The Four Great Lords of the Warring States usually refer to King Wuling of Zhao, Marquis Wen of Wei, King Yan Zhao of Yan, and King Zhaoxiang of Qin. During the Warring States Period, these four kings made each country invincible in the annexation war through their own wisdom and courage and policies, and made great contributions to the unification of the Chinese land.
King Yan Zhao, a famous position, was the monarch of the Yan Kingdom during the Warring States Period. He reigned for 28 years, during which the Yan Kingdom reached unprecedented strength and was hailed as the strongest period in the history of the Yan Kingdom.
In military affairs, King Yan Zhao appointed a number of outstanding talents, such as the general Le Yi. With his military talent of both wisdom and bravery, Le Yi led the coalition army to attack the Qi State and won a great victory in the Battle of Sanqiu. Qin Kai, another northern frontier general who was reused by King Yan Zhao, successfully led 30,000 cavalry to the north to attack Donghu and Korea with his bravery, courage and good horsemanship, greatly expanding the territory of Yan.
Thousands of dollars buy horse bones"It is an allusion, derived from the dialogue between Guo Kui and King Yan Zhao in "Warring States Policy: Yan Ce I". This allusion tells that there was a monarch in ancient times who was willing to buy a thousand-mile horse with a thousand gold, but three years have passed, and the thousand-mile horse still has not been bought. One of the king's ordinary subordinates offered to buy a maxima, and the king granted his request.
The subordinate bought the bones of a dead horse for five hundred gold and brought them back to the king. When the king saw this, he was furious and asked him why he had spent so much money on a pair of horse bones instead of a living horse. The subordinate replied, "Even a dead horse is willing to pay five hundred gold to buy it, let alone a living horse?" The people of the world will definitely think that the king is the one who really wants a good horse, so that the Maxima will soon be sent. Sure enough, it didn't take long for the king to get a number of horses.
The implication of the story is that if a country's leaders value talent and show a strong desire for talent, then the best talent will be attracted like the Maxima. This is also a metaphor used by King Yan Zhao to express his desire and importance for talents.
In terms of domestic affairs, King Yan Zhao also implemented a series of reform measures that were beneficial to the people's livelihood and the military, making the country stronger. At the same time, he also recruited talents, such as Ju Xin, a loyal, virtuous and diplomatic prime minister, who supported Zhao with Le Yi and participated in the Battle of Changping.
King Yan Zhao's peak moment was to break through the Qi Kingdom, and the egg hit the stone successfully.
According to historical records, King Yan Zhao's hatred for the Qi State originated from a name"Zen Jean"political turmoil. In 321 B.C., after Yan Wang's accession to the throne, under the influence of Xiangguo Zizhi, he decided to implement the "Zen concession" system and pass the throne to Zizhi. However, this incident sparked a series of political upheavals, which eventually led to the Qi state conquering the Yan state.
In order to take revenge, King Yan Zhao actively prepared for war and formulated a detailed strategic plan with the help of Su Qin. Su Qin took the initiative to find King Yan Zhao and asked to be sent to Qi as an envoy to help Qi attack the Song Dynasty, but in fact, he carried out espionage activities to create conditions for Yan to destroy Qi.
Under Su Qin's planning, the Yan State defeated the Qi State in the Battle of Jixi in 284 BC and almost destroyed the Qi State. As a result of the war, there were only two cities left in the state of Qi, and the king of Qi was forced to flee the capital. However, due to a number of reasons, the Yan State was not able to completely destroy the Qi State, but undoubtedly achieved a decisive victory in this war.
Overall, the merits of King Yan Zhao were reflected in his wise leadership and far-reaching political vision, and he succeeded in elevating the Yan Kingdom from a weak country to one of the Seven Heroes of the Warring States.
Wei Wenhou, surnamed Ji, Wei, was the founding monarch of Wei in the early Warring States period. In 403 BC, he was canonized as a prince by King Weilie of Zhou, marking the official establishment of the Wei state. Under his leadership, Wei began a century-old hegemony.
In terms of external expansion, Wei Wenhou carried out several successful attacks. The most famous of these was the attack on the state of Qin. At that time, Wei Xiang Zhai Huang recommended Wu Qi, a patriot, to Wei Wenhou. Wei Wenhou admired Wu Qi's command skills very much, so he appointed Wu Qi as the chief general of the Wei army to attack Qin. After Wu Qi took office, the stalemate between Wei and Qin in Xihe was quickly broken, and the Wei army won successive victories, capturing five cities in succession.
In addition, for the selection and use of talents, Wei Wenhou also showed his unique vision and wisdom. For example, he had consulted Li Ke to appoint Wu Qi, a controversial figure. Although Wu Qi was greedy and lustful, his way of using troops was not comparable to that of Sima Sui Tho, a famous general of Qi State. Therefore, Wei Wenhou appointed Wu Qi as a general, a move that fully demonstrated his political wisdom of appointing talents.
Wei Wenhou had great respect for talent, and he studied under Bu Zixia and Tian Zifang, both of whom were important figures in Confucianism at the time. In addition, he also appointed a large number of capable people, such as Ximen Leopard, Zixia, etc., which made the rapid rise of Wei's national power, and the territory continued to expand, and then became the overlord of the Central Plains.
Secondly, Wei Wenhou was good at using strategy and tactics and achieved a series of military victories. For example, the battles of Leyang to attack Zhongshan and Wu Qi to defend the West River were the result of Wei Wenhou's wise decision.
Finally, Wei Wenhou also has unique insights and practices on domestic governance. For example, he appointed Ximen Leopard to govern Ye, so that Yecheng was in order and the people lived and worked in peace and contentment.
Another well-known story is about Wei Wenhou's appearance. Once, Wei Wenhou asked Li Kui (Li Ke): "Mr. once said: 'The family is poor and thinks of a good wife, and the country is in turmoil. 'I choose the prime minister now, there are two candidates, Wei Cheng and Zhai Huang, who do you think is more suitable? This story shows that Wei Wenhou knows how to deal with the world.
Overall, Wei Wenhou was a popular and visionary leader, and his resourcefulness and emphasis on talent made Wei a powerhouse of his time.
King Wuling of Zhao, known as Yong, was an outstanding monarch in Chinese history. His exploits are mainly manifested in military, political and cultural aspects.
In military affairs, King Wuling of Zhao had outstanding achievements. He implemented the policy of "Hufu cavalry shooting", reformed the tactics of the Zhao ** team, and greatly improved the combat effectiveness of the Zhao ** team. According to historical records, in the twenty-first year of King Wuling of Zhao (305 years ago), Zhao attacked Zhongshan, led by Zhao Yongqin to the right, left and middle armies, and led by the general Niu Jian chariots and cavalry, and Zhao Xi led the armies of Linhu and Daidi to meet in Quyang, to the north to attack Huayang in Hengshan, and to the south to Shiyi and Fenglong.
Politically, King Zhao Wuling implemented a series of reform measures to strengthen the centralization of power and maintain national stability. His policies not only improved Zhao's political efficiency, but also strengthened Zhao's international status.
Culturally, King Wuling of Zhao also made important contributions. He advocated the idea of "mastering the skills of the master to control the country" and advocated learning from and drawing on the advanced culture and technology of foreign countries. This idea was very forward-looking at the time, and had a profound impact on the development of Zhao and even the entire history of China.
He is commendable for his fact that in the middle of the Warring States period, Qin and Zhao became two great powers. In order to further weaken the Qin state, King Wuling of Zhao went to Xianyang, the capital of the Qin state.
According to the "Historical Records of the Zhao Family", during the reign of King Wuling of Zhao, he decided to let Gongziji rule in the Zhao State, and he himself led a group of soldiers to attack the Hu Land in the northwest direction in the image of Hu people, intending to attack the Qin State from Yunzhong and Jiuyuan Zhinan.
For this reason, he even pretended to be an envoy to infiltrate the Qin state. King Qin Zhao did not see through his disguise, but he was surprised by his appearance, and felt that his bearing was extraordinary, not like an ordinary person. When King Qin Zhao sent people to investigate, King Zhao Wuling had already escaped and successfully escaped from the pass.
This operation not only demonstrated the courage and resourcefulness of King Zhao Wuling, but also demonstrated his deep loyalty to the Zhao State. Although his plan was ultimately unsuccessful, his heroic deeds are still widely celebrated by later generations.
Overall, King Zhao Wuling's historical exploits are reflected in his outstanding military, political, and cultural achievements, as well as his selfless dedication to the country and the nation. His life is full of legends, and he is a historical figure worthy of our in-depth study and inheritance.
However, his death was related to his own son, Gongzi Zhang.
According to the "Historical Records of the Zhao Family", after the abdication of King Wuling of Zhao, he proclaimed himself the master father and handed over the country to his son King Huiwen. However, Gongzi Zhang rebelled and trapped King Wuling of Zhao, causing him to starve to death. During this period, Feiyi was killed, and a group of rebels with Gongzizhang were coming towards the palace of King Zhao.
However, there is some controversy in the academic community about the cause of the death of King Zhao Wuling. There is a view that Gongzizhang may have started a rebellion because he felt threatened that King Zhao Wuling was still in power. Others, however, believe that Gongzizhang's motives for rebellion are not sufficient. In any case, the death of King Wuling of Zhao was undoubtedly a major blow to the Zhao State.
King Zhaoxiang of Qin, known as Ji, was an important monarch in the history of the Qin State. He reigned for 55 years, one year longer than the combined reign of his father and grandparents. Under his leadership, the Qin state gradually moved towards its heyday, during which there were many famous civil and military generals and talents.
King Qin Zhaoxiang was particularly good at handling diplomatic strategy, maneuvering through complex international relations and successfully striking a beautiful combination of punches. Under his control, the states of Korea, Wei, Zhao, and Chu were basically crippled, making the goal of Qin's annexation of the Six Kingdoms imminent.
Specifically, in the forty-first year of King Zhaoxiang of Qin, he followed the advice of Fan Ju, a native of Wei, regained the power of Empress Dowager Xuan, Wei Ran and others, worshipped Fan Ju as prime minister, and changed to the strategy of distant friendship and close attack. After this policy change, the Qin ** team defeated the Zhao army in the Battle of Changping, making an important contribution to the final unification of the Qin state.
Therefore, it can be said that the main merit of King Zhaoxiang of Qin lies in his leadership skills and political wisdom, which made the Qin state gradually stronger and moved towards the end of the unification of the six kingdoms under his leadership. His policies and strategic adjustments had a profound impact on the development of the Qin state, laying the foundation for the later unification of the six kingdoms by Qin Shi Huang.