Six Against One | A Great Kingdom Shall Fall: A Warring States Story: 六国对一 | 一大强国将落

Music: Shadow 影

A Tale of Two Su Qins: This article regarding Su Qin is part of a larger narrative about the geopolitics of the Warring States era which could be found here. And before we began it should be noted that there exists 2 very contradictory versions of Su Qin's biography. For nearly 2 millennia, the traditional version as presented by Zhanguo Ce or "Intrigue of the Warring States" and Sima Yi's Shiji or "Record of the Grand Historian" had Su Qin live during the reign of king Huiwen of Qin's time. 

However, recent archeological evidence in the 20th century uncovered from the Han dynasty Mawangdui silk slips chapters covering the Records of the Vertical and Horizontal Alliance Schools 战国纵横家书 have put this traditional narrative to doubt. Conservatively speaking the latter version, which had Su Qin live some 30 years later at the onset of the late Warring States period is the much more credible version. Going forth, we shall briefly introduce the 1st version of Su Qin's life, then devote most of our attention to the much more credible 2nd version and the narrow world he bestrode like a Colossus,

For many years, the greatest, ultimate question of this age haunted the scholar. And timelessly he always came back to the same equation. Soon, none of them, none of the remaining kingdom of the Warring States period- will have a chance to live if they do not even the odds. 

But he wasn't just anyone. He had tremendous talents, what's more, an incomparable tongue and far seeing sight. According to some versions, despite having been born a poor scholar and loser, he managed to weld all of the remaining small kingdoms into one sword against this unwanted destiny. Here was the man who talked the remaining 6 kingdoms into making him the Prime Minister of them all. 

He was given robe decorated with the insignia of the six kingdoms. He was given a great seal to draft policies for all 6 against their grave enemy. In that charmed moment, all the major remaining kingdoms of the Central Plains danced to his tune and turned like dutiful gears in his clockwork schemes. All six agreed in unison to decapitate its mortal enemy before it finally reached its critical mass. 

Now only 7 are left. The "Seven Heroes" truly stands next to each other with great suspicion. With all of the small states devoured- save the ceremonial royal domain of Zhou left, it truly became a 7 state battle royale. The great question of the day remained: whether the end game would be at the hands of the small states in fraternal pledges of mutual protection, or the great and the aloof. 

This chapter we will cover the major diplomatic realignment during the mid Warring States period. It will ring the "State" aspect of the Warring States true and gave a geopolitical discourse on the stately interest and conflicts of various parties. Once again, rival philosophies played out against each other through dueling nations. 

At his most brilliant Su Qin persuaded the leaders of the six kingdoms of Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, Zhao and Wei to all unite against the Qin state through the use of his splendid rhetoric and thereafter wore robes decorated with the insignia of the six states. What's more he ensured that 6 united would crush their mortal threat. The rest~ as they say was history.

Here we shall began with the 1st version of Su Qin's biography, which was described in Zhanguo Ce or "Intrigue of the Warring States." For thousands of years this was the version that many were taught of regarding the great statesman, that he was a talented nobody who rose to become a dragon that dominated Warring States politics. Though in closer examination it was little more than a series of quaint moralizing parables and namedrops of this era's kings (King Huiwen of Qin) and statesmen (Zhang Yi.) Because of the fanciful circumstances of this version we shall keep this biography brief, then make room to the 2nd version, or the real Su Qin and his age. Though do continue, the first version has its charms if one likes underdogs and kungfu montages.

BIOGRAPHY OF SU QIN- ACCORDING TO "INTRIGUE OF THE WARRING STATES"

FROM NOTHING- A HEYSEED'S STORY

Music: Calm of Heaven and Earth

According to Intrigues of the Warring States or Zhan Guo Ce 战国策, around 338 BC, a man of no illustrious name and no personal repute made his way west, after having been unimpressed with what was supposedly the best of his homeland: the court at of Luoyang in the royal domain of Zhou. The young Su Qin came from a poor merchant's family, his home was so poor that their walls were merely a ring of earthen mounds, with a wooden beam for the lintel of the gate, and only ropes for the hinges of that gate. Much of that family's fortune rode on this young cocksure would-be-scholar's expensive date with destiny.

Like Sun Bin from our last chapter. Traditional accounts characterizes Su Qin as a talented disciple of Guigu Zi- or "The Master of Ghost Valley" a mysterious old hermit master who hid in the 鬼谷 "Ghost Valley" and imparted sagely wisdom on statecraft to talented pupils. However this characterization reminiscent of Kungfu movie troupes should not be seriously considered. If the "Master" did exist, it's far more likely that Guigu Zi was an institution, or a series of secluded academies- and Guigu Zi is merely a personification of these schools. Conservatively speaking it is best to simply tally Su Bin as well educated and out to make a name.

However despite Su Qin's personal ambition to seek out employment with the Qin court in the west (only a generation ago talented reformers like Shang Yang was able to come to Qin as a foreigner and be made its Chancellor and radically reform the Qin state and make it a formidable military power in a decade) when Su Qin arrived at Qin he was given a cold reception. 

Unfortunately for Su Qin, he arrived at perhaps the most inopportune time for his ambitions. At this moment, the only recently enthroned king Huiwen of Qin had just usurped Shang Yang from powerr and had him draw and quartered by horses. What's more Huiwen always held personal enmity toward persuasive and talented foreigners like Shang Yang. Not impressed, during Su Qin's stay in Qin he petitioned multiple times to meet with King Huiwen but was rebuffed each time. 

A RETREAT IN SHAME

Eventually, after being repeatedly rejected and sidelined, Su Qin's money ran out and he was not able to continue his stay. He left a defeated shadow of his former self. It was recorded that he left in such a pathetic state that he looked ridiculous. His stay at Qin was so long that he worn out the expensive noble's mink coat he brought with him and it became tattered and pockmarked with holes (expensive and rented, the equivalent of an expensive tuxedo but for royal attendance to look the part of a respectable gentleman) and its sleeves and edges became torn and frayed. 

A Qin dynasty Ji halberdier of the late Warring States era wearing a full suit of armor and heavy helmet. The helmet is reconstructed based on a limestone helmet model excavated from Pit K9801 in the First Emperor's Mausoleum in Xian. By the Warring States era they would have their been made with bronze or iron. The 2 cheek guards are secured together by a knot.

All of the realm's eyes were on Qin and Qi at this time. During the major wars of the central plains the restrengthened Qin in the west and restrengthened Qi in the east had each dealt a shattering blow to the hegemon of the era: Wei. Now Qin rules the west and Qi rules the east and 2 were considered the strongest states of the era.

Beside his thoroughly tattered and ruined mink coat, beneath he did not even wear proper felt shoes but pauper's straw sandals, and on his back he carried a wicker pack of dozens of bamboo scroll books he brought with him (similar to this one which depicts the Chinese Buddhist pilgrim Xuanzang.) On his way, all who passed by saw him as nothing more than a filthy incongruous beggar, and his desperate face was a scowl of misery at his total uselessness. Thus was the the commoner who dreamed that he'd slip in as a gentry, draped in the ruined coat that he was never good enough to have, looking no better than a filthy coolie beggar, carrying a swaying stack of all of his expensive silly books that did him nothing but (literally) weighed him down. He would be treated much worse at home. 

When he returned to his home, his wife saw him return, but seeing his state, did not even acknowledge him and turned back to focus on her needlework, his sister-in-law (and host) when she saw him visit did not even both to cook him anything, and when he saw both of his parents, both did not even bother to speak a single word to him. The cultural context drives Su Qin's frosty reception home, in each of these instances, despite his pathetic circumstances Su should have been treated differently. His wife ought to have welcomed him regardless, his sister-in-law ought to have received him as a proper hostess and brought him something to eat  (which was her duty on both accounts,) and despite his failure, parents ought to have brought him back into the fold with openness like the Prodigal Son. These transgressions both serve to illustrate the extent of Su's failures in their eyes but also the cynical and utilitarian backdrop where Su came from. 

Su Qin thus slipped back to his old impoverished haunt in such state of disgrace. However, still determined to elevate his circumstances and make a name, Su the began to read extensively and copiously. More fanciful accounts recorded that it was during this time in the proverbial nadir of obscurity and failure Su Qin found a lost text from the legendary sage Jiang Ziya (and founding Duke of Qi) on matters of statecraft plus sagely strategies and he ravenously absorbed it. It was also recorded that after Su's return he would study so hard that aside from reading all day he would also try to read all night by candlelight as well, going so far that whenever he was about to doze off he would take out a sharp chisel and stab his leg to keep himself awake. 

These are the only few scenes we have of Su Qin's early biography according to "Intrigue of the Warring States." From this point on- him training arduously in his hovel daily and nightly like a kungfu montage, that his early biography ends. Then, in Sima Yi's "Record of the Grand Historian' Sima Yi then inserted his travels across the various major kingdoms and his advices to each that roped them together into a mighty anti- Qin coalition. However now we should point to the fact that with the new discovery of the Mawangdui silk slips this version is very likely incorrect:~ especially compared to the new version of Su Qin that we got which set him at a much later era. 

There was indeed a mighty coalition of multiple kingdoms cemented in alliance against Qin at this point in 317 BC. But it was not under Su Qin at all but another figure: Gongsun Yan.

In fact, much of this early version of Su Qin's life- this hayseed Su Qin and his era, the context which he lived in mirrors much more with another figure named Gongsun Yan: who also was a great diplomat, one of the strongest proponent of the Vertical School of Diplomacy, and who was able to rope together 5 kingdoms and invade Qin. What's more, the traditional (incorrect) biography of Su Qin casted Zhang Yi- a major head of the opposing Horizontal School of Diplomacy as Su Qin's rival. The Mawangdui slips demonstrated this is almost impossible as Zhang Yi- though a major shaper of the Warring States- had died before Su Qin even came to his own prominence. 

310s BC. The tail end of Zhang Yi's prominence on the Warring States political scene. During Zhang Yi's tenure in charge of Qin's foreign affairs- Qin went from being an already great state to become the indisputable strongest power in the realm. Having resoundly rebuffed the 5 kingdom alliance against it at the Hangu Pass in 317 BC Qin was dreadfully energized and went on a warpath in all directions and tripled its size in that decade. It crushed the nearby kingdoms of Ba and Shu and annexed all of the Sichuan Basin under its fold and then dealt Chu 2 crushing blows in battle that robbed it of its ancestral homeland. And then, with the death of his patron King Huiwen- Zhang Yu retired and died. This was the world in which the real Su Qin was born to: an whole era after his traditional version: where Qin power was on an unstoppable ascendency.

SIX ALL UNITE AGAINST ONE

It is here we must recontextualize Su Qin in this new era and unlearn the quaint Kungfu montage version we learned earlier. The real Su Qin was born into a frightened world where Qin power was on the ascendency again under the newly enthroned (and exceptionally dangerous King Zhaoxiang, Zhao was on the rise after headlong reforms under the dynamic rule of King Wuling and King Huiwen, and Qi was under the Machiavellian Lord Mengchang- one of the "Four Lords" of the Warring States period. And it was in this world of apex predators he turned the realm decisively against their mortal foe before it was able to reach its critical mass.

It is here that we shall return to a hero we've been introduced to at the beginning. The one man who for a brief time genuinely reworked the Warring States geopolitical chessboard to such an extent that the end game of this era and China as a whole might have charted a different course. It is here also that we should recontextualized him from the first version we learned of his origins. 

Music: A Time for Sons (A World Betrayed)

THE MAJOR PLAYERS WHEN SU QIN MADE HIS MARK

The real Su Qin traversed in a dynamic world. During this 3 decade of time: from 310s to the 280s. Qin- after suffering from a succession crisis regained its purchase under the newly enthroned punch- drunk confident King Zhaoxiang, Zhao exponentially rose in power during this period to became a major military pole and began to assert itself- taking advantage of a feebled Wei to its south- and in time became Qin's major archrival. 

Despite having been a backwater at the mercy of its neighbors since its birth for more than a century, Zhao aggressively thrusted itself into the steppe lands and conquered all the way into the north bend of the Yellow River and made nearly all steppe polities north of Zhou China proper into its client vassals. While Su Qin was alive, Qi too was in a strong position, still one of the strongest states of this period- under the wily stewardship of its capable Lord Mengchang, and brazenly exerting its power by cowing Yan in the north to submission and also setting its covetous eyes in the south toward Song. Chu- though grievously humiliated by Qin earlier in the decade in 312 was compensated by its destruction of Yue and extending its reach into the east coast of China.

The real Su Qin was both more interesting, but also far less romanticized. He was not some hayseed nobody placed anachronistically 30 years to a prior age, but someone who was born into a frightened world where Qin power was on the ascendency again under the newly enthroned and exceptionally dangerous King Zhaoxiang and where Qi became extremely erratic in the east.

Because although the first version of Su Qin were were introduced to from the "Intrigue of the Warring States" was compelling as a narrative, it's also riddled with holes. What's more, recent 20th century archeology- especially from Records of the Vertical and Horizontal Alliance Schools of Thought 战国纵横家书 uncovered from the Han era Mawangdui tombs really overturned the credibility of the first version. 

A brief wrap up of the version we were introduced to earlier. In that version it was after his arduous devotion and studies that Su Qin finally made himself a peerless talent. He went on a grand tour of the realms and petitioned to serve various court of the time, eventually landing a high position in Yan, where he thereby persuaded the Yan king to build up a vast coalition to blunt Qin ambitions, his ambition was wildly rewarded and like a soaring dragon, he convinced the 6 major remaining kingdoms to band into one against Qin. And Qin (under the anachronistic and by now already dead) King Huiwen was so frightened of the alliance that Qin did not leave Hangu Pass for 15 years.

SU QIN- RECONTEXTUALIZED 

Instead of merely a nameless hayseed from humble origins, in fact his family was and had been highly educated scholars. An eloquent charmer, Su was able to pry open the intention of nearly all of his hosts and bid them to act on his persuasions.

The recently unearthed silk slips from Mawangdui's "Records of the Vertical and Horizontal Alliance Schools of Thought” revealed that the real Su Qin in fact had 4 elder brothers, Su Dai, Su Li, Su Pi and Su Hu who eventually all became expert diplomats and were major political thinkers linked to diplomacy (Sima Qian's "Record of the Grand Historian" maintains that Su Dai etc were Su Qin's younger brother but it should not be taken as credible as the former.) Instead of merely a nameless hayseed from humble origins, in fact his family was, and had been highly educated scholars from Luoyang- example: Su Dai himself was supposed to have facilitated the kingdom of Yan into Gongsun Yan's 5 kingdom alliance against Qin at Hangu. And compared to his already capable elder brothers, Su was superbly adapt at reading the intentions and interests of various states of the era. 

Yan was an ancient state, born in the 11th century BC at the founding of the Zhou dynasty. For centuries it was a distant frontier of Zhou in the northeast in today's northeastern Hebei and parts of Liaodong Peninsula. The 4th century military strategist and polymath Wu Qi who assessed most of the major powers of his day and raised the legendary Wei wuzu (elite "Wei Martial Troops") which crushed Qin multiple times on the battlefield described Yan as conservative relic and almost too honest for this world. Militarily its stratagems were unimaginative and painfully transparent.

In 314 BC- 2 years after Zhang Yi had betrayed Chu and lead Qin to crush Chu in the double battles that robbed it of its heartland, Yan was attacked and practically entirely conquered by its major southern neighbor of Qi, although Yan was resoundly defeated on the battlefield and Qi conquered 10 Yan cities, Qi was unable to absorb the kingdom wholesale nor pacify partisan rebellions against its occupation. A new king thus ascended the throne in Yan in 311 BC: King Zhao, who began to court talents from across the realm.

Sensing this as a perfect opportunity, Su left his homeland at Luoyang and travelled to Yan. Su was graciously welcomed in by King Zhao and the 2 quickly began to talk over Yan's political dilemma. Su very accurately guessed his new host is feeling insecure about his own and his kingdom's position against Qi- having been recently humiliated by Qi's conquest. So he proposed a solution to make these worries vanish for Yan. 

STAVE OFF THE QI WOLF- REDIRECTING ITS RAPACIOUS MALICE AFAR

For 2 generations Qi remains the strongest power in the east. Under the astute rule of King Wei (once lord Yinqi- who was a patron of Sun Bin) and his son King Xuan, no affairs in the east were done without consulting Qi. Like Qin in the west, it was a major pole. At this time the Qi coffers were full, its court stuffed with capable ministers- and supplemented by some of the best scholars of the realm from its academies, and its soldiers flushed with victory after resoundly humiliating Yan in its own homelands. In 301 BC, King Xuan died, and much of the affair of Qi was passed onto the mantle of the capable lord Mengchang. Mengchang- like his predecessors advocated for practicing Horizontal Alliances in aligning with the distant Qin so that Qi was free to bully and annex its immediate neighbors.

Both side of either Horizontal Alliance and Vertical Alliance schools are ardent rationalists and believes in objective/ realist assessment of states powers. Su Qin made the argument to his new patron that the state of Yan was poor, though it does not have to fear from more distant threats like Qin, in its immediacy it was surrounded by hyper aggressive and hyper capable military powers. Both Qi and the recently reformed Zhao were military power houses- what's worse for Yan, currently in very friendly relationship. The best approach ahead to safeguard Yan safety is to have Qi and Zhao distracted and seperated. What's more Su Qin argued that it was in Yan's absolute interest to turn its attention else where, and Su Qin had predicted just the perfect target in mind, the small Duchy of Song to Qi's south. 

SU QIN'S PROPOSAL IN DETAIL- MICRO AND MACRO

Su Qin's persuasion ran thusly. Yan's greatest immediate threat was Qi (yellow arrow), however Qi was too strong to be even turned away by the force of arms (see below for why) and bolstered with far a larger economic base. Thus Yan must create conditions for Qi to turn its attention elsewhere to expend its currently limitless coffers and arms. Instead of letting Qi keep grind Yan with Yan already at a major disadvantage (yellow arrow) Qi must be freed up to try to gobble up Song to its south (red arrow,) and Qi would then be forced to expend itself to occupy it- Su Qin judged was just strong enough to take Song but with great cost to itself. 

Gray Eminence and Horizontal Alliance Adherent. Under the Chancellorship of Lord Mengchang, Qi retained its age old strategy of aligning with Qin in the distant west in order to freely expand at the expense of its immediate neighbors. Su Qin's goal was to unravel all of the previous guardrails that Qi had (and its guardians staunchly maintained) and let it overact. During his first ambassadorship Su Qin was treated well in Qi and was on friendly terms with Lord Mengchang before his return to Yan. A superbly resourceful man and a confident problem solver, Lord Mengchang was said to have a vast entourage of over several thousand stuffed to the brim with supernaturally gifted characters. He was once to have said "A crafty hare has 3 burrows."

However before that happens, Su Qin must ensure that Qi does not have a distant partner- which it already have in the form of its good partnership with Qin. Once the Qi- Qin mutual Horizontal reinforcement was broken and Qi was freed up to glut its brazen ambitions by devouring Song, Song's annexation will be a poisoned chalice for Qi. It will both expend immense wealth and soldiers for its occupation but it will also leave its northern flank with Yan wide open. Furthermore this brazen overreach in expansion will isolate Qi and irrevocably raise alarm from all of its nearby neighbors (red X marks.) What's more, them all turning on Qi and present a weakened flank to the west will also salivate Qin's dark ambitions in the which~ if Qin does pursue those objectives, will surely mold the remaining states in the Central Plains together for mutual protection.

"Record of the Grand Historian" (very likely hindsight apocryphal steel-manning Su Qin so take this with a grain of salt) further listed out Su Qin's proposal to Yan regarding the distant threat of Qin. Su Qin argued that Yan being at the far fringes of the realm has very little to fear from Qin, IF Qin ever became brazen enough to attack Yan it would have to march a ridiculously arduous route across the grassy steppe lands in northern China (long arcing yellow arrow) to get to Yan, it would take months to reach the Yan capital. However Su Qin argued that by contrast, Zhao was far more of a dangerous threat, not only was its army strong, it was also located very close right to Yan's west. If Zhao decide to attack Yan it's armies can appear outside of the Yan capital in only 2 week's march (yellow arrow.) Su Qin proposed that it is vital that Yan placate Zhao and iron out all differences between the 2 states, what's more give absolutely no reasons for Zhao to keep as large of a garrison near Yan so it was freed to instead fully fight and contend with Qin (red X mark) thereby indirectly becoming a de facto buffer state for Yan and safeguarding it.

SU QIN'S MANUVERS INSIDE QI

Around 298 BC Su Qin was dispatched to Qi for the first time as a Yan ambassador and high level hostage (a position usually retained by high level princes.) However his first stay was an unremitted disaster, in only a few years during his stay and discourse with his Qi counterparts, his patron- persuaded by a hawkish faction at court in Yan and without informing Su Qin- launched an invasion of Qi- which Qi absolutely had no problem crushing on the field. The Yan army was put to flight and the humiliated Su Qin (despite being a hostage was not killed) had to return to Yan in shame.

Miffed (for he could have been killed by his hosts,) Su Qin grumbled to his patron that in the future good sovereigns should do their utmost in adhering to their priorly agreed upon strategies (stick to the plan!) and loyal servants such as he should not have to fear such unexpected unsets. Especially while he was in the lion's den. However after 294 BC a series of irresistible developments happened in Qi which made both King Zhao of Yan and Su Qin giddy that they immediately sought out an immediate ambassy with Qi again- the great regent and astute pillar of the Qi state Lord Mengchang himself had been ousted from Qi in a palace coup and was accused of trying to usurp the throne, power in Qi now solely consolidated around the young, paranoid, and (overly) ambitious King Min of Qi. Min was just someone (overly) ambitious enough, and foolish enough to do exactly what Su Qin had suggested for Qi. This time Su Qin came with some 150 stately wagons and represented the full degree of the Yan king's confidence. 

By now each major surviving state had a King (or soon will) and none of those Kings were keen on play pretend to defer to a Zhou "King" that hadn't had any real power in more than 5 centuries. Plus..."King" was too small of a title for their burning ambitions.

TO SPURN QIN- QIN'S IMPERIAL AMBITION

When Su Qin returned as ambassador and hostage finally a priceless opportunity presented itself. At this time Qin was under the rein of the young and dynamic (and later we would see) brazenly ambitious King Zhaoxiang. Zhaoxiang and King Min of Qi were both expansionists and both of their regimes previously adhered to the precept of Horizontal Alliances with each other. Now Qin was seeking to expand again and in order to bolster its already august position, King Zhaoxiang broached a brazen request to Qi. King Zhaoxiang would declare himself as the "Emperor of the West" while King Min elevate himself as well as the "Emperor of the East." Both would then mutually recognize each other. 

The Chinese word "Emperor," or Di 帝 was once only reserved for august ancestral sovereigns before the age of kings. It was a title of literally mythical status. 

Initially the insecure and paranoid King Min of Qi was overjoyed at this prospect for the chance to enhance his own prestige~ with the backing of the greatest distant power in the west. However when King Min broached this development to Su Qin (other sources suggest it was his brother Su Dai) he intervened and cautioned Min against it. Above all Su Qin pointed to Min that his grand ambition- which Su had guessed was southward expansion until Qi became the sole master of the Central Plains states, would be very difficult to realize- what's more, Su pointed out that Qi was being led down the primrose path by Qin and that Qin will be the primary beneficiary of this declaration. 

Su Qin's also right. Despite secretly having a plan to undermine Qi's authority to preserve Yan, Su Qin- like any talented political observer was correct in pointing out that Qin's "friendly" request was loaded. King Zhaoxiang was a cunning sovereign and this arrangement would benefit him more than Qi. Qin was far larger by this point, it's also more distant in the frontier of the Zhou civilization thus does not have the risky of been ganged up by ourtaged lords, while Qi was still surrounded by many traditionalist feifs on multiple fronts who still (at least on the surface) bent the knees to the Zhou kings. if Qi makes this declaration it would be hamstringed- be thrown out of balance with its neighbors, what's more it'd have ironically contained itself. Therefore leaving only 1 of the 2 greatest states to act freely and make headlong strides.

Having pointed out these dangers, Su then cautioned that Qi should procrastinate and let Qin make the declaration first (and alone) while leaving it in the cold. Afterwards Su argued, if Qin made this declaration and all of the realm accepts it, then Qi can do the same, by contrast, if there is a chance at all that it would be met with universal disapproval if Qi'd have rushed in and joined Qin, its hands would have been tied and all of its small surrounding states would want to check it in concert. 

Not content to leave the matter here, Su then raised the question if Qi would have joined Qin in this declaration, and now there's 2 "Emperors" in the realm, who really would the realm see as the most exemplary of such an Emperor? King Min then begrudgingly confessed that it would be Qin in the west, for Qin's mighty state and initiative in this declaration, to which Su pointed out then it is better to not go along at all. Let Qin alone take this poisoned chalice, and get all the disapproval from the realm. Convinced of Su Qin's reasoning, King Min agreed to his reasonings and spurned Qin's advances. With this new course set for Qi, it soon began to seek a diplomatic realignment with its immediate neighbors. The foremost among them was the newly emboldened Zhao. 

Su Qin's also wrong. He made these arguments because spurning Qin was part of his grand plan to keep Qi more and more isolated and without a major backer in the distance to exert invasion pressure on the flanks of Qi's immediate neighbors- thus geometrically weakening Qi's leverage in the diplomatic calculous. While Zhaoxiang's proposal was indeed loaded. It was not too harmful that a great state like Qi would not walk away from (lose a battle but win the war, sacrifice a gambit but force a development that allows it to seize the ultimate hand.) And here it was precisely why Su Qin and his patron did not dare to have tried this when the cunning Lord Mengchang (or his 2 able predecessors) were still presiding over Qi's matters. A true endlessly resourceful player who adheres to Horizontal Alliances would have taken the loss and still rolled with the punches. While a middling insecure, rigid, and overly ambitious monarch such as King Min would be swayed by good surface level arguments, without seeing the deeper negative space the conditions presented. That is, Qi, being a great state (and if headed by a recourceful sovereign,) has much more than enough to confidently improvise in the aftermath. Instead it had a king so frightened that his own weakness was imposed upon his capable state.

SPOOKING QIN BY ROPING IN ZHAO

Zhao- though having been bullied for over a century, became a major military powerhouse around this time. Under the exhaustive reforms by its ambitious King Wuling, Zhao radically reformed its military and adopted the fighting style of its nomadic steppe neighbors. Zhao became the first Warring States kingdom to adopt true cavalry detachments and they were able to operate with great autonomy on the battlefield. Far able to mass and reequip than expensive chariots (and expensive charioteer teams) many Zhao horsemen were simultaneously both lancer and mounted archers- lacquered longbows were uncovered from the region dated to this period. In only 1 generation after Zhao's policy of "Wearing the Hu Attire and Shooting from Horseback" 胡服骑射, Zhao seized most of northern China's steppes and became so dynamic of a military power that other states began to rapidly also adopt true cavalry en mass.

GAMBIT- OPTICS OF A QI ZHAO ALLIANCE

This did not go as well as Yan might have initially hoped for, for as soon as Qi began to seek partnership with Zhao, Su Qin immediately received a worried missive from his patron in Yan. The Yan King was deeply anxious that a potential Qi- Zhao alliance- two of the strongest military states in the northeast and both bordering Yan- would spell existential calamity for Yan. However Su Qin persuaded his monarch that it was a worthy sacrifice. For this dynamic partnership would alarm another far more. 

The 2 Courts: Handan vs Xianyang (Chang An): Soon after this period, Zhao and Qin would become archnemesis against each other. Their rivalry would last all the way until the last unification war launched by the First Emperor. From this point until the end of the Warring States period the court at Handan and the court at Xianyang would be locked in a long mortal struggle with the other.

Though in the short term Yan's position was truly made more precarious, the optic of this fomenting friendship will annoy another power that it will do everything it can to unravel it: Qin. Having been just spurned by Qi in its overture, now Qin watched with alarm as Qi abandons its old cordial partnership with Qin and began to court a highly militarized and dangerous buffer between the 2 great powers- by extension extending Qi influence right on Qin and Zhao's shared borders. And as Su Qin calculated, Qin began to turn hostile at both Zhao and Qi. Without any action on Yan's part, Qin now began to threaten Zhao and Qi. 

At this time the Zhao court- like with Qi under the capable Lord Mengchang, was also headed by a capable Chancellor: Lord Fengyang- Li Dui 李兑. Blaming him for this hostile move against Qin, King Zhaoxiang of Qin demanded his dismissal from the Zhao court. Lord Fengyang did the exact opposite, instead of letting his position be endangered, Zhao now began to rally all of the Central Plains states together to ally against Qin. 

"Record of the Grand Historian" also attributed this major development solely to Su Qin. The Record had Su Qin conversing with the Zhao leadership and actively fanning their ambitions. Su Qin gave them assurance that Yan would accept Zhao as a protector of the Central Plains and reasoned to the Zhao leadership that Zhao was in a precarious position. On several fronts it was surrounded by a powerful military state (Qin + Qi,) what's more due to its shifting alliances and aggressive conquests it was trusted by few. Thus it behooves Zhao to make peace with one so it can be safe if it was caught in a war the other. What's more Su Qin pointed out that the other small states around Zhao could be vital to Zhao's own security if it manage to cultivate alliances so its borders would be further stabilized- in turn turning its major weakness if isolated into a proactive advantage (larger circle.) 

Having persuaded the Zhao leadership, Su Qin then went on to state he would go forth on behalf of the Zhao state and rope all of the remaining none- Qin states together under Zhao leadership. Now with their ambition fully inflamed, the Zhao king rewarded Su Qin with the Zhao title of Wuan jun 武安君 or "Lord of Martial Peace." and sent him off to convince other states to come into this grand alliance.

Hidden in the details of course, was that now the framework for a Central Plains bloc was recreated, much similar to the chessboard once roped together by Gongsun Yan a generation ago. A largely small-state oriented one too, having neutered Qi- and even roped it along with this new alliance, and having turned Qin into the boogieman Su Qin desperately needed Qin to be. Now, with both Qi and Zhao rigged together against Qin, other minor states will soon flock to this alliance. Though in other details "Record of the Grand Historian" and the Mawangdui "Records of the Vertical and Horizontal Alliance Schools" silk slips have major differences, in this area both have more overlap. 

Most importantly, with the drastic expansion of this anti- Qin alliance, Su Qin's real wish saw fruit. Now having secured its various fronts with allies (which inoculated it from nearly all nearby potential threats and have them be buffers against Qin) Qi launched a major full force invasion of Song. By 288 BC King Min also declared himself emperor. He was said to be surrounded by shameless sycophants and was so cruel he regularly put critics and those who made him angry to death- to such a point that all criticism was rationalize as not of his own fault and shifted onto convenient scapegoats: He had alienated most of his staff, courtiers, and royal clan. 

LAST GASPS OF THE SONG STATE 

Founded at the very beginning of the Western Zhou in the 11th century BC, Song actually had a much older history than most of its neighbors and even the Zhou kingdom. Song stemmed from the branch of the Shang dynasty royal clan that sided with the Zhou founders in their revolt against the Shang. Thus the Dukes of Song had far more ancient claim than the rest of their peers. 

First Qi invasion of Song: Situated around what is modern eastern Henan near Kaifeng- the Song state maintained the ancient sacred altar of Shangqiu 商邱 ("Hill of Shang") where the sacrifices could still be rendered to the Shang ancestors and their capital was built. Both in culture and tradition they were quite distinct from their Zhou peers. They practiced succession of Agnatic seniority (passing to uncles) rather than primogeniture as in most of the rest of the Zhou realm. 

Although Qi came with the full might of its military sledge hammer, it did not fair as well as King Min of Qi had hoped. Though they were successful on the battlefield and took several cities, the Song defenders held on and eventually gave the Qi soldiery so much trouble (and diplomatically Wei and Chu) gave Qi so much trouble that Qi had to pull back with limited gains. Instead of securing a resounding boost to his prestige, Qi was humbled. While originally intending to take all of Song for itself in the first war, now Qi had to bide time for a second invasion.

Insane megalomaniac, though most likely not: Unfortunately most of what we have characterizing the last Song ruler were a smattering of extremely uncharitable propaganda. The last Song ruler King Kang of Song 宋康王 (also known as King Yan) was objectively a capable ruler who did more than one ought to give him credit for. During his rule he aggressively beat back far larger states of Chu, Wei and Qi who were counted among the "7 Heroes of the Warring States." He also annexed the last remaining 2 small states (Teng and Xue) around Song and made himself a "King" like the rest of the apex predators of the realm. Unfortunately because Song was eventually partitioned in the end, the remaining (dubiously biased) records characterized him with so much ego that when an auspicious bird appeared before him he took it as a sign that Song could conquer the world and soon began to think of himself as a god-like figure, shooting arrows at heaven and ghosts and did not believe that he could succumb to mortal blows. He was so insane that he ordered anyone disturbing his merriment to have their feet cut or executed. Thus no one brought him any bad news. This version is also almost certainly Qi propaganda. This version of Kang further stated that being so moved by this evil king's cruelty against his own people King Min took up arms against Song.

THE KINGDOMS RAISE THEIR BANNERS FOR WAR 

It was during this time that Su Qin attained the highest point of his influence. He visited both Wei and Han and having convinced them of the directions Qi and Zhao had taken (against Qin) both too were included as part of the grand alliance and each offered Su Qin titles and the power to use their state seals to make important decisions on behalf of the alliance. 

STIFFENING THE CENTRAL PLAINS STATES

"Intrigue of the Warring States" and "Record of the Grand Historian" gives Su Qin's persuasion to each of the minor Central Plains thusly: Su Qin argued that Han is in a geographical favorable position with many natural barriers for its self protection (nestled inside shielding mountains etc) it is rich and has a large industrious populace, however politically it is precarious, its surrounded by tougher states in all directions and Qin to the west will never end its trespass and attempt to breach into Han until it has taken the key fortresses in the west. What's more after it succeeds in this mission there will be no more barriers Han can present and Qin was free to steamroll across the flat heartlands of Han. Against this unwanted future, it was best that Han join the alliance already taking shape against this most pressing of mortal threats. The Han king, though prideful, readily appreciated Su Qin's reasoning and responded that since Zhao had already joined for this fight, Han too will join Zhao and others by raising its banners.

The situation in Wei had had been different. At this time Wei was a shadow of its former self and its court was filled with ministers who voted for Wei's de facto vassaldom to Qin to secure its safety. However Su Qin approached the Wei king and chided the court rife of disloyal ministers. He presented the argument that Wei is already a strong state, it's terrain filled with mountain passes, it's fields rich, its soldiers disciplined and fierce, its industry capacity high. In true power it was comparable to Chu, however it was saddled with playing a junior partner to Qin. Su Qin then argued that in this arrangement in the long term it only benefits Qin- to keep using Wei to augment Wei's resources and manpower for Qin ambitions, but Wei will be exhausted while Qin secures more advantages. Until inevitably Qin raises to a point that Wei would have no nope/ nor chance of resisting (same as all other states) and that it was far better for Wei to take a chance at this one in a life time opportunity to really reshuffle its fortune. Persuaded, Wei too joined the alliance and the king presented Su Qin with Wei's seal.

Su Qin's final argument was presented to the king of Chu. Su Qin pointed out that if the other states attacked Qin and Chu did not join, it will forever be under the shadow of a strong Qin. What's more Su Qin reasoned that Chu is vast, its army is also vast, and its grain capacity both high and deeply stockpiled. That Qin in reality only has 1 mortal fear, and that is a strong Chu. What's more it was Qin's prerogative to keep Chu weak so it alone can remain strong. But Chu was always strong enough to make its own bid for Hegemony if it wished. For Chu to eek out an existential path, it was vital that Chu finds a way to keep Qin weak. What's more: the best way to realize that is to throw Chu's weight into this already primed alliance pointed at Qin. Now Qin cannot find allies in the rest of the realm and will be totally isolated.

 Otherwise Qin was free to attack Chu from many vectors and the Chu heartlands be in grave danger. Su Qin then added that Horizontal Alliance with Qin was unfeasible because of their long shared borders and Qin has ambition of unifying the realm, thus any concessions to placate Qin to preserve status quo with a Qin already bent on absorbing smaller states means that the more passive Chu will be at more and more disadvantage as Qin reaches an irresistible mass. 

It was at this point that Su Qin became the Chancellor of the 6 kingdoms and given the seal of the 6 kingdoms to use at his disposal and thereafter wore robes decorated with the insignia of the six states.   "Intrigue of the Warring States" which (not credibly) depicted Su Qin as an impoverished hayseed scholar spurned by his wife, sister-in-law, and parents go on to further present a humorous scene where now- having been made the Chancellor of the overwhelming majority of the remaining great kingdoms, when Su Qin by chance passed his humble hovel where he grew up in a blaze of glory his parents welcomed him thirty li from home, his sister-in-law crawled like a snake whilst the surprise showed on his wife but she dared not look at him, her former stubbornness having become respect. The Sword was drawn, but unexpectedly for the members (but perhaps deeply satisfying for Su Qin himself) it was not Qin that would be butchered. 

...ONLY INTERESTS

For it was also during this time that Qi made its long term move and launched a second full invasion of Song. This unannounced invasion caused great alarm among the member state of the coalition, and made them all see Qi as a selfish betrayer and supremely unreliable partner. This invasion became a major calamity for Qi. The records from Qin at this time recorded that other states were so outraged that Qin military advisers were invited and dispatched to the courts of Zhao and Wei to train their soldiers against a similar Qi invasion. Qi's selfish move isolated it from its allies and it had to recall its second invasion.

Afraid that Qi- having been blunted twice would gave up on the Song conquest. To give King Min a false sense of confidence Su Qin even secretly pledged that Yan would support Qi in its conquest of Song. To ensure that Zhao would tacitly support Qi's invasion (at least see it develop while on the sidelines) Su Qin gave assurances that a large slice conquered from Song will be given personally to Lord Fengyang of Zhao as his personal fief if the conquest was successful. Salivated with the prospect of self aggrandizement, Zhao gave tacit permission for Qi to conquer southward without intervention and in 286 BC Qi immediately launched a 3rd invasion. 

YOU WOULD DESTROY A GREAT EMPIRE 

According to uncharitable Qi and other records made after this conquest (which framed King Kang of Song in extremely biased characterization) it was at this time that the mad and pleasure-addled Song sovereign met his end. As previously mentioned he was under delusion that he cannot be defeated by mortals and was a god who can smite heavenly spirits and earthly gods with his arrows when hasty Song messengers first raced to him informing him that Song had been invaded, he executed the messengers for daring to suggest that mortals can overpower him. When the 2nd time messengers raced to him with similar messages that enemies have closed in toward the Song heartlands he also executed his messengers, by the 3rd time all of his messengers had taken to heart of his character and merely announced all was well- and was then rewarded by the addled sovereign. Soon enough King Kang's capital was sacked and he was beheaded.

SIX ALL UNITE AGAINST ONE

The invasion was led by none other than Yan- King Zhao of Yan had placed a highly capable general named Yue Yi 乐毅 at its helm and Qi was invaded from multiple directions. 

Unfortunately for King Min (and his kingdom,) he was King Min. After he had conquered Song as Qi's own, King Min became supremely aloof and reneged on all of his previous pre- war promises. No portion of the conquered Song was remitted to Zhao for Min had solely stylized himself as Emperor of the East and had no intention of being cowed by its neighbors. What happened later was precisely the opposite of what he intended. All of the other states became so apoplectic at Qi arrogance that all of the remaining kingdoms joined together in alliance and invaded Qi 2 years later in 284 BC. Hundreds of Qi cities fell and were rapidly taken. All Qi resistance melted in the face of the invaders and in the decisive Battle of Jixi 济西 its royal army was crushed by the combined coalition and slaughtered.

284 BC- Six against One: The invasion was such a total calamity that the Qi state came close to a hair's breath from being completely vanquished (it was when this campaign was concluded.) With the 3 Jins primed in outrage (Zhao, Wei, Han) + Yan and Qin, the Five kingdom alliance had no problem along their invasion route with Yan dealing the fiercest blows to Qi defenders. Only Chu pledged to aid Qi in this dire hour. Hundreds of Qi cities fell rapidly to the coalition advances and the Yan general Yue Yi crushed the Qi royal army in battle at Jixi. The coalition army then looted and ravished the Qi countryside and made off with its Qi's fabled riches. The Qi royal capital at Linzi fell and was thoroughly sacked. Qi gains in Song were partitioned between Wei and Chu, King Min was slain when Chu- which came under the banner of rescuing him turned on him and killed both him and his crown prince. Nearly all of ancestral Qi lands fell to Yan- with only the exceptions of 2 great fortress cities in Ju and Jimo. For the time being, Qi was dead in mosts' minds.

In the parable about the last great Lydian King Croesus whose ancient realm bordered that of the great Achaemenid Persian Empire the King was supposed to have consulted his oracle about the prospect of facing Persia in battle, the oracle only cryptically responded that if he did so, he "shall destroy a great empire" the proverbial Croesus was supposedly to have took this as a sign that he will crush Persia in battle and thus met the Persian Shah Cyrus on the battlefield, only to have his own kingdom crushed in the end. Likewise, although in this grand narrative we have been primed that the story would be one of 6 heroic remaining states banding together against the common ruthless foe (and ultimate winner) of the menacing Qin in the west. The reality was far more...utilitarian. Almost as if provoked by a mafioso frenzy, they spontaneously tore Qi to pieces because Qi had betrayed them too much and made them all angry.

SELFISHNESS- SELFISHNESS ALL 朝秦暮楚

It is here that we must take a final sobering look at the realities of the Horizontal and Vertical Schools of Alliances: that ironically the most successful spurt of conquest that happened in this age, and the truest of the true alliance which managed to took down a great state was short term and utilitarian. Despite grand promises and mutual pledges, times after time the grand alliances were undone by the utilitarian selfishness of each state- all of which still practiced their own diplomacy. 

Gongsun Yan's alliance would have borne fruit if Yan saw saw the specter of Qin as a major threat and contributed more in the 5 kingdom's war against Qin, what's more most decisively Chu would have been a major pivot that would have bulked Qin early on and secure its safety for the next century. Instead, Chu abandoned the alliance to die and they unraveled into smaller version of themselves. Chu's mistake was then amply demonstrated by Zhang Yi's maneuvers (let's be real, sabotage) within Chu that left it crippled of vital heartlands, farmland, population and tax base, prestige, and armed men- kneecapping it as the remaining kingdoms all raced toward the murderous late game live- or- die Battle Royale. If anything Zhang Yi's almost karmic actions proved just how costly not seeing the value of coalitions are for Chu's own survival.

Despite grand promises and mutual pledges, times after time the grand alliances were undone by the utilitarian selfishness of each state- all of which still practiced their own diplomacy. 

If the reader is curious why this article devotes such astronomical length on diplomats in this age of "Warring States" just look at the political chessboard after they had made their mark. By ploy alone (and the backing of their strong patron's kingdoms) 2 men had greatly weakened 2 of the 3 greatest powers of this age- Qi and Chu. Their marks were so great that the end game of this age became irrevocably changed.

Su Qin's own career was ironic in several point too. Although traditional narratives of Sima Qian and Intrigue had his career been devoted to blunt Qin in the west (with fanciful assertion his alliance was the reason Qin did not go east beyond Hangu Pass for some 15 years) The recent excavations revealed that Su Qin's goals are far more realistic and instead of Qin, he was vital in leading Qi to its near total annihilation. Unfortunately for Su Qin, the year the six kingdoms triumphed against Qi was also his last. When the Yan forces conquered hundreds of Qi cities and the Qi royal army was crushed and its capital sacked, he was still with King Min. and King Min- unable to take any blame for his own arrogance and failures blamed Su Qin for the calamity and had him torn apart in public by drawing and quartering. Though as a long term hostage and long under the thumb of an irascible tyrant like Min, Su Qin likely knew of this fate well. What's more, it's almost certain that before Qi was undone by the grand coalition he actively encouraged his patron King Zhao of Yan to invade Qin with full force knowing that Yan would both win decisively, ...and that he would be killed in the cruelest manner. His final gambit was himself. Ironically, he should also be glad in some senses too. Six kingdoms against one. He facilitated the truest alliance of this age. They were his storm and he was its eye.

After this resounding victory Yan would enter into a brief new golden age under the reign of King Zhao, while Qi would never again regain its former position. Yes. Qi- somehow would still stubbornly will itself back to existence. For at Ju- despite being besieged by multiple kingdoms, a new generation of Qi patriots would resoundly slaughter itself back into existence and in 5 years free the countryside from its occupiers. But that would be explored in another story. Presently, although the 6 kingdoms had glutted themselves on the loot from the cities and fields of Qi- and saw 1 of the major states undone- another meteoritic power still retained in the west. And now with 2 of it's 3 major peer competitors undone. The only major power that did not suffer a betrayal at the hand of a rival. Now Qin's naked ambitions were fully unveiled. The great "Emperor of the West" still stirs. And it's war machined is still primed. Soon, it will be dealing its own blows eastward. And each major battle from this point on will be akin to a war crime or a genocide. 

Now when Qin punches back, none of the 6 would be able to take it anymore. Beyond only feeble protests anymore, for the sovereign seated upon the Qin throne would have no qualms in drowning the realm in nearly half a century of bloody wars. With Qin armies led by generals who'd personally cause the death of enemies and civilians somewhere in the millions. Now the 6 kingdoms truly might all die.

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Traditional version of Su Qin's death were more fanciful and should not be believed, but here is the version. Since these versions were anachronistic it stated that when When Xuan died, King Min ascended the throne and Su Qin vied with the ministers of state for the monarch's favor. As such the various old guard ministers attempted to assassinate Su Qin but they were only partially successful, able to only inflict a mortal wound on him but not slay him entirely. The Qi king then tried to arrest the culprits but failed to do so. When Su Qi was on his deathbed he thought of a ploy against his ambushers. After Su Qin naturally succumbed to his wounds King Min would then frame Su Qin posthumously as a traitor and have his body was torn limb from limb publicly. Predictably, this then led to Su Qin's would-be assassins to reveal themselves, and they were subsequently executed.