Qin and Wei fought in Huazhou

Qin wei fought

Author Yan Guangqin

At the beginning of the Warring States, the three families of Wei, Zhao, and Han of the Jin state gradually divided the Jin state, and finally became princely states. The State of Wei bordered the State of Qin, and the two countries fought fiercely in the eastern part of Guanzhong, and Zheng County was located on the eastern border of the State of Qin, where the Battles of Qin and Wei were constantly taking place.

Go unearthed in Hua County

At that time, the state of Wei was strong, especially when Wei Wenhou (reigned from 445 BC to 396 BC), he appointed Li Wu as his chancellor and Wu Qi as a general, implemented the change of law, appointed Xianliang, ruled the country by law, reorganized its armaments, and gradually strengthened the country. So the State of Wei began to expand outwards, and the State of Qin in the west was its important target. At this time, due to internal power struggles, the State of Qin frequently changed monarchs, and did not complete social changes, and its military strength was weaker than that of the State of Wei, although it had the intention of moving east, but it was not enough. At that time, the two kingdoms of Qin and Wei confronted each other along the Yellow River between present-day Shanxi and Shaanxi, and most of Hexi (referring to the area west of the Yellow River and east of the Luo River) belonged to Qin, while south of the Wei River, Wei occupied present-day Tongguan and eastern Huayin. The State of Qin used Zheng County (present-day Hua County) and Wucheng (in present-day Liuzhi Town, Hua County) as important border defense towns south of the Wei River. The western part of present-day Huayin may also be under the control of the Qin state, or a tug-of-war area between the two sides.

From 419 BC to 417 BC, Wei and Qin fought a fierce battle at Shaoliang in Hexi (in present-day south of hancheng, Shaanxi), and the Qin army was defeated. In 413 BC, the State of Wei attacked the State of Qin south of the Wei River, reaching Zheng County, where it defeated the Qin army. The following year, the Wei army conquered Fanpang (southeast of present-day Hancheng). From 409 BC to 408 BC, the Qin state successively conquered the cities of Linjin (southeast of present-day Dali), Yuanli (south of present-day Chengcheng), Gaoyang (southeast of present-day Heyang), and Luoyin (southwest of present-day Dali), occupying all the lands of Hexi. The Qin army was gradually defeated and retreated to the defense of Luohe. South of the Wei River, Qin remained firmly entrenched in Zheng County and Wucheng, and was not occupied by the Wei army.

In 390 BC, the Qin and Wei wars broke out again, and fierce battles broke out between the two sides at Wucheng, and the Qin state repelled the Attack of the Wei army. The following year, in 389 BC, the State of Qin, with Zheng County and Wucheng as its forward base, mobilized a large army and launched a major attack on the Yin and Jin dynasties of the State of Wei (in present-day eastern Huayin City) in an attempt to open the passage to the Central Plains. The Wei general Wu Qi led his elite troops to defeat the Qin army, which was ten times larger than himself, which was famous in history for winning more battles with fewer victories---- the Battle of Yin and Jin. After the Qin army failed to attack Yin and Jin, it retreated to Wucheng. Two years later, in 387 BC, the Wei army attacked the State of Qin again and attacked Wucheng. However, this time the Qin army defeated the Wei army under Wucheng and captured a general named "Zhi".

Because Zheng County was located in the border area adjacent to the State of Wei, its military position was very important, so the State of Qin set up a Guansai ---- "ZhengSuo's Plug" in the east of present-day Hua County. At that time, the sons of the State of Qin lived in the State of Wei. After the death of Duke Jian of Qin, there was a political crisis in the issue of the state of Qin succeeding to the throne. In 385 BC, Gongzi Lian wanted to drive back from the State of Wei to seize power in the State of Qin, and wanted to enter the State of Qin from the "Fortress of Zheng Suo", but was rejected by the Right Lord of the Fortress. Gongzi Lian then detoured through present-day Guyuan, Ningxia, and entered from the "Yanshi Sai", and later took the throne as the Duke of Qin. This fact reflects the grim situation in the Zhengxian area as a border point at that time.

After Qin Xiangong ascended the throne, political reforms were carried out, and the country's strength gradually strengthened, and the State of Wei also changed from defensive to offensive. In order to resist the increasingly strong offensive of the Qin state, the State of Wei built the Great Wall at the junction of Qin and Wei in 359 BC, the famous Great Wall of Wei. According to field investigations by contemporary archaeologists, the Great Wall of Wei began at Chaoyuan Cave, about 200 meters west of the Yuquan Courtyard in present-day Huayin City, followed the west bank of the Changjian River (originating in Huashanyu) to the north, crossed the Wei River, and headed northwest, crossing the Shayuan in present-day Dali County to the Luo River, and extending northwest along the east bank of the Shunluo River. The direction of this Wei Great Wall shows that the area west of Huashan and Changjian River in present-day Huayin City belonged to the State of Qin, and to the east belonged to the State of Wei, and this Great Wall was about 28 kilometers away from the present-day county seat of Hua County, and Zheng County at that time still belonged to the front line against Wei.

After the death of Duke Xian of Qin, Duke Xiao of Qin succeeded to the throne, and he inherited his father's business in an attempt to make the Qin state stronger. In 359 BC, Qin Xiaogong appointed Shang Martingale, implemented the change of law, the country was booming, and immediately began a powerful offensive against Wei, from 354 BC, the Qin army attacked the Hexi region, in 351 BC, the Qin army crossed the Luo River and recovered part of Hexi. At that time, the king of the State of Wei was King Hui of Wei, who did not want the State of Qin to rise and launched a counterattack. However, Wei's declining national strength did not completely crush the Qin state, and In 350 BC, King Hui of Wei had to meet with Qin Xiaogong at Tongdi in Zheng County (in present-day southwestern Hua County) to make a temporary truce. The State of Qin continued to strengthen its war readiness, and in 343 BC, the walls of Wucheng were renovated and reinforced. After that, the State of Qin still exerted military pressure on the State of Wei, did not stop the offensive, and jointly attacked the State of Wei with the State of Qi and other states. The State of Wei suffered successive defeats, so in 332 BC, the Yin and Jin regions were dedicated to the State of Qin, which renamed it "Ning Qin". In 330 BC, Wei also dedicated all the Hexi region to the Qin state, and from then on, all the eastern parts of Guanzhong were owned by the Qin state, and the Qin state continued to expand eastward. At this time, Zheng County had become the hinterland of the Qin state, and until Qin Shi Huang unified China, there was no more war here.

The main references in this article are:

Chronology of the Six Kingdoms, Qin Benji, Wei Shijia

Notes on the Water Classics, Vol. IV

Chronology of Chinese and Foreign History (Zhonghua Bookstore, 1961 edition)

Yang Kuan, History of the Warring States (Shanghai People's Publishing House, 1980)

About the author: Comrade Yan Guangqin is more than a rare person, and was the deputy editor-in-chief of the 1992 edition of "HuaXian Zhi", the deputy secretary-general of the Huaxian Guo Ziyi Research Association, and the vice president of the Zheng Huangong Culture and Art Research Association. He is the author of "Huazhou History" and other historical monographs. He is the editor-in-chief of Huazhou Ancient and Modern, and the deputy editor-in-chief of "A Hundred Years of Xianlin".

Source: Huazhou Literature and Art ~ "Huazhou History"

Original author: Yan Guangqin

Finishing editor: Huazhou literature and art, Huazhou literature and history