How Qin Shihuang unified China

Destroying the Six Kingdoms

From 230 BC to 221 BC, Qin Shihuang adopted the strategy of establishing distant relations and attacking close quarters, dividing the country and establishing alliances, and launched the Qin War to destroy the Six Kingdoms. They successively destroyed Han in the seventeenth year of Qin Shi Huang (230 BC), Zhao in the nineteenth year (228 BC), Wei in the twenty-second year (225 BC), Chu in the twenty-fourth year (223 BC), and Chu in the second year of Qin Shihuang. Yan was destroyed in the fifteenth year (222 BC), and Qi was destroyed in the twenty-sixth year (221 BC). In the war that never massacred the city, the Qin Dynasty, the first unified centralized authoritarian state in Chinese history, was finally established. Qin Unification Situation Map

General Policy

After Qin Shihuang took office, he listened to Li Sijin's suggestions for destroying the six countries and began to plan the great cause of unifying the six countries. Its general strategic policy is to move from near to far, concentrate forces, and defeat them one by one; first capture Zhao in the north, Wei in the middle, and Korea in the south, and then attack Yan, Chu, and Qi—first conquer Chenggao, and advance eastward along the Yellow River. , tearing apart the joint defense of Han, Zhao, Weichu. Then go north, cut off the communication between Han and Wei, then destroy Han and annex Zhao, waiting for an opportunity to destroy Yan.

Destroy South Korea

The first target Qin Wangzheng chose to attack was South Korea. Because South Korea is the weakest among the six countries, it is the biggest obstacle to Qin's path to unification. However, South Korea is not yet vulnerable. The Qin army attacked South Korea many times, but was repelled by South Korea. While using its main force to attack South Korea, Qin adopted a strategy of supporting pro-Qin forces and gradually dismembering South Korea. In 231 BC, Teng, the "false governor" (i.e. acting governor) of Nanyang County in South Korea, offered the territory under his jurisdiction to Qin. Teng was appointed as the internal historian by the King of Qin, and he was later sent to lead an army to attack South Korea. Teng knew Korea well, so it went smoothly. In 230 BC (the seventeenth year of King Qin's reign), he captured Wang An of Han, and Korea was destroyed.

Destroying the State of Zhao

In 229 BC, Qin took advantage of the great earthquake and famine in the State of Zhao and sent Wang Jian to lead troops to attack Zhao. Zhao Guo sent Li Mu and Sima Shang to lead troops to resist, and the two sides remained in a stalemate for a year. At the critical juncture, the State of Qin resorted to its trump card-the alienation tactic. Wang Jian paid a lot of money to bribe King Zhao's favorite Guo Kai, asking him to spread rumors that Li Mu and Sima Shang were planning to rebel. King Zhao believed the rumors and sent someone to replace Li Mu. Li Mu was in the current situation of the enemy. Situation map of the Battle of Changping between Qin and Zhao

According to the refusal to give up the right to send troops, King Zhao secretly sent people to arrest Li Mu and execute him, and also killed Sima Shang. Killing Li Mu undoubtedly cleared the way for the Qin army to overthrow Zhao. After that, the Qin army attacked the Zhao army as if they were in an uninhabited territory, attacking the city and seizing the territory. In 228 BC (the 19th year of the Qin Dynasty), the Qin army captured Handan, and this famous city fell into the hands of the Qin State. Soon, Zhao Wangqian, who fled, was forced to surrender Zhao's map to Qin. Zhao State was actually destroyed. However, Gongzi Jia took a group of people and fled to Daijun (now Yuxian County, Hebei Province) and proclaimed himself king. The Later Qin army captured Yan after destroying him in 222 BC. At this point, Qin unified the north.

Destroy the Wei Kingdom

In 231 BC, King Jingmin of Wei, forced by Qin's powerful power, took the initiative to offer Liyi to Qin in order to slow down the army. At this time, King Qin Zhengzheng was mobilizing troops to launch a general attack on Zhao. He did not want to disperse his troops to attack Wei, so he accepted the land offer. This allowed Wei to maintain its endgame for several more years. In 225 BC (the 22nd year of Qin Wangzheng), when the main force of the Qin army went south to attack Chu, Qin Wangzheng sent young general Wang Ben to lead an army to besiege the Wei capital Daliang (now Kaifeng, Henan). The Wei army closed the city gate tightly and could not get out. Because the Daliang city defense was extremely strong after many years of construction, the Qin army could not attack it by force. Wang Ben came up with a water attack method. A large number of soldiers of the Qin army were arranged to dig channels to divert water from the Yellow River and Honggou and pour it into Daliang. Three months later, all the walls and fortresses of Daliang were collapsed, and King Wei had to surrender. The state of Wei was destroyed.

Destroy the Chu State

The Chu State, a large country in the south, has a vast territory, dense mountains and forests, and rich products. It is said to have millions of soldiers. However, the internal affairs of the Chu State had always been sluggish, and the nobles were always fighting for power. This situation became especially serious at the end of the Warring States Period. In 228 BC, King Chu You died, and internal strife broke out in the ruling group. King You's half-brother Ju, ascended the throne as King Ai, but was killed by his half-brother's disciples in just over two months. He became the king of Chu. The Chu royal family fell apart even more. Just when civil strife broke out in the Chu State, in 226 BC, the King of Qin lost no time in dispatching Qin troops from the northern front line to attack Yan, went south to attack Chu, and captured more than 10 cities in the Chu State. In 224 BC, the decisive battle between Qin and Chu was about to begin. King Qin Zhengxian sent young general Li Xin to lead 200,000 Qin troops to attack Chu, but was defeated by the Chu army. Later, he sent general Wang Jian to lead 600,000 Qin troops to attack Chu. After Wang Jian entered Chu territory, he did not immediately launch an offensive. He summed up Li Xin's lesson of underestimating the enemy's aggressive advance, and adopted the strategy of stationing troops to practice martial arts, solidifying the wall, paralyzing the enemy, and waiting for work. In this way, after more than a year, the Qin army basically adapted to the situation in Chu, and its morale was high and its physical strength was strong. At the same time, the Chu troops that were mobilized to fight against the Qin army gradually lost their fighting spirit, and due to lack of food and grass, they prepared to return eastward. As soon as the Chu army withdrew, Wang Jian seized the opportunity and ordered the entire army to attack. The Qin army defeated the main force of the Chu army in one fell swoop, marched straight into the interior, and killed Xiang Yan, the commander of the Chu army. Then, the Qin army captured Shouchun, the capital of Chu (today's Shouxian County, Anhui Province), and captured the Chu King Fu Chu. The Chu Kingdom was destroyed in 223 BC (the 24th year of the Qin King's reign). In 222 BC (the twenty-fifth year of King Qin's reign), the army that had just destroyed Chu in the south took advantage of the victory and surrendered to Yuejun, and established Kuaiji County. As a result, the entire Yangtze River Basin was incorporated into Qin's territory.

Destroy the Yan Kingdom

In the process of destroying Zhao, the Qin army has arrived at the border of the Yan Kingdom. The King of Yan was in a state of panic all day long. Seeing that Qin had defeated the three Jins, he wanted to kill him, but there was nothing he could do. Prince Dan of Yan finally came up with a desperate assassination operation, the famous assassination of King Qin by Jing Ke in history, which took place in 227 BC. The assassination failed in the end, but Qin Wangzheng almost died under Jingke's dagger. He hated the State of Yan deeply and immediately increased his troops to attack in a large scale. In 226 BC, the Qin army captured Ji (now Beijing), the capital of Yan, and King Xi and Prince Dan fled to Liaodong County. Qin general Li Xin led thousands of Qin troops to pursue Prince Dan to Yanshui. Prince Dan survived because he lurked in the water. Later, after weighing the interests, King Xi of Yan sent people to kill Prince Dan and dedicated his head to the Qin State, hoping to obtain a truce and protect the Yan State from destruction. After King Yan fled to Liaodong, the main force of the Qin army was transferred to the southern front to attack Chu. In 222 BC (the twenty-fifth year of the Qin Dynasty), Wang Ben was ordered to attack the remaining forces of the Yan State in Liaodong, captured King Xi of Yan, and the Yan State was completely destroyed.

Destroy the State of Qi

In 221 BC (the twenty-sixth year of the Qin Dynasty), the King of Qin ordered Wang Ben to move south to attack the last of the six eastern kingdoms: Qi. From the Spring and Autumn Period to the middle of the Warring States Period, Qi was one of the more powerful states in Shandong. However, in 284 BC, the five kingdoms of Yan, Zhao, Han, Wei, and Chu attacked Qi, especially Yan general Le Yi, who swept Qi and almost destroyed Qi. After that, Qi never regained its strength. Moreover, Qi Wangjian was an incompetent person at this time. When her mother was still alive, he relied on her; before her death, he shamelessly asked her to write down the names of ministers who could assist him. In 249 BC (the 16th year of the reign of King Qi), the resolute and unyielding queen died and later became the prime minister. The State of Qin quickly launched an activity to bribe internal officials and donated a large amount of gold and jade to Xiang Sheng. After the victory over Qin, he sent a large number of guests to Qin one after another. The Qin State bribed them heavily, giving them money and treasures, and asked them to return to Qi State to serve as internal agents. After this group of people came back from Qin, they actively created pro-Qin public opinion. They said that King Jian of Qi should go west to Qin to show his submission. They also said that Qi and Qin were related by marriage, so there was no need to prepare for war against Qin, nor to help the three Jin, Yan, and Chu to attack Qin. It was under this circumstance that Wang Ben went south to attack Qi and encountered almost no resistance. Wang Ben led the army commander and drove straight into Linzi. Qi Wang Jian and Hou Sheng immediately surrendered to Qin without a fight. The state of Qi was destroyed. At this point, Qin has completed the final journey of defeating the heroes and unifying the six countries. The territory of the Qin Dynasty

It is worth noting that the Qin army, known as the "violent army", never massacred the city under Qin Shihuang's restrained and cautious orders, which was unprecedented and unique.