Since the Shang martingale transformation method, the State of Qin has changed the original state of poverty and weakness of the State of Qin, the national economic strength has risen in a straight line, and the speed of social development has increased with high quality. The country was full of vitality after the change of law, the monarch worked hard to govern, and the people lived and worked in peace and contentment, laying a solid foundation for the unification of the six kingdoms of the Qin state.
In the wars that occurred with various countries after the change of law, both sides won and lost, but basically the Qin state prevailed. So, why couldn't the five kingdoms win the Qin state at that time?
First, the nature and place of the Qin State are favorable to people
Since the Shang martingale changed the law, the Qin state has continuously conquered the outside world with its strong strength, and gradually developed the idea of winning the Zhou Chamber. After the reconquest of Hexi, although the State of Qin basically controlled the Kunhan region, the eastern part of the Kunhan danger was controlled by The Koreans, which was a great obstacle to the central plains. As a result, King Wu of Qin sent the Qin general Gan Mao to attack Korea, known in history as the Battle of Yiyang.
With the concerted efforts of the qin monarchs, the qin state captured Yiyang and expanded its territory to the central plains. This was a major turning point for the State of Qin, which allowed the State of Qin to completely control the danger of Kunhan, and could attack and retreat.
Since then, the State of Qin has enjoyed a superior geographical location, relying on the effective natural danger of Hangu Pass and the Yellow River, and when it advances to the east, it can have no worries.
And the Qin state, which is sitting on natural dangers and geographical advantages, also comes out on top in terms of people and aspects.
Since the Qin State was the Duke of Qin, there was hardly a single monarch in the back, and the accumulation of years and months gave the Qin State great support. At that time, Xiao Gong's "Order for Meritocracy" brought together the masters and sages of the Qin State, and most of the sages who put forward crucial opinions in the unification of the Six Kingdoms were not Qin people. For example, Fan Ju, Lü Buwei, Li Si, and other important ministers of the Qin state who are well known to all of us are not Qin people, so they have allowed the Qin state to accumulate the foundation of the chaotic world, laying the foundation for the wise ministers to offer advice and suggestions at the time of war.
This was Wenzhi, and the Qin Dynasty was not far behind in terms of martial rule.
The crossbow manufacturing of the Qin State achieved mechanized production, and when the Six Kingdoms continued to use the bow and arrow, the Qin State had begun to equip the Qin crossbow on a large scale, and the well-equipped Qin army was invincible.
At the same time, the smelting technology of the Qin Dynasty at that time was also very sophisticated, and the craftsmen knew how to add an appropriate amount of tin during smelting, making the Qin sword sharp and not easy to break. These Qin swords have been sleeping under the loess soil for more than 2,200 years, and when they are unearthed, they are still as bright as new and sharp. The State of Qin possessed the technology that preceded others at that time, making the Army of the State of Qin invincible in future wars, and it could be said that it was invincible in front of the Six Kingdoms at that time.
The abacus of the six nations
Due to the growing strength of the Qin state and the continuous conquest of neighboring territories, in 318 BC, King Huai of Chu launched a coalition of five kingdoms of Yan, Chu, Wei, Zhao, and Han, and opened the curtain of the first joint attack on Qin, but this joint attack on Qin did not actually harm the Qin state.
During the Warring States period, the princes and countries, after years and months of war, the relationship has always been in a state of mutual suspicion, and everyone wants to make less effort and less loss of troops, and each has his own small calculation in mind. Therefore, this combination can be said to be thunderous and rainy, some hit The Hangu Pass stops, and some even end before it starts. In the face of a strong enemy, the Qin state only needs to lower its posture and promise to give one of the parties a little land, and the other side will be satisfied to collect troops, so that the significance of the combination is not great.
The second joint was played relatively smoothly. In 247 BC, the Wei state Xin Lingjun commanded the Wei Zhao Han Chu Yan Five Kingdoms army to defeat the Qin army, this time he recaptured the lost land in Kwantung and directly hit the gate of Hangu Pass. Due to the fierceness of this time, the Qin army had to retreat and did not dare to come out. But just as Hezhong saw the improvement, this leading figure Xin Lingjun died, and without his strong advocacy and leadership, the matter of Hezhong seemed to be left behind by various countries.
It was not until 241 BC that the Five Kingdoms Alliance once again launched an offensive against Qin, this time led by the Zhao general Pang Yan, which can be said to be quite effective. At the very beginning, the army recaptured the city that had been taken by the Qin state in the past, which gave a wake-up call to Lü Buwei, the actual ruler of the Qin state at that time.
According to the steps of the combination, the next step for the army is to drive to Hangu Pass. However, to the surprise of the Qin people, Pang Yan and the coalition army did not advance to the west, but adopted roundabout tactics, directly leading the army to detour through Hangu Pass. This is exactly what makes Pang Yan different, he clearly knows that Hangu Pass is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and if he wants to break through Hangu Pass, he must take a surprise detour. He ordered the coalition army to pass through Yongji, Shanxi, in several places, and proceeded smoothly, coming to a place only seventy or eighty miles away from Xianyang, which can be said that the army has arrived at the doorstep of Xianyang.
In the face of the menacing coalition forces, Lü Buwei, the chancellor of the Qin state, used his many years of experience to seriously analyze the situation of the coalition forces. In his view, as an army of great powers, the Chu army has come from afar with great hardships, and the non-commissioned officers will more or less complain, so they put the breakthrough on the Chu army. And because the State of Chu is also a big country and has considerable influence in this coalition army, if the State of Chu can be defeated, it will naturally frustrate the morale of the coalition army.
In this way, Lü Buwei personally came to lead the Qin army to declare war on the coalition forces, and concentrated his elite forces to suddenly attack the Chu camp. Lü Buwei's abacus was indeed not wrong, this moment directly hit the Chu army overwhelmed, a battle after the Chu army collapsed, without consulting with other coalition troops directly slipped back to the dynasty.
Third, the country of Qi is old and honest, and the state of Qi sits idly by
Then, at that time, except for the Qin state, did not any other country have a sage to advise the monarch? The answer is no. However, the reason why the Qin state has the upper hand is that the Qin state is united and the monarchs have a lofty vision.
The well-known allusion of "Lianpo is old, how can he eat or not" comes from the Battle of Changping in Qin Zhao, when Lianpo led the 200,000 troops of the Zhao state to Changping, but because the gap between Qin and Zhao's troops was very large, Lianpo adjusted the strategic policy in time and turned from attack to defense. Lian Po's goal was very clear, the Qin army had traveled a long way to Changping, and the grain reserves must have been limited, while the Zhao army occupied a favorable geographical position, built fortifications and held firm, waited for work, and waited until the Qin army ran out of grain, naturally it would not attack itself.
In order to break this stalemate, the State of Qin used a divisive tactic to spread around that "Lian is quite old and has long lost the courage of the past", and this rumor reached the ears of the monarch of the State of Zhao, who immediately replaced the main general with Zhao Kuo and asked him to lead 200,000 troops to Changping to replace Lianpo.
This Zhao Kuo is the source of the allusion to "talking on paper". Knowing that the State of Zhao had replaced the main general with Zhao Kuo, the State of Qin immediately transferred Bai Qi, and Bai Qi, based on Zhao Kuo's weakness, nearly annihilated the 400,000 troops of the State of Zhao within a few days. Zhao Guo had every hope of winning this battle, but because the monarch was not able to concentrate on it, he lost the city, the front-line army was destroyed, and the face was lost.
In addition, there is another State of Qi among the Six Kingdoms, which is not happy to participate in the matter of joint indulgence, for two reasons.
First of all, the monarch of the State of Qi believes that he does not have a direct cross-relationship with the State of Qin, after all, there are countries such as Yan Zhao, Wei Han and so on, and the State of Qin will certainly not be able to fight itself, so there is no direct interest dispute than those countries and the State of Qin.
Secondly, the lord of the State of Qi actually wanted to enjoy the benefits of the fisherman, thinking in his heart to watch that country exhaust its troops when attacking the Qin State, so that he could pick up this great bargain. Such a blinding thought, it is not a pity that when the Qin soldiers approached the city, the State of Qi could only surrender.
It can be seen that in addition to the unity of the Qin State, everyone has not worked together towards the goal of weakening the strength of the Qin State, but has a ghost fetus, and when the Qin State is combined, it has not been able to appear a leader with a super high right to speak, in other words, it is like a scattered sand. In addition, the State of Qin was really getting stronger and stronger in these experiences, but the Combined Forces were getting weaker and weaker in successive wars. In the end, the State of Qin also approached the goal of winning the Central Plains step by step in one battle after another...
Reference: The End of the Warring States and the Failure of Checks and Balances: Reflections on the Unity of the Warring States Period, Qi Haixia