As we all know, in 221 BC, Qin Shi Huang swept through Liuhe to establish the Qin Dynasty, six kings Bi, four seas and one. It was declared that the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period had come to an end, and the mighty feudal era in China's history had begun.
Although Qin Shi Huang was a tyrant, his achievement in unifying China was still considerable. Li Bai once wrote a poem praising Yingzheng: "The king of Qin swept Liuhe, and the tiger looked at He Xiongya!" Between the words, there is no admiration and admiration for Qin Shi Huang.
However, during the Warring States period, Qin Shi Huang was not the only monarch who had the strength to unify the six kingdoms, and there was such a prince, who could be said to be equal to Qin Shi Huang and on a par with Qin Shi Huang. It can even be said that there is more hope for the reunification of China than Ying zheng, who is he? Why did it fail in the end?
This man was the Emperor of the State of Wei, King Hui of Wei, who ascended to the throne in 369 BC and was the 3rd Emperor of the State of Wei. His grandfather Wei Wenhou was one of the three protagonists of the three families after the fall of the Jin Dynasty. When his grandfather was alive, he not only divided up a large number of territories in the Jin state, but also received the recognition of Zhou Tianzi, and the Manchu Dynasty Wenwu basically included the famous generals of the Spring and Autumn Period. Le Yang, Wu Qi, Li Wu, and Zhai Huang were all working for Wei Wenhou at that time, and the lineup configuration could be said to completely crush the Qin state.
In addition, Wei Wenhou was also an enlightened emperor, and he took the lead in letting Li Wu implement the change of law in the princely states, hundreds of years before the Shang martingale change law of the Qin Dynasty, and it is not an exaggeration to say that the State of Wei was the first region in China's history to enter a feudal dynasty. Internal affairs are refined and vigorously governed, and military affairs have not been left behind. He asked Wu Qi to create a unit called Wei Wupao, well-equipped with weapons, and the soldiers were all highly skilled.
The State of Qin, which Wei Wu had fought, almost destroyed the country, and the other five countries, except for Korea, which was too far away to meet, the other four countries were all defeated generals under this force, which showed the strength of the strength.
Grandpa created an impressive military foundation and impressive political achievements, and later the regime transitioned smoothly to Wei Hui's father, Marquis Wu of Wei. Although Wei Wuhou was not as strategic as Wei Wenhou, he was also able to play normally, plus in leading troops to fight, Wei Wuhou had his own set of experiences, and during his reign, he was able to carry forward the foundation created by Wei Wenhou.
It is equivalent to saying that when the Wei Dynasty fell into the hands of King Hui of Wei, it was a big country with very strong military strength and political power, and the success of the reform of the law, the whole society can be said to be vigorous and prosperous. Even if King Hui of Wei ruled for a lifetime, he would not let future generations leave a voice.
However, King Hui of Wei was indeed a rather ambitious man, and he did not want to be a mediocre emperor, but wanted to open up another prosperous dynasty of the Wei kingdom again like his father and grandfather. Unfortunately, King Hui of Wei did not have the same talent as his father and grandfather, and a series of combo punches came down, which not only failed to make Wei Guo go to a higher level, but fell to the bottom. How exactly did he do it?
Previously, the State of Wei and the State of Qin were considered to be feuds, and the two countries fought very frequently, and through the efforts of Wu Qi and Wei Wuzhao, they successfully curbed the qin state's offensive to the eastern region. The State of Qin was forced to attack the southwest region in order to seek more living space. However, in the 6th year of his reign, King Hui of Wei suddenly moved the capital of the state to Daliang in the east, and King Hui of Wei had intended to strengthen the defense of the eastern princely states.
However, he ignored an important fact, at that time, the only one who could pose a threat to the State of Wei was the State of Qin, and the other princely states did not even dare to fight the State of Wei. This move by King Hui of Wei was equivalent to giving up the geographical and strategic advantage over the Qin state and giving the Qin state a chance to breathe, which led to the rapid expansion of the Qin state later.
In addition, King Hui of Wei also built the Great Wall on the border with the Qin state. This is undoubtedly abandoning the active attack and adopting the act of forced defense. The King of Qin seized on the mentality of the State of Wei, repeatedly attacked the State of Wei and succeeded, and forced the King of Wei Hui to cede the land of Hexi that his father and grandfather had worked hard to fight, and from then on, the State of Wei completely lost its geographical advantage over the State of Qin.
Militarily, it was also quite bloody, he had defeated Gong Shuzuo, who recommended Shang Martingale to King Hui of Wei before his death, and left a sentence "If you don't get Shang Martingale, kill it, you can't cheapen other princely states." But King Hui of Wei was the wind in his ears, and the later story was also known to everyone, the Shang martingale changed the law, and the Qin state became the most prosperous country in the princely states.
In addition, King Hui of Wei reused the courtier Pang Juan, who was also talented, and it can be said that the starting point was good. However, Pang Juan's design to frame his old classmate Sun Zhen was about to succeed, and when Sun Zhen was about to die at the hands of Pang Juan, King Hui of Wei let Sun Bin go without knowing. This is undoubtedly to let the tiger return to the mountains, Sun Zhen fled to Wei and entered Qi, and did not give wei a tripwire. And Wei Wupao's undefeated record was broken by Sun Binglian's several schemes, which greatly dampened Wei Wupao's vigor.
This is just the tip of the iceberg, there are many more "wisdom extinguishing" operations, this series of measures, so that the State of Wei fell from the peak to become a mediocre princely state.
It was also because of the solid family that the State of Wei did not die at the hands of King Hui of Wei. King Hui of Wei "plagued" the State of Wei for 50 years, and after his death, the once-prosperous State of Wei became a third-rate princely state, and it was not long before it was the story of the unification of the Six Kingdoms by the King of Qin.