In 314 BC, the "Rebellion of the Sons" occurred in the Yan Kingdom. Under the persuasion of Meng Ke, King Xuan of Qi ordered Kuang Zhang to lead the "army of the five capitals" and the "people of the northern land" to destroy the Yan kingdom in thirty days. Thus, before the State of Qin destroyed the State of Yan and unified the world, the State of Yan had already been destroyed once by the State of Qi. Of course, as we all know, although it was destroyed by the State of Qi, the State of Yan successfully restored the country after that. Moreover, after the restoration of the State of Yan, the State of Qi also regarded the State of Qi as a great enemy of life and death.
To this end, after the State of Qi destroyed the State of Song, King Zhao of Yan sent Le Yi to lead a large army and joined forces with the State of Qin, the State of Wei, the State of Korea, and the State of Zhao to launch the Five Kingdoms of Qi. Through the Five Kingdoms, the State of Qi was severely damaged, and although Arita Dan successfully restored the country, it still went into decline, and even lost its sense of existence in the late Warring States period. It is worth noting that after the Five Kingdoms were destroyed, the Song State, which was destroyed by the State of Qi, did not succeed in restoring the country. So, the question is, in the middle of the Warring States period, after the State of Qi destroyed the State of Yan and the State of Song, why was the State of Yan able to restore the country after that, but the State of Song failed to restore the country?
One
First of all, in the sixth year of King Xuan of Qi (314 BC), the State of Qi took advantage of the internal turmoil in Yan and sent Kuang Zhang to lead 100,000 troops from the Bohai Sea to attack the State of Yan, and in less than 2 months, the State of Qi destroyed the State of Yan. In 286 BC, civil unrest broke out in the Song state, and Qi raised troops to destroy the Song. King Kang of Song died in wenyi (文邑, in present-day Wen County, Henan) in the State of Wei, i.e., the State of Song in 286 BC. Also destroyed by the State of Qi, the State of Yan eventually succeeded in restoring the country, while the State of Song failed to restore the country. The reasons for this, the author believes that it is mainly divided into the following points.
On the one hand, the reason why the Yan state was able to successfully restore the country was inseparable from the help of the Qin state and the Zhao state. In 312 BC, the State of Zhao held the post of Prince of Yan as a hostage in Korea and escorted him to the State of Yan with soldiers, and two years after the death of the Son of the State of Yan, the people of the State of Yan jointly held the post of Prince of Yan zhao. Moreover, according to the Warring States Policy, Queen Yi, the mother of King Yan Zhao, was the daughter of King Huiwen of Qin, that is, there was a marriage relationship between the State of Yan and the State of Qin. To this end, not only did King Wuling of Zhao send troops to escort Gongzi Zhi back to the throne, but King Huiwen of Qin directly sent troops to attack the Qi army in the Yan state, which prompted the state of Qi to choose to retreat from the State of Yan.
Two
Further, the reason why the State of Qin and the State of Zhao helped the State of Yan to restore the country was very simple, naturally they did not want the State of Qi to be too strong. Moreover, after helping the Yan state to restore the country, it was equivalent to setting up an enemy for the state of Qi, thus playing a role in containing the state of Qi. On the other hand, as far as the Song State was concerned, it was annexed by the State of Qi in 286 BC. Two years later, in 284 BC, the Five Kingdoms of Qi brought the State of Qi to nearly complete destruction. However, after the Five Kingdoms were conquered, none of the princely states helped the Song state perish. In this regard, in the author's opinion, this is because if the Song Kingdom is restored, it will harm the interests of the three countries of Wei, Chu and Qin.
In the Chronicle of History, Volume 38, The Eighth Family of Song Weizi records: "In the forty-seventh year of Wang Yan's reign, king Qi Tang and Wei and Chu cut down the Song Dynasty, killed Wang Yan, destroyed the Song and divided the land. ”
In 286 BC, the State of Qi joined forces with the State of Wei and the State of Chu to fight against the State of Song, and after the destruction of the State of Song, the State of Qi, the State of Wei, and the State of Chu were divided into three parts. Therefore, although the State of Qi was weakened after the Five Kingdoms were fought, if it wanted to restore the State of Song, it was necessary to obtain the consent of the State of Wei and the State of Chu.
Three
At the same time, in addition to the State of Wei and the State of Chu, the State of Qin took the opportunity to capture the territory of the State of Song when it sent troops to participate in the Five Kingdoms. In 284 BC, the five kingdoms of Qin, Han, Zhao, Wei, and Yan combined to break through Qi, and the qin state of Wei Ran, the false qin state, focused on attacking Qi, capturing Taoyi (present-day southwest of Dingtao, Shandong), sealing itself and expanding its power. Taoyi (present-day southwest of Dingtao, Shandong) was not the capital of the Song Dynasty, but it was one of the most prosperous cities in the Song Dynasty and even during the Warring States period.
In this regard, Taoyi, which has "four links between princes and goods traded", was the central city for commodity trading between the princely states during the Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period, and Sima Qian praised it as "in the world". Therefore, after the Five Kingdoms were conquered, the territory of the original Song State was basically occupied by the three great powers of Wei, Chu and Qin. Then, it is very obvious that once the Song State is restored, it means that the State of Wei, the State of Chu, and the State of Qin all need to return the territory of the State of Song that they have conquered, which is undoubtedly a predator in front of the three great powers.
Four
Finally, further, after the Five Kingdoms were destroyed, although the State of Qi was restored, it had no right to speak. As for Korea and the State of Yan, as relatively weak princely states among the Seven Heroes of the Warring States, and having no alliance with the State of Song, they naturally would not put forward the idea of restoring the State of Song. As for the zhao state, although the restoration of the Song state helped to contain the surrounding princely states such as the State of Wei and the State of Qi, thus reducing the pressure on the State of Zhao. However, offending the three great powers of Wei, Chu, and Qin for the sake of a Song state is obviously a matter of gain and loss.
In addition, from a geographical point of view, the Yan state is mainly in present-day Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Liaoning and other places, which in the Spring and Autumn Warring States period, is undoubtedly far away from the central plains of the territory, although the State of Qi eliminated the State of Yan, but the State of Qi did not have a strong motive to occupy the territory of the State of Yan for a long time, which is also because the people of the State of Yan resisted, Qin and Zhao put pressure on the two countries, the State of Qi withdrew from the State of Yan. Correspondingly, the Song kingdom, located in the area of present-day Shandong, Henan, and Anhui, was anointed land, especially in the Warring States period, and the Song capital Shangqiu on the north bank of Suishui, the Taoqiu on the north bank of Jishui, and Pengcheng at the confluence of rivers such as Surabaya were all extremely prosperous commercial capitals. Therefore, not only has the State of Qi coveted the State of Song for a long time, but the State of Wei and the State of Chu next to it have also coveted the State of Song, and even the State of Qin, which is separated by the Three Jins, must seize the Taoyi of the State of Song.
From this point of view, the geographical location and value of the Song Dynasty made it a delicious dish among the Seven Heroes of the Warring States, and everyone hoped to get a piece of it. After the Five Kingdoms were conquered, the Wei, Chu, and Qin states that successfully seized the territory of the Song state would undoubtedly not allow the Song state to successfully restore the country. As for the State of Yan, which was located in a relatively remote place, it did not arouse the covetousness of the princes of the world as the State of Song, so after the State of Qi destroyed the State of Yan, Qin Zhao was willing to help the State of Yan restore the country, rather than taking the opportunity to divide the State of Yan and weaken the state of Qi by helping the State of Yan to restore the country.