Explain historical figures and talk about the joys and sorrows behind them. Hello everyone, I am a pomelo who loves history, and I share a small story every day, welcome to follow.
We all know that at the end of the Warring States period, the Qin king annexed the six countries, established the Qin Dynasty, and completed the unification. But, you know what? During the chaotic period of the Warring States, four kings had the opportunity to dominate the world, but they were ultimately missed for various reasons.
They were King Zhaoxiang of Qin, King Wuling of Zhao, King Min of Qi, and King Zhao of Yan.
1. King Zhaoxiang of Qin
"The Legend of Miyue" wins the ji stills
King Yingji of Qin Zhaoxiang was born in 325 BC. He is the son of King Qin Huiwen, and his mother is the famous Mi Bazi, that is, the historical prototype of Mi Yue in the popular screen "The Legend of Mi Yue".
"The Legend of Miyue" still from King Zhaoxiang's parents
Yingji was the great-grandfather of Qin Shi Huang and the closest monarch to unify the world at that time. He reigned as King of Qin for fifty-six years, and during his reign, he ordered his generals to conquer the kingdoms and lay a foundation for the Qin state.
In the Battle of Yique, the Qin general Bai Qi led his army to defeat the combined forces of Han, Wei and Eastern Zhou, so that the expansion of the Qin state into the Central Plains was no longer hindered.
The battle of Qin and Zhao Changping was an important turning point in the entire Warring States period, Qin General Baiqi not only killed Zhao General Zhao Kuo, but also killed 400,000 Zhao troops, and the forces of Zhao State were severely hit, and there was no strength to resist Qin anymore.
During the reign of King Zhaoxiang of Qin, he also booby-trapped King Yiqu in 272 BC, completely resolving the threat from the western part of the Qin state.
"The Legend of Miyue" Yiqu King stills
In 256 BC, the Qin state captured Ji Yan, the king of Zhou Zhao, and destroyed Eastern Zhou during its attack on Korea.
In addition, King Qin Zhaoxiang knew people well and used his adviser Fan Yu to create and implement the strategy of "long-distance diplomatic relations and close attack", which undermined the alliance of the six countries and weakened the power of the six countries.
If it weren't for the fact that King Qin Zhaoxiang in his twilight years listened to rumors, which led to the withering of the people's livelihood, otherwise with the absolute military superiority of the Qin State, the destruction of the Six Kingdoms would be just a snap of his fingers.
In 251 BC, King Zhaoxiang of Qin died of illness. The successive reigns of King Yingzhu of Qin Xiaowen and Prince Chu of Qin Zhuang reigned for three days and three years respectively, and their brief reign did not have the time and opportunity to complete the great task.
In this way, the responsibility of unifying the six countries fell unshirkably to King Zhuangxiang's son, King Huanzheng of Qin, the "chosen son".
Portrait of Qin Shi Huang
2. King Zhao Wuling
King Wuling of Zhao was the monarch of the State of Zhao during the Warring States period. Liang Qichao, a modern thinker and politician, commented on him as "the first great man after the Yellow Emperor", and it can be seen from this evaluation that King Zhao Wuling's life was by no means mediocre.
King Zhao Wuling
In 325 BC, King Wuling of Zhao succeeded to the throne. Friends who are familiar with the history of the Warring States know that King Zhao Wuling was only 15 years old when he first succeeded to the throne, and in the face of the behavior of the elite troops sent by the five states of Qin, Wei, Chu, Yan, and Qi to mourn, he could not only see the situation clearly, but also arranged in advance, used tough measures to for tat, thwarted the elite soldiers of the Five Kingdoms, pierced the condolence messengers with evil intentions, and preserved the foundation of the State of Zhao.
During the reign of King Wuling of Zhao, he promoted the "Hufu Riding and Shooting", which greatly improved the combat effectiveness of the Zhao army. The annexation of neighboring countries such as Zhongshan laid the foundation for domination in the north.
If King Zhao Wuling's reign continues to develop with such momentum, there is a great possibility of unifying the world. But his bad thought made him lose his opportunity and set himself for an unhappy ending.
Things have to start with King Zhao Wuling's harem. In the early years, King Wuling of Zhao married Han Nu, gave birth to a son-in-law, and was already made a prince.
Later, Lady Han died, and King Wuling of Zhao married another daughter of the Wu clan, and the Wu clan also gave birth to a son, Gongzi He. According to legend, Wu died at a young age, and before her death, she proposed to King Wuling of Zhao that she wanted her child to become crown prince. This was originally a major matter related to the country, and I didn't want King Zhao Wuling's head to be hot, so he really deposed Gongzi Zhang, established Gongzi He, and gave him the throne, and became the emperor himself.
King Zhao Wuling owed Gongzi Zhang in his heart, so he tried his best to make up for it with rewards, but he could not stop the rebellion of Gongzi Zhang in the later period. In the end, Gongzizhang was killed, and King Zhao Wuling was starved to death in the palace fighting, and his life's great achievements ended in a sigh.
3. King Qi Min
Film and television drama Qi Min King stills
King Qi Min has a good foundation. His fathers worked hard to govern and develop national strength, and in the early Warring States period, the State of Qi always occupied a pivotal position.
King Qi Min, who succeeded to the throne in this context, was a proper "rich second generation". In his hands is a powerful country, and he himself has ambitions to make a contribution. Frequent foreign wars and repeated achievements laid the foundation for his domination of the world.
So why didn't King Qi Min complete the feat of unifying the world in the end?
Because - lost the hearts of the people, the hearts of the subjects!
A common man in the state of Qi who spoke out against King Qi Min's mistakes was directly killed by King Qi Min after he found out. This incident caused King Qi Min's reputation to plummet, and the people were very disappointed with King Qi Min.
Later, there was a man named Chen Ju among the clansmen of the Qi state, who was also executed by the king of Qi Min for speaking out. From then on, the clan of the State of Qi gradually separated from King Min of Qi.
How can a king who has lost the hearts of his people and subjects unify the world? In the later years of his reign, he was arrogant and militaristic, causing the internal collapse of the Qi state. Years of conquest offended the rest of the Qi state, eventually triggering the "Five Kingdoms of Yan, Qin, Han, Zhao, and Wei", who were also killed by his own Xiangguo.
The dream of dominating the world and dominating the Central Plains ended up in vain.
4. King Yan Zhao
We all know the story of King Yue Goujian "lying down and tasting courage" in the Spring and Autumn Period, and in the Yan State during the Warring States Period, there was also such a vengeful monarch, he was King Yan Zhao.
King Yan Zhao also has the ability to unify the world.
King Yan Zhao
In the late reign of his father, King Yan, he was old and did not care about world affairs, and his power fell into the hands of the chancellor. Zizhi conspired to seize the throne, and the coaxing King of Yan gave way to him.
Zizhi offended the nobles led by Prince Ping of Yan, and the neighboring State of Qi, a neighbor of the State of Yan, sent troops to openly support Prince Ping for the sake of fishing for profit, resulting in civil unrest in Yan.
In the civil strife, King Yan, Zizhi, and Prince Ping died one after another, and the Yan kingdom had no king for more than two years, and if it were not for King Zhao Wuling helping the prince (King Yan Zhao), who was hostage in Korea, to return to the Yan kingdom to succeed him, I am afraid that the Yan kingdom would have died in civil strife.
King Yan Zhao succeeded to the throne in the country of Yan in dire straits, and he worked diligently for 28 years, humble and courteous, recruiting talents, attracting outstanding talents from all over the world to come to the country of Yan to make a living.
With the assistance of his advisers, the Yan Kingdom was united and its wealth grew day by day.
In 284 BC, King Zhao of Yan appointed Le Yi as a general and led the armies of Yan, Qin, Han, Zhao, and Wei to jointly destroy Qi. King Min of Qi was killed, the State of Qi was defeated, the land was divided, and King Zhao of Yan fiercely avenged the revenge of the State of Qi for chaotic Yan. After the war, the Yan Kingdom entered the golden age and became one of the seven heroes of the Warring States.
According to relevant historical records, during the reign of King Yan Zhao, it was the period when the national strength of the Yan Kingdom was the strongest, and he definitely had the strength to complete the unification, and the reason why he did not complete this feat in the end was actually because King Yan Zhao was low-key, did not like to fight, and was keen on cultivating immortals, which delayed the right thing to unify the world.
Although the four kings failed to complete the feat of unifying the world, their deeds in their lives still left a strong mark in the long river of history.