Why did it take the Qin State 163 years and 6 generations to complete the unification without a fatuous ruler during the Warring States Period?
The answer is simple
Because the Qin kings before Ying Zheng never thought of destroying the six kingdoms and unifying
Unify the world.
The Qin kings before Ying Zheng wanted to dominate and become overlords. Destroy a few
The country has been thought about and worked hard to do. But to destroy all the vassal states,
Unifying the world, these Qin kings never thought about it, and dared not think about it. Only
Only Ying Zheng, the first emperor, had the idea of unifying the world.
Method.
Why do you say that the Qin kings of past dynasties only wanted to dominate and did not want to unify?
This is greatly related to the political rules of contention in the late Warring States period.
If a normal Qin king reveals his desire to destroy the six kingdoms and unify the world,
Ambition, he will face three thorny problems.
If these three problems are not solved, let alone destroying the six kingdoms, your own throne
May not even be able to protect itself.
It may be useful to call these three problems the Warring States Unification Paradox.
Question 1: How to destroy the country to which the mother belongs?
Qin kings of past dynasties ascended the throne not by virtue, nor by seniority, let alone
Not based on age, but based on the empress dowager.
The Qin king relies on the support of his mother and uncle's country to secure the throne.
Stable throne. King Zhaoxiang, King Xiaowen, King Zhuangxiang until King Qin Yingzheng
All are the same. King Xiaowen, King Zhuangxiang, and Ying Zheng were all backed by
Empress Dowager Huayang, Lord Changping, and the state of Chu are supporting.
Taking King Zhuangxiang as an example, he dared to shout the slogan of conquering the world and destroying the six kingdoms
Do you want to destroy the state of Chu?! You, Zi Chu, were helped to power by the state of Chu. Hua
The Yang empress dowager is not dead yet, the Chu army is eyeing from outside, and Lord Changping is inside
Control the court. If King Zhuangxiang dared to shout like this, his fate would probably be the same as
Like his father, King Xiaowen, the King of Qin can only be king for three days.
Due to the horizontal and vertical alliances in the late Warring States period, marriages between feudal lords were close◇
The mother and uncle of any feudal lord should normally be from the six
Royal family of the state. Not only the King of Qin, but any feudal lord is the same.
The idea of destroying the six kingdoms is just a thought; it's absolutely impossible to publicly
Started shouting it out loud.
Some people may say that how can such national events as sending troops to destroy a country
Possibly consider the thoughts of a woman in the harem? But looking at the end of the Warring States period
Years of history books, especially the history of the Qin state, will reveal how important the empress dowager was in the Qin state.
How important is the status in the court.
If the empress dowager with real power can't be appeased, let alone sending troops, it's possible that
Send himself to the funeral.
Ying Zheng's mother, Zhao Ji, should have been a normal Zhao
Royal daughter. If Zhao Ji came from the Zhao royal family, then during Zhao Ji
Before he died, it was impossible for Ying Zheng to destroy Zhao.
But unexpectedly, although Zhao Ji was from the state of Zhao, she was just an ordinary
Consorts. Zhao Ji and Ying Zheng were bullied when they were hostages in Zhao.
Has no sense of belonging to or goodwill towards the state of Zhao. After Ying Zheng destroyed Zhao,
Also made a special trip to Handan to get to know Zhao Ji and the stories of her childhood.
All the people were killed. After the slaughter, Ying Zheng reported back to his mother Zhao Ji,
Saying that all the enemies have been killed, and all traces in historical books have been dealt with
Finished. Only then did Zhao Ji rest in peace.
The issue of destroying his mother's country is not a problem at all for Ying Zheng.
A problem.
Some people may say that since the empress dowager is not easy to deal with, wait for her to die,
Destroy her country after her death.
That's right.
If the king is lucky and lives long, the empress dowager can find a way to outlast them.
Died.
But a monarch with great talent and ambition who wants to destroy the six kingdoms must face the second
A difficult problem.
Question 2 ◇How to destroy the country where the crown prince's mother is located?
According to the rules of the late Warring States period, the monarch had to marry after adulthood.
A legitimate child, guaranteed to have an heir. You are a prince, a crown prince, so
You have to marry a princess with a matching social status. Which princess to marry, or remarry
Which country's princess to marry is an important means of alliance. Although the activity of marriage
However, it is political in nature, but marriage within the same clan is not allowed. This means that the queen
Usually they are from the royal families of the six kingdoms, and the prince's mother is also from one of the six kingdoms.
Taking Ying Zheng as an example, the history books do not record his first queen, but it is very
It must be a princess of Chu. Because Empress Dowager Huayang was still alive when Ying Zheng came of age,
Position, the Chu forces are deeply rooted in the Qin court. It is because of Ying
Zheng married a princess of Chu and gave birth to the eldest son Fusu, before obtaining
The support of the Chu forces, cleared the constraints of Lu Buwei's Guandong faction,
Really seized power.
When Ying Zheng was preparing to destroy Chu, Empress Dowager Huayang was already dead. But Changping
Jun, the Chu queen and Fusu were all there.
Ying Zheng, if you fight Chu, you can get some benefits for the Qin state and expand the territory.
It is possible to occupy some counties and towns. Or if you want to dominate, send someone to interfere with Chu
National politics, and supporting a compliant king of Chu would also be possible. But
Ying Zheng, if you want to destroy Chu and destroy the worship of Chu, that is absolutely impossible.
The queen is still a princess of Chu, and the prince is still a descendant of Chu.
How can we destroy Chu?! Who dares to lead troops to destroy Chu?!
When Wang Jian, the old fox, heard that he was going to destroy Chu, he immediately retired and hid.
Come. If Wang Jian listened to Ying Zheng's flattery and really destroyed the state of Chu,
Finished. A few years after Ying Zheng died, Crown Prince Fusu succeeded to the throne. Wang Jian's
How can the Wang family survive in the Qin state? Fusu will definitely settle the score first.
Ying Zheng didn't believe in evil at the time. He was young and energetic and felt that he didn't need you, Wang Jian, to take care of him.
Like Li Xin, a reckless young man, can do it. As a result, Lord Changping rebelled
Change, suffering double blows on the battlefield and in the court, the Qin army was defeated.
Ying Zheng then realized that the issue of the successor must be resolved, or else
Can destroy Chu and conquer the world.
Ying Zheng then abolished the Chu princess as queen and deprived his eldest son Fusu of his inheritance.
Succession rights.
Ying Zheng personally visited Wang Jian and clearly stated that the throne would be passed on to the Qin state's bloodline.
Unified prince Hu Hai, and then he persuaded Wang Jian to come out of the mountain again.
Ying Zheng did not kill Fusu, but sent him to Changcheng, far away from the state of Chu.
City, nominally supervising the army. There was no prince supervising the army in the Qin state at the end of the Warring States period.
Military precedent, Fusu is actually an exile.
In the rules of the game during the Warring States period, Ying Zheng's approach was very
Strange and unprecedented. Destroying the crown prince's mother's country is equivalent to
Lost the support of the empress dowager and uncle's family. Compared with other mothers, the crown prince has six kingdoms
The prince who is supported has no foundation and cannot secure the throne at all.
Ying Zheng was very decisive.
Before his death in Shaqiu, Ying Zheng clearly designated Hu Hai as his successor and also left
A posthumous edict to kill Fusu. And let Wang Jian's grandson Wang Li take over the Great Wall.
Army, supervise Fusu to commit suicide. At the same time, Ying Zheng left a posthumous edict asking Zhao Gao to
All the princes and princesses with the blood of the Six Kingdoms were killed, leaving only the blood of the Qin State.
Unified prince.
This way, no one can rely on the old forces of the six kingdoms to threaten Hu Hai.
The throne of. The six kingdoms of Guandong also completely cut off the hope of supporting these princes and
The hope that descendants of the princess will become kings and restore the country.
Normal feudal lords in the late Warring States period, including Qin kings of past dynasties, did not have
Ying Zheng's conditions, ability and courage.
So they couldn't solve the second problem at all.
Question 3: After the six kingdoms are destroyed, what about the marriage of the royal family or the princes?
What about the marriage problem?
The mainstream thought in the late Warring States period has always been that Qin destroyed the six kingdoms and pacified the world
Even after you, Ying Zheng, become the emperor, you still have to divide territories like the Duke of Zhou.
Appoint princes as kings in various regions.
However, at this time there are no vassal kings of different surnames in the world, they are all yours, Ying Zheng.
Son.
Marrying within the same clan is forbidden. Who will your sons marry?
Hunnu Xiongnu these barbarian princesses? Or marry commoners?
No matter who you marry, your sons will not have the support of their mother's family.
Support, it is impossible to secure the throne.
The suggestion made by the old prime ministers and doctors, such as Wang Wan, to Qin Shihuang was that
Appoint princes as kings in various states in Guandong, and marry royal daughters of the Six Kingdoms as
Wife, which can both gain the support of the old forces of the Six Kingdoms and solve
The marriage problem of the princes was resolved.
But the drawback of doing this is that after a few generations, each vassal state will
Self-secession, fighting each other, the world will be in chaos again. In the early Han Dynasty, the same was enfeoffed
The surname Wang to Guandong. The Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms during the reign of Emperor Jing is an example.
Qin Shihuang felt it was inappropriate and did not agree to the enfeoffment. The method he finally adopted was
The method is also very extreme.
That is the county system, completely abolish the enfeoffment. The princes eat and drink well
Good, raise them well, but as commoners. The prince also marries commoners, relying on
Centralized power, relying on imperial power rather than relatives to maintain the imperial throne.
This method was quite advanced. Later, during the highly centralized Ming and Qing dynasties
Under the mechanism, the queen can be from the common people, so there is no need
Strong maternal relatives to protect the emperor.
But in the Qin Dynasty, this practice was too extreme and caused problems during the reign of Qin Er Shi.
Problem. The Qin Dynasty's imperial autocracy system was not yet mature, and the emperor could easily be
Bypassed. Resulting in powerful ministers and the royal family colluding to kill the emperor. Without
Relatives help, the emperor has no power to fight back.
Later, in the early Han Dynasty, a method was devised to resolve the issues of princes and consanguinity.
The marriage problem of feudal lords. That is, between the royal family and the common people, again
Added a rank of meritorious marquis. It is good for the royal family to intermarry with meritorious marquis and nobles
Well, the role of maternal relatives should still be retained and played.
The empress dowagers and their relatives' control of the government during the Han Dynasty became a tradition.
In the late Warring States period, the feudal lords could not have imagined such far-reaching things.
Destroying the six kingdoms would face so many thorny problems that it would even shake one's
His own throne, which Qin king would go out of his way to unify the world?
What to do?
Only Ying Zheng, the first emperor.
A chosen one whose background, marriage, character, ability, and destiny are all just right.
Son, only then is he qualified to complete the great cause of unifying the world.
Let me emphasize again.
In the Spring and Autumn Period and the early Warring States Period, together with maternal grandfather, uncle, and in-laws,
Destroy those distant relatives, neighbors, and feudal lords with different surnames.
That's called hegemony.
Finally, destroy your maternal grandfather and uncle's family (question 1), and destroy your in-laws (question 2).
All of them are destroyed (question 2), and the son's marriage and succession become a problem
(Question 3).
This is called destroying the six kingdoms and unifying the world
This is the essence of the problem