During the Warring States Period, Wang Jian was ranked among the four famous generals, along with Bai Qi, Li Mu, and Lian Po, and was one of the outstanding heroes of Qin Shi Huang's unification of the Six Kingdoms. Born in the Qin State, he was full of a strong interest in military affairs since he was a child, and often learned Xi martial arts from the soldiers in the barracks. When he became an adult, he volunteered to enlist in the army, and was selected as the personal guard of King Yingzheng of Qin because of his wisdom and wit, and won the trust and trust of Yingzheng for many years.
After Ying Zheng inherited the throne of Qin, he was squeezed out by his mother Empress Dowager Zhao and Xiangguo Lü Buwei, the government was chaotic, the country was declining, and Ying Zheng's royal power was also weakened. Eager to regain power and realize his dream of dominating the world, Ying Zheng is anxious. Wang Qian, who saw through the situation, advised: "Your Majesty, Lü Buwei is the biggest hidden danger, he controls the power of the imperial court and has the power of the army. Except for him, His Majesty's royal power can be concentrated. Ying Zheng felt the same way, but Lu Buwei was powerful, and he was helpless. Wang Jian further suggested: "Your Majesty, there is a breakthrough, that is, Chang Yu. Chang Yu is the male favorite given by Lu Buwei to the Empress Dowager Zhao, the two have a deep private relationship, and Chang Yu also tried to harm His Majesty and set himself and the illegitimate son of the Empress Dowager Zhao as the king. You can use Chang Yu to provoke his relationship with Lü Buwei and eliminate the two of them in one fell swoop. Ying Zheng approved of Wang Qian's strategy and acted according to his advice.
Ying Zheng pretended to go to Yongcheng, where Empress Dowager Zhao was located, but in fact it was to deal with Chang Yu. Wang Jian led 30,000 elite soldiers to protect Yingzheng, and at the same time deployed troops near Xianyang to prevent Lü Buwei from taking the opportunity to attack. When Chang Yu learned of Ying Zheng's intentions, he launched a mutiny and led his troops to attack the Qi Nian Palace where Ying Zheng was located, wanting to strike first and murder Ying Zheng. This mutiny was called the "Qinian Palace Change" by later generations. Ying Zheng had already prepared, and Wang Jian quickly put down the rebellion, hunted down Chang Yu, and executed his car. Chang Yu's death also affected Lü Buwei, and Yingzheng dismissed Lü Buwei from his post as minister for the crime of fornicating with the harem, and gave him poisoned wine to commit suicide. With the help of Wang Qian, Ying Zheng finally held the real power of the Qin State and carried out the reform of centralization, laying a solid foundation for the unification of the world.
Wang Jian changed from a personal guard to a general, led the army to conquer the Quartet, conquered many cities, and made great achievements for the unification of the Qin State. He successively conquered the nine cities of Zhao and captured the king of ZhaoIn Jingcheng, he confronted Li Mu, a famous general of Zhao State, for more than a year, and skillfully used a discordant strategy to successfully trap Li Mu, successfully captured Handan, the capital of Zhao State, and destroyed Zhao State. Then, he conquered the state of Chu, although he encountered stubborn resistance from the state of Chu, and finally succeeded in conquering the capital city of Ying, capturing the king of Chu, and destroying the state of Chu. In addition, he also conquered many countries such as Wei, Yan, and Qi, and made outstanding contributions to the unification of Qin.
However, one of Wang's weaknesses was that he demanded rewards from Qin Shi Huang after each war, much to Qin Shi Huang's pain. He demanded not only gold, silver, and jewelry, but also a large number of houses and fertile fields to ensure the prosperity of his family and relatives. He even asked for fiefs and titles to ensure the prosperity of his descendants. This request made Qin Shi Huang feel distressed, but he was helpless, because Wang Jian was his most powerful general, and without him, the dream of dominating the world would be difficult to realize. Qin Shi Huang also sometimes considered other generals, such as Li Xin, who was also a talented general and not as greedy as Wang Qian. Qin Shi Huang once pondered whether it would be more appropriate for Li Xin to attack the state of ChuAs a result, Qin Shi Huang inquired with Wang Jian and Li Xin, asking them how many troops and rewards they each needed to successfully conquer the state of Chu. Wang Jian demanded 600,000 troops and a large number of rewards, while Li Xin only asked for 200,000 troops and did not attach importance to other rewards. After hearing this, Qin Shi Huang felt that Wang Jian was asking too much, so he decided to let Li Xin attack the state of Chu, hoping that he would be victorious.
However, Li Xin was ambushed by the Chu State, and the 200,000-strong army was almost completely annihilated, and the Chu State failed to capture it. Qin Shi Huang deeply regretted it, realizing that although Wang Jian was greedy for money, he had excellent military talents, and only he was able to conquer the state of Chu. So, Qin Shi Huang found Wang Jian again, said that he was "not thoughtful", and decided to let Wang Jian lead an army of 600,000 to attack Chu. Although Wang Jian once again asked for a reward, Qin Shi Huang had to reluctantly agree, because he knew that Wang Jian was the most important right-hand man, and without him, his dream of dominating the world would not be realized. Wang Qian's lieutenant was worried when he saw him asking for a reward every time he greedily asked for a reward: "General, if the king is dissatisfied with your reward......I'm afraid it's not good for you!However, Wang Jian responded calmly: "My request can stabilize the king, don't let him be suspicious of me." I know that I have great military prowess, and if I don't show greed, the king will be suspicious. With such a large number of troops, if the king is suspicious, it will only be a dead end. Therefore, I can only show my greedy side in order to maintain the king's trust in me. It turned out that Wang Jian understood his advantages and skillfully resolved Qin Shi Huang's doubts through the appearance of greed.
Wang Jian successfully captured the Chu State for the Qin State, and Qin Shi Huang had to "cut the meat" again, rewarding Wang Jian with rich wealth and land. Although Wang Jian still had problems asking for money, Qin Shi Huang had to reluctantly agree, because Wang Jian was his most powerful general, and without him, it would be difficult to realize the dream of dominating the world.