Throughout the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, there were not only real wars between large and small vassal states, but also undercurrent diplomacy. These frequent diplomatic activities gave birth to a school of thought, the Zonghengjia. The main theory of the Zonghengist is to unite the vertical and horizontal, that is, countries to win over each other, use each other, and jointly fight against the common enemy.
During the Warring States Period, the joint column was mainly aimed at the Qin State, and the Qin State was constantly increasing in strength due to the Shang Dynasty reform, and it was difficult for the six eastern countries to fight against the strong Qin alone, so they united to form an alliance to fight against the Qin State. And Lian Heng refers to the fact that the Qin State co-opted some United States, promised some benefits, and destroyed their alliance. Let them and the Qin state attack other countries together, and the Qin state generally adopts the policy of distant friendship and close attack, gradually encroaching on the land of neighboring countries.
At this time, Su Qin, who graduated from the highest institution of learning in the Spring and Autumn Period --- the Warring States Period, Guigu Academy, stepped onto the stage of history. Su Qin just graduated and went home when he didn't meet Huaicai, and he repeatedly failed to recommend himself to various vassal states, and returned to his hometown in Luoyang without finding his ideal job. So he re-studied what he had learned several times, completed his studies, and set out to find a job again. This time, he heard that Yan State was recruiting talents, so he went to meet Yan Wenhou, analyzed the current situation in the world to Yan Wenhou, and told Yan Wenhou that he should not ally with the Qin State, which was not next to him, and attack Zhao State. In this way, if Zhao State does not exist, Qin State will attack Yan State sooner or later, Yan Wenhou was very emotional, so he named Su Qin as prime minister, and asked him to persuade Zhao State to deal with Qin State together. Immediately afterwards, Su Qin went south, successively passed through Zhao, Wei, Korea, and entered Qi to the east, and finally arrived at Chu.
In the end, after Su Qin's lobbying, all the princes were deeply impressed by Su Qin's talent, and they were willing to entrust the whole country to him. So the six countries reached a joint alliance and united as one. Su Qin was appointed as the chief of the longitudinal covenant and served as the minister of state of the six countries, and at the same time wore the seal of the six countries. Su Qin sent the Hezong Alliance to the Qin State, and from then on, the Qin State did not dare to peep into the countries outside the Hangu Pass for fifteen years.
At this time, Su Qin's junior brother, Zhang Yi, who is also a top student of Guigu School, --- Zhang Yi, after he heard about the deeds of his senior brother, he also set up an ambition to make a difference, but the Six Kingdoms have been taken by Su Qin, and he can only enter Qin to the west. Zhang Yi told the King of Qin about his long-distance and close-range attacks, and pulled a one-to-one strategy to break the alliance of the six countries. So the king of Qin asked Zhang Yi to send an envoy to the six countries to persuade the six countries to abandon the alliance.
After Zhang Yi arrived in the Six Nations, he skillfully used the new and old hatreds between the Six Nations to sow discord. And promised that if he formed an alliance with Qin, Qin would be able to send troops to help him attack other countries, so that he could not only expand his territory, but also avenge them. also returned part of the territory occupied by the Qin State, and also used a large amount of gold and silver treasures to envelop the ministers of the Six Kingdoms and let them speak for the Qin State. It was a virtual reality, the six countries were separated from each other, and Su Qin was assassinated in Qi at this time. Zhang Yi's plan was basically realized.
Just when Zhang Yi was proud, Sun Yan, the original Xiangguo Gongguo of Qin, was dissatisfied with the reuse of Zhang Yi by the King of Qin, so he resigned angrily, and then went to Wei to become Xiangguo. After arriving in Wei, seeing that the power of Qin was getting bigger and bigger, he re-proposed the strategy of joining forces, and successfully united Chu, Qi, Zhao, Korea, and Yan to fight against Qin again. This time, the alliance of the six countries was headed by King Huai of Chu, and Gongsun Yan's strategy of cooperation and longitudinal began to take shape, which made the Qin State very unhappy, so he sent troops to attack the Six Kingdoms, and when the two sides were in a big war, the Qi State betrayed the alliance out of its own interests, and attacked the Zhao State behind the back, so that the only opportunity to defeat the Qin State was missed.
During the Warring States period, the combination of vertical and horizontal continued throughout, which was also the best policy for small countries to survive. Chinese history Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period