SWDnovel Chapter 46 King Zheng of Qin
Chapter 46 King Zheng of Qin
In 247 BC, the atmosphere in Xianyang was somber in late autumn.
Although the death of King Zhuangxiang of Qin, Ying Zichu, was expected, the timing still shocked the entire Qin state.
The palace bells rang out, and the city gates were immediately closed. The royal guards, clad in black armor, and the garrison soldiers of Xianyang quickly took over the key passes, and Xianyang was placed under martial law.
Amidst this somber atmosphere, Chancellor Lü Buwei appeared outside the palace gates. He remained calm and composed, issuing a series of instructions, receiving reports from various parties, and meeting with members of the imperial family and important officials.
This businessman, who rose to the pinnacle of power through his foresight and boldness in finding rare commodities, now displayed astonishing political skill, quickly stabilizing the hearts of the people who might be wavering due to the sudden death of the monarch.
During the turbulent period of power transition, Lü Buwei naturally wanted to bring all power under his control.
At the tender age of thirteen, Crown Prince Ying Zheng ascended the throne after offering sacrifices at the ancestral temple, becoming the new King of Qin.
Because of his young age, Ying Zheng revered Lü Buwei as "Uncle" and entrusted him with all state affairs.
Lü Buwei's power reached its zenith at this point, not only holding a fief of 100,000 households but also wielding supreme military, political, and diplomatic power over the Qin state.
This Zhongfu was not content with merely maintaining the status quo. He knew that in the Warring States period, where tigers and wolves surrounded each other, progress was the only way to survive and develop. In his hands, the war machine of Qin was accelerated.
In the first year of King Zheng of Qin's reign (246 BC), Zhang Ling led his army eastward to attack the State of Wei.
His first target was Juan, a city in the state of Wei. This battle was not a test, but a swift and decisive strike.
The Qin army's offensive was fierce, and the Wei army could not resist it. Juanyi fell, and 30,000 Wei soldiers were beheaded. With this victory, the Qin state declared to the world: Qin was still the same ferocious and powerful state.
Just as the Qin state was showing its strength, a seemingly ordinary water conservancy expert came to Xianyang from the Han state.
His name was Zheng Guo, and he was secretly dispatched by King Huanhui of Han. Faced with the pressure of Qin's continued eastward expansion, the King of Han devised a plan to "exhaust Qin": he sent skilled hydraulic engineers to persuade Qin to dig an unprecedented large-scale irrigation canal in the Guanzhong region.
If this canal is completed, it will be a long-term and costly project, which will tie down a large amount of Qin's manpower and resources, preventing it from looking eastward, thus giving Han a chance to catch its breath.
Zheng Guo met with Lü Buwei and presented him with a blueprint for an irrigation canal, explaining its benefits: "The Guanzhong Plain is a fertile land stretching for thousands of miles, but it lacks irrigation. If the Jing River is diverted eastward to the Luo River, and a canal is dug for over three hundred miles, it can irrigate more than four hectares of saline-alkali land, yielding a harvest of one bushel per mu. Guanzhong will then become a fertile plain, free from famine, and Qin will become rich and powerful."
Lü Buwei stared at the detailed canal map, remaining silent for a long time. Some ministers in the hall questioned the project, arguing that with the great battle just ended and the war underway, such a massive undertaking might drain the people's resources and hinder military preparations.
Lü Buwei finally made the decision: "Repair!" because what he saw was a vast expanse of fertile land and inexhaustible grain supplies.
Therefore, Zheng Guo was entrusted with an important task, and Qin conscripted laborers to begin the great project that would later be known as the "Zheng Guo Canal".
The war in the East did not stop because of the canal construction.
In the third year of King Zheng of Qin (244 BC), Zhang Ling was once again ordered to lead an army to attack Han together with the veteran general Meng Ao.
The Qin army advanced in two directions, sweeping through the enemy lines with unstoppable momentum, capturing thirteen cities of Han and beheading over ten thousand.
Wherever the troops advanced, the South Korean army was routed, and the entire nation of South Korea was terrified.
In the fifth year of King Zheng of Qin's reign (242 BC), Qin's military force turned towards Wei.
Zhang Ling led his army in a massive offensive, and the attack was swift and fierce, capturing more than twenty cities of varying sizes, including Shanyang, Suanzao, Xu, and Yan.
This battle was of extraordinary significance. Qin not only dealt a heavy blow to Wei, but also integrated the newly occupied land east of the Yellow River, which originally belonged to Wei, into a brand new prefecture, Dongjun.
The establishment of Dongjun was like a knife, severing the geographical connection between the State of Chu and the Three Jin (Zhao, Wei, and Han).
For the first time, the territory of the Qin state extended eastward to border the Qi state, creating enormous strategic pressure on other states.
The rapid expansion of the Qin state, especially the establishment of the Eastern Commandery, finally triggered the last rebellion of the various states.
Faced with a survival crisis, the last large-scale alliance against Qin was painstakingly organized.
In the sixth year of King Zheng of Qin (241 BC), the five states of Zhao, Chu, Wei, Han, and Yan elected King Kaolie of Chu as the leader of the alliance and Pang Nuan, a famous general of Zhao, as the commander-in-chief. The allied forces marched westward and headed straight for Hangu Pass, the eastern gateway of Qin.
The allied forces were formidable, numbering in the hundreds of thousands, with banners obscuring the sun. However, this cobbled-together army was divided among its members, each harboring their own agendas, and command was difficult to unify.
When they reached Hangu Pass, facing the well-prepared and heavily fortified Qin army and its well-rested elite troops, their offensive quickly faltered. The Qin army, recognizing the weakness of the allied forces, opened the gates and launched a fierce counterattack. The allied forces, lacking any will to fight to the death, crumbled at the first contact, quickly disintegrating and hastily retreating eastward. The final effort of the alliance against Qin ended in a disastrous defeat.
The Qin army was not about to give up and pressed their advantage.
Generals such as Meng Ao led their troops eastward and quickly captured Chaoge, the capital of Wei. They then advanced into Wei and occupied its capital, Diqiu.
After the war, Qin also incorporated the land of Diqiu into Dongjun. At the same time, it continued the sacrificial rites of the State of Wei, established Jiao, a descendant of the Wei royal family, as the ruler of Wei, and moved him to Yewang in Hanoi Commandery. Thus, the State of Wei existed in name only and became a complete vassal of the State of Qin.
While the battle clouds over Hangu Pass dissipated, the construction of the Zheng Guo Canal was still in full swing on the Guanzhong Plain.
The laborers dug canals and dug through mountains, their sweat soaking the yellow earth, while Zheng Guo traveled between the various construction sites to personally supervise the work.
Rumors about him being a Han spy and intending to weaken Qin began to spread quietly throughout the court and among the people. Some royal ministers and generals used this as a reason to demand that the project be stopped and Zheng Guo be punished. The pressure eventually reached Lü Buwei and the young King of Qin.
Despite the objections of the majority, Lü Buwei summoned Zheng Guo and, in front of all the ministers, directly inquired about his original intentions.
Zheng Guo frankly admitted: "Initially, I was a spy, but the completion of the canal also benefited Qin. I extended Han's life for a few years, but I have built a legacy for Qin that will last for ten thousand generations."
Upon hearing this, Lü Buwei said to the King of Qin and his ministers, "Although Zheng Guo has made initial plans, his project is massive and undoubtedly beneficial to the country. Now that the canal is nearing completion, how can we abandon our efforts because of a minor setback? We should ensure its completion."
The young King Zheng of Qin remained silent for a moment before approving. The project could continue. Ultimately, this more than 300-li-long canal, which took more than ten years to build and involved the labor of hundreds of thousands of people, successfully diverted water from the Jing River to irrigate the fields, turning more than 40,000 hectares of saline-alkali land in Guanzhong into fertile fields that were guaranteed against drought and flood. As a result, the Qin state became even richer, providing a solid material foundation for its future conquest of the six states.
Despite not personally ruling after the failure of the alliance and the Zheng Guo Canal incident, King Zheng of Qin observed and learned amidst the complex political situation.
Lü Buwei's power remained at its zenith, but as the King of Qin grew older, the power structure within the Xianyang Palace began to undergo subtle but imperceptible changes.
For example, Zhao Sineng and Zhang Sili accumulated military merits and prestige in their repeated eastern expeditions; Zheng Guo, a guest minister from the state of Han, etched his name in history with a water canal.
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.
"Initially, I was a spy, but the completion of the canal also benefited Qin." — Records of the Grand Historian, Treatise on Rivers and Canals
"The Guanzhong Plain became a fertile land, free from famine, which made Qin rich and powerful, and eventually led to the unification of the other states." — Records of the Grand Historian, Treatise on Rivers and Canals