King Zhaoxiang of Qin
 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(February 2018) |
| King Zhaoxiang of Qin Tần Chiêu Tương Vương | |||||||||
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 Relief tracing of King Zhaoxiang of Qin, withLin Xiangruhandling theHeshibi,and onWu Family Shrinesstone-relief, fromJinshisuo( kim thạch tác ). | |||||||||
| King ofQin | |||||||||
| Reign | 307–251 BC | ||||||||
| Predecessor | King Wu of Qin | ||||||||
| Successor | King Xiaowen of Qin | ||||||||
| Regent | Wei Ran | ||||||||
| Born | 325 BC | ||||||||
| Died | 251 BC (aged 73–74) | ||||||||
| Spouse | Queen Yeyang Queen Dowager Tang | ||||||||
| Issue | Crown Prince Dao King Xiaowen of Qin | ||||||||
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| House | Ying | ||||||||
| Dynasty | Qin | ||||||||
| Father | King Huiwen of Qin | ||||||||
| Mother | Queen Dowager Xuan | ||||||||
King Zhaoxiang of Qin(Chinese:Tần Chiêu Tương Vương;325–251 BC), also abbreviated asKing Zhao of Qin( Tần chiêu vương ), bornYing Ji( doanh kê ), was the king of theQin statefrom 306 BC to 251 BC. He was the son ofKing Huiwenand younger brother ofKing Wu.
King Zhaoxiang reigned as the King of Qin for 57 years, and was responsible for the state of Qin achieving strategic dominance over the other six major states. During his reign, Qin captured theChucapitalYingin 278 BC, conquered theXirongstate ofYiquin 272 BC,slaughtereda 450,000-strongZhaoarmy atChangpingin 260 BC, and overthrew theEastern Zhou dynastyin 256 BC. These aggressive territorial expansions and the strategic weakening of other rival states paved the path forQin's eventual unification of China properthree decades later by his great-grandsonYing Zheng(Qin Shi Huang).
Biography
[edit]Ascension
[edit]Prince Ying Ji was born in 325 BC to one of King Huiwen's more lower-ranked concubines,Lady Mi( mị bát tử ). As ashuchild, Prince Ji was given low priority in the royal line of succession, and as an underage child was not granted afiefbecause the state of Qin employed a system ofmeritocracythat demanded that even princes earn their own lands throughnational service.He was dispatched to the state ofYanat a young age to serve as apolitical hostage,a common diplomatic practice among vassal states throughout Zhou dynasty.
In 307 BC, Ying Ji's older half-brother,King Wu,unexpectedly died after breaking his shin bones while trying to show off his physical prowess by lifting a heavybronze cauldronin the Zhou palace atWangcheng.King Wu died young and childless, hence placing the state of Qin into asuccession crisis,with a number of princes now eligible to claim the throne. At the time, Prince Ji was still a hostage in the state of Yan, and was generally considered unlikely to be a candidate. However,King Wuling of Zhaodecided to take advantage of the situation and intervene in the domestic politics of his western neighbour. King Wuling ordered his chancellor of theDai Commandery,Zhao Gu ( Triệu cố ), to smuggle Prince Ji out of Yan intoZhaoterritory, before endorsing him to return to Qin and contest for the throne. Furthermore, Prince Ji's maternal uncle, Wei Ran ( Ngụy nhiễm ), was a general in command of a significant Qin military forces, and helped suppressing most of his nephew's political opponents. This enabled Prince Ji to successfully claim the throne as the King Zhaoxiang of Qin at the age of 18.
Because King Zhaoxiang had not yet legallycome of age(traditionally at theageof 20), his mother, who was now known asQueen Dowager Xuan,became theregent.She was supported by her brothers, Wei Ran and Mi Rong ( mị nhung ), as well as two other sons, Prince Yi ( công tử khôi ) and Prince Fu ( công tử phất ), the four of them collectively known as the "Four Nobles" ( bốn quý ).
Reign
[edit]In his first year as ruler (306 BC), King Zhaoxiang accepted the counsel of the Right Chancellor, Gan Mao ( cam mậu ), who advocated the return of theWusui( võ toại ) region back to the state ofHan.The plan was opposed by two other officials Xiang Shou ( hướng thọ ) and Gongsun Shi ( Công Tôn thích ), who both despised Gan Mao greatly and proceeded to badmouth him repeatedly. This led Gan Mao to flee Qin in fear of his life and defect to the state ofQi.
In 305 BC, two of King Zhaoxiang's older half-brothers, Prince Zhuang ( công tử tráng ) and Prince Yong ( công tử ung ), who a year ago were both rival contenders for the throne, conspired to carry out acoupwith Queen Huiwen ( huệ văn sau, the mother of the late King Wu) and Queen Wu ( điệu Võ Vương sau, King Wu's childless wife, who was a princess fromWei) as well as a dozen other lords and court officials who were against King Zhaoxiang's ascension. The rebellion was quickly crushed by Wei Ran, who slaughtered all the conspirators except Queen Wu, who was exiled back to Wei. With the annihilation of the dissidents, King Zhaoxiang's hold to the throne was secured. In the same year, King Zhaoxiang had his coming-of-age ceremony, and began to personally attend state affairs.
War against Chu
[edit]In 304 BC, King Zhaoxiang met withKing Huai of ChuinHuangqi( hoàng gai ) to negotiate an alliance, cedingShangyong( thượng dung ) as a gesture. In 303 BC, the states of Qi, Wei and Han broke off their previous alliance with Chu and invaded Chu, forcing Chu to send its crown princeXiong Hengto Qin as a hostage in exchange for Qin assistance. King Zhaoxiang sent troops to attack Wei and Han, capturingPuban( bồ phản ), Yangchun ( mùa xuân ) andFengling( phong lăng ) from Wei, and re-capturing Wusui from Han. In 302 BC, King Zhaoxiang met withKing Xiang of Weiand Crown Prince Yin of Han ( Hàn Thái Tử anh ) inLinjin( lâm tấn ), and agreed to return the seized lands in exchange for the two states denouncing their previous anti-Qin alliance. At the same time, the Chu crown prince secretly fled from Qin back to Chu.
In 301 BC, the four states of Qin, Han, Wei and Qi allied together to attack Chu,defeating the Chu armyatZhongqiu( trọng khâu ) and killing the Chu generalTang Mei( đường muội ). In 300 BC, King Zhaoxiang sent his uncle Mi Rong to captureXiangcheng( tương thành ), killing 30,000 enemy and the Chu general Jing Que ( cảnh thiếu ) in the process.
Due to this defeat, in 299 BC King Huai of Chu was forced to go toWu Pass( võ quan ) to negotiate terms with Qin, but along the way was abducted and taken toXianyanginstead. When he refused to cede the territory of theWu Commandery( vu quận ) andQianzhong Commandery( kiềm trung quận ), he was detained as a hostage. King Zhaoxiang then proceeded to invade Chu the next year, capturing 16 cities and killing 50,000 Chu soldiers. King Huai of Chu did manage to escape in 297 BC, when Qin was distracted by a joint siege onHangu Passby Wei and Han, but he was recaptured when he was seeking asylum in Wei, after unsuccessfully doing so in the state ofZhao.He died a year later in captivity, and Qin finally returned his corpse back to Chu.
The next Chu king, King Qingxiang, was an even less competent ruler than his father. In 280 BC, Qin forces defeated the Chu army again, forcing them to cede Shangyong andHanbei( hán bắc ) to Qin control. In 279 BC, Qin generalsBai Qi( bạch khởi ) and Zhang Ruo ( trương nếu ) launched amphibious assaults on Chu from two different fronts, capturing the cities ofDeng( Đặng ),Yan( Yên, Chu's secondary capital at the time) andXiling( Tây Lăng ), during which Bai Qi flooded the city of Yan with a redirected river, drowning hundreds of thousands of people. This successful Qin campaign paved the way for Bai Qi's subsequent siege and capture of the Chu capital city ofYing( dĩnh ) in 278 BC, where Bai Qi burned the Chu ancestral mausoleumsYiling.The greatly weakened state of Chu was forced to relocate its capital toChen( trần ). Qin then permanently annexed the vast lands aroundDongting Lake,south of theYangtze Riverand north up towardsAnlu( an lục ), where the newNan Commandery( Nam Quận ) was established.
War against Han and Wei
[edit]In 301 BC, Qin again attacked Han, led by King Zhaoxiang's uncle, Wei Ran, and occupied the city ofRang( nhương thành ). The city was later given to Wei Ran, who was made chancellor six years later, as his fief. However, in 298 BC, Qin suffered a setback atHangu Passunder the combined attack from a three-state alliance ofQi,Han and Wei, and was forced to concede the recently occupied Fengling and Wusui back to Wei and Han.
In 293 BC, the states of Han, Wei and East Zhou allied together to attack Qin. King Zhaoxiang appointed the youngBai Qias general, anddefeated the two major statesatYique,killing 240,000 of the enemy and capturing (then executing) the enemy's supreme commander Gongsun Xi ( Công Tôn hỉ ). This was the most devastating blow Qin delivered to the two eastern states to date. In 292 BC, Bai Qi again led the army and attacked Wei, capturingWeicheng( Ngụy thành ) and sackingYuanqu( viên ấp ). Then in 291 BC, Qin attacked Han again and seized the city ofWan( uyển thành ) andYe( diệp ). In 290 BC, King Zhaoxiang sent Sima Cuo ( Tư Mã sai ), who capturedZhi( chỉ ) from Wei andDeng( Đặng ) from Han, before joining with Bai Qi to seize Yuanqu again. These successive victories forced Wei to concede 400liofHedonglands, and Han to concede 200liof Wusui lands to Qin.
In 289 BC, King Zhaoxiang sent Bai Qi and Sima Cuo to attack Wei, capturing 61 villages around Zhi. However, in 288 BC, Qin was forced to back down when the five eastern states allied together and threatened to attack Qin again. It did not take long for Qin to strike back, capturing Xinyuan ( tân viên ) and Quyang ( Khúc Dương ) from Wei in 287 BC, and the former Wei capitalAnyi( an ấp ) in 286 BC. In 283 BC, Qin allied withZhaoand attacked Wei again, capturingAncheng( an thành ) with its vanguard reaching near the Wei capitalDaliang( đại lương ).
In 276 BC, King Zhaoxiang once again sent Bai Qi to attack Wei. The following year in 275 BC, he sent his uncle Wei Ran to attack Daliang and killed 40,000 Han reinforcements sent to relieve the siege, forcing Wei to concede eight forts fromWencheng( ôn thành ). Wei Ran attacked Wei again in 274 BC, capturing four cities and killing 40,000 men. In 273 BC, Wei and Zhao allied together to attack the Han city ofHuayang( hoa dương ). King Zhaoxiang sent troops to relieve the siege, killing 130,000 Wei soldiers outside Huayang and drowning 20,000 Zhao prisoners, forcing Wei to seek an armistice as well as cedingNanyang( Nam Dương ). Qin attacked Wei again in 268 BC and capturedHuaicheng( hoài thành ).
In 266 BC, the Wei national Fan Ju ( phạm sư ) fled to Qin after being persecuted and tortured by the Wei chancellor, Wei Qi ( Ngụy tề ), and vowed revenge upon his home state. He advised King Zhaoxiang about the strategy of "allying distant states while attacking nearby states" ( xa thân gần đánh ). This advice impressed King Zhaoxiang so much that he appointed him as the chancellor of Qin. In 264 BC, King Zhaoxiang sent Bai Qi to attack Han, capturing nine cities includingXingcheng( hình thành ) and killing 50,000 of the enemy, enabling Qin to blockade the routes around southern Taihang Mountains. In 262 BC, Bai Qi attacked Han and capturedYewang( dã vương ), cutting off theShangdangregion from the Han mainland.King Huanhui of Hanwas fearful of the Qin military prowess and decided to concede Shangdang, but the local commanders refused to do so and instead surrendered the region to the state of Zhao. The struggle for control of Shangdang triggered direct conflicts between Qin and Zhao, then the two largest military powers among the warring states, leading to the devastatingBattle of Changping.
In 256 BC, a Qin general named Jiu (摎) attacked Han, killing 40,000 of the enemy and capturingYangcheng( Dương Thành ) andFushu( phụ kê ). Two years later in 254 BC, Jiu attacked Wei and capturedWucheng( Ngô Thành ), forcing Wei to submit to Qin as avassal state.
Conquest of Yiqu
[edit]Yiqu ( nghĩa cừ ), also known as "theRongof Yiqu "( nghĩa cừ chi nhung ), was a semi-pastoral,semi-agriculturalpeople residing in the region from north ofJing Riverto westernHetao.They were historically an offshoot of thenomadicQiang peopleliving on the grasslands aroundLong Mountainsduring theShang dynasty,and were frequently at war with the surrounding nomadic tribes likeGuifang( quỷ phương ) andXunyu( dân tộc Huân Dục ), as well as the agriculturalHuaxiasettlements likeBin( bân, the precursor toZhou). During the times of KingGeng Dingin late Shang dynasty (around 12th century BC), faced with a largeNorthern Diinvasion, the aged Duke of BinGugong Danfuled his clan south and relocated toQishan,and the Bin exodus resulted in the area being occupied by Di nomads hostile and stronger than Yiqu, who temporarily submitting toXianyun( Hiểm Doãn ). During the reign ofWu Yi of Shang,Duke Jiliof the now renamed state of Zhou attacked and evicted the Di presence from lands north of Bin with the support from the Shang court, and made Yiqu subject to Zhou instead. During the reign ofDuke Wen of Zhou,ChancellorJiang Ziyasent ambassadorNangong Kuoto negotiate an alliance with Yiqu, who assisted Zhou in evicting their rival Guifang, while occupied the fertileLongdongregion for themselves. This allowed the Yiqu population to prosper, and after learning agricultural techniques and city building from the Zhou people, became significantly influenced by Zhou culture. Yiqu hence transformed into a distinctly different branch from otherXirongtribes, though still retaining the tradition oflevirate marriage.
After the establishment of theZhou dynasty,Yiqu initially swore loyalty and participated in multiple Zhou campaigns against Di and other Rong tribes. In 771 BC,Marquess of Shenconspired withQuanrong( khuyển nhung ) to sack the Zhou capital cityHaojing,killingKing You of Zhouand his crown princeBofu,and theWestern Zhoudynasty collapsed. Yiqu took advantage of the chaos, rebelled and annexed the surrounding four smaller Xirong tribes, and established their own multi-city state centred around modern dayNing County,Gansu,spanning an area of nearly 100,000 square kilometres (39,000 sq mi) fromGuyuangrasslands to the west,Qiaoshanto the east,Hetaoto the north andJing Riverto the south.
With the old capital city in ruins, the new Zhou king,King Ping,hastily relocated the capital toLuoyi( lạc ấp ), starting theEastern Zhou dynasty.When King Ping moved east, a minor vassal lord from the land ofQinyi( Tần Ấp ),Duke Xiang,provided military escort. To reward Duke Xiang's contribution, King Ping formally granted him a nobility rank andenfeoffedhim as a feudal lord, elevating the clan of Qin from a lowly "attached state" ( phụ thuộc ) to a majorvassal state.Fearing another barbarian attack from the west and desperately in need of abuffer state,King Ping further promised Duke Xiang that any lands the Qin clan could seize from the Rong tribes west of Qishan (the former heartland of Zhou), they could keep permanently as their ownfief.As amarcherclan already with a bitter history with the Xirong tribes, the new noble state of Qin were greatly motivated by this royal promise, and successive generation of Qin rulers died in battle against their Xirong enemy, three of the largest being Mianzhu ( miên chư, near modern-dayTianshui), Dali ( đại lệ, near modern-dayDali County), and Yiqu.
Around 650 BC, Yiqu had conquered most of its surrounding smaller tribes and began to expand eastwards, bringing it into direct conflict with the state of Qin. In 651 BC, one of the other larger Xirong tribes, Mianzhu, recruited aJinman in exile named You Yu ( từ dư ) as the ambassador to Qin in order to improve the strained diplomatic relationship. However, You Yu secretly defected and gave counsel toDuke Mu of Qinregarding ways to defeat the Xirong. Using You Yu's advice, Duke Mu sent women and musicians to the king Mianzhu, distracting him from domestic affairs. In 623 BC, Duke Wu led a well-prepared Qin army, invaded and conquered Mianzhu along with over 20 smaller Rong and Di states. Yiqu was among those defeated and forced to claim fealty to Qin's military prowess. For his dominance in the western region, Duke Mu received a golden drum fromKing Xiang of Zhouas commendation, and was later regarded as one of theFive Hegemons.However, after Duke Mu died, the subsequent Qin rulers were not as competent as their forebear. Being the mostsinicizedof all Xirong tribes, Yiqu spent the next two centuries slowly building up its strength. In 430 BC, Yiqu invaded Qin territory, forcingDuke Zao of Qinto abandon lands north of lowerWei River.The following three decades were the pinnacle of Yiqu power, with its territory doubling to almost 200,000 square kilometres (77,000 sq mi). At this point, Yiqu had become a major threat to Qin, who had to solely focus on dealing with this north-western neighbour and thus became marginalised by other majorCentral Plainvassals states to the east.
In 361 BC,Duke Xiao of Qinascended as the ruler of Qin, and appointedWei Yangin 359 BC, who enacted a series oflegalistreforms that greatly strengthened the state of Qin. In 332 BC,King Huiwen of Qindispatched Gongsun Yan ( Công Tôn diễn ) to attackWei,killing 80,000 enemies and capturingXihe Commandery( tây hà quận ) andShang Commandery( thượng quận ). At the time, Yiqu was having domestic disputes, so the Qin army, with its morale boosted by the recent victories, invaded Yiqu under the pretext of helping to quell Yiqu's chaos. They were able to subject Yiqu to Qin rule. In 327 BC, Qin attacked and seized the city ofYuzhi( úc chất ), forcing Yiqu to again swear fealty, this time formally as a Qin county. However, nine years later, in 318 BC, the five eastern states ofWei,Han,Zhao,YanandChuallied together and attackedHangu Pass,forcing the Qin main force to leave its heartland. Yiqu took the opportunity and rebelled, and attacked Qin from the rear as part of a collaboration with the five-state alliance, defeating an undermanned Qin garrison at Libo ( Lý bạch ). However, the allied five states were soonroutedby a Qin counter-offensive led by Chulizi ( xư áo trong, King Huiwen's brother), suffering a loss of 82,000 men. The victorious Qin army then returned and retaliated against Yiqu in 314 BC by invading from three different directions, capturing 25 cities and greatly weakening Yiqu.
In 306 BC, the young King Zhaoxiang ascended to the throne, with his motherQueen Dowager Xuanserving asregent.Knowing Qin could not focus on eradicating Yiqu when it had the hostile eastern states to deal with, and her son's rule was still shaky due to numerous rival princes keen to capture the throne, Queen Dowager Xuan decided to use an approach of pretendedconciliation.She invited the king of Yiqu to live long-term in the Ganquan Palace, and consummated aseductiveliaison that produced two sons with him. This completely removed the Yiqu King's hostility towards Qin, as the beguiled king had lost all cautiousness around the Queen Dowager. At the same time, King Zhaoxiang was aggressively acting to weaken rival warring states in the east and south, and Queen Dowager Xuan was secretly planning with her son the eventual annihilation of Yiqu.
Finally in 272 BC, Queen Dowager Xuan bared her fangs. She lured the unsuspecting Yiqu King to Ganquan Palace again, and had him assassinated on the spot. Shortly after, the Qin army invaded and overran the leaderless Yiqu, permanently anne xing its entire territory into the newly established commanderies ofLongxiandBeidi( bắc địa ).[1]The Xirong threat that had plagued the state of Qin for over five centuries was removed for good.
War against Qi
[edit]The state of Qin actually did not share any borders with the state ofQi,but they nevertheless clashed with each other due to the complicatedzong-hengdiplomacyduring theWarring States period.
In 299 BC, King Zhaoxiang invitedLord Mengchangto Qin with the intention of appointing him as chancellor. However, after hearing (perhaps ill-intended) warnings from his ministers that Lord Mengchang was still loyal to his home state of Qi (which had just soured its diplomatic relationship with Qin), King Zhaoxiang ordered Lord Mengchang to be put under house arrest. Desperate, Lord Mengchang sent a messenger to bribe King's Zhaoxiang's favourite concubine, who demanded asnow foxfur coat, which Lord Mengchang had already given to King Zhaoxiang as a gift when he first arrived and had to steal back from the royal vault. Thanks to the pleas of the concubine, Lord Mengchang was released within two days, and he quickly smuggled himself out of Qin, narrowly evading a small army that King Zhaoxiang had ordered to pursue him. In 298 BC, the disgruntled Lord Mengchang, who was now the newly appointed chancellor of Qi, lobbied for a combined force of Qi,HanandWeiand laid siege to the Qin fortification ofHangu Pass.The allied army managed to penetrate past the Hangu Pass all the way toYanshi( muối thị ), forcing Qin to negotiate an armistice that involved returning the previously occupied Fengling and Wusui back to Wei and Han.
In 288 BC, King Zhaoxiang contactedKing Min of Qiand proposed an alliance where both would claim the title "Di",and planned to attack the newly strengthened state ofZhaotogether. However, King Min was persuaded bySu Qinto renounce hisDititle, and instead allied with other states to attack Qin, forcing King Zhaoxiang to also renounce hisDititle. At the same time, Qi took the opportunity to conquer its rival state ofSong,which made itself a major immediate threat in the eyes of other states.
In 284 BC, King Zhaoxiang sent troops in a five-state alliance of Qin,Yan,Zhao, Wei and Han, led by the Yan generalYue Yi,to attack Qi. Over 70 cities were captured within six months, including its capitalLinzi( lâm tri ), leading to the murder of King Min of Qi by his supposedChually. The two remaining Qi citiesJuandJimowere then sieged by the allied forces for five years. Qi eventually defeated the allied forces and recaptured lost lands after a routing victory at Jimo byTian Danusing flamingoxen.However, Qi never regained its former strength and influence, and could no longer create any geopolitical threat to Qin.
War against Zhao
[edit]In 283 BC, King Zhaoxiang offered to trade fifteen cities in exchange for theHeshibijade, which was in the state ofZhao's possession.King Huiwen of Zhaowas attracted by the offer and agreed to the trade. However, the Zhao ambassadorLin Xiangru( Lận Tương Như ) figured out that Qin never meant to hold up their end of the deal, and managed to return thejadeback to Zhao. During the following three years (282 BC to 280 BC), Qin attacked Zhao multiple times, capturing cities such asShicheng( thạch thành ),Lin( lận ),Lishi( ly thạch ),Qi( Kỳ ) andGuanglang( quang lang thành ), killing 20,000 men, and forcing Zhao to agree to send hostages and concede lands in exchange for returning the captured cities. During the armistice meeting held atMianchi( thằng trì ), King Zhaoxiang attempted to humiliate King Huiwen, but was forced to back down when Lin Xiangru threatened to physically harm the Qin king.
In 273 BC,Weiand Zhao allied together to attackHan'sHuayang( hoa dương ). Qin offered military help to Han, defeating and killing 130,000 Wei soldiers, and drowning 20,000 Zhao soldiers in theYellow River.In 269 BC, King Huiwen of Zhao backflipped on his previous promise to send hostages and concede land. In response, Qin attacked Zhao and laid siege toYuyu( át cùng ). The siege was lifted after the Zhao generalZhao She( Triệu xa ) ambushed and decisively defeated the invading Qin army. In 265 BC, Qin struck back at Zhao and captured three cities, and King Huiwen of Zhao resorted to sending his son to the state ofQiin exchange for Qi assistance, which forced the Qin army to withdraw.
Battle of Changping and the Siege of Handan
[edit]In 262 BC, Bai Qi attacked and cut off theShangdang Commanderyfrom theHanmainland.King Huanhui of Hanwas fearful of Qin military power, and decided to concede Shangdang. However, the local commanders Jin Tao ( cận thẩu ) refused to do so, thus King Huaihui then replaced him with a new commander Feng Ting ( phùng đình ), but he refused as well and instead suggested surrendering the region to the state of Zhao, with the intention of bringing on a conflict between Qin and Zhao. Despite opposition from his brother Lord Pingyang ( Bình Dương quân ),King Xiaocheng of ZhaoandLord Pingyuanboth decided to accept the annexation of Shangdang.
This, as expected, did not go down well in Qin. So, the very next year (261 BC), Qin general Wang He ( vương hột ) attacked Shangdang, and the Zhao general,Lian Po( Liêm Pha ), led 200,000 men to reinforce and defend the region, starting thebiggest and bloodiest conflictbetween these two most powerful military states. After his vanguard forces suffered numerous setbacks, Lian Po recognized that the Zhao army were underpowered against their Qin enemies in field battles, so he readjusted the strategies and dug in with a 100li-long defensive line nearChangping,and decided to wait out and exhaust the Qin supply lines (which were at least three times longer than Zhao's, hence more difficult to maintain). This strategy worked, as the Qin offensives could not effectively penetrate the well-entrenched Zhao positions for over a year. Logistically strained, the Qin army attempted to engage inpitched battles,but Lian Po consistently refused to meet them in open battles. At this point, both sides increased the size of their forces at Changping, with the Zhao numbering 450,000 and the Qin numbering 550,000.
Unable to break the stalemate, Qin began usingspiesstationed within Zhao to spread rumours about Lian Po being old, cowardly and incompetent. King Xiaocheng believed the rumours, and decided to dismiss Lian Po and replace him withZhao Kuo( Triệu quát ), the son of the late Zhao She, despite objections from chancellor Lin Xiangru andZhao Kuo's own mother. Zhao Kuo, an arrogant young man with great philosophical knowledge of military strategies but no real combat experience, immediately reversed all of Lian Po's strategic arrangements upon arriving at the frontline. He led the Zhao army away from the protection of Lian Po's defensive structures, and sought to actively engage Qin in pitched battles.
At the same time, King Zhaoxiang of Qin secretly appointed the feared Bai Qi as the new general of the Qin army, and conscripted every Qin man over 15 years of age asauxiliaries.Bai Qi then usedfeigned defeatsto lure the overconfident Zhao Kuo into an ambush, trapping over 400,000 Zhao soldiers in a valley. Zhao Kuo's army, cut off from their base camp, were without supplies for 46 days and became severely demoralised. After multiple failed attempts to breach the Qin lines, Zhao Kuo led a final breakout assault where he was shot dead by Qin archers, along with 200,000 out of the 400,000 Zhao soldiers. Bai Qi then executed the remaining 200,000 Zhao prisoners byburying them alive,sparing only 240 of the youngest men to go back to Zhao to spread the news of the massacre of the Zhao army. The devastating defeat at Changping greatly shocked the state of Zhao, which descended into an atmosphere of despair and sorrow.
Bai Qi wanted to take advantage of the victory at Changping and immediately lay siege to the Zhao capital ofHandan( Hàm Đan ). This frightened the states of Zhao and Han greatly, so they sent Su Dai ( tô đại,Su Qin's brother) to bribe Fan Ju ( phạm sư, or Fan Sui phạm tuy ), who was then the Qin chancellor and jealous of Bai Qi's military achievement. Fan Ju persuaded King Zhaoxiang to halt the offensives, citing as the reason that the soldiers needed to rest after years of war. Qin agreed to an armistice in exchange of the states of Zhao and Han conceding lands.
Bai Qi was furious at this because he believed Qin had just forfeited a chance to annihilate Zhao once and for all, and resigned his position in protest. However, Zhao soon changed its mind and refused to cede the lands it promised, and attempted to lobby an anti-Qin alliance with the other states. King Zhaoxiang then ordered an attack on Zhao in late 259 BC, laying siege to Handan. He wanted Bai Qi to lead the attack, but the still angry Bai Qi bluntly refused to assume the position citing illness. Instead, he advised King Zhaoxiang to call off the siege as the window of opportunity for an easy victory was already gone, because Lord Pingyuan had managed to secure military reinforcements from Chu and Wei, led by the famousLord ChunshenandLord Xinling.King Zhaoxiang did not take in his advice and instead appointed Wang Ling ( vương lăng ) as the commander of the siege.
Wang Ling's attack on Handan did not go well due to the fierce Zhao resistance, and King Zhaoxiang again decided to invite Bai Qi to command the siege, but Bai Qi again advised him that Qin had a very low chance of winning this campaign. King Zhaoxiang was unhappy to hear Bai Qi's counsel, so he replaced Wang Lin with Wang He and continued the siege. In 257 BC, the Qin army was suffering losses inflicted by reinforcements from the states of Chu and Wei. King Zhaoxiang then personally visited Bai Qi and attempted to coerce him into taking the command position with royal authority. When Bai Qi once again advised abandoning the siege, King Zhaoxiang was so angry that he stripped Bai Qi's titles and exiled him. Fan Ju then falsely accused to King Zhaoxiang that Bai Qi was cursing the King behind his back, so King Zhaoxiang decreed theforced suicideof Bai Qi. This did not improve the situation for the Qin offensive, and the Qin sustained heavy casualties under the combined assault of Wei, Chu and Zhao, and the Qin army was routed and went into a general retreat. The three-state alliance then pursued and attacked Qin, reinforced by theHanarmy that had recently joined them. The combined forces recapturedHedong,Anyang,Taiyuan,Pilao,Wu'an,ShangdangandRunan.The Qin expeditionary force lost most of its men in the retreat. King Zhaoxiang's ignoring of Bai Qi's advice had sown bitter fruits at the end.
In 256 BC, Qin struck back at Zhao again, with general Zhao Chan ( Triệu trộn lẫn ) killing 90,000 men and capturing over 20 counties. Zhao would continue to be at war with Qin into the years following King Zhaoxiang's death, including participating in a fruitless anti-Qin offensive by the five-state alliance in 247 BC, and two major victories against Qin invasions in 240 BC and 231 BC (the latter won by generalLi Mu), but it never recovered to its formal glory prior to the Battle of Changping. Meanwhile, Qin had fully regained its strength to become the only dominant military power, and went on to capture the Zhao capital Handan in 229 BC and eventually conquer the whole of Zhao in 222 BC.
Conquest of Eastern Zhou
[edit]The authority of the Zhou court had been declining since the very beginning of the Eastern Zhou dynasty. WhenKing Ping of Zhouabandoned the old capital ofHaojingand relocated east toLuoyi,the new capital'scrown land( vương kỳ ) was significantly smaller and less developed compared to the old capital. The royal Zhou court, which had been humiliated by Haojing's sacking, became increasingly reliant on the support of thevassal states.King Ping's son,King Huan,later had a falling out with one of the strongest vassals,Duke Zhuang of Zheng.The young King Huan decided to assert his authority as thelord paramountand personally led an expedition in 707 BC to punish on the state ofZheng,but was badly defeated in theBattle of Xuge.King Huan himself was wounded in the shoulder by an arrow, and was forced to back down and negotiate peace with Duke Zhuang. This destroyed any remaining prestige and authority the Eastern Zhou royal court had over its vassals, and confirmed thede factoindependence of the feudal states. The Zhou court was so impoverished after that defeat that, when King Huan died in 697 BC, it took the court seven years to get enough funding for a fitting royal funeral. During the reign ofKing Xiang of Zhou,his half-brother Prince Dai ( vương tử mang ) twice attempted to usurp the throne in 649 BC and 635 BC, both times by conspiring withQuanrongto lay siege to the capital. King Xiang required military assistance by the vassal states to reinstate himself on both occasions, and was forced to increase their fiefs each time as commendations. This further weakened the image of the Eastern Zhou court in the eyes of the vassal states, and progressively relegated it to the status of a neglectedfigurehead.
The situation only became worse for the Eastern Zhou court after theSpring and Autumn periodended. None of thewarring statesheld any respect and marginalized the Zhou court to thede factostatus equivalent of a minor vassal state. During the reign ofKing Kao of Zhou,he decreed a portion of crown land aroundWangcheng( vương thành, the older ofLuoyi'stwin cities) to his brother Ji Xie ( cơ bóc ) in 440 BC, naming the fief "the state of West Zhou" ( Tây Chu quốc ). In 367 BC during the reign ofKing Xian of Zhou,the 2nd duke of West Zhou, Duke Wei ( Tây Chu uy công ) died, and one of his younger sons, Lord Gen ( công tử căn ), rebelled against his brother Duke Hui ( Tây Chu huệ công ) and seceded a portion of his home state centred aroundGong( củng mà ) with the support ofMarquess Cheng of Zhao( Triệu thành hầu ) and Marquess Gong of Han ( Hàn cộng hầu ), naming it the "state of East Zhou" ( Đông Chu quốc ). This effectively splintered two separate vassal states out of the Eastern Zhou royal court, further decreasing the crown land.
In 344 BC,Marquess Hui of Weigathered other vassal lords to pay a visit toKing Xian of Zhou,but instead used the occasion to declare himself king. This initially backfired and caused other states to turn hostile towardsWei,but in 334 BCDuke Wei of Qiopenly supported King Hui of Wei's crowning, and declared himself king as well, prompting the state ofChuto attackQiwith the intention of forcing Qi to abandon the kingship. However, in 325 BCDuke Huiwen of Qinalso declared kingship and supported Qi's crowning, and King Hui of Wei openly encouragedMarquess Wei of Hanto claim kingship, who accepted the proposal and crowned himself in 323 BC along with the ruler ofYanandZhongshan.Out of all the major states, onlyMarquess Wuling of Zhaorefused to declare kingship at the time, as he considered his state not being strong enough to handle the diplomatic fallout, and titled himself "Lord" ( quân ) instead. By this point, nearly all major states had claimed royal status equivalent to that of the King of Zhou, and it effectively spelled the complete death of Zhou authority.
In 315 BC, the two splinter states of East Zhou and West Zhou declared autonomy and divided up the remaining crown lands between themselves, reducing the King of Zhou, whoseseat,Chengzhou,was within East Zhou, to more or less a puppet at the mercy of the duke's charity. WhenKing Nan of Zhouascended in 314 BC, he was expelled by the Duke of East Zhou, who no longer wanted to provide for a less than useful monarch. King Nan was forced to beg for protection from the Duke of West Zhou, and moved out of Chengzhou to Wangcheng.
In 307 BC, King Nan of Zhou hostedKing Wu of Qin,who just returned victorious against Han at the Battle of Yiyang. During the visit, King Wu, a keenwrestler,decided to try lifting the "dragon-patterned redcauldron"( long văn xích đỉnh ) in the Zhou palace. He died from the attempt, bleeding from his eyes and breaking hisshin bones.After the childless King Wu died, his hostage half-brother Ying Ji returned to claim the throne as King Zhaoxiang.
In 293 BC, East Zhou decided to ally itself with the states ofHanandWei,and sent troops to help attacking Qin. However, the combined forces of this alliance wasdestroyedatYiqueby the young Qin generalBai Qi,with 240,000 men killed and their commander Gongsun Xi ( Công Tôn hỉ ) captured and executed. After this loss, the East Zhou was unable to actively participate in future interstate struggles in any significant fashion.
In 256 BC, Duke Wu of West Zhou ( Tây Chu võ công ) allied with other states to stop the Qin offensive on the Han city ofYangcheng.In retaliation, King Zhaoxiang of Qin sent general Jiu to invade West Zhou, successfully breaking into Wangcheng. The Duke Wu was taken toXianyangto beg for mercy, conceding all his lands. Both King Nan and Duke Wu would die later that year, and the subsequent Duke of West Zhou, Duke Wen ( Tây Chu văn công ), was exiled toDanhuju( sợ hồ tụ ). Because the Zhou royal court had fallen from power and King Nan had died without a successor, the Eastern Zhou dynasty collapsed, ending 879 years of Zhou monarchy. The remaining East Zhou state was also conquered by Qin chancellorLü Buweiseven years later in 249 BC during the reign of King Zhaoxiang's grandsonKing Zhuangxiang,after Duke Jing of East Zhou attempted to form an anti-Qin alliance with other states.
Legacy
[edit]King Zhaoxiang died at age 75 in 251 BC, having outlived his eldest son, who died in 267 BC while serving as a hostage in the state ofWei.He was succeeded by his second sonKing Xiaowen.
Reigning over 55 years, he was one of the longest-serving rulers during the Eastern Zhou dynasty. Although making numerous policy mistakes during his later years, his aggressive territorial expansions were pivotal in consolidating the state of Qin as the dominant military powerhouse in the lateWarring States period.It was the strategic dominance established during his reign that paved the way to Qin's eventualsuccessful unification of Chinaunder his great-grandson,Ying Zheng.
In manga and animeKingdom,he was described as a "War God", which he led Qin through bloody battles alongside his 6 most elite generals, includingBai Qi,Wang He, Wang Yi, Liao, Sima Cuo and Hu Shang.
Family
[edit]Queens:
- Queen Yeyang (Diệp dương sau)
- Queen Dowager Tang, of the Tang lineage (Đường Thái Hậu Đường thị), the mother of Crown Prince Zhu
Sons:
- First son (d. 267 BC)
- Known by his posthumous title, Crown Prince Dao (Điệu Thái Tử)
- Second son, Crown Prince Zhu (Thái Tử trụ;302–250 BC), ruled asKing Xiaowen of Qinin 250 BC
- Known by his prior title, Lord Anguo (An quốc quân)
Daughters:
- A daughter who marriedKing Kaolie of Chu(278–238 BC) in 271 BC, and had issue (Lord Changping)
Ancestry
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In fiction and popular culture
[edit]- Portrayed byBao Guo'aninChangping of the War(2004)
- Portrayed byZhu YilonginThe Legend of Mi Yue(2015)
- Portrayed byZhang Bo (actor)inThe Qin Empire III(2017)
- In the Manga and Anime titled Kingdom, he was known as "King Sho/Zhao", and he was described as the God of War. He led the battles against rival kingdoms in every turn. Also established the "Six Greats Generals" military system in Qin, independent generals who are free to wage war against rival States.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^Nicola Di Cosmo,The Northern Frontier in Pre-Imperial China//The Cambridge History of Ancient China,p. 961