
The rhinoceros listened, smiled mysteriously, and reassured: "You don't understand things too much!" The kings of the two countries originally did not want to send troops, and now they have to say that the war is difficult to make them afraid, so that the plan to cut down Zhao will definitely go bankrupt! Once the war began, if the King of Qi and the King of Wei saw that the war was in danger, how could they abandon the army and let it go? After Tian Pan listened, he understood the spirit and actively encouraged the King of Qi Wei to send troops.
With the active efforts of Xi Shou and Tian Pan, Qi and Wei did indeed send troops to attack Zhao, forcing the Zhao people to finally dig up the Yellow River, only to stop the attack of qi Wei's army!
At this point, the purpose of King Hui of Qin's reuse of a Wei state was also clear: not only did he want to confuse the government of the Wei state, but also wanted to confuse the situation in the Six Kingdoms of Shandong. The rhinoceros used the technique of vertical and horizontal to disturb the situation in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty twice, which can be described as a famous thing in one fell swoop!
Two years after Xi Shou served as Daliangzuo, the State of Qin first took in the Yin and Jin dynasties of the State of Wei, and then defeated the Wei army at Diaoyin (present-day Fu County, Shaanxi), beheading 45,000 people. There is a saying that in the Battle of Diaoyin, the qin army's main general Gongzi Jie was Gongsun Yan. If this is indeed the case, then the performance of the rhinoceros is obviously far beyond Qin Huiwang's expectations.
However, after all, the rhinoceros was a Wei person, and he was from the Gong clan, would he really kill Wei Guo?
Just when rhinoceros's career seemed to be smooth sailing, he ushered in a lifelong competitor. He was another Wei and Su Qin's brother-in-law, Zhang Yi. In the early years, Zhang Yi wandered among the nations, but was poor. Later, he came to the Qin State under the design of Su Qin, and immediately got the attention of King Hui of Qin. Zhang Yi, like Gongsun Yan, was good at the art of vertical and horizontal. The reuse of Zhang Yi by King Hui of Qin meant that he was dissatisfied with the rhinoceros. In this regard, it is more likely that Gongzi Wei in the Battle of Diaoyin was not Gongsun Yan; perhaps it was because Gongsun Yan was not resolute enough in facing the State of Wei, which caused the dissatisfaction of King Hui of Qin and eventually abandoned him.
The Battle of Chu Wei in 329 BC verified that the status of Rhinoceros and Zhang Yi in the Qin State had undergone major changes.
When the Battle of Mount Xian broke out, Zhang Yi said to King Hui of Qin: "It is better to support the State of Wei." When the State of Wei is victorious, it will naturally obey qin's orders, and the Great King will certainly be able to harvest the land beyond the West River; if the State of Wei is defeated and cannot hold on, the Great King can also take the West River by himself! King Hui of Qin listened, and indeed sent 10,000 troops from the Pi clan (present-day Hejinxi, Shanxi) to assist in the battle. With the help of the Qin army, the morale of the Wei army increased greatly, and under the leadership of the rhinoceros, it defeated the King of Chu Wei. However, after the war, the Wei people were also more afraid of the Qin state and had to take the initiative to sacrifice land beyond the West River. (Chronology of the Six Kingdoms)
In the Battle of Xianshan, was the rhinoceros the main general of the Wei army or the main general of the Qin army?
Historical records are unclear. However, even if the rhinoceros head remained in the Qin State, the pre-war decision-making could no longer see him, indicating that his status was inferior to Zhang Yi. In the competition of the Qin State, the rhinoceros was defeated by Zhang Yi and had to find another way out.
Soon after leaving the Qin State, the Rhinoceros took the lead in promoting a major event.
In 324 BC, with the help of Zhang Yi, Qin Huiwenjun declared himself the official title of king. At this time, the rhinoceros returned to the homeland of Wei. The following year, rhinoceros actively traveled to the nations and urged the five kingdoms of Qi, Zhao, Wei, Yan, and Zhongshan to jointly claim the throne in order to compete with the Qin state. For Rhinoceros, this was another highlight moment for him to prove himself after he left the Qin kingdom: since the Qin people did not use him, then he would unite with the people of the world to oppose Qin!
Not only was the "King of the Five Kingdoms", but the Rhinoceros also seized every opportunity to create trouble for the Qin State.
Once, when Yiqu Jun came to visit the State of Wei, the Rhinoceros came to the door and said, "If the Shandong states live in peace with Qin, then the Qin people will destroy your country; if the Shandong countries crusade against the Qin state, then the Qin state will definitely give you valuable gifts to serve your country." ”
When Yiqu Jun listened, he replied, "Be taught." ”
Not long after, the five kingdoms of Qi, Song, Han, Wei, and Zhao jointly attacked Qin, and the Qin people indeed presented a heavy gift to the State of Yiqu. Yiqu Jun immediately gathered his courtiers and announced, "The situation that Gongsun Yan said has arrived!" Therefore, he immediately gathered an army to attack the Qin state, and the result was a big defeat for the Qin army!
While confronting the State of Qin, Rhinoceros actively defended the interests of the State of Wei.
King Wei of Qi had planned to make an alliance with the three kingdoms of Yan, Zhao, and Chu at Weiguo, with the intention of isolating the State of Wei. For this reason, King Hui of Wei was nervous and worried that the nations would unite to attack the State of Wei. When Gongsun Yan learned of this, he asked King Hui of Wei for help: "The Great King will give his subordinates a hundred gold, and the subordinates will break their covenants." King Wei Hui listened, and immediately prepared a vehicle for him, and prepared a hundred gold.
The rhinoceros quickly came to Weiguo, bribed the emissaries of the State of Qi with hundreds of gold before the alliance was held, and preemptively visited the King of Qiwei. Due to the long meeting time between the Rhinoceros and the King of Qiwei, this made the ministers of other countries who participated in the alliance suspicious. In the end, this alliance organized by King Qi Wei was aborted because of this!
After leaving the Qin Kingdom, the rhinoceros turned its hands into clouds and overturned its hands into rain in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, and it was mixed with wind and water and fame.
However, the workplace will always be an arena.
The rise and fall of the past few years does not mean that rhinoceros has no competitors.
After returning to Wei, rhinoceros wanted to compete for the State of Wei. At this time, rhinoceros's biggest competitor was no one else, it was Zhang Yi, who had just returned from the Qin State. The reason why Zhang Yi returned was that he had reached a secret agreement with King Hui of Qin and wanted to control the government of the State of Wei. Although Zhang Yi did not deliberately target the rhinoceros, the liang zi that the two of them had formed in the Qin Kingdom made the rhinoceros completely angry.
In order to stop Zhang Yi, Xi Shou sent someone to persuade Han Xianggong: "Zhang Yi is going to unite with the two kingdoms of Qin and Wei." He declared that if the State of Wei attacked Nanyang in Korea and the State of Qin attacked Sanchuan, then Korea would surely perish! Why don't you entrust me with a little bit of Korean political affairs, so that I have credit, then it will be difficult for Qin and Wei to form an alliance. In this way, the State of Wei would abandon Zhang Yi and appoint me as Xiangguo in order to be close to Korea. ”
The uncle listened, greatly agreed, and indeed delegated some political affairs to the rhinoceros.
With the help of the Han people, there is no guarantee that the rhinoceros will bring down Zhang Yi. After all, the State of Qin is a great power and a great power, and South Korea's national strength is far inferior, so how could King Hui of Wei easily abandon the State of Qin and choose to ally with South Korea?
At this critical juncture, an unexpected helper appeared: Zhang Yi's mortal enemy in the Qin State, Chen Yi. Chen Yizheng was on a mission to visit the State of Qi, passing through the State of Wei on the way. After arriving in the State of Wei, upon learning that Rhinoceros and Zhang Yi were competing for the throne, Chen Yun came up with a plan: when King Hui of Wei sent the current Xiang Guotian to the Chu State, the Rhinoceros high-profile pretended to be an envoy to Yan and Zhao. In the past few years, the rhinoceros has turned the entire Eastern Zhou upside down with the art of vertical and horizontal, and all the countries know his ability. Hearing that the Rhinoceros sent envoys to the two kingdoms of Yan and Zhao, the King of Qi Wei could not sit still at first: If the Rhinoceros allied with the two kingdoms of Yan and Zhao, wouldn't the State of Qi be in danger? At this time, Chen Yi, who was visiting the State of Qi, took the opportunity to help the waves, and the King of Qi Wei was even more unable to hold on, and immediately proposed to entrust the affairs of the State of Qi to the Rhinoceros. The King of Qi Wei took the lead, and the yan, Zhao, Chu and other countries were not far behind, and entrusted political affairs to the rhinoceros.
Other countries wanted to be the head of the rhinoceros to serve as xiangguo, and it was the turn of King Hui of Wei to be anxious, saying: "The reason why the widow does not use Gongsun Yan is because he is not competent. Since the other four countries have entrusted political affairs to him, let the widow also entrust political affairs to him! ”
For a time, the rhinoceros stepped into the peak of life, and held the five kingdoms together!
Although he lost to Zhang Yi in the Qin state, after returning to the Wei state, the rhinoceros finally took back a city.
However, with the death of King Hui of Wei, the highlight of Rhinoceros's life came to an end. After King Wei succeeded to the throne, he reactivated Tian Yi as a chancellor. Because of the previous festival, the re-ruling Tian needed to suppress the rhinoceros everywhere.
After that, according to historical sources such as the "Chronicle of History" and the "Warring States Policy", the rhinoceros returned to the Qin state and eventually grew old here; but the "Han Feizi" said that the rhinoceros was defeated in the power struggle with Tian Need, and was persecuted to death by Tian Need.
The different statements of different historical materials are difficult to distinguish between true and false, which makes the end of rhinoceros's life a difficult mystery. However, judging from the performance of the rhinoceros head in fighting against the Qin state with all his might after leaving Qin, it seems that the statement of "Han Feizi" is more credible: Can a Wei guo clan who has caused so much harm to the Qin state return to the Qin state unharmed?
If the saying of "Han Feizi" is true, isn't it particularly regrettable that the rhinoceros that once turned his hand into a cloud and overturned his hand into rain in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty was killed in the internal power struggle?
——End——
The author | Desire Cloud: a science and engineering man who likes history and now lives in Shenzhen
Pictures | from the network,
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