During the Warring States period, the State of Qin became stronger after the Shang Martingale Transformation Law. After its rise, the State of Qin continued to encroach on the territory of the Six Kingdoms of Shandong, and won many battles, such as the Battle of Yique, the Battle of Yanyin, the Battle of Huayang, and the Battle of Changping. Of course, the tight pace of the Qin State also caused tension in the six countries of Shandong, thus prompting the six countries of Shandong to form a coalition to contain the State of Qin. Among them, as far as the Fourth Combined Attack on Qin is concerned, it is also known as the Battle of Hewai. This battle was a battle in which The Battle of Wei Xinling led the combined forces of Wei, Zhao, Han, Chu, and Yan to defeat the Qin army outside the river (south of the Yellow River in present-day western Henan) in the Battle of Qin.
In this battle, the five kingdoms of Wei, Zhao, Han, Chu, and Yan formed a coalition, commanded by Wei Wuji, the ruler of Wei Xinling, to attack Qin, defeat the Qin army outside the river (in present-day the area south of the Yellow River in western Henan), and retreat after hangu pass. The Fourth Combined Assault on Qin was won. However, it was a pity that after the victory, the five-nation alliance led by Wei Wuji, the Emperor of Xinling, dispersed separately, that is, did not continue to attack the Qin state, and even did not take this opportunity to destroy the Qin state. So, the question is, after Xin Lingjun led the Five Kingdoms army to defeat the Qin army, why didn't he destroy the Qin state with one blow? In other words, isn't that a waste of opportunity?
One
First of all, after the Battle of Handan, the Zhao state turned the crisis into safety. Xinling Jun Wei Wuji saved Zhao Yougong, but he stole the Tiger Charm of the King of Wei and killed the general Jin, fearing that King Wei Anli would surrender his crime, and did not dare to return to the State of Wei, so he ordered the deputy general to lead the army back to Wei and lead the guests to stay in the State of Zhao. Upon learning of this news, King Xiang of Qin zhuang heard that Xin Lingjun had left Zhao behind, and saw this as a great opportunity to attack Wei, so Meng Xiao led his army to attack Wei to the east. The Wei soldiers were repeatedly defeated and could not resist the Attack of the Qin Army. Therefore, King Anli of Wei sent emissaries to the State of Zhao and asked Wei Wuji to return to China to reject Qin. After Xin Lingjun returned to China, the King of Wei spared him the crime of stealing the charm and killed the general, and awarded him the seal of the general.
In 247 BC, The Emperor of Xinling sent a letter to various countries, requesting that troops be sent to aid Wei. The monarchs of Zhao, Han, Yan, Chu and other states had always respected Xin Lingjun and sent troops to Wei one after another to listen to his moderation, but only the State of Qi refused to send troops. In the same year, Wei Wuji, the Prince of Xinling, led the combined forces of Wei, Zhao, Han, Chu, and Yan to attack Qin in the west, and the Qin army was defeated and retreated. The coalition forces chased beyond the river and surrounded the Qin army. In this battle, The Xinling Emperor Wei Wuji personally took the lead in the charge, prompting the morale of the Five Kingdoms Alliance to be greatly boosted and followed the charge. The Qin camp was chaotic, and Meng Xiao was forced to retreat west due to the enemy in his belly and back. The coalition forces took advantage of the victory to attack Hangu Pass (present-day Lingbaobei, Henan). The Qin army closed the door tightly and could not hold out.
Two
In this regard, the five-nation alliance army and the Qin army held each other for more than a month, and the coalition army withdrew. In recognition of Xin Lingjun's efforts to defeat the Qin state and recover the lost land in the Kwantung Region, King Anli of Wei worshipped him as a superior minister and enfeoffed the five cities. In this regard, in the author's opinion, the reason why the five-nation alliance failed to eliminate the Qin state in one fell swoop is mainly divided into the following points. On the one hand, this was because the Qin army retreated to Hangu Pass and chose to hold on with the help of the dangers of mountains and rivers, which made the Five Kingdoms army led by The Xinling Jun Wei Wuji almost helpless. Hangu Pass is located in Wangduo Village, 15 kilometers north of Lingbao City, Henan Province (according to the "Later Han Shu Junguo Zhi": "Gu Cheng" is out of the water, there is Hangu Pass. Gucheng was under the jurisdiction of Yin in Henan, and the ruins should be near chaiwan village in Cijian Town, northwest of present-day Luoyang, while Hangu Pass in the Eastern Han Dynasty should be 3.5 kilometers from present-day Xin'andong. It is about 75 kilometers away from Sanmenxia City, located in the "Chang'an Ancient Road", close to the bank of the Yellow River. It is named because it is locked in a canyon and is as dangerous as a letter.
During the Warring States period, the reason why the Qin state had no fear and frequently attacked the Six Kingdoms of Shandong was undoubtedly that it had a husband and wife as a pass, and the Hangu Pass could not be opened. In other words, the State of Qin was not afraid of losing the battle on the battlefield of the Six Kingdoms of Shandong, because even if it was defeated, it could retreat to Hangu Pass and resist the combined forces of the Six Kingdoms of Shandong through Hangu Pass. In the Fourth Battle of Qin, although the Qin army was initially frustrated, after retreating to Hangu Pass, the Xinling Jun Wei Wuji also had no choice.
Three
To a certain extent, the Hangu Pass of the Qin State can be compared with the Sword Gate Pass of the Shu Han Dynasty during the Three Kingdoms Period. In the Battle of Wei and Shu, Zhong Hui led more than 100,000 troops to attack Shu Han, but was blocked by Jiang Wei in the area of Jiange. Although Jiang Wei only had tens of thousands of troops, because the sword gate was easy to defend and difficult to attack, Zhong Hui was also helpless. On the other hand, in the Battle of Hewai, the reason why The Xinling Emperor Wei Wuji withdrew was also because the Five-Nation Alliance at that time did not have the strength to destroy the Qin State. At that time, Zhao Guo had experienced heavy losses in the Battle of Changping and the Battle of Handan, and there were not many elite divisions. If it was the Zhao State at its peak, without the help of other princely states, he could compete with the Qin State.
In the same way, after the Shang martingale and the Korean state changed the law, it can be said that they were repeatedly attacked by the Qin state, which not only lost troops, but also lost a large area of territory. It is worth noting that in the Fourth Joint Vertical Attack on Qin, although the State of Yan and the State of Chu sent soldiers and horses, the two princely states were relatively far away from the State of Qin and were relatively threatened, so they were more inclined to contribute to the battle of the Combined Vertical Attack on Qin. Therefore, in the author's opinion, it is not that The Xinling Emperor Wei Wujie did not want to destroy the Qin State, but that the Five Kingdoms of Shandong at that time did not have this strength.
Four
Finally, at the end of the Warring States period, the overall strength of the Qin state had crushed any of the six princely states in Shandong. Of course, for the six countries of Shandong, if they can unite as one, they can still compete with the Qin state. However, because of the different interests of the six countries of Shandong, even if a coalition army is formed, it is difficult to destroy the Qin state in one fell swoop. Because at the end of the Warring States period, if you want to really destroy the Qin state, it means that the six kingdoms of Shandong must do their best to take out all the soldiers and horses. In this regard, in the author's opinion, it is still relatively easy to let the three countries of Wei, Korea, and Zhao send troops, because these three countries are very close to the Qin state and are deeply threatened by the Qin state.
More crucially, once the Qin state was defeated, the three princely states would also be easy to seize territory from the Qin state. However, for the three countries of Yan, Chu and Qi, the situation they faced was obviously different. Among them, as far as the State of Qi was concerned, there were three kingdoms of Wei, Zhao, and Han between them and the State of Qin, that is, they were not directly threatened by the State of Qin, and they were naturally unwilling to participate in the joint attack of the Six Kingdoms of Shandong against Qin. As for the State of Yan and the State of Chu, although they sent a large army, they were not really contributing, after all, the main target of the Qin State at that time was not the State of Yan and the State of Chu, but the Three Kingdoms of Wei, Zhao, and Han. In summary, in the Fourth Battle of Qin, when the Qin army retreated to Hangu Pass, the coalition army led by The Xinling Emperor Wei Wuji and the Qin army held out for several months, and could only choose to retreat, for these princely states, neither strength nor dared to expect to destroy the Qin state at once. And this naturally gave the Qin state a chance to breathe, prompting it to continue to implement the plan to unify the six countries.