Fan Ju was able to replace Wei Ran, not by "long-distance friendship and close attack", and his real contribution to the Qin State had three points

Fan Ju was able to replace Wei Ran, not by "long-distance friendship and close attack", and his real contribution to the Qin State had three points. This is an interesting statement. Everyone has always believed that Fan Ju won the appreciation of King Qin Zhao by virtue of his strategy of "distant friendship and close attack", and finally replaced Wei Ran as the real power controller of Qin. But is that really the case? As a down-and-out aristocrat of the Wei State, there must be another reason behind Fan Ju's ability to start in the Qin State. Where is his real contribution to the Qin State? With these questions in mind, let's explore Fan Ju's role and influence in the Qin State.

Fan Ju assisted King Qin Zhao in eliminating the Chu forces

In 271 BC, Fan Ju set foot on the land of Qin for the first time. This down-and-out Wei nobleman was originally just a parasitic man, but a few years later he became a powerful figure in the Qin state. How did he do it?

When King Qin Zhao was young, the power of the court was in the hands of his uncle Wei Ran and his mother Empress Dowager Xuan. Both of them came from the royal family of the Chu State and had huge power in the Qin State. As the years passed, King Qin Zhao gradually wanted to take control of the state himself, free from the manipulation of his uncle and mother.

However, achieving this goal is not an easy task. Wei Ran and Empress Dowager Xuan are not only powerful, but also Chu cronies Marquis, Huayangjun and others are eyeing each other. In order to cut out these intertwined interest groups, we need to resort to external forces.

At this moment, Fan Ju, an "outsider", broke into the sight of King Qin Zhao. As a homeless and down-and-out aristocrat, Fan Ju was helpless, but he just became a sharp weapon in the hands of King Qin Zhao. After gaining the appreciation of King Qin Zhao, Fan Ju wrote a letter to banish the "four nobles", clearing the way for King Qin Zhao to eradicate the power of the Chu family.

This move killed three birds with one stone, which not only satisfied the wish of King Qin Zhao's pro-government, but also allowed Fan Ju to gain prestige and status, laying the foundation for showing his strength in the Qin State in the future.

It is worth mentioning that compared with Wei Ran and others, Fan Ju came from a humble background and did not have a strong background in the Qin State. This is exactly in the hands of King Qin Zhao - an "outsider" who has no roots and no sex, naturally will not be as selfish as Wei Ran and threaten the royal power.

As a result, Fan Ju became the guest of honor of King Qin Zhao, while Wei Ran and other Chu cronies were expelled from the court and lost all power and status in Qin. From then on, the banner of power of the Qin State fell into the hands of King Qin Zhao himself.

Repositioning the strategic direction of the Qin state

During the years when Wei Ran manipulated the government, the Qin State made remarkable achievements on the southern front. Since 280 B.C., when the land of Shangyong was obtained, the Qin army successively established counties in Chu, Wei and other countries, further expanding its territory.

However, the results of the Qin state on the central and northern fronts during this period were relatively weak. It was not until Fan Ju took office that this situation was fundamentally reversed.

In 270 B.C., the battle between Qin and Zhao was on the verge of breaking out. Immediately afterwards, the Qin army encountered wars with Zhao for many years and captured several cities in Zhao. The Zhao general Lian Po personally supervised the army and fought hard against the Qin army in Xingqiu for several months, and was finally forced to retreat.

In 263 B.C., the Qin State made a painful decision to cut off the retreat route of the Zhao State, the key point that runs through the Taihang Mountains. As a result, Zhao was cut off from its western ally, Wei, and was defeated by the Qin army.

Four years later, in 260 BC, the famous Battle of Changping broke out. Zhao fought to the death against the Qin army on the battlefield in his hometown, and was finally annihilated. King Zhao Wuling's grand plan came to naught.

It can be seen that unlike the Wei Ran era, after Fan Ju took power, the strategic focus of the Qin State completely shifted to the Zhao State in the north. And the State of Zhao was also the strong enemy that posed the greatest threat to the Qin State in the late Warring States period.

The new military system of "Hufu Cavalry and Archery" adopted by King Wuling of Zhao greatly increased the mobility of the Zhao army. More crucially, King Wuling of Zhao discovered a new route to attack the Qin State - to occupy the land of Hetao and launch the "North Gate Attack".

Once the Zhao army occupied the Hetao, they would be able to evade the geographical environment of the Guanzhong Plain, which was easy to defend and difficult to attack, and launched an attack from the northern front, where Qin's defense was the weakest. In this way, even if the Qin State has a natural barrier surrounded by mountains on three sides, it will be invincible.

Although King Zhao Wuling had not been able to see the plan implemented with his own eyes, Fan Ju was clearly aware of the danger. Therefore, suppressing Zhao and dismantling its ambitions became the top priority of the Qin state after Fan Ju came to power.

A series of initiatives are aimed at achieving this strategic goal. Years of provocations, cutting off retreats, and defeating the ...... in decisive battles The Qin State used the method of heavy troops to exhaust the enemy, and ruthlessly swept away the hegemony dream of the Zhao State. The flames of war finally burned to the Zhao country, dealing a heavy blow to this once strong enemy.

It was by virtue of his painful killer of Zhao that Fan Ju won the appreciation of King Qin Zhao and became the real head of Qin State. From then on, the strategic center of gravity of the Qin State was firmly locked on the northern front. Everything is to make full preparations for the final unification of the world.

Unblock the passage between Guanzhong and Bashu

In addition to reorienting Qin's strategic direction, Fan Ju also made a crucial contribution to Qin's future development in office—he ensured unimpeded connections between Guanzhong and the Bashu region.

As early as the Warring States Period, the Qin State had already begun to expand its territory in the Bashu region. However, due to the existence of the Qinling Mountains between the two places, communication between the two sides has been quite difficult. It was not until Fan Ju took office that this situation changed fundamentally.

In 316 B.C., King Wu of Qin ordered the digging of a road through the Qinling Mountains, which was called "Horse Stream" by later generations. However, due to the huge scale of the project and the repeated changes of government and government, the project has not been completed on schedule.

After Fan Ju took office, he knew the importance of unblocking Guanzhong and Bashu for the development of Qin. He immediately sent a letter to King Qin Zhao, urging him to complete the road across the Qinling Mountains as soon as possible. After years of arduous excavation, finally under the vigorous promotion of Fan Ju, the horse stream started by King Wu of Qin in 316 BC was successfully completed in 312 BC.

After the avenue was opened, Guanzhong and Bashu were finally no longer two worlds that did not interact with each other. The free flow of personnel and materials between the two places brought new impetus to the economic development of the Qin State.

Located in western Sichuan, Pakistan is rich in silk, fiber and other items, which is exactly what the interior of Guanzhong lacks. The developed agriculture and animal husbandry in Guanzhong has met the needs of the Bashu region. The two sides can be said to be mutually explanatory in terms of trade, and there has always been huge room for cooperation.

With the convenient channel connection, the rich resources of Bashu can be continuously transported to Guanzhong. This laid a solid material foundation for Qin's unification of the Central Plains. During the Qin and Han dynasties, the Bashu region has always been an important resource supply place for the central government.

The breakthrough of the horse stream is undoubtedly one of Fan Ju's most important achievements during his tenure in the Qin State. Its importance even continued into the Qin and Han dynasties, becoming the lifeline between the Central Plains Dynasty and the southwest region.

In general, by digging the avenue of the Horse Stream, Fan Ju opened up the choke point with the Bashu region for the Qin State and ensured the full circulation of resources. This accumulated sufficient strength for the Qin State to unify the Central Plains, which can be called a great feat.

The three major changes of the Qin State under the leadership of Fan Ju

In addition to these contributions, Fan Ju also carried out a series of deep-seated reforms in the military, economic, and cultural fields, laying a solid foundation for Qin's eventual unification of the world.

Prior to Fan Ju's arrival, the Qin army had maintained a traditional way of warfare that relied on heavy infantry. However, with the advent of the Warring States Period, the military strength of various countries increased rapidly, and the form of warfare became more and more mobile. It's hard to win with crowd tactics alone.

In view of this, Fan Ju set out to vigorously develop cavalry forces in the Qin army. He introduced cavalry archery from Zhao and trained a large number of cavalry, injecting new vitality into the Qin army.

In 259 BC, the Qin army severely belittled Zhao's "cavalry division" in the Battle of Changping. In this way, the Qin army not only eliminated the strong enemy, but also obtained the advanced military technology of the Zhao army.

It can be said that it was by virtue of the mobility advantage of the cavalry that the Qin army was able to win many battles in the subsequent unification wars and finally dominate the world.

In addition to military strength, economic strength is also the cornerstone of a strong country. Fan Ju was well aware of this, so he vigorously advocated the development of agriculture and handicrafts in the Qin state.

He wrote to King Zhao of Qin, suggesting that he seize the natural advantages of Qin's "beautiful spring and majestic hills" and strive to revitalize agricultural production. At the same time, it is also necessary to encourage the development of sericulture, silk weaving and other handicraft industries, and cultivate the rudiments of a commodity economy.

King Qin Zhao adopted Fan Ju's suggestion and implemented this policy throughout the country. It has not only brought policy dividends to the development of agriculture and mulberry industry, but also increased support for handicraft industries such as ironware.

With the above policies, Qin's economic strength was greatly enhanced, laying a solid material foundation for the later great cause of unification.

In addition to military and economic power, cultural soft power is also crucial to a country's development. Fan Ju saw that the morale of the scholars at that time was declining, and they advocated the values of fighting for power and profit.

In order to reshape the social atmosphere, Fan Ju vigorously advocated the promotion of the cultural concept of "benevolence and righteousness" throughout the country. He believes that only when everyone follows the morality of benevolence, righteousness, can the country unite as one and move towards prosperity.

Under the leadership of Fan Ju, the Qin state greatly promoted Confucianism and encouraged the princes and wealthy to support the way of Confucius and Mencius. At the same time, the Qin State also carried out continuous suppression against those mercenary hooligans.

It can be said that the cultural change promoted by Fan Ju not only enhanced the soft power of the Qin State, but also fully paved the way for the great development of Confucian culture in the Qin and Han dynasties.

On the whole, whether it is in the military, economic, or cultural fields, Fan Ju has implemented a series of effective reform measures during his tenure. This laid a solid foundation for the eventual unification of the world by the Qin state.

The rest of my life is in seclusion and the last days

In 247 BC, Fan Ju ruled the Qin state for 19 years, and he was over sixty years old. At this time, the national strength of the Qin State had reached its peak, and the northern vassal states had surrendered one after another, and the great cause of dominating the world was gradually maturing.

At this important moment, Fan Ju suddenly took the initiative to ask King Qin Zhao to resign, expressing his desire to retire to the countryside. The decision came as a surprise to all. After all, just when the Qin State was about to dominate the world, Fan Ju, as the real power controller of the country, should lead the Qin army to seize the final fruits of victory.

But Fan Ju clearly had other plans. He knew that he was old and had limited energy, and that he might not be able to undertake the final cause of reunification. In order not to drag the Qin State back, he chose to take the initiative to abdicate and hand over the next tasks to the young and promising successor.

Judging from Fan Ju's life, this choice is also a logical result. As a down-and-out aristocrat, Fan Ju had no intention of controlling the power of the court. Everything is just to seek a place to live in the Qin State. Now, he has fulfilled his wish, and there is no need to be obsessed with power. On the contrary, he abdicated early and returned to his hometown, which is a leisurely life that he can't ask for.

So, after relieving himself, Fan Ju returned to his hometown and lived in seclusion. He lived in the country of Wei in his twilight years and died in 233 BC at the age of 87. Before dying, he still solemnly instructed the people around him to scatter his ashes to the Yellow River to repay the kindness of Qin in the past.

This figure, who finally went from a down-and-out aristocrat to the pinnacle of power, came to a humble curtain call. When he took over the power of the country, he was in awe, and when he died, he fulfilled his filial piety. This innate emphasis on benevolence and morality may be the key to Fan Ju's success.

Evaluating Fan Ju, I'm afraid it can't be summed up in one simple word. He promoted the smooth progress of Qin's military, economic and cultural reforms, and made outstanding contributions to the unification of the Central Plains. He delivered the rich resources from Bashu to the Qin State; More importantly, with his personal wisdom and strategic foresight, he defused the threat of Zhao's "North Gate Attack" and laid a solid foundation for the eventual unification of Qin.

No matter from which point of view, Fan Ju's contribution to the Qin State is indelible. His life is destined to be recorded in history and become a model that will be remembered forever by future generations.