Chapter 140: Qin Backstabs, the End of Qi and Wei

From Hangu Pass to the shores of the East China Sea, across a vast territory of 5,000 miles, the four countries of Zhao, Wei, Han and Qi had been confronting each other for several years, and both sides felt that the moment of a decisive battle seemed to be approaching.

This may be the most high-quality war in the land of China in decades. Wei is the old overlord of the Central Plains, and the results of the reform are still supporting Wei.

Qi was a new and innovative state that conquered Huai and Si rivers, defeated Chu, and annexed Wu, becoming the overlord of the East.

Both Han and Zhao have strong soldiers and their strength should not be underestimated.

The three border kingdoms of Qin, Chu and Yan were also paying attention to this war. Qin had previously besieged Wei's land in Huai and Si together with Qi, but after Qi turned south, it signed a peace agreement with Wei in Hexi.

The two sides agreed not to invade each other, and the Duke of Qin also swore an oath of blood with the Marquis of Wei, promising never to take part in the war between Wei and Qi. Qin was now in decline and only hoped that Wei would let it go and allow it to recuperate.

In the past, the State of Wei prospered because of the large number of talented people who flocked to it. However, after these talents became the new aristocrats, they also began to exclude the scholars who had newly joined the ranks of the aristocratic bureaucracy of the State of Wei.

Many scholars who were frustrated in the State of Wei went to the State of Qin to serve as officials.

Wei Yang rose from a commoner to become the Zuo Shuchang who was in charge of the Qin state affairs, and there were also down-and-out aristocrats who rose to take charge of the Qin state's military power. These are all excellent examples.

Especially now, the countries are frequently at war, and all countries are rebelling against their alliances. Don't look at the life-and-death struggle between Wei and Qi now. Once there is a profit, they will immediately reconcile.

The diplomats who were good at rhetoric were the guests of honor of the monarchs of various countries. These people had an extremely deep insight into human nature and could always hit the pain points in the monarchs' hearts. The alliances between various countries were almost all decided by the diplomats.

In the 800-li Qinchuan Plain, countless Qin people were organized to build water conservancy projects, and especially with the technical support of Qin Mo, the area became increasingly prosperous.

The Qin State loved to build water conservancy projects, not only because water conservancy projects could promote grain production, but also because water conservancy projects could control population.

As long as the government controls the source, they can decide when to open the gates, when to cut off the water, who to irrigate the land for, and how much money to pay for irrigation. These are all excellent ways to collect taxes, which are much better than the method of forcing taxes at the door.

In the Xianyang Palace, the top leaders of Qin State gathered together to discuss the major affairs of Qin State. They included King Qin, Prince Sheng who held the power of the Qin army, Liang Xi from Wei, Wei Yang who was the left minister, Shen Cheng from Chu who was in charge of diplomatic affairs with various countries, and some talented and intelligent people from various countries.

Facing the crowd, Qin Bo laughed heartily and said, "The Qin emperors of all dynasties have been committed to the plan of marching eastward.

In the past, the great war among the Xia states ended in failure due to the betrayal of Wei Houqing, and our ancestors died in depression.

Now I have the assistance of all the great talents, the Qin army is well-trained and well-fed, the Central Plains must be weakened by the successive wars, the great wish of the ancestors seems to be coming true. "

Perhaps this is also one of the advantages brought by geography. For more than 800 years, the State of Chu has been committed to moving north, and the State of Qin has been committed to moving east. Their strategy will never change.

Unlike Jin and Wei, which were able to expand in all directions, their strategic quality was very poor. They did not gain enough advantages when they were strong, and when their strength declined, they were besieged by enemies from all directions.

"The war between Qi and Wei is about to be decided. If Wei wins, Qin can continue to cultivate Bashu, replenish its granaries, and oppress Chu.

Secondly, they could also take advantage of Wei's exhaustion after the war with Qi and quickly occupy Hexi, then build a defense line around the Yellow River, ally with Han and Qi, and fight against the powerful Wei together.

But in my opinion, the fighting power of Wei's Wuzu is not as strong as it used to be. The politics in Wei is murky, and a talent like Liang Xi cannot hold a high position. Qi still has a better chance of winning.

If Wei is defeated, our Qin army will directly capture the land west of the Yellow River, oppress Hedong, and plan to take Hangu Pass.

If they could use Hangu Pass and the Yellow River as natural barriers, and then go north along the edge to the plateau and connect with the enclave, they would be able to pressure the State of Wei to the south.

From then on, Qin was invincible. Even if the three countries of Zhao, Wei and Han joined forces to attack, Qin could retreat to Hangu Pass.

The only thing we need to worry about is Qi. Qi already has a great reputation. If we defeat Wei, Han will certainly surrender. Add Wu to that, and almost all of the most fertile land in the East will fall into the hands of Qi. "

Qin and Qi are still an alliance that is weakening Wei, but Qin has a long-term strategic vision. While Qi is still fighting for its life, Qin has begun to consider dealing with Qi.

Wei Yang pondered and said, "Your Majesty, I have been thinking about a question.

What was Luo State's attitude towards Qi State's rise?

What was Qi’s attitude towards the Zhou emperor?

Do we still need to support the Zhou royal family?

If Qi still respected the Zhou emperor, Luo would definitely help Qi in secret.

Gold, silver, grain, silk, swords, spears, and halberds are things that Luo State cannot use for the time being, but they are enough to make the country prosperous.

The existence of the Zhou royal family is not a good thing for the Qin State."

Luo country!

Qin Bo's heart sank. As the prestige of the Zhou royal family declined, monarchs of various countries began to think of replacing them. Now it was not just the Chu State that wanted to seize the throne.

However, due to the powerful force of tradition, no one dared to raise this issue directly. This is why South Korea's blatant attack on the royal family caused a huge sensation.

The existence of Luo State has become an obstacle to the Mandate of Heaven. In everyone's eyes, in order to overthrow Bang Zhou's Mandate of Heaven, Luo State will definitely fight to the death!

The State of Luo did not react much now, firstly because its power had weakened, and secondly because the Zhou royal family was still in the city of Luoyi after all.

After all, King Su was still the chief priest of all nations. Although the monarchs of various nations had repeatedly usurped the throne, even the King of Chu had never said that he was the Son of Heaven.

Seeing everyone in deep thought, Wei Yang said, "If Qi wins, we will give Qi a title of honor, and force Zhao, Wei, Han and other countries to give Qi a title of honor together, completely tearing apart the relationship between Luo and Qi.

This is like climbing a tall building, you have to go up step by step. If you want to reach the top in one step, you will only end up dead.

Moreover, everyone in Qi, from the royal family to the ministers, dreamed of restoring Duke Huan's hegemony all day long.

In the past, Duke Huan of Qi had already obtained the title of Fangbo, was granted the Nine Gifts, and was ranked as a Duke. Wouldn't the rulers and ministers of Qi want to go a step further?"

!!!

Everyone was shocked by Wei Yang's words. Even Qin Bo did not expect Wei Yang to come up with such a radical idea. But then he thought, this idea did not apply to himself, which was really wonderful.

So he said happily: "Prime Minister Wei is truly a man of great talent who can assist the Holy King. With you here, will the State of Qin not prosper?"

So the ministers began to make arrangements for the fight for Hexi. Once Wei and Qi started a large-scale war, they would immediately attack Hexi.

As for the peace agreement and alliance signed previously?

When the Wei people stabbed the Qin people in the back, they didn't mention any peace talks or alliances. This is called retribution.

Countless troops are being mobilized on South Korean territory.

The decisive battle between Wei and Qi basically had several elements together: Wei was short of food and grass, eager to fight a major battle, and its pressure on Qi's food supply was becoming increasingly severe.

In fact, a war lasts for several years, especially when the rulers and ministers on both sides are not yet incompetent, it is extremely difficult to leave any secrets.

Both sides are basically playing with their cards open, and it depends on who can hold on better and who can persist to the end on key decisions.

The reason why Wei State dared to fight a decisive battle with Qi State despite the shortage of food and grass was because Wei State knew that Qi State might still have food and grass, but not in Qi State’s camp!

In other words, Qi is more likely to be short of food than Wei now.

Because Wei State intercepted the exact time when Qi State's grain and grass would arrive, after suffering heavy casualties, it successfully burned all the grain and grass that was enough to feed 100,000 elite troops for a month.

Even if Qi could still mobilize food and grass from Qi, that would be a matter for the future. Not to mention Han. Han is now full of starving people and corpses. Years of war have taken place on Han territory. How could it produce so much food?

The subsequent battle confirmed Wei's guess. In a battle involving 30,000 to 40,000 people, Qi only lasted less than an incense stick of time before retreating. This made the Wei general very happy, "The Qi army's faces were obviously hungry. They were indeed out of food."

Qi general Guan Chenglin and Qi prime minister Lu Ji had unusually calm expressions on their faces. How could Wei understand Qi's wealth?

The food and grass supplied to 100,000 elite soldiers can be used as bait. This is the confidence of Qi. The real army of Qi still has sufficient food and grass and high morale.

Guan Chenglin pointed at the atlas and said, "Prime Minister, here and here are the places where our army fought with the Wei army and was defeated.

At the beginning, the Wei people were relatively cautious, but with the victory of two or three consecutive encounters and the continuous collapse of our army, the Wei people's vigilance began to decrease.

The Wei people have already firmly believed the news that our army is short of food. Now we just need to lure them into an ambush.

Once you are trapped in an ambush, it is completely different from a frontal battle. Even the strongest army in the world, such as the Wei Wuzu, is just a stronger pig and dog, and can still be slaughtered at will."

Lu Ji looked carefully at the ambush point on the map and nodded with satisfaction, "Guan Qing is the descendant of Guan Zi. If you can severely damage the Wei Wuzu in this battle, the king will definitely give you another title.

You have made such great contributions to the State of Qi. I am sure that Guanzi in the sky will be proud of you."

Burning their own food supplies during the war was a plan that cost them so much, it would be strange if the people of Wei did not fall into the trap.

When the Wei army was ambushed during the pursuit, countless Qi troops appeared, causing the Wei army to panic. Guan Chenglin shouted, "Kill!"

The Qi army brought almost all the bows and crossbows in the country. Arrows fell like raindrops, and chariots and rolling stones completely blocked the Wei army.

There was only a small mountain path left for the Wei army to break through, which was to undermine the will of the Wei army. As arrows rained down, the Wei army attacked from high and low, and their counterattack seemed too weak. Moreover, there were enemies on all sides, so how could the command system still function?

Especially as it gradually darkened, these soldiers, who were generally night blind, became extremely terrified and had no idea how they were going to survive.

The shrill screams and the waving of weapons lasted for who knows how long. The fear of not knowing when they would die made everyone run for the only way to survive.

Then there was crowding and trampling by countless people. The number of people who died in this way was unimaginable, far exceeding the number killed by the Qi army.

The morning light is breaking, and the sky is just breaking.

There were corpses everywhere in the mountains, countless broken flags of the Wei army, and many of the messy arrows were shot on the ground, but a large part of them hit the Wei army. There were not many intact corpses, and many of them were intact in shape, but some were directly turned into meat paste, which was the result of being trampled by the chaotic army.

Most of the dead had fear on their faces. Some soldiers who were obviously tall and strong wore thick bronze armor. These were the Wei Wu soldiers who were extremely powerful on the battlefield, but they were forced to die here.

The bronze armor provided them with some protection, at least allowing them to survive the arrows, but once they were knocked down, the heavy armor would become a burden. Along the way, many Wei soldiers fell directly to the ground and were trampled to death.

Next to the Wei army's banner, the people of Qi saw the bodies of the Wei army's main general and the prince of Wei. These two people committed suicide out of grief and anger when they realized that the game was hopeless.

Guan Chenglin and Lu Ji looked at the corpses that stretched across the entire valley, and laughed heartily, "Qi's hegemony is complete!"

————

Qi and Wei won a great victory in the war for hegemony in the Central Plains. This was the second time Qi dominated the country after the Battle of Yanling. Zhao and Wei were forced to submit to Qi, and Han and Wu were even more submissive. Qin also offered countless compliments to Qi. The complacent Qi thus fell into a serious strategic misjudgment. ——"The Rise and Fall of the Zhou Dynasty"

(End of this chapter)