The last 5 years of Wei Wuhou's wei attack were the 5 years of the faint strokes. First in 375 BC attacked the State of Chu, then in 373 BC attacked the State of Qi, and then in 372 BC attacked the State of Zhao, and also occupied the land of Hexi in the State of Qin, properly offending all the surrounding powers. What's more, Marquis Wu of Wei was slow to make a prince. Under the eyes of the surrounding countries, Wei Wuhou died suddenly. "After I die, I don't care if he floods the earth", this was not what Wei Wuhou said, but Wei Wuhou did it.
In 370 BC, the Wei warrior Wei Wuhou, who was "constantly tossing and turning in life", finally passed away, and handed over the state of Wei, which was besieged by the enemy state, to his eldest son Wei Yan and his second son Wei Huan (also known as Gong Zhongliang, suspected to be a mistake in Gongzi Huan's writing). In 386 BC, Zhao Dynasty, a cousin of Marquis Jinghou of Zhao and the son of Duke Wu of Zhao, competed with Zhao Zhang, the Marquis of Zhao Jing, for the throne, and Marquis Wu of Wei sent troops to support the rebellion of the Zhao Dynasty. In 401 BC, Prince Gongziding, the son of King Sheng of Chu, competed with Xiong Qi, the King of Chu, for the throne, and Marquis Wu of Wei also joined forces with the State of Zhao and Korea to support Gongziding's rebellion. Now that the two sons of Marquis Wu of Wei were finally vying for the throne and "coming and going without being rude", how could Wei's neighbors miss the opportunity to weaken wei and create chaos? The State of Wei reached the most dangerous time since the founding of the state, unless there was a miracle.
At that time, Wei Yan controlled the rich areas in the eastern part of the State of Wei, where the elite troops of the State of Wei against the State of Qi and the State of Zhao were concentrated. Wei Huan controlled the more backward areas of western Wei, but it was the base of the Wei state's origins, and the capital Anyi (安邑, in modern Xia County, Shanxi) was also under Wei Huan's control. Wei Yan defeated Wei Huan and returned to the capital Anyi, but Wei Huan fled to the Zhao capital of Handan (handan, Hebei) to ask for help from the Zhao state. Gongsun Ji, the grand master of the State of Wei, also entered the State of Zhao from the Song Dynasty and then transferred to the Korean capital zheng (present-day Xinzheng, Henan) to persuade the Koreans to send troops to break Wei. The dispute between the two sons of Marquis Wu of Wei soon turned into a war between the State of Zhao and the Korean "mass beating" of the State of Wei.
Of course, Zhao Guo and South Korea were not willing to give up this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and Zhao Guo and South Korea had long been dissatisfied with Wei Wuhou as a "little brother" and had long been dissatisfied. Marquis Chenghou of Zhao and Marquis Yi of Han quickly made a decision and personally led the troops of the fallen state to attack the state of Wei. The combined forces of Zhao and Han assembled north of the Yellow River to jointly attack the Wei state of Yikui (present-day northwest of Jiaozuo, Henan), conquering them in one fell swoop, and the morale of the coalition forces was high. Marquis Chenghou of Zhao and Marquis Yi of Han then marched westward and attacked the Wei capital of Anyi (安邑, northwest of present-day Xia County, Shanxi). Wei Yan went out of the city to meet the battle, and was defeated by the coalition at Hunze (聓泽, in modern Yuncheng, Shanxi). The Combined Forces of Zhao and Han took advantage of the victory to besiege Anyi, and Wei Yan had to wait for change, just as Zhao Xiangzi Zhao, who held the ancient city of Jinyang in 455 BC to resist the combined forces of Zhiwei and Han, was unsophisticated.
At this time, Han Yihou and Zhao Chenghou had a disagreement on how to deal with the State of Wei. Marquis Chenghou of Zhao advocated the removal of Wei Yan, the support of the prince Wei Huan, and the cession of part of the territory of the State of Wei. Han Yihou believed that the occupation of Wei's territory would be regarded as greedy by others, and he advocated dividing the State of Wei into two countries, so that the strength of the State of Wei would be weaker than that of the State of Song and the State of Wei, and Han and Zhao would no longer worry about being bullied by the State of Wei in the future. No matter which way Zhao Guo and Korea took to deal with wei, Wei guo was bound to be seriously injured, especially Han Yihou's practice of splitting up wei state, which made Wei state withdraw from the ranks of first-class countries.
Just as Wei Yan was waiting to be annihilated or dismembered, a surprise came. Zhao Chenghou and Han Yihou each expressed their own opinions, and they even quarreled and disagreed with each other. Han Yihou was so angry that he went home with the South Korean army overnight. Zhao Chenghou saw that only our two families could defeat the State of Wei, and leaving my family would not allow the State of Wei to destroy me? So Zhao Chenghou also withdrew his troops, and Wei Yan was in Anyi just like Zhao Wu in Jinyang, and it felt really good to escape from death. Wei Yan immediately killed Wei Huan and established himself as the Marquis of Wei, which was the future King Hui of Wei. At this time, Wei Yan was still the Marquis of Wei rather than the King of Wei, so this article refers to Wei Yan at this time as Wei HouJun.
After this civil unrest, the State of Wei was almost destroyed or dismembered, and Wei Houjun finally stabilized the domestic situation. The strength of the State of Wei was there, and although after a long period of "tossing" by Marquis Wu of Wei, the State of Wei was still the number one power at that time. In 368 BC, the State of Wei sent troops to avenge the previous interference between the State of Zhao and Korea in the "succession to the throne" of the State of Wei, defeating the Korean army at Maling (present-day Fan County, Henan) and the Zhao army at Huai (present-day southwest of Wuzhi, Henan). It was right for Wei Houjun to send troops to counterattack the Zhao state and Korea, otherwise it could not show the status of the Wei state as a great power, and it could not establish the "political self-confidence" of the Wei subjects in Wei Hou. However, this counterattack should be stopped in moderation, and the State of Wei had already had enough of Wei Wuhou's "four-sided attack" and could not come back to "four-sided attack". At this time, the State of Wei needed to repair the "Three Jins Alliance", and it should be noted that the "Three Jins" were sandwiched between the State of Qi, the State of Qin, and the State of Chu, and only by "holding the group for warmth" could they "break through diplomatically".
In 367 BC, the State of Qi sent an army to attack the State of Wei and defeated the Wei army at Guan (present-day southwest of Qingfeng County, Henan). Fortunately, the State of Qi did not take the opportunity to visit the State of Wei when the Zhao-Han coalition attacked the State of Wei, otherwise the situation of the State of Wei would have been more difficult. Of course, Tian Wu killed Qi Hou Tian Jie and Tian Xi father and son established themselves as Qi Hou for a few years, and they were also worried that taking advantage of the fire to rob Wei Guo would cause the "Three Jins" to hug the group. Don't look at the "three Jins" infighting, at the critical moment they can still "unanimously externally".
In 366 BC, the State of Wei and Korea "turned enemies into friends", and the two countries sent troops to attack the city of King Xian of Zhou. The coalition forces approached Luoyang, and the Zhou royal family was in danger, calling on the princes to serve the king. This was also the lack of strategic vision of Wei Hou Wei, how could the land of Zhou Tianzi's "Wang Qi" be invaded? Qin Xiangong immediately sent an army to serve the king and defeated the combined Han and Wei forces under the city of Luoyang, gaining the admiration of King Xian of Zhou.
In 365 BC, the State of Zhao attacked Wei Guo, a vassal of the State of Wei, and captured the city of Zhen of the State of Wei. Although the State of Wei was very dissatisfied with Zhao Guo's bullying of his "little brother", the State of Wei had just encountered an attack by the State of Qi, and faced the continued attack of the State of Qin, and had to "endure" the State of Zhao.
In 364 BC, Duke Xiangong of Qin ordered the Qin army to attack the State of Wei and seize the land of Hexi, the homeland of the State of Qin, all the way across the Yellow River and deep into the territory of the State of Wei to Shimen (present-day southwest of Yuncheng, Shanxi). This time, the Qin army beheaded 60,000 people and achieved an unprecedented victory. Compared with the Wei army crushing the Qin army in the Wu Qi era, this time it was fully exposed that the national strength of the Wei state was not as good as before.
In 362 BC, the Wei army and the combined forces of Han and Zhao engaged in battle on the north bank of the Huanshui River, and the Wei chancellor Gongsun Huan commanded the Wei army to defeat the coalition army, captured the Zhao general Le Zuo, and occupied Pijiao (in present-day Yicheng County, Shanxi, 25 Li, northeast of The Village of Gaozhai). Wei Houjun rewarded the field with one million mu as a food for Gong Gong's uncle, but Gongsun Huan believed that Wu Qi's training pawns had won the victory of wei, and Wei Houjun rewarded Wu Qi's descendants with 200,000 mu of land. It seems that Gongsun Huan is not unaware of Wu Qi's merits, but he regards his personal human rights position more seriously than the national interest.
Gongsun Huan led an army to attack the State of Qin and fought a decisive battle against the Qin army at Shaoliang (少梁; southwest of present-day Hancheng, Shaanxi). As a result, the Qin army defeated the Wei army, captured the Wei general Gong Shu and the Prince of Wei, and captured Pangcheng (pangcheng) (southeast of present-day Hancheng). When Qin Xiangong was in exile in the Wei state in his early years, he was treated well by his uncle Huan, so after the Qin army captured Gongsun Huan, Qin Xiangong warmly entertained him and sent him back to China. In this battle, the State of Qin also paid a great price, and Qin Xiangongzhong was seriously wounded and died of illness in that year.
In the face of the aggressive offensive of the Qi army and the Qin army, Wei Houyan was somewhat "overwhelmed". Wei Yan had to take steps to avoid the continued decline of the State of Wei. Wei Yan began to have the feeling of longing for the help of the sages in the early days of the Chu Dynasty's succession.
At that time, the territory of the State of Wei was mainly in the southwestern part of present-day Shanxi, the northern and central regions of Henan, and the eastern and western parts formed a gourd shape. The capital Anyi (安邑, in present-day Xia County, Shanxi) was located in the western part of the State of Wei, too far to the east, and connected to the east via Shangdang (present-day southwestern Shanxi). Once Han Zhao and other countries cut off the shangdang's communication line, the capital of the Wei state, Anyi, was immediately surrounded by the three kingdoms of Han, Zhao, and Qin.
In 361 BC, Wei simply moved the capital of the State of Wei from Anyi to Daliang (Kaifeng, Henan). The Wei state's move was not only to avoid the military front of the Qin state, but also to strengthen its control over the eastern region, and to facilitate the competition with the Qin state for the Huai River and Surabaya areas. This also shows that the State of Wei began to adopt the strategy of "defending from the west and attacking from the east", and the contradiction with the State of Qi became the main contradiction. In 391 BC, the State of Wei seized Daliang from the State of Chu, but 30 years later it became the capital of the State of Wei. After the State of Wei moved its capital to Daliang, it was also known as the State of Liang. The Marquis of Wei was called Empress Dowager Wei, and the historical title was Known as King Hui of Wei, also known as King Hui of Liang.
In this year, Qihou Tianwu began to collect taxes from the princely states in the Huaishui and Surabaya regions, which showed that the State of Qi embarked on a hegemonic road with the State of Wei for the sphere of influence in the Huaisi region. The State of Wei was faced with the attack between the eastern and western fronts of the State of Qin and the State of Qi, and it was necessary to ease the internal relations with the "Three Jins" with the State of Zhao and the Republic of Korea.
In that year, the State of Wei returned the former yuci (榆次, in present-day Yuci, Shanxi) and Yangyi (present-day Yuci, Shanxi) to the State of Zhao, and the State of Zhao exchanged them for the Wei state of Hui (present-day Gaoping, Shanxi). With this move, Wei Houjun quickly improved relations with the State of Zhao. In that year, King Hui of Wei and Marquis Han Zhaohou met at Wusha (north of Xingyang County, Henan) to continue to improve relations with Korea. Wei Houjun finally realized that without the "Three Jins" alliance, the State of Wei simply did not have the strength to compete with the State of Qi and the State of Qin, not to mention the huge State of Chu to the south.
In this year, Gongsun, who assisted the father and son of Marquis Wei for two generations, died of acne. On his deathbed, Gongsun Huan recommended a young man to Wei Houjun and asked Wei Houjun to entrust the entire country to this young man to govern ("the whole country listened to it"), but Wei Houjun did not pay attention to it. This young man was the Shang Martin who later laid the foundation for the Qin Dynasty to destroy the Six Kingdoms, and at this time he was also called Gongsun Martingale. Gongsun Hao did not promote Gongsun Martingale in his position as chancellor, but recommended Gongsun Martingale on his deathbed. This still shows that in the eyes of Gongsun Acne, the capable person who is not a threat is a good capable person. Gongsun Acne forced the "God of War" Wu Qi to the Chu State, and let the Shang Martin of "Wang Zuo's Talent" drain into the Qin State, causing the two super-first-class talents of the Wei State to flow, and Gongsun Acne was the biggest sinner in the development of the Wei State.
Wei Houjun missed the super-first-class talent Gongsun Martingale, and could only use a group of young generals such as Long Jia and Pang Juan. After moving the capital to Daliang, Wei Houjun handed over the state-controlled Fengjize to the common people to reclaim and cultivate for the benefit of the people, and then built water conservancy on a large scale, diverting the water of the Yellow River to Futianze, and then excavating an irrigation canal (large ditch) to divert water from the field to irrigate the farmland. Agricultural production in the State of Wei has been greatly developed.
Wei Houjun also ordered the excavation of the earliest artificial canal in China's history to connect the Yellow River and the Huai River, that is, the chasm, which draws the water of the Yellow River from Xingyang in the west, flows east through Zhongmu and Kaifeng, turns south, enters the Yinghe River and passes through the Huai River, and connects the main rivers between the Yellow River and the HuaiHe, such as Ji, Pu, Bian, Sui, Ying, Vortex, Ru, Si, and He, forming a chasm water system. The chasm is regulated by the garden, the water is abundant, and the river connected to it has a relatively stable water level, which is very beneficial to the development of shipping. It runs through the Huai River, Hangou and the Yangtze River to the south; to the east through Jishui and Surabaya, along the Jishui River, it can pass through the Ziji Canal; to the north through the Yellow River, tracing the yellow river to the west, and connecting with the Luo River and Weishui, making Henan the core area of waterway transportation in the country.
The Daliang area is located in today's Eastern Henan Plain, near the Pingchuan River, and the surrounding area is densely watered, which is more conducive to agricultural production than the Anyi region. If the State of Wei expanded abroad, Da Liang was the best logistics support base, and personnel and materials could be transported to various battlefields by water and land. If the State of Wei defended externally, Da Liang would be vulnerable to attacks from all sides, and a horse pingchuan meant that there was no danger to defend.
In 359 BC, the Three Kingdoms of Han, Zhao, and Wei divided up the remaining lands of the Jin State and enfeoffed the Duan clan (present-day Qinshui, Shanxi) to the Jin Emperor. This shows that the "Three Jins" still retain some political decency for the Jin Dynasty, and have not destroyed the Ancestral Temple of the Jin Dynasty, which is still "aristocratic culture". Qi Guoquan Xiangtian and the exile of Qi Kanggong even took back the last piece of Qi Kanggong's fiefdom, so that the old lord of the country in his sixties and seventies dug a hole in the slope of the qi and dragged it for the stove, which was "hooligan culture". However, this "aristocratic culture" lasted only 10 years, and after Zhao Yu, the Marquis of Zhao Su, ascended to the throne in 349 BC, he actually seized the Jin Jun's fiefdom Duanshi County (present-day northeast of Qinshui, Shanxi), and moved the Jin Jun to Tunliu (present-day TunliuNan, Shanxi), and the Jin Jun eventually became a Shu person.
In 358 BC, Long Jia led an army to begin the construction of the Great Wall of Wei, from the Chaoyuan Cave in the west of Huashan Yuquanyuan in Huayin City to the south through Dali, Chengcheng, Heyang to Chengnan Village on the west bank of the Yellow River in Hancheng, with a total length of about 300 miles. The Great Wall of Wei eased the military pressure of the State of Qin to a certain extent, and the State of Wei could free up some of its troops to compete with the State of Qi for hegemony in the Central Plains. In that year, Marquis Wei and Marquis Chenghou of Zhao met at Gexian (in present-day southwestern Feixiang County, Hebei), and Wei Houjun tried to bridge the "Three Jins" alliance. In this year, the State of Chu diverted water from the Yellow River to irrigate Changyuan (長垣, in modern Changyuan, Henan). Changyuan originally belonged to the State of Wei, but was later captured by the State of Wei and became an important town of the State of Wei, located between Pushui and Jishui. Beyond Changyuan, there were sour dates, Guiyang, Shouyuan, Humu, Jiyang, And Pingqiu, which originally belonged to Wei and were later taken by Korea.
In 357 BC, the State of Wei captured Zhaoyang and Zhuyi (in the southeast of present-day Xingyang, Henan) in Korea, and at the same time invaded the Song dynasty of Huangchi (黄池, in modern Fengqiu County, Xinxiang, Henan). In the "one-on-one head-to-head", the State of Wei still had obvious military advantages. The Koreans sent Xu Xi to exchange land with the State of Wei, returning Pingqiu (present-day Fengqiu, Henan), Humu (present-day Lankaobei, Henan), and Shouyuan (present-day northeast of Changyuan, Henan) to the State of Wei, who exchanged Luyi for Han's Chidi (carriage traffic line) and Yudao (the ancient city of Present-day Huaiqing Jiyuan County, Henan). The three yi that Korea returned to the State of Wei were deeply affected by the flooding of the Yellow River by Chu and returned to Wei by the way. This connected the lands to the eastern part of the Wei state and controlled the main traffic routes through the Taihang Mountains.
In 356 BC, Marquis Wei and Marquis Cheng of Zhao met at Huimeng (鄗, in present-day Northern Baixiang County, Hebei) to discuss dealing with the restored Zhongshan, consolidating the relationship between the State of Wei and the State of Zhao. In this year, Marquis Lu Gong, Marquis Huan of Song, Marquis Weicheng, and Marquis Han Zhaohou came to Daliang to worship the State of Wei, and the State of Wei seemed to have restored the hegemony of the Central Plains during the reign of Marquis Wen of Wei and Marquis Wu. However, Wei Houjun did not notice that the hegemony of Wei Wenhou and Wei Wuhou was backed by the "Three Jins" alliance, and the princes who came to Worship in Daliang this time were only Korea, one of the "Seven Heroes", and the powerful Qi, Chu, and Qin states next to them were all on the sidelines, and even the Zhao state did not recognize wei Guo's "leading big brother" status.
In 354 BC, Marquis Wei and Duke Xiao of Qin met at Duping (杜平, in present-day Chengcheng County, Shaanxi) to adjust relations with the State of Qin. The successive years of war between the State of Wei and the State of Qin were a huge pressure on the State of Wei, and how could it not be a huge burden to the State of Qin? At this time, the State of Qin was undergoing a powerful Shang Martingale Transformation Method, and it also needed a few years of respite.
If the State of Wei "abandons evil and follows good" in this regard, abandons the chaotic strategy of "attacking from all sides" during the Wei Wuhou period, restores the "Three Jins" alliance during the Wei Wenhou period, and concentrates the forces of the "Three Jins" to break through the Qin, Qi, or Chu states, then the Wei state will continue to be the leading big brother of the "Three Jins" alliance, and it will inevitably develop steadily. The problem was that Wei Houjun "had a good scar and forgot the pain", still remembered to expand abroad, and implemented a "Wei Wuhou route without Wei Wuhou", which led to the hegemony that Wei had just revived, and then made waves.