Competitive king commercial Qiangan back about alliance
Wei Gongzi was a close friend of Wei Yang, and in the past, when Wei Yang was down on his luck, Wei Gongzi provided him with great help and support. Without Wei Gongzi's assistance, Wei Yang would have long since starved to death on the streets of Wei.
Wei Gongzi led the vanguard of 200,000 Wei troops from Anyi and Luoyang, and encountered Wei Yang's forward troops at Huayin. Wei Yang thought that his well-trained army was invincible, so he sounded the drums and charged into battle with 50,000 Qin soldiers. However, a great general emerged from the Wei camp, riding a horse and wielding a sword, and charged straight at the Qin army.
This general was none other than Wei Jia, a famous general of Wei who was over 40 years old and had a long white beard. He wielded his sword with great skill, cutting down several Qin generals and charging into the enemy lines as if they were empty. The Wei soldiers saw this and their morale soared, and they fought back against the Qin army.
Wei Jia saw Wei Yang and pointed his sword at him, shouting: "You shameless Wei Yang! You sold out your lord and sought glory for yourself, without any loyalty or filial piety. I will take your life!" He then charged at Wei Yang on horseback, but Wei Yang was frightened and turned to flee.
The Qin generals rushed over to protect their commander, but Wei Jia shouted: "Anyone who blocks my way will die!" His sword swept across the battlefield, cutting down several Qin generals. Wei Yang took advantage of the chaos to escape into his army's formation.
Just then, drums sounded from the east and west, signaling the arrival of reinforcements from both sides. Wei Yang retreated 30 li after being defeated.
The next day, both armies formed up in battle array. Wei Yang rode forward and bowed, saying: "Wei Gongzi, I have come to pay my respects." Wei Gongzi replied: "You and I are like brothers, how can I treat you?"
Wei Yang said: "I am grateful for your kindness, but why did you betray me and attack Wei?" Wei Gongzi asked. Wei Yang explained that he had been forced to do so by the Qin king, and showed him a letter that read: "The Qin king is cruel and has threatened my family, forcing me to lead an army against Wei. I am deeply grateful for your kindness in the past, but I have no choice but to follow orders."
Wei Gongzi was moved by the letter and decided to trust Wei Yang. However, his general Wei Jia warned him that Wei Yang was not trustworthy, as he had sold out his lord and sought glory for himself.
Despite this, Wei Gongzi decided to believe Wei Yang and agreed to meet with him secretly at midnight to discuss a plan to defeat the Qin army together. However, this turned out to be a trap set by Wei Yang, and the Wei army was defeated and Wei Gongzi was captured.
Wei Yang then used Wei Gongzi as leverage to demand that the king of Wei cede territory to Qin. The king of Wei reluctantly agreed, and Qin gained control of the land west of the Yellow River.
As for Wei Yang, he eventually met a bad end, being torn apart by five horses and struck by lightning. This was said to be a punishment for his treachery.
From then on, the king of Qin looked at Wei Yang in a different light, and their relationship underwent a fundamental change.
In the 28th year of King Xuan of Chu, that is, in 342 BC, there were still more than a dozen small countries between Huai North and Si North. King Xuan of Chu led 300,000 Chu troops to advance eastward to Huai North, while King Wei of Qi led 200,000 Qi troops southward to Si North, and the king of Yue, also named Hou, led 200,000 Yue troops out of Guangling (Yangzhou) and marched northward to Huai North. Even Song Junyan led an army of 100,000 eastward to Xuzhou. The four armies clashed in a fierce battle for control of the thousand-li fertile land of Huai North and Si North. King Xuan of Chu assessed the situation and first fought against the 200,000 Yue troops led by King Hou of Yue in Huai North, defeating them greatly in Huainan and Yancheng, Jiangsu Province, and forcing King Hou to retreat back to Guangling with his defeated army. King Xuan of Chu then marched northward, defeating the Song army and Qi army in Xuzhou, capturing Xuzhou, and forcing Song Junyan to flee back to Shangqiu with his remaining troops. The Chu army then clashed with the Qi army in Zaozhuang and Linyi, with both sides holding out for several months and having victories and defeats. In the end, the Chu army concentrated its superior forces and defeated the Qi army greatly in Zaozhuang, and then again defeated the Qi army in Linyi, forcing them to retreat eastward and capturing the coastal areas of Rizhao, Shandong Province, and Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province. The battle for control of Huai North and Si North ended with a complete victory for the Chu army, and except for several small countries in Shandong Province, more than a dozen small countries in Huai North and Si North were incorporated into the territory of Chu.
When King Xuan of Chu was at war with the three states of Qi, Yue and Song in Huai Bei, Qin Xiaozi ignored the alliance between Chu and Qin through marriage and led 200,000 Qin soldiers to take advantage of the main force of the Chu army marching east. At Languan, the troops were divided into two routes: one went east out of Luoshui, and the other went east out of Shangluo Ancient Road. The two armies merged in Shangzhou, drove away hundreds of Chu soldiers stationed in Danjiang area southwest of Shangzhou, and then marched east to capture Danying and Shaoshi Pass (Wuguan) guarded by thousands of Chu soldiers. A large army was sent to garrison Shangluo, Danying and Shaoshi Pass. The entire Shangluo Ancient Road from Danjiang in the north to Shaoshi in the west was incorporated into Qin's territory.
King Xuan of Chu heard the news and ordered 100,000 Chu soldiers to be stationed in Huai Bei, Xuzhou and Pixian, while leading 200,000 Chu soldiers back to Jingzhou. King Xuan of Chu sent an envoy to ask King Xiao of Qin: "The two states of Chu and Qin have been allies through marriage for generations, with a close relationship like brothers. In the past, I sent troops to help Qin defeat the three Jin states and gave your father Duke Xian 700 miles of land from Luoshui to Lingbao. It was agreed that Shangzhou and the ancient road of Shangzhou would be jointly owned and managed by the two states of Chu and Qin. Now you take advantage of my eastward march, lead troops to attack Shangluo, drive away my garrison in Shangzhou, Danying and Shaoshi Pass, what is the reason? Are you trying to tear up the alliance between Chu and Qin through marriage and deliberately make enemies with Chu?"
Here is the translation:
Duke Xiao of Qin heard this and shed tears, saying: "All these were done by Shang Yang behind my back. I can only blame myself for giving him command of 200,000 troops in the first place. Now it's too late to regret." The envoy from Chu returned to the capital of Jingzhou and reported to King Xuan of Chu. As soon as the envoy left, Duke Xiao of Qin sent a messenger to Shang Yang with an urgent message: "You have great merit for Qin, and I originally wanted to share the rule of Qin with you. But now that King Xuan of Chu has sent an envoy to question me, he will surely send troops to punish us. What can we do? I hereby grant you the territory of Shangzhou, Luonan, and Danfeng, a total of 700 li, and appoint you as a marquis. You may establish your own state and need not return to Xianyang." Shang Yang did not know what was going on, but he accepted the title of Marquis of Shang and established his own state. He then ordered his soldiers to build a large city from Shangluo to Shangnan (in present-day Danfeng County), blocking the ancient road from Shangzhou to Shangnan, and reinforcing the Xihua Pass. He stationed 100,000 troops in Shangyue and Xihua, and another 100,000 in Shangzhou and Luonan, and began to recruit more soldiers and prepare for war. King Xuan of Chu was enraged and wanted to send troops to punish Shang Yang, but just then a messenger arrived from the front lines, reporting that King Wei of Qi was gathering his army and marching south towards Suiyang, while King Huiwen of Wei was also marching south towards Zhoukou. King Xuan of Chu put aside his plan to attack Shang Yang for the time being and ordered General Qu Wu (the father of Qu Yuan) to lead 100,000 troops to guard Shangnan and Zhechuan, then moved another 100,000 troops to Zhoukou and Fuyang, and yet another 100,000 to Xuzhou and Huaiyin. The armies of Qi and Wei heard this news and dared not march south. The next year, King Xuan of Chu fell ill and died at the end of the year, after reigning for thirty years. Before his death, he still remembered the ancestral lands of Shangzhou in Chu.
Before the death of King Xuan of Chu, the territory of Chu State extended east to Linyi, Xuzhou, Huaibei and Yancheng in Shandong Province, bordering with Yue State at Guangling; north to Zhoukou, Fangxian and Ye County in Henan Province; west to Xunyang, Shangyang and Ba and Qian in Sichuan Province. The territory was over 4,000 li wide, with a population of more than 20 million people.
King Xuan of Chu reigned for thirty years, expanding the territory by nearly one thousand li north of Huai River and Si River, but losing the territories of Yuzhou, Gucheng, Danfeng, Shaoxiguan and the ancient path of Shangzhou, totaling several hundred li. One year after King Xuan's death, Duke Xiao of Qin died due to illness, and his son, Duke Huiwen, succeeded him as Duke Huiwen of Qin, who declared himself king thirteen years later.
Before his death, Duke Xiao of Qin expanded the territory of Qin State by over 2,000 li, with a population of five million people. The territory extended east to Huayin and Luonan in Guandong, north to Lingbao, and south to Shangluo and Danfeng in Shaannan, totaling one thousand li. However, the territories of Shangzhou, Luonan and Danfeng, with a circumference of 700 li, became the private fiefdom of Qin's minister, Shang Yang.
