In 316 BC, Qin sent an expeditionary force of 300,000 troops in the direction of Sichuan.
The long-term war in Sichuan gave the Qin high-level the idea of intervening, but there was no suitable reason. However, Tho took the initiative to ask Qin for help in quelling the war, providing Qin with an excuse to intervene and an internal response in the Sichuan region.
The high-level leaders of the Qin State were greatly pleased with this, and immediately sent 300,000 troops to officially intervene in the war in Bashu under the banner of helping the Sichuan region to pacify the war.
Therefore, the Qin state soon gathered elites from all over the country and set out for Sichuan. For this war, the high-level of the Qin State attached great importance to it. In addition to the large number of soldiers and sufficient supplies, the two generals who led the troops were Zhang Yi and Sima Cuo, the famous general at that time.
Such a lineup can be called the strength of the country. Except for King Qin himself, I am afraid that there is no stronger lineup. And this luxurious lineup did not disappoint the top of the Qin State, and in less than a year, the Qin State pacified several small states in the Sichuan region, and the entire Sichuan was almost controlled by the Qin State.
Since then, the land of Bashu has become the backyard of the Qin State, which not only provides strategic depth for the Qin State, but also provides a large amount of grain, grass and soldiers.
It is bold to say that the decisive factor in Qin's sweep of the six countries for a month was the occupation of this cornucopia of the Sichuan Basin, which provided more abundant war materials and could easily exhaust the enemy's strength in the war.
If Qin fails to capture Sichuan, it is uncertain whether it will be able to dominate the world. From the perspective of the background of ancient Chinese history, Qin's seizure of the land of Bashu not only made a great contribution to the unification of the world by Qin, but more importantly, since then, the ancient Shu culture has completely disappeared in the Sichuan Basin, replaced by the rule of the Central Plains civilization, and the Sichuan region has also become one of the core ruling areas of the Central Plains Dynasty.
Regardless of the number of dynastic changes that China has experienced, the Sichuan region has always been under the control of the Central Plains Dynasty, and it has always been a vital region. So, what was the history of the Bashu region before the Qin State conquered the Bashu region?
Why didn't the Central Plains civilization really completely conquer the Bashu region until the Qin army sent troops this time? Before that, what was the state of the Bashu region? When it comes to the ancient civilization of the Bashu region, the first thing that many people think of may be the famous Sanxingdui.
Because this ancient site is very famous, and many strangely shaped artifacts have been found inside. These artifacts are very different from the ancient artifacts we usually recognize.
There is an opinion that Sanxingdui may be a relic left by aliens, rather than the site of an ancient civilization. Although the jury has not yet been made whether Sanxingdui is related to aliens, the artifacts unearthed are enough to prove that in the distant pre-Qin period, the culture of the Bashu region was different from that of the Central Plains.
From an archaeological point of view, this difference is due to the unique geography of the Sichuan region, rather than the influence of extraterrestrials. In fact, the history of ancient Shu culture can be traced back to 4,500 years ago, which is equivalent to the era of the Yan and Huang Emperors in Chinese history.
In the era when the two emperors of Yan and Huang lived, the ancient Shu civilization had been born in Sichuan. Although the human beings in Sichuan were still in the initial stage of civilization at that time, they had already entered the threshold of civilization.
After entering the era of civilization, the ancient Shu civilization showed a unique state. On the one hand, the geographical location of the Sichuan Basin is relatively closed, surrounded by lofty mountains and mountains, and it is very difficult for external civilizations to invade on a large scale, which leads to great differences between the ancient Shu civilization and several other civilizations.
However, on the other hand, there are several passages between the Sichuan Basin and the outside world, which allows a few people to pass through. Therefore, there are still exchanges between the ancient Shu culture and other cultures.
This is different from the later situation when civilizations on one continent were completely isolated from the rest of the world and were unable to communicate with other civilizations.
The ancient Shu civilization was significantly different from other civilizations such as the Yangtze River, the Yellow River civilization, and the South Asian civilization. However, judging by the artifacts found in archaeology, there has always been communication between them.
For example, brazing has been found on some of the bronzes in Sanxingdui, and this manufacturing process is likely to have originated in South Asia. Although there are differences, the connection between them has always existed, which may have been the original characteristic of the ancient Shu culture.
With the development of civilization, the concept of states and dynasties began to appear in the Central Plains. When these concepts were present in the Central Plains civilization, the Sichuan Basin was influenced by the Central Plains culture, and some primitive tribes also began to transform from tribes to states.
The Kingdom of Shu, a historical ancient kingdom located in the Chengdu region of Sichuan, can be traced back to the marriage between the Yellow Emperor and the primitive tribes of Shu during his lifetime. The Yellow Emperor's son, Changyi, married the daughter of the patriarch of the primitive tribe, and their children were later canonized as the orthodox princes of the Central Plains civilization, inherited the control of the primitive tribe, and accepted the canonization of the Yellow Emperor.
This is the origin of the land of Bashu, and it is also the reason why later generations called this place the land of Bashu.
Although later historians have disputed the authenticity of this account, it is undeniable that at a very early age, the rulers of Shu began to interact with the Central Plains civilization and intermarried with each other.
It is worth mentioning that at this time, the ancient Shu Kingdom began to carry out various sacrificial activities more than 40 kilometers away from present-day Chengdu. Of course, there are also people who believe that this place is the capital of the ancient Shu Kingdom.
Over time, this place formed a ruin, which is the Sanxingdui site we see today. And after that, still during the Xia Dynasty, there was a heavyweight in the ancient Shu Kingdom, and he was the silkworm cong.
Although the name Silkworm Cong is not commonly found in our history textbooks, almost everyone who has attended high school should have heard of it. This is because Li Bai mentioned at the beginning of his poem "The Difficulty of Shu Dao" that "silkworms and fishes, how blank is the founding of the country".
The protagonist in this story is the founder of the ancient Shu Kingdom, Silkworm Cong. Because Li Bai's poem "Shu Dao Difficulty" is required to be recited in textbooks, everyone is no stranger to the name Silkworm Cong.
However, in reality, there is not much research on this figure in the historiographical community. All we know is that from some scarce historical records and legends, silkworm bushes are very good at raising silkworms.
During his reign, he led the entire tribe from Minshan to Chengdu and began to transform into an agrarian civilization. Therefore, he is regarded as the founder of the Shu Kingdom or the ancient Shu civilization.
Interestingly, however, in some legends and related historical sources, silkworm congs are said to have lived for hundreds of years. From the beginning of the Xia Dynasty to the fall of the Xia Dynasty, he was present in almost every period.
Moreover, according to historical records, after the death of Silkworm Cong, the Bai Guan clan took over, and after the death of the Bai Guan clan, the Yu Guan clan took over. Silkworm Cong, Bai Guan, and Yu Yu were the first three monarchs in the history of the ancient Shu Kingdom.
The three monarchs ruled for a long time, the silkworm cong was in power at the beginning of summer, and the fish merchant was late to the world, which lasted for hundreds of years. Some scholars believe that silkworm bushes, cypress shrubs, and fish wrestlers are not personal names, but titles.
The truth is yet to be discovered by archaeologists. But what is certain is that the ancient Shu ancestors completed the transformation of agricultural civilization as early as the Xia and Shang periods and settled in the Chengdu area.
According to historical records, the silkworm cong of the first monarch of Shu looked peculiar, and the eyes were a bit like crabs, protruding forward, which was also reflected in the bronze mask cultural relics of Sanxingdui, and some historians believe that this was to commemorate the silkworm cong.
The ancient Shu civilization excelled in metallurgy and forging, as evidenced by the cultural relics of Sanxingdui. However, although the ancient Shu civilization is very splendid, it does not seem to have formed a systematic writing, at least from the current archaeological findings, those special graphics cannot be counted as systematic writing.
Due to the lack of systematic written records, we know very little about the ancient Shu civilization before the Western Zhou Dynasty. To delve into this history, we must unearth Sanxingdui. However, by the end of the Shang Dynasty, the situation had changed.
Because in the Central Plains at that time, the writing system and historical recording methods were already very mature. In addition, the ancient Shu civilization and the Central Plains civilization had frequent exchanges, so since then, the history of the Central Plains civilization has included many histories about Shu.
Since then, we can learn about the ancient Shu civilization by studying the historical records of the Central Plains.
In the last years of the Shang Dynasty, the state of Shu was ruled by the monarch Du Yu, who called himself "Emperor Wang". Legend has it that after Du Yu died, he turned into a cuckoo bird. This allusion is widely spread, and the Tang Dynasty poet Li Shangyin once wrote in the poem "Emperor Wang's spring heart trusts the cuckoo", which makes it more deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
During Du Yu's reign, he led the Shu Kingdom to the Zhou royal family and became an important ally of King Wu of Zhou. The Shu ** team was brave and good at fighting, and became the main force of King Wu of Zhou's army.
In the war in which the Zhou dynasty replaced the Shang dynasty, Shu made the right choice.
With the establishment of the Zhou Dynasty, the Shu Kingdom received more benefits. During Du Yu's reign, he actively expanded the territory of Shu. Through his efforts, the territory of Shu expanded eastward to the Jialing River, west to Lushan and Tianquan, north to Hanzhong, and south to Qingshen County.
In the later part of Du Yu's reign, he also appointed Ao Ling as prime minister and helped him solve the floods in Shu. After the treatment of Ao Ling, the floods in Shu have been effectively alleviated, a large area of cultivated land has been developed, and the living space of the people of Shu has been significantly improved.
The contribution of Du Yu's era cannot be underestimated, laying the foundation of Shu. However, during his reign, something puzzling happened in Shu: the Sanxingdui civilization suddenly disappeared and became a ruin.
It is an archaeological mystery that remains unanswered to this day. Although the inheritance of Shu has always existed, why did Sanxingdui suddenly interrupt three thousand years ago?
In this regard, various speculations have been put forward in the field of historiography. One view is that there was a large-scale **, which led to serious flooding in the Chengdu area, which made Shu abandon the area where Sanxingdui was located.
This point of view coincides with Du Yu's appointment of Ao Ling to control the water.
Some people say that perhaps Shu is on the side of the Zhou royal family is the reason. In order to cope with the continued blows of the Shang Dynasty, the Shu Kingdom was forced to relocate and abandon the area where Sanxingdui was located.
At present, there is no universally accepted answer to this question. What is the truth, we can only wait for archaeologists to find the answer by further excavating Sanxingdui.
Regarding the situation in Shu, we can talk about it later. Next, let's focus on Pakistan. The state of Ba also appeared during the Xia Dynasty, but there is relatively little historical information about its early years.
For a long time, due to the continuous migration, there was a lack of systematic writing and related historical records, and there were relatively few relics and cultural relics left behind. The Shu Kingdom left more cultural relics, mainly because the ruling core of the Ba Kingdom is located in the Three Gorges region, and there were perennial floods in ancient times, and many relics and cultural relics may be washed away.
Compared with Shu, we know very little about Pakistan. The state of Ba had already appeared during the Xia Dynasty and had become a vassal state of the Xia Dynasty early on. The early chieftains of the Pakistani kingdom were called Lijun, and they worshipped snakes, and the shamanic culture flourished.
In addition, some classics record that the original ancestor of Ba may have been the great sorcerer of the Yan and Huang Emperors, but this claim is still controversial and not very credible. Apart from this limited information, what we know about Pakistan is almost blank.
Although some relics of Pakistan have been discovered in recent years, due to time faults, we cannot yet determine the genealogy and history of Pakistan before the founding of the Western Zhou Dynasty.
In the last years of the Shang Dynasty, the records of the state of Pakistan gradually increased. The reason is similar to that of Shu, because the exchanges between Ba and the Central Plains have increased, and when the Central Plains records history, it will also record the information of Ba State.
According to historical records, when King Wu was defeated, Ba firmly stood on the side of the Zhou royal family and helped King Wu of Zhou destroy Shang. However, unlike Shu, after the Shang Dynasty was destroyed, Shu was still in power by Du Yu and expanded widely, while Ba was directly sent by the Zhou royal family to rule by a clan surnamed Ji.
Pakistan fought bloodily for the Zhou royal family, but after the war, it was annexed and ruled, which was really unfair. However, from the perspective of political culture, this successful annexation allowed the Central Plains culture to spread widely to Pakistan, laying the groundwork for the assimilation of the Central Plains culture and the Bashu culture in the future.
In short, King Wu's war allowed the Central Plains culture to flow into Sichuan, and also made the two countries of Bashu the rulers of Sichuan. However, this led to an inevitable war between the two countries.
In the vast Sichuan Basin, the kingdoms of Ba and Shu rose at the same time, and the long process of war began. Despite the constant wars and the formation of a feud between the two countries, neither side was able to completely defeat the other for the next few hundred years.
This is because geography plays a key role. The core area of Shu was in the area of present-day Chengdu, while the core area of Ba was in the area of present-day Chongqing. Both regions can accommodate large populations and have the foundation for statehood.
However, due to the distance between the two core areas and the inconvenient transportation conditions at the time, it was extremely difficult for both sides to capture each other's nests.
Although it can barely defeat the other side, after reunification, due to the existence of two cores, there is still a risk of becoming two countries. With the productivity and transportation capacity before the Warring States period, it is true that it is impossible for a single regime to rule these two cores at the same time for a long time.
The concept that has only recently been proposed is to build Sichuan and Chongqing into a core and form a mega urban agglomeration. It was only when the Chinese had the ability to fly around the moon that we dared to come up with such a plan.
Therefore, one can imagine how independent Sichuan and Chongqing were during the Western Zhou Dynasty. Despite their independence, they are not far away. Therefore, since the beginning of the Western Zhou Dynasty, the two countries of Bashu began to fight for a long time, and gradually became a feud.
In this way, the history of the two countries, which originally did not have much intersection, has evolved into a common historical thread.
From the Western Zhou Dynasty to the middle of the Warring States Period, Shu went through thirteen monarchs, the first of which was Du Yu, and then Du Yu gave way to Prime Minister Ao Ling, also known as Du Ling, because it was called "Enlightened Emperor", so Du Ling and subsequent Shu monarchs were called Enlightened II, III and XII.
In contrast, there are few records about Pakistan, and there are gaps in archaeological remains, and its lineage is still unclear. After the melee of the Western Zhou Dynasty, Bashu was infiltrated by the Central Plains culture and gradually assimilated.
After the fall of the Western Zhou Dynasty, Bashu ushered in a new change, that is, the rise of the Chu State.
Hubei was originally the birthplace of the Chu state, and with the decline of the Zhou royal family, the Chu state expanded rapidly in the south, and by the middle of the Spring and Autumn period, it had spanned Hunan, Hubei, Henan and other provinces, becoming a huge force in southern China.
After the expansion, the state of Chu bordered the state of Ba, and although the state of Ba resisted hard, due to the strength of the state of Chu, the results were limited, and it could only resist the attack of the state of Chu by virtue of its geographical advantage. Although it was relatively easy for Chu to attack Pakistan to the east, it was extremely difficult to penetrate deep into the Sichuan basin along the Yangtze River.
In the ancient Spring and Autumn Period, if you want to enter Sichuan from the Chu State, you must go up the Yangtze River, and you need to cross the treacherous Three Gorges on the way. Chu's shipbuilding technology was not enough to conquer the Three Gorges, which allowed Pakistan to rely on its geographical advantage to block Chu's attack.
However, Pakistan's territory in the east eventually fell under the control of Chu. Faced with this situation, the state of Chu chose to win over the state of Shu and jointly fight against the state of Pakistan. Shu naturally realized the threat of Chu, so throughout the Spring and Autumn Period, a peculiar situation was formed between Ba and Shu: they were sometimes at war, sometimes married, and entangled with each other, which seemed particularly twisted.
The cultural integration of the two countries is accelerating, but some people will ask: If Chu can attack Bashu, why didn't Qin in the Guanzhong region attack the Bashu region? If the Qin State had been able to occupy the Sichuan Basin during the Spring and Autumn Period, wouldn't it have been able to unify the world many years earlier?
In fact, this is not because the monarch of Qin did not expect it, but because the conditions at that time did not allow it. Because in the Spring and Autumn Period, the road leading from the Guanzhong area to the Sichuan region could not support the passage of a large-scale army, and the only easier way to go was the Hanzhong region, which was the place where Cao Cao and Liu Bei fought desperately during the Three Kingdoms period.
Although the Qin State also attached great importance to this territory, the Shu State was equally important to it. From the late Spring and Autumn period to the early Warring States period, the two sides fought for this territory for a long time.
Eventually, because of the decline of the Qin state, it was unable to continue to confront the Shu state, and the Shu state finally took control of the Hanzhong region.
If it wants to invade Sichuan on a large scale, the Qin State can be described as difficult. During the Spring and Autumn period, the situation in the Sichuan Basin was like this, and although the Qin and Chu states had a great influence in the spheres of influence of the Ba and Shu states, neither could penetrate deep into the Sichuan Basin.
Between the two countries, war and peace talks alternated, and the key depended on external pressure. At the beginning of the Warring States period, a new change appeared on the stage of the Sichuan Basin.
The kingdom of Shu passed into the hands of Dushang IX, who was a Ming monarch, and during his reign, he led the state of Shu to continue to develop, so that the national strength was raised again. After Shu became strong, Duchamp realized the danger in the north, so he led the elimination of two small states in the north of the Sichuan Basin, completely blocking the passage of the outside world into Shu.
At a critical moment in Shu's strategy, Dushang took the action of sealing the northern gate, but he did not personally manage the place, but let his younger brother take over and establish the state of Tho as a vassal state.
On the stage of the Sichuan Basin, another influential new country came into being. At the beginning, the Tho State followed in the footsteps of Shu and confronted Pakistan. However, as time went on, the blood ties between the two sides became more and more distant, and this began to change.
In order to get rid of the control of Shu, later the Tho State fell to the Ba State and turned to fight against the Shu State together with the Ba State.
In the middle of the Warring States period, the Sichuan Basin presented a three-legged situation, in which Shu was the strongest, followed by Ba, and Tho was the weakest. Originally, the national strength of Pakistan was comparable to that of Shu, but with the progress of iron-smelting technology, the shipbuilding capacity of Chu State improved, and the attack on Pakistan became stronger and stronger, resulting in Pakistan being often defeated in the east, with heavy losses and national strength.
In 319 B.C., the three kingdoms of Bashu and Tho broke out again, and the Ba and Tho countries jointly attacked Shu, and both countries sought foreign aid, especially to Qin, hoping that Qin could send reinforcements into Shu to help them win.
In the face of the request of the two countries, King Qin Huiwen did not immediately send troops. It's not that he doesn't want to conquer Sichuan, but he is facing a major challenge. Qin's eastward advance caused dissatisfaction among the Kwantung states, and at the same time as the Battle of Bashu, the five great powers of Han, Zhao, Wei, Chu, and Yan joined forces to attack Qin, and even Yiqu, which had been conquered by Qin's military force, rebelled again, posing a threat to Qin's rear.
Since the Shang Dynasty changed the law, this war may be the greatest danger facing the Qin State, and if you are not careful, you will be in danger of destroying the country. Therefore, of course, King Qin Huiwen would not easily transfer troops to deal with the affairs of Bashu.
While the state of Chu was busy annexing the state of Yue, they could not meddle in the affairs of Bashu, so the struggle between the three kingdoms of Bashu and Tho could only be resolved by themselves. Due to the lack of relevant historical data, we have limited knowledge of the specifics of this war.
However, two years later, Shu successfully repelled the attack of Ba with its strong national strength and began to take action against Tho. At this time, the country of Pakistan was ruled by the enlightened 12th Dulu.
The king of Shu realized that in order to ensure the security of the country, it was necessary to control the Hanzhong region and completely block the road from the Qin state to Shu. Therefore, after repelling the Ba State, the King of Shu mobilized the elite forces of the whole country and went to attack the Tho State, hoping to eliminate them at one time in order to control the passage into Shu.
Faced with such a situation, the state of Tho became anxious and began to seek assistance from the state of Qin. At this time, the Qin State had successfully defeated the Five Nations Alliance and put down the rebellion of Yiqu, and its strength was greatly enhanced.
This is undoubtedly an excellent opportunity for King Qin Huiwen. Originally, the biggest problem for Qin to enter Sichuan was the rugged and difficult road, but now Tho's plea for help means that the Qin army has internal support and can directly enter Sichuan through the territory of Tho without worrying about any obstruction.
This was a rare opportunity for the Qin army, and King Qin Huiwen did not hesitate to mobilize the elite forces of the whole country and was ready to go all out.
In ancient historical legends, in order to conquer Shu, King Qin Huiwen used an ingenious trick to give the king of Shu a magical golden bull, and claimed that the feces discharged by the golden bull after eating grass were also **.
In order to obtain this wealth, the king of Shu ordered the five most powerful warriors of Shu to build a plank road. However, after the completion of the plank road, the Qin army took the opportunity to pass through the plank road and wiped out the Shu Kingdom.
The story is, of course, just a legend. In fact, the king of Shu did dig a plank road on a large scale, but not for the golden bull, but to attack the country of Tho.
However, the excavation of this plank road unexpectedly helped the Qin State. With the assistance of the Tho State, the Qin State smoothly entered the Sichuan region through this Shiniu Road.
In the face of the 300,000 Qin troops entering the Sichuan region, the vassal states of Shu, Tho, and Ba were all stunned. Before that, there had never been such a large army in the Sichuan region.
The vassal states of the entire Sichuan, even if all the armies were combined, could not compete with the 300,000 Qin army. Therefore, after entering Sichuan, the Qin army quickly destroyed the Shu state, and then the Tho and Ba kingdoms.
The entire military operation took less than a year. For the two countries of Bashu, the only way to defend against the powerful Qin State was to take advantage of the natural hazards in the Sichuan region. However, when the Qin army entered Sichuan through the state of Tho, the fate of the two countries was already sealed.
In 316 BC, the Qin state conquered all the vassal states in Sichuan, established Ba County and Shu County, and then carried out large-scale migration, quickly achieving integration into the Bashu region.
After decades of hard work, the Qin state established a large strategic rear. Subsequently, the Qin State moved south and attacked the hinterland of the Chu State. Under the command of Bai Qi, the Qin army was overwhelmed, captured the capital of Chu, and occupied a large amount of Chu territory, which is the Battle of Yanying in history.
After the end of the Battle of Yanying, the Sichuan region became the backyard of the Qin state, and the Chu state could no longer interfere. After that, the Qin State began to develop the Sichuan region on a large scale, and sent Li Bing and his son to build Dujiangyan to solve the flood.
After the completion of Dujiangyan, Shu became a real "land of abundance", with a large increase in grain production and an increase in population. From then on, the Qin State had sufficient war resources, swept the six countries, and dominated the world.
Therefore, later generations believe that the moment when the Qin State really began to sweep the world was the moment when it occupied Sichuan. After that, no matter how many times the Qin State was defeated, there was a chance to make a comeback, while other countries could only be consumed by the Qin State and eventually wiped out.
When the Qin State successfully occupied the land of Bashu, the ancient Shu civilization was completely integrated into the torrent of the Central Plains civilization. In some ways, this may be more far-reaching than the legend of the Qin state itself.