Jingke stills
When it comes to the Yan Kingdom during the Warring States period, the average person will first think of the Yan Kingdom's hero Jing Ke stabbing the King of Qin. As one of the Seven Heroes of the Warring States, the Yan State seems to have a low sense of existence during the Warring States period. So what is the history of the Yan country in the northeast? Let's take a look at it with the author!
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The founding ancestor of the Yan kingdom was Zhao Gong, who was born from the Zhou clan, and the "Records of History" recorded: "Zhao Gong Yi, with the same surname as Zhou, surnamed Ji. However, the history books do not have a clear record of the identity of Zhao Gong, the mainstream theory is that Zhao Gong is a fellow of King Wu of Zhou, and some people say that Zhao Gong is the son of King Wen of Zhou, and the brother of Zhou Gong, the King of The Western Han Dynasty, holds this view.
Zhao Gong's position in the early Zhou Dynasty was very high, after the death of King Wu of Zhou, because King Cheng of Zhou was young and was regent by the Duke of Zhou, so Uncle Guan, Uncle Cai and others took a walk and rumored that the Duke of Zhou would be unfavorable to King Cheng, so they colluded with the remnants of the Shang Dynasty to launch a rebellion, known in history as the Rebellion of the Three Prisons, and Zhao Gong personally led an army to go out on a campaign, and finally won the victory. Since then, the Duke of Zhou and the Summoning Public have assisted the government, and Confucius once called the pomp and circumstance of the early Western Zhou Dynasty "the karma of the Zhou Dynasty".
(Summoning Gong Statue)
Scholars who doubt the ancients say that the ancestors of the Yan kingdom were originally Beirong, and they attached themselves to the Zhao Gong as their ancestors. They believed that the fiefdom of Zhao Gong should be in the Guanzhong region, because at the beginning of the Zhou Dynasty there was a saying that Shaanxi was divided and ruled, that is, "from the west of Shaanxi, summon princesses; from east of Shaanxi, princesses of Zhou." Scholars believe that the reason why Zhao Gong was named Zhao Gong is because the fiefdom of Zhao Gong is in the area of present-day southern Shaanxi, and the wind part of the Book of Poetry is a collection of folk songs from all over the Zhou Dynasty, with "Zhou Feng" and "Zhao Feng", so this statement can also be reasonably said.
However, with the development of archaeological work, the Yan state was confirmed as a feudal state. In the 1980s, the Taibao And Taibao Fanglu were unearthed in Liulihe, Fangshan County, Beijing, and the inscription on them recorded Zhou Tianzi's edict summoning the duke to Yandi. According to some Jinwen materials, it can be basically determined that Zhao Gong was divided into Yan lands, but instead of going to the country, he let his eldest son and uncle Xin go to the Yan country to take the country. The land sealed by the Yan kingdom was in the area of present-day Beijing, which was an important strategic position for the Zhou royal family, defending against the ethnic minorities in the northeast, so such an important figure as Zhao Gong was sealed here and became a barrier to the northern land of the Zhou Dynasty.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="6" > second, the early history of the Yan kingdom</h1>
The areas divided by the Yan state were far away from the hinterland of the Central Plains, so the exchanges between the Yan state and the central plains countries were relatively small, and in the historical materials that have been preserved, there are relatively few records of the Yan state, and there are only a few hundred years of history from the founding of the state to the Warring States period. However, in the record of the State of Qi in the book "Spring and Autumn", an important message is conveyed, that is, the State of Yan was often invaded by Shanrong, and when the Duke of Qi Huan was in power, the State of Yan asked the State of Qi for help, and the Duke of Qi Huan wanted to unite with the State of Lu to save Yan, which is known in history as "encountering Lu Ji". In the end, The Duke of Qi Huan assisted the Yan state to "suppress Yi".
Qi Huangong stills
After entering the Warring States, the historical context of the Yan State gradually became clear. At the beginning of the Warring States period, there was always a dispute between the State of Yan and the State of Qi. The cause of the dispute is this: in the third year of Yan Xiangong (490 BC), an unexpected thing happened in this year, "Qi Yanji gave birth to a son, and died without success". Here Qi Yanji is a woman married to the Duke of Qi Jing in the State of Yan, and the son born to her is the concubine of the Duke of Qi Jing, that is, the person who inherits the throne. The State of Yan was weak and needed to rely on the State of Qi. Although this incident was not directly related to the State of Yan, the pro-Yan prince was accidentally killed, and the anti-Yan monarch of the State of Qi took the throne, and since then Qi and Yan have been involved in a long war.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="8" >3. Zen farce and the crisis of national subjugation</h1>
In the war between Qi and Yan, the State of Yan has been defeating more than winning, and can only turn to Zhao, Wei, and Han Sanjin, and participate in the joint efforts of the nations against the powerful State of Qi, but in the middle of the Warring States, a farce occurred in the State of Yan, and the King of Yan took the throne in 320 BC, and at the beginning of the reign, the King of Yan also had some ambitions, but he was a bit stupid and deceived by a group of courtiers with ulterior motives.
(Fengyun Warring States Yan Wang)
The King of Yan trusted the chancellor Zizhi, but Zizhi colluded with Su Dai and Lu Maoshou of the Zongheng family. At first, when Su Dai met with King Yan, he talked a lot about foreign sources, saying that the reason why the State of Qi could not dominate was because the King of Qi did not trust his courtiers. After that, King Yan trusted Zizhi very much and made him minister of state. Next, Lu Maoshou continued to advise the King of Yan, seizing the psychology of the King of Yan in admiring the ancient sages Yao, Shun, and Yu, and tricking him into saying that giving zen to the sages could save the Yan kingdom on the one hand, and on the other hand, he could give the Yan king a good name. Then vigorously create the image of the sage who should accept Zen renunciation and is the son of the child. In the end, the Yan king decreed that it would not be passed on to the prince, but would give way to the son. Han Fei commented on this matter, saying, "The Son's Trust is entrusted to the Immortals to seize his king."
However, Zen allowed Yu Zizhi to bring not prosperity to the Yan kingdom but civil strife. Prince Ping thought that the throne that belonged to him had flown away, so he and the general city rebelled. His army could not capture the palace for many days, and the two sides fell into a tug-of-war for several months, and the unrest ended in the defeat of Prince Ping, and Taiping was killed by Zizhi. Taking advantage of the fact that the State of Yan was in civil strife, the State of Qi decided to take the opportunity to attack the State of Yan, and at that time, even Mencius, believing that the State of Yan had no way, persuaded the King of Qi to revitalize the division of justice and take revenge on the State of Yan as the perfect opportunity. This time to send troops to fight Yan, the State of Qi can be said to have won a great victory, and the King of Qi took the opportunity to "destroy his ancestral temple and move its heavy weapons" in the State of Yan. After King Xuan of Qi destroyed Yan, he aroused the mood of resistance of the people of yan and rose up to resist the Qi army. At the same time, the other five kingdoms were worried that Qi Yan had broken the balance between the seven kingdoms, so they sent troops to intervene, and King Xuan of Qi could only withdraw his troops, and the Yan state would not be destroyed.
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Under the intervention of the nations and the resistance of the Yan people, the Yan state was restored, and according to the "Year of the Bamboo Secretary", the Yan people established the prince as the king, that is, the famous King of Yan Zhao. After King Yan Zhao's return to China, King Yan Zhao, who returned to China, attached great importance to the relationship with the State of Zhao, and at the same time made a good alliance with the State of Qin and did a good job in external international relations, so that the State of Qi did not dare to take it lightly. At the same time, King Yan Zhao was well aware of the situation of the Yan Kingdom, and as a country that had perished, only by accumulating strength could he avenge the shame.
(Fengyun Warring States Yan Zhaowang)
King Yan Zhao knew that the key to strength in the Warring States Era was talent, but he did not know how to recruit talents, so he asked the famous Mr. Guo Huai for advice. Guo Huai told him a story, saying that in ancient times, there was a king who wanted to ask for a thousand-mile horse, but did not know how to find a thousand-mile horse, and the counselor asked him to buy the bones of the thousand-mile horse for thousands of dollars, and after the news of buying bones spread, he continued to get a lot of thousand-mile horses. Then Guo Huai said, "If the present king wants to be a soldier, he will start with Huai." He asked King Yan Zhao to appoint him, which meant that Xiancai saw that people like Guo Huai could be reused and would inevitably flock to him. Therefore, King Yan Zhao reused Guo Huai, held a grand appointment ceremony, and publicized it to all countries. Soon, the talents of various countries arrived in the Yan Kingdom, including Le Yi, Su Qin, Zou Yan, Ju Xin and others.
(Fengyun Warring States Su Qin)
Su Qin traveled around the world in his early years and was not valued, and King Yan Zhao was very kind to him, which made him very moved, so he wholeheartedly served King Yan Zhao. Su Qin pointed out for King Yan Zhao that if the Yan state wants to win a good external living environment, the most critical measure is "weak Qi". The measure of weak Qi is to make it "work in the West to the Song, and the south to fatigue the Chu." In order to carry out this plan, Su Qin personally entered Qi as a spy and instigated the King of Qi to attack the Song state, so Qi hastily destroyed the Song. The Song state was located in a strategic area in the Central Plains, and the Song state was destroyed, causing dissatisfaction in other countries. Therefore, the State of Yan took the opportunity to unite the five kingdoms of Zhao, Han, Wei, and Qin, with Le Yi as the commander. Le Yi was an indispensable handsome man, and he led the five-nation alliance army to victory, causing Qi to almost perish, and the State of Qi has since collapsed.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="12" >5, the fall of the Yan kingdom</h1>
The State of Yan under the rule of King Zhao of Yan was the heyday of the State of Yan, known in history as "Quan Yan". If the successor can inherit the legacy of King Yan Zhao, it will certainly make the Yan kingdom a warring country and change the direction of history. But the sudden death of King Yan Zhao changed all that.
(Fengyun Warring States Le Yi)
When Le Yi was still charging at the front line, Yan Guo caught fire in his backyard. At that time, the Five-Nation Alliance destroyed only the two cities of Ju and Jimo, and Qi defended Tian Dan to the death, which was difficult to capture for a while, but at this time, the news of the death of King Yan Zhao came from the country. After the death of King Yan Zhao, his son took the throne and was known as King Hui of Yan. When King Hui of Yan was crown prince, he had a conflict with Le Yi. After Tian Shan knew this, he used a counter-plan, and it was rumored that Le Yi was not able to conquer the second city because he was afraid that the heavy troops in his hands would be deprived after the victory of the war. King Hui of Yan was indeed in the plan, and sent a horse robber to replace Le Yi, who had no talent, and was defeated by Tian Shan's fire bull array, and the Yan army collapsed for thousands of miles, and the operation of King Yan Zhao's more than thirty years was in vain.
During the reign of King Hui of Yan, his control over the situation was not very effective, that is, after seven years on the throne, he was killed by the minister of state Cheng Anjun, and Cheng Anjun established his son as King Wucheng. During the reign of King Wucheng, the state of Qi in the south was no longer a threat to the State of Yan. King Wucheng began to provoke the State of Zhao in the west, and the State of Zhao exchanged the State of Qi for Tian Dan at the cost of three cities. The Zhao army, led by Tian Dan, broke the Yan army. And the war between Yan and Zhao also began from then on.
After the Battle of Changping, King Xi of Yan took the opportunity to use troops against the State of Zhao, but was defeated by Lian Po, and the Zhao army instead besieged the Yan capital, and finally the State of Yan could only ask for peace. Because the State of Zhao had a State of Yan behind it that was constantly making trouble, it constantly used troops against the State of Yan, and yan and Zhao fought for many years, and Yan Jun won and lost nine defeats, which greatly weakened the strength of the State of Yan, but also pinned down the Zhao army against Qin.
(Jingke Legend Stills)
In 228 BC, after the Qin general Wang Qi broke through Zhao, he garrisoned the Yishui River on the border of the Yan state. Prince Dan of Qin thought of a dangerous move, sent the assassin Jing Ke Qin King, and the failure of the assassination directly attracted the Qin army. The Sacrifice of Prince Dan's head by the King of Yan did not help, and the Yan army fled all the way to the Liaodong Peninsula. In 222 BC, Wang Ben attacked Liaodong and captured Wang Xi of Yan, and the Yan state lasted for 800 years.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="14" > Wen Shijun said:</h1>
The Yan kingdom enjoyed eight hundred years of the country, and in the chaotic world of the Spring and Autumn Warring States, it once stirred up the splash of water, but it was unknown for more time. This has a certain relationship with the geographical environment in which the Yan state was located at that time, which was still relatively backward in the northeast region of the agricultural civilization at that time, and the country was poor on the basis of the overall economy. But there was another important reason, the State of Yan lacked a wise monarch, although the wise King of Yan Zhao once made the State of Yan strong and disrupted the pattern of the Warring States, but the incompetent heir made the State of Yan strong and short-lived. But the land of Yanzhao is full of generous and tragic people, and it is still worth remembering.
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="16" > resources:</h1>
"History - Yan Zhao Gong Family" "Warring States Policy"
Peng Hua: Eight Hundred Years of the Yan Kingdom, Beijing: Zhonghua Bookstore, 2018.
(Author: Haoran Wenshi Rotten Keren)
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