Preface
The fall of the Qin Dynasty marked the beginning of a new era in Chinese history, but it also simmered in a dramatic upheaval. In the last years of the Qin Dynasty, revolts were in full swing in various places, and the old nobles of the Six Kingdoms seemed to have a chance to regain their lost glory.
However, although the old nobles of the Six Kingdoms raised troops against Qin, why did they escape the fate of defeat in the end? What ups and downs, twists and turns did they go through?
Let's step into that turbulent period of history and explore what factors led to the failure of the Six-Nation Restoration Movement.
1. Qin Shi Huang's means of repression - the large-scale migration of wealthy households
When it comes to the methods of the Qin Dynasty after the destruction of the Six Kingdoms, we have to mention a very far-sighted policy implemented by Qin Shi Huang - a large-scale migration of wealthy families from all over the world to Xianyang. At that time, the Qin Dynasty had just experienced a long period of war and conquest, and although the great cause of unifying the world was completed, it was still facing huge hidden dangers.
As former nobles of the Six Kingdoms, although they submitted to the King of Qin on the surface, the fire of hatred for the Qin Dynasty in their hearts was still burning. In order to completely stabilize the world, it is far from enough to rely on force, and it is necessary to fundamentally cut off the foundation of the survival of these old aristocracy.
As a result, Qin Shi Huang ordered all the 120,000 wealthy families in the country to move to Xianyang. Xianyang was the base camp of the King of Qin, and as a result, the 120,000 wealthy families and their families were "under house arrest" under the nose of the King of Qin, and they could neither return to their homeland nor launch any major moves. What's more, the rich wealth they held had also fallen into the control of King Qin.
The relocation of all the world's wealthy and wealthy families to Xianyang was undoubtedly a political move by Qin Shi Huang. On the surface, this is undoubtedly weakening the strength base of the old nobles of the Six Kingdoms, but if you dig deeper into the intentions behind it, you will find that Qin Shi Huang's plan is more than simple.
2. The rise and fall of national restoration movements
Under the strong pressure of Qin Shi Huang, although it was difficult for the old nobles of the Six Kingdoms to openly raise troops against Qin for a while, they did not completely give up their demands for restoration. In the first year of Qin II, Chen Sheng and Wu Guang launched a peasant uprising, which provided a new opportunity for the Six Kingdoms Restoration Movement.
The restoration of the state of Wei - the defeat of Zhou City and the self-immolation of Wei
Under the echo of Chen Sheng's military banner, Zhou Shi from Wei also took Chen Sheng's troops to recapture the old land of Wei, and then supported Wei Lingjun Wei as king, and the clarion call for the restoration of Wei was sounded.
But this short-lived dream of recovering the country was soon suppressed again by the Qin army. In the second year of Qin II, when the Wei army in Zhou City was still confronting the Qin army, the Qin army suddenly pressed the border from the north. The Wei army in Zhou City was soon surrounded by regiments and found itself in a desperate situation.
Seeing that the situation was irreparable, Wei Ji finally chose to self-immolate and die in exchange for the safety of the people. The process of Wei's restoration came to an abrupt end, and it fell into ruin again in less than half a year.
The restoration of the state of Qi - internal contradictions led to failure
After the Wei State was forced to fall into exile, the Qi people also seized the opportunity to take advantage of the chaos to establish their own regime. With the assistance of Chen Sheng's general Zhou Shi, the Qi people killed the local county commander and set up Tian Dan as the king of Qi.
However, the unity of the Qi people was far less close than that of the six countries when they united to resist Qin. After Tian Dan ascended the throne, he faced internal strife from his own clan. Chen Sheng's military ministers took the opportunity to establish themselves as the kings of Zhao and sent their generals Han Guang to conquer Yandi. And Tian Dan himself was killed in the battle.
As a result, two more kings appeared in the Qi Kingdom: one was Tian Jiao, and the other was Tian Rong, Tian Dan's cousin. These two people are fighting for each other, and there is endless infighting. Finally, after the Battle of Julu, the Tian family of Qi was divided by Xiang Yu, and Qi fell into complete decline.
The restoration of the state of Zhao - betrayal and infighting
At the same time that Zhou recovered Wei and Tian Dan established the Qi regime, there was also movement in Zhao in northern Hebei. Wu Chen, a general under Chen Sheng, established himself as the king of Zhao after conquering the land of Zhao, which marked the re-emergence of the state of Zhao.
But Zhao's road to recovery was also not smooth. Although Chen Sheng was willing to let Wuchen continue to attack the Qin army, Wuchen had other plans in his heart and sent Han Guang to attack Yandi, wanting to expand his power for himself. Sure enough, Han Guang also followed the example of Wuchen and established himself as the king of Yan after conquering Yan Land.
At this time, Zhao and Yan became enemies again. Many fierce battles broke out between the two countries, and finally in the Battle of Julu, Zhao Xie, the king of Zhao, led his army to perform well, won the reuse of Xiang Yu, and was named acting king. However, Yan Guo was not so lucky, it was completely divided into two, and Han Guang could only accept the result of Xiang Yu being renamed the king of Liaodong.
To sum up, although the Six-Nation Restoration Movement set off a flame for a while, it could not escape the fate of failure in the end. Whether it is Wei, Qi, or Zhao, there are serious divisions and contradictions within them, and it is difficult to truly unite as one. Not to mention the strong pressure from the Qin army. These complicated internal and external difficulties eventually became a heavy shackle that hindered the restoration of the six countries.
3. The road to the restoration of the Chu State - the rise and fall of Xiang Yu
While various small countries have lost the opportunity to restore the country, the state of Chu in the south has become the mainstay of the Six Kingdoms Restoration Movement. The Chu people, led by Xiang Yu, not only broke the main force of the Qin army in the Battle of Julu, but also finally established their own Chu state regime, becoming an important force to inherit the legacy of the Six Kingdoms.
The rise of Xiang Yu - the victory of the Battle of the Giant Deer
When the peasant uprising led by Chen Sheng and Wu Guang spread, the people of Chu also began their own road to recovery. At that time, the nominal king of Chu was Xiong Xin, but the actual rulers were Xiang Yu and his uncle Xiang Liang.
The father and son duo of the Chu State, against the background of the peasant uprising, quickly assembled a large army, and finally broke the main force of the Qin army in the Battle of Julu and achieved a major victory. This battle not only allowed the state of Chu to regain its autonomy, but also marked Xiang Yu's emergence as the backbone of the Six Kingdoms Restoration Movement.
Xiang Yu's sub-sealing policy
After defeating the Qin army, Xiang Yu was full of ambition and quickly implemented the feudal system and restored the status of the Six Kingdoms. He divided the Yan Kingdom into two and gave it to Han Guang and Zhao Xie, the king of Zhao; sealed Han Yu Hancheng; Wei, Qi, Zhao and other countries also have varying degrees of reuse.
Xiang Yu's intention in implementing this feudal policy is very clear, that is, to use the power of these princes of the six countries to jointly fight against the rising Liu Bang. As the leading figure of the Chu State, Xiang Yu hoped to rely on his power to reforge the Six-Power Alliance and jointly overthrow the Qin Dynasty.
In Xiang Yu's view, this is undoubtedly a feasible strategy. After all, in history, there is a precedent for the six countries to unite against Qin, as long as these princes can be united again, it must be impossible for Liu Bang, an emerging character, to dominate the world.
The fall of Xiang Yu - the four-year battle for hegemony between Chu and Han
However, Xiang Yu's plan did not come to fruition. After a short history of alliances, these princes of the Six Kingdoms, who had regained their fiefdoms, gradually began to fight for each other. Coupled with Liu Bang's army, Xiang Yu was still defeated by Liu Bang in the four-year battle for hegemony between Chu and Han.
In a desperate situation, Xiang Yu made the feat of killing Wujiang and ended his short-lived dynasty. At this point, the Six-Nation Restoration Movement completely lost its last hope and became a futile move that was doomed to failure.
Combing through this period of history, it is not difficult for us to find that although the Chu State grasped the leading power of the restoration of the Six Kingdoms for a time, it could not escape the fate of destruction in the end. Xiang Yu's heroic deeds are certainly desirable, but his policy of partitioning was eventually dismantled by internal contradictions.
Coupled with the rise of Liu Bang, this moment of victory was only a flash in the pan after all. Perhaps, this has doomed the failure of the Six-Nation Restoration Movement. After all, the old aristocracy of the Six Kingdoms has lost the appeal and cohesion of the year, and it is difficult to unite again.
Although the emerging forces led by Xiang Yu temporarily dominated the situation, it was inevitable that there would be internal divisions, and it was difficult to truly unite the strength of the entire Six Kingdoms. In such a situation of internal and external attacks, it is inevitable that the Six-Nation Restoration Movement will fail again.
The tide of history never stops because of people. Despite the change of dynasties, the general trend of unifying the world has become irreversible. In contrast, whether the remnants of the Six Nations can maintain their last dignity may be more worthy of attention.
epilogue
In the final analysis, the failure of the Six-Nation Restoration Movement was not so much due to special factors such as internal and external difficulties, but rather because of the general trend of history. Perhaps, it was indeed difficult for the nobles of the Six Kingdoms to overcome their internal contradictions, but even so, they could not escape the fate of being abandoned by the tide of history in the end.
The wheel of history is always rolling forward, never stopping because of the struggle of individuals or small groups. The failure of the Six-Nation Restoration Movement may only be an illustration of this historical law to us. But no matter what, their stories will still be a historical element worth remembering and thinking about.
The progress of human society has never been smooth sailing. In this magnificent history, every character and story is a wonderful chapter in the construction of human civilization. The history of the failure of the Six-Power Restoration Movement may also serve as an important mirror for us to think about the laws of history and examine the evolution of the times.