Hezhong, which originated in the Warring States period, originally refers to the alliance strategy of Su Qin lobbying the princes of the Six Kingdoms of Shandong to unite against Qin. The State of Qin is in the west, the Six Kingdoms are in the east, and are distributed in a north-south direction, so it is called helong. Initially, the vertical and horizontal combinations were fickle. Gongsun Yan, Zhang Yi, Su Qin, and others lobbied in various countries, and the combination could be aligned with both Qin and Qin; LianHeng could be both Qin and Chu, which is the so-called "Chao Qin Twilight Chu". Later, because the power of the Qin state continued to grow stronger and became a common threat to the six eastern countries, it became a joint effort of the six kingdoms to resist the strong Qin, and LianHeng was the six kingdoms who were allied with the Qin state in order to seek gou peace. The purpose of the Qin state's continuous activities was to destroy the cooperation between the six kingdoms in order to isolate the countries and break through each one.
For the Warring States period, although it was mainly to deal with the Qin state. However, successive battles of combined attack on Qin often did not achieve good results. The reason for this is mainly because the Qin state has a relatively strong strength, and also has the Hangu Pass, which is easy to defend and difficult to attack, which makes it difficult for the six kingdoms of Shandong to attack the Qin army in the battle of Qin, and it is naturally impossible to let the Qin state suffer heavy damage. On this basis, in the author's opinion, the most successful combination during the Warring States period was not against the Qin state, but against these two countries!
The Five Kingdoms of Qi
On the one hand, as far as the Five Kingdoms of Qi are concerned, it is undoubtedly a joint venture against the State of Qi, and it is the most successful combination of the Warring States period, that is, it has achieved the effect of severely damaging the State of Qi. The Five Kingdoms Of Qi, also known as Le Yi Fa Qi, is a historical event of the Warring States period. In the twenty-eighth year of King Yan Zhao's reign (284 BC), Bai Leyi was made a general and united with the four kingdoms of Qin, Han, Zhao, and Wei to jointly fight Qi. In other words, in 284 BC, the State of Yan, the State of Qin, the State of Korea, the State of Wei, and the State of Zhao formed a joint alliance against the State of Qi, and in this year the Battle of Jixi broke out with the State of Qi.
In this battle, the Five-Nation Alliance and the Qi army fought fiercely in Jixi, and as a result, the Qi army suffered defeat. Therefore, Le Yi led the Yan army to take advantage of the victory to conquer the 72 cities of Qi and directly enter the capital City of Linzi. And burned the temple hall of qidu palace, plundered the treasures and huge wealth, and returned them to the Yan kingdom. King Feng Leyi of Yanzhao was made the Prince of Changguo. The Yan kingdom reached its peak at this point. At that time, only Ju and Jimo were still holding out in the State of Qi, and Le Yi besieged the city for no more than three years. After the death of King Zhao of Yan, King Hui of Yan, who had just ascended the throne, caught the Qi general Tian Dan's counter-plan, removed Le Yi, and attacked the city with a cavalry army. Unable to attack for a long time, Nakata's fire bull array was defeated by dead soldiers. The State of Qi took advantage of the situation to recover all lost territory. Le Yi Vaqi's work was lost. However, it should be noted that although the State of Qi successfully restored the country after the Five Kingdoms, the State of Qi at this time could not return to its peak.
For the State of Qi before the Five Kingdoms, the State of Qin once needed to avoid its sharp edge, and as for the other princely states, it was not a rival of the State of Qi. In 286 BC, the State of Qi annexed the State of Song, which aroused the suspicion of other princely states of the Warring States, which led to the Outbreak of the Battle of Leyi Vaqi. As far as the State of Qi after the Five Kingdoms, if an athlete who has suffered a heavy blow can no longer return to the state before the injury. In the late Warring States period, the declining State of Qi almost ceased to participate in the contest between the Seven Heroes of the Warring States, and finally surrendered without a battle in 221 BC, that is, it was annexed by the State of Qin. Therefore, for the Five Kingdoms, it is naturally a very successful combination.
Battle of Lantian
On the other hand, the warring states period against the Chu state was also very successful. Moreover, during the Warring States period, two battles against the Chu state broke out. Among them, as far as the Battle of Lantian is concerned, it is also known as the Battle of Danyang and Lantian of Qin chu, referring to a battle between the Qin and Chu states in 312 BC. In 313 BC, the State of Qin sent troops to attack the Three Kingdoms of Han, Zhao, and Wei, and forced the two states of Han and Wei to send troops together with the State of Qin to attack the State of Chu. In 312 BC, Zhang Yi of the State of Qin deceived the King of Chu Huai and cut off the land for 600 miles, and the King of Chu Huai believed it to be true and broke off relations with the State of Qi.
Zhang Yi said that all he had promised to give to the State of Chu was six miles of land, and king Huai of Chu could not help but be furious, and the State of Chu and the State of Qi broke off diplomatic relations, and the State of Chu launched a large army to attack the State of Qin, and Li Li led the Qin army and the Han army to defeat the army of the State of Chu Jingcui at the Yong clan, and then joined wei Zhang's troops. The combined forces of Qin, Han, and Wei (the qin army attacked the Chu army from the front, and the Han and Wei armies also attacked the Chu forces from the flank, and the Chu state was attacked from the abdomen because it was not supported) fought with more than 100,000 Chu troops at Danyang (near the confluence of Danshui and Huaishui in present-day Huaichuan County, Henan Province). In this battle, the State of Chu relied on its own strength to fight against the three kingdoms of Qin, Korea, and Wei, and naturally suffered defeat, the Chu army was beheaded by 80,000 people, and more than 70 generals such as the Chu general Qu Zhao were captured. The Qin army established Hanzhong Commandery (汉中郡) for 600 miles in the Chu state of Hanzhong.
As we all know, Hanzhong was a place where ancient warriors had to fight. Therefore, for the loss of the land of Hanzhong, the death of 80,000 Chu troops undoubtedly made king Huai of Chu furious. Therefore, the King of Chu Huai chose to mobilize all the forces of the Chu State and fought the Qin army in Lantian, and the Qin army won again, taking advantage of the victory to pursue and further encroach on the territory of the Chu state. In the view of many historians, the Battle of Danyang and Lantian in Qinchu was actually part of the entire war from autumn july 313 BC (the sixteenth year of King Huai of Chu) to autumn and September of 312 BC (seventeen years of King Huai of Chu). The first stage of the war was Qin, Wei, and Han, and the alliance was against the Chu Qi alliance, and the latter stage of the war was when the Qi army rebelled against the Qi army and became the five kingdoms of the Chu War. Of course, for the Battle of Lantian, it was naturally also the other princely states of the Warring States, and the goal of the united connivance of the Chu State was to weaken the Chu State that was at its peak at that time.
Battle of weeping sand
Finally, for the Battle of Weeping Sand, it was also a combination of the Warring States period against the Chu State. The Battle of Chuisha took place in 301 BC, when the combined forces of the Qin, Qi, Korean, and Wei states jointly attacked the Chu state. In 301 BC, the Qin generals Shu Changyi, Qi general Kuang Zhang, Wei general Gongsun Xi, and Han general Violent Iris led the four kingdoms to attack the Chu state, and the Chu state sent the general Tang Xiao to lead an army to resist the qin, Qi, Han, and Wei forces. After the Battle of Chuisha, the coalition forces took advantage of the victory to capture a large area of land north of Chuiqiu (present-day Qinyang County, Henan Province), Wan (present-day Nanyang County, Henan Province), and Ye (present-day Ye County, Henan Province). The land north of Chu Guowan and Ye was seized by Han and Wei. In this regard, in the view of many historians, the Battle of Chuisha was not only a large-scale retaliatory action by Qi, Han, and Wei to unite to control Chu, but also a direct consequence of the breakdown of Qin-Chu relations due to the death of the crown prince. Due to the uncertainty of King Huai of Chu's external strategy, it finally led to a situation of isolation and helplessness and passive beating.
In general, in the middle of the Warring States period, the overall strength of the Chu state was significantly enhanced because of the Wu qi change method that began during the chu mourning king period, coupled with the efforts of monarchs such as the king of Chu Wei. Of course, this also aroused the vigilance of the surrounding princely states, such as the State of Wei and Korea, who were worried that the State of Chu would conquer the Central Plains, so they joined the war aimed at the State of Chu. Because the State of Chu did not have the topographical advantages of the State of Qin, such as the Hangu Pass, which was easy to defend and difficult to attack, coupled with the fact that the troops of the State of Chu were scattered everywhere, the actual mobilization ability of the monarch was not as good as that of the Monarch of the State of Qin, which became an important reason why the State of Chu failed to win the battle of unity and vertical. After the Battle of Lantian and the Battle of Chu sha, the Chu state also lost its peak, thus losing the qualification to compete with the Qin state for the world. What do you think about that?