Guiguzi: 15 for Planning and Conducting Affairs (Illustrated Version)

Author: Zhang Yijie
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-07-01
Features: In 329 BC, Zhang Yi arrived in the state of Qin, which was recruiting talents, and was appreciated by King Hui of Qin, participating in state affairs. He broke the alliance of the feudal lords against Qin with his foreign policy of "horizontal integration" and truly did a great deal for King Hui of Qin. Throughout his career as a persuader, Zhang Yi had mastered the strategy of "Yin-Yang Baitian" to a high degree. In 313 BC, the Qin King wanted to attack Qi but was worried about triggering an intervention by the powerful state of Chu, which had an alliance with Qi. Therefore, he sent Zhang Yi to Chu, which became the historical farce known as the "Six hundred li of land" (actually only six li) of land. After being humiliated, the Chu King was furious and longed to devour Zhang Yi. Later, Chu offered the Qianzhong region to Qin in exchange for Zhang Yi, intending to kill him to vent his anger. However, Zhang Yi had already bribed Chu's favorite minister Jin Shang, who then persuaded Chu's favorite concubine Zheng Xiu to whisper in the king's ear. As a result, not only did the Chu King dare not kill Zhang Yi, but he also treated him with great favor and happily sent the Qianzhong region to Qin to curry favor with them. After escaping from Chu, Zhang Yi resumed his old trade, using his eloquence and exploiting contradictions among the feudal lords, doing his utmost to disrupt their alliance against Qin. Zhang Yi happily left Chu and immediately went to Korea, where he persuaded the king: "Korea's land is mostly rugged mountains, with little grain production. The country does not have enough food reserves for two years, and its army is no more than 200,000. Qin, however, has a million soldiers. For the sake of the king, it would be better to serve Qin and attack Chu. This would not only avoid the disaster of Qin's attack but also win the favor of Qin—there is no better strategy than this." The king of Korea foolishly agreed. Before the dust of his trip to Chu and Korea had settled, Zhang Yi was sent by the Qin King to the east to Qi. Upon arriving in Qi, he said to the king: "Those who advocate the vertical alliance will surely persuade your majesty that Qi, with the 'Three Jin' (Han, Zhao, Wei) as a shield, is vast and populous, with strong armies and brave soldiers. Even a hundred states of Qin could not harm Qi. Now, Qin and Chu have become brother states, Korea has offered the land of Yiyang to Qin, Wei has submitted the land outside the river to Qin, and Zhao has ceded the land between the rivers to Qin. Only your majesty refuses to listen to Qin, and then Qin can let Han, Zhao, and Wei attack Qi. By then, Qi will no longer be able to ally with Qin." The king of Qi listened to Zhang Yi and turned to Qin. Zhang Yi then went west to Zhao and said to the king: "Your majesty has united the strength of all the states to resist Qin. For 15 years, Qin's troops have not left the. Your majesty's prestige has spread across the six states of Shandong (Qi, Chu, Han, Wei, Zhao, Yan). We in Qin are very afraid and have been training our troops and storing grain, daring not to act rashly. But your majesty has gone too far, repeatedly threatening Qin. Although Qin is in a remote and distant land, we have long harbored resentment against Zhao. Now, Qin's troops are stationed in Mianchi. The Qin King has sent me to inform you and your ministers that Chu and Qin have now become brother states; Han and Wei have become vassals of Qin; and Qi has offered the land rich in fish and salt to Qin. In the current situation,