King Hui of Wei was the third monarch of the State of Wei during the Warring States period, with the surname Of Wei (魏氏) and the name 䓨, a native of Present-day Xia County, Shanxi Province (安邑, in ancient times). Those who have seen "The Great Qin Empire" will have some criticism of this Wei Hui king. The Great Qin Empire witnessed the rise of the Qin state, but it also witnessed the decline of the first powerful State of Wei in the Warring States, and it was King Hui of Wei who brought the State of Wei into decline.
King Hui of Wei was also known as King Hui of Liang, and the reason for this title was because during his reign, he moved the capital of the State of Wei from An Yi to Daliang (present-day Kaifeng, Henan). The reason why King Hui of Wei moved the capital, mentioned in the "Records of History" and "Zizhi Tongjian", because after experiencing the Battle of Guiling and the Battle of Maling, the strength of the State of Wei was greatly reduced, the Western Qin State experienced the Shang Martingale Transformation Law, Anyi was close to the Qin State, in order to avoid the strong Qin, the King of Wei Hui had to move the capital to Daliang, which was really extremely humiliating.
Regarding the time when King Hui of Wei moved the capital to Daliang, the "Records of History" mentions that it was in the thirty-first year of King Hui of Wei, that is, around 339 BC. However, there is a contradiction in this book, in the "History of Sun Bing Pang Juan Lie", there is a section of the Battle of Guiling to encircle Wei to save Zhao, the original text is "Jun Bu Ruo led the army to rush away from the beam." ”
In the face of the Wei general Pang Juan's attack on Handan, the Qi army division Sun Zhen, who rescued the Zhao state, suggested to encircle Daliang, if at this time Daliang was just an ordinary city of the Wei state, not the capital of the Wei state, what was the purpose of Sun Zhen's siege, and was it necessary for Pang Juan to rush back to the division to help?
The "Year of the Bamboo Secretary", the "Book of Han", the "Notes on the Water Classics" and the "Warring States Policy" have different views on the time when King Hui of Wei moved the capital to Daliang, and believe that it is the sixth year of King Hui of Wei, that is, 364 BC. At this time, shortly after King Hui of Wei succeeded to the throne, after the accumulation of Marquis Wen of Wei and Marquis Wu of Wei, it was the time when the State of Wei was the most powerful.
There is such an explanation as to why King Hui of Wei moved the capital. First, although the State of Qin did not carry out the Shang Martingale Transformation Law, under the reform of Qin Jiangong and Qin Xiangong, it was not necessarily possible to win the Battle of Wei, and the harassment from time to time still made the State of Wei overwhelmed.
The State of Wei was located in the land of the Four Wars, with the State of Qin in the west, the State of Qi in the east, the State of Zhao in the north, and the Threat of the State of Chu in the south. In the early days of King Hui of Wei, the center of gravity of the State of Wei was mainly in the east, and in order to cope with the challenge of the State of Qi and better control the eastern lands, moving the capital to Daliang was undoubtedly the best choice.
It has to be said that in the early days of King Hui of Wei, he was still a monarch of great talent, and the Year of the Bamboo Secretary states: "In the fourteenth year of (King Hui of Wei), Marquis Lu Gong, Marquis Huan of Song, Marquis Wei Cheng, and Marquis Zheng (Han) came to the dynasty. The Warring States Policy mentions: "Liang Junfa Chu Shengqi, the army of Han and Zhao, drove the twelve princes to The Heavenly Son in Mengjin." ”
Under the efforts of King Hui of Wei, the State of Wei became a veritable overlord of the Central Plains, but King Hui of Wei relied on his powerful military strength to fight everywhere, and the defeats at the Battle of Guiling and the Battle of Maling made the State of Wei lose all its elite and completely degenerate into a second-rate country.
What is even more regrettable is that Shang Martin, who helped the Qin state change the law, served under Wei Xianggong's uncle, who recommended Shang martingale to King Wei Hui before his death, saying that even if he did not reuse it, he would kill Shang Martin, but unfortunately King Wei Hui did not look up to Shang Martingale and did not listen to advice, and finally made Shang Martin defect to qin, laying the groundwork for the future decline of Wei State.