In the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, it was an era of a hundred schools of thought and talents. At the same time, it is also a change in Chinese history, but why in the years of struggle, qin shi huang finally unified the six kingdoms and completed the great unification, becoming an eternal emperor? Today Xiaobian will accompany you to see why this is.
Qin Shi Huang must know that his real name is Yin Zheng (259 BC ~ 210 BC) is the first monarch in China's five-thousand-year history to be called emperor, and established a centralized unified multi-ethnic state. At the same time, it was also the leader of China's march towards becoming powerful, but in the Warring States period, the Qin state at that time was only a small country in the west before the Shang martingale transformation. The impact on the entire Chinese mainland is limited. But why did Qin Shi Huang become a powerful country little by little after he succeeded to the throne and finally ruled the world? Today we will talk about why Qin Shi Huang was able to end the 500-year-long division of princes since the Spring and Autumn Period in just ten years, and what are the reasons for this?
The Sixth Dynasty Ming Emperor of the Qin Dynasty before Qin Shi Huang
1. Qin Xiaogong succeeded to the throne - Shang martingale transformation method
After Qin Xiaogong succeeded to the throne during the Warring States period, the development of the Qin state at that time was actually relatively backward, so Qin Xiaogong was determined to make the Qin state stronger and began to reform. So he ordered the recruitment of magi. Shang Martin entered the Qin state from the State of Wei at that time, and he frequently spoke to Qin Xiaogong, and finally impressed Qin Xiaogong with his domineering. Therefore, it is also the trust of Qin Xiaogong who has been deeply trusted, and the reform law has been implemented with the support of Qin Xiaogong. Shang martingale reform method has been carried out twice, Shang Martin proposed the abolition of well fields, the opening of the mo, the implementation of the county system, rewards for farming and fighting, and the implementation of the reform of joint law enforcement.
It was precisely because Qin Xiaogong fully adopted the change method proposed by Shang Martin that the economy of the Qin State was greatly developed, and the combat effectiveness and agriculture of the army were constantly strengthened. After the death of Duke Xiaogong of Qin, Shang Martin was still counterattacked by the old aristocratic forces, but the new law was maintained, laying a solid foundation for the future of the Qin state.
2. The first king of the Qin kingdom - King Huiwen of Qin
In 338 BC, King Huiwen of Qin, the son of Duke Xiao of Qin, succeeded to the throne (then known as Duke Hui of Qin), and after King Huiwen succeeded to the throne, the old nobles complained about Shang martingale. Shang Martin also offended King Huiwen because when King Huiwen was crown prince, because the New Deal was difficult to progress and punished the prince's teacher with ink, so King Huiwen killed Shang Martin in order to consolidate his power and position, and destroyed his family.
Later, after his power was stabilized, King Huiwen of Qin, who inherited the legacy of his father Duke Xiao of Qin, attacked Wei in the east, forcing the State of Wei to cede 15 counties of Shangjun, capture all the territory west of the Yellow River, and establish his own position on the east bank of the Yellow River. Later, there were the Annihilation of Shu and the Vayi Canal (yiqu was a branch of the Xiongnu, the most powerful minority regime in the northwestern Qin state at that time). King Huiwen was also a wise man, not only reusing the Qin people of the clan chamber, but also reusing a large number of foreign nobles. Favorable conditions were created for the later Qin Shi Huang to unify the six kingdoms.
3. Kong Wu is belligerent - King Wu of Qin
King Qin Wu was born with infinite strength and liked martial arts, and liked to play power games with the warriors of the army. Because of this, King Wu of Qin was also a very sharp monarch in Chinese history, attaching great importance to martial arts and belligerence, and even more ambitious in the Central Plains.
Soon after King Wu took office, he had an idea of Korea, and in 335 BC, the Qin army conquered Yiyang and killed 60,000 soldiers. It has taken an indelible step for the Qin State to settle in the Central Plains.
However, the infinite power also harmed the King of Qin Wu, who was the monarch of the Qin State who was smashed to death by Ding, and he and Meng said that he lifted Ding, broke his leg, and died of his injuries.
4. The longest reigning monarch in Chinese history, King Zhaoxiang of Qin
King Zhaoxiang of Qin was a long-reigning monarch in Chinese history, and in his early years he was a hostage of the State of Yan, succeeding to the throne after the unexpected death of King Wu of Qin.
During the reign of King Zhaoxiang of Qin, he reused bai qi, a famous warlord at the time, as a general. During the fifty-six years of King Zhaoxiang's reign, there were successively the famous Battles of Yique, the Five Kingdoms, Yanyin, Huayang and Changping during the Warring States period. Successively defeated the States of Wei, Qi, Chu, and Zhao, thus laying the foundation for Qin to unify the world.
5. A person who has only been on the throne for 3 days - King Xiaowen of Qin
Speaking of King Xiaowen of Qin, everyone may find it very funny to keep filial piety for his father after the death of his father King Zhaoxiang and bury his late mother with King Zhaoxiang. The mourning period expired in 250 BC, but after officially succeeding to the throne, he died after only 3 days on the throne. Although he reigned for only three days, during these three days King Xiaowen of Qin successively commended his father's meritorious service, pardoned the world, and gave preferential treatment to the relatives of the clan. Although three days is rare, it also makes a great contribution to the subsequent development.
6. The father of the First Emperor of the Ages, King Xiang of Qinzhuang
King Xiang of Qin, as the father of Qin Shi Huang, was not very comfortable before his reign. King Zhuang Xiang's name was Zi Chu, but at first he was not liked by the monarch and was sent to the Zhao kingdom as a proton. At that time, King Zhuang Xiang suffered a lot. When he was short of money and living in embarrassment, he met Lü Buwei, a merchant who defended the country at that time, and was also a nobleman who helped him return to the Qin state.
After returning to China, he was adopted as an adopted son by Lady Huayang, and was also loved by King Xiaowen of Qin, who was still mourning at the time, and finally got the position of heir of the Qin state. Therefore, the reputation of King ZhuangXiang grew among the princes. Later, King Xiaowen of Qin died violently three days later, and Zi Chu became the monarch in name only, that is, King Xiang of Qinzhuang.
After King Zhuang Xiang succeeded to the throne, he exerted great efforts to rule and first pardoned the world. He posthumously honored his birth mother as Empress Xia, and later to his adoptive mother Lady Huayang as Empress Huayang, and appointed Lü Buwei, a nobleman who had been in times of suffering, as chancellor. In 249 BC, Eastern Zhou and some princes plotted to attack the State of Qin, and this news was learned by King Zhuang Xiang, so he ordered Lü Buwei to raise troops to destroy the last remnants of the Zhou Dynasty, and then successively encroached on the Three Jins, laying the groundwork for the great unification of Qin Shi Huang.
During the reign of Qin Shi Huang
In 247 BC, the 13-year-old YingZheng ascended to the throne of the Monarch of the Qin State because of the death of his father, King Xiang of Qinzhuang. Yingzheng reused the people of other countries, such as Wei Ji and Li Si, and actively promoted the unification strategy. Until 221 BC, the Qin king Yingzheng successively pacified the other six kingdoms, thus ending the 500-year-long Spring and Autumn Warring States period, completing the great unification and entering a new era of China.
brief summary
After this explanation, we can see that the unification of the six kingdoms and the unification of the world achieved by Qin Shi Huang was not only because of his own strength during his reign and the opportunity to launch a war against the unification of the six kingdoms, but was inseparable from his previous Ming Emperors. Of course, we can also say that it is not luck to unify the six kingdoms, but a matter of time, because the Qin state at that time could really be powerful enough to dominate the whole world. Although this huge empire collapsed in a short time, it did have an indelible credit. It was precisely because of the Obscurity of the Sixth Dynasty Ming Emperor that the establishment of the New Deal brought unique conditions to the later Qin Shi Huang.
In the first half of the Western Han Dynasty, there was a famous literary scholar named Jia Yi, who once wrote "On Passing the Qin", and in the first part of the book there was a sentence saying that the Qin King Yingzheng "Yu Lie of the Sixth Dynasty", saying that Qin Shi Huang inherited the merits of the previous six generations of Ming Jun, and finally completed the great task of unifying the world, so it can be said that the six generations of Ming Jun are really not a simple thing, and it also proves that Qin Shi Huang's unification of the Six Kingdoms is the basic operation!
References: "Records of History", "Zizhi Tongjian"