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【Understand the historical knowledge of the four princes of the Warring States Period in one go】

The four great princes of the Warring States Period were famous for being admired by thousands of people. They could not only control the power of the prime minister, but also stir up the situation and even steal the sky and change the day. So what are the stories of the four great princes of the Warring States Period? What was their ending? In this video, let us get to know the four great princes of the Warring States Period.

The first of the four great princes of the Warring States Period was Mengchangjun Tian Wen. He was the grandson of King Wei of Qi. His father Tian Ying was the prime minister of Qi and was granted the land of Xue by King Min of Qi. Therefore, Mengchangjun Tian Wen was also called Xue Wen and Xue Gong.

Tian Ying had more than 40 sons, and when Tian Wen was born, Tian Ying said that he did not want to raise this son. But Tian Wen's mother still raised him secretly.

When Tian Wen grew up, he disliked his father, but he got his father's attention with his outstanding political talent.

Tian Wen criticized his father for serving as Prime Minister of Qi for many years but failing to expand Qi's territory, having no wise men under his command, and having servants in the mansion live a luxurious life while truly capable people cannot even get enough food to eat.

Tian Ying was not angry after hearing this, but felt that Tian Wen was different from his other sons. So he let Tian Wen take charge of the household affairs and entertain guests. By receiving guests from various countries, Tian Wen became famous.

After Tian Ying died, Tian Wen inherited Tian Ying's title and fiefdom. He had thousands of followers who looked up to him. Regardless of their status, Tian Wen treated them equally. Therefore, all the wise men in the world admired Tian Wen very much.

When King Zhaoxiang of Qin heard of the reputation of Mengchang Jun Tian Wen, he sent people to Qi to seek an audience with him and invite him to Qin. However, Tian Wen did not go under the persuasion of his retainers.

In 299 BC, King Zhaoxiang of Qin agreed to let Tian Wen go to Qin as prime minister. However, as a descendant of the royal family of Qi, Tian Wen was not trusted by the king of Qin. Soon, King Zhaoxiang of Qin dismissed Tian Wen and imprisoned him.

At least the retainers of Tian Wen played a role. The favorite concubine of King Zhaoxiang of Qin asked for a white fox fur as a condition for pleading with the King of Qin.

However, Tian Wen had already presented the fox fur to the King of Qin. At this time, one of Tian Wen's retainers went to the warehouse in the middle of the night wearing dog skin and stole the fox fur, and successfully persuaded the King of Qin to release Mengchangjun.

However, the King of Qin soon regretted his decision and sent people to chase Mengchangjun. Mengchangjun's retainers could make the sound of chickens crowing, which tricked the guards of Hangu Pass into opening the checkpoint. Mengchangjun was able to leave Qin. The idiom "chicken-crowing and dog-stealing" comes from this.

On his way back home, he was entertained by Pingyuan Jun of Zhao. When the people of Zhao heard that Mengchang Jun had arrived, they all came out to watch. After seeing Mengchang Jun, they all laughed at him and said that he was just a small man. Mengchang Jun was furious and ordered his retainers to kill hundreds of people, destroy a county and leave.

From this incident, we can see that the thousands of followers under Mengchangjun had already become a very powerful force. They were all loyal only to Mengchangjun, and they were a considerable threat to the King of Qin.

After returning to Qi, Mengchangjun became the prime minister of Qi. Later, the King of Qin suspected Mengchangjun of treason, so Mengchangjun had to resign and return to Xue. Later, the King of Qin appointed Lu Li as prime minister, hoping to form an alliance with Qin.

Mengchangjun wrote a letter in the name of the prime minister of Qin, asking Qin to attack Qi and drive Lü Li out of Qi. The King of Qin was very dissatisfied with Tian Wen's actions and wanted to get rid of Tian Wen, so Tian Wen fled to Wei and was appointed prime minister by King Zhao of Wei.

So Mengchangjun united Qin, Zhao, Yan, and Han to attack Qi, and destroyed 72 cities of Qi. The King of Qin died in exile, and King Xiang of Qi succeeded to the throne. At this time, Xuedi had become an independent feudal state, and King Xiang of Qi had to maintain good relations with Mengchangjun.

Later, when Lord Mengchang died, his various disciples vied for power, and Qi and Wei jointly destroyed Xue.

The second is Pingyuan Jun Zhao Sheng, a prince of Zhao State with thousands of guests. He was the prime minister of Zhao State during the reigns of King Huiwen of Zhao and King Xiaocheng of Zhao, and was dismissed from his position three times and reinstated three times.

After the Battle of Changping, the Qin army surrounded the capital of Zhao, Handan, and Zhao asked Chu and Wei for help. Before leaving, Pingyuan Jun wanted to select 20 literati to report together, but only 19 of them were qualified.

At this time, a man named Mao Sui stood up and wanted to follow Pingyuan Jun to Chu. Pingyuan Jun took him with him with some doubts. After arriving in Chu, Mao Sui persuaded the King of Chu to rescue Zhao with his courage and eloquence.

Lord Pingyuan was delighted and made Mao Sui his guest of honor. The idiom "毛遂自荐" came from this. Lord Pingyuan's wife also wrote a letter to her brother-in-law Wei Guo, blaming him for not helping Zhao.

"Lord Xinling steals the seal to save Zhao", but the reinforcements from Wei and Chu had not yet arrived in Handan, and the country was about to collapse. On the advice of his retainers, Lord Pingyuan Zhao Sheng led the way and asked his relatives to sew clothes for the soldiers. Finally, the reinforcements arrived, saving Zhao from destruction.

In 251 BC, Pingyuan Jun Zhao Sheng died, and his descendants also perished along with the State of Zhao after the State of Qin conquered the State of Zhao.

The third person was Wei Wuji, the Lord of Xinling, who stole the seal to save Zhao. He was the youngest son of King Zhao of Wei and was given the fief of Xinling, hence the name Lord of Xinling. Lord Xinling was a man of respect and courtesy, which attracted people from thousands of miles around to join him. He had three thousand retainers and his reputation spread far and wide among the princes.

Once, King Anli of Wei was playing chess with Lord Xinling when suddenly news came that the State of Zhao was going to send troops to attack Wei. The King of Wei was horrified, but Lord Xinling calmly told him that the King of Zhao was hunting.

Soon, news came that the King of Zhao was indeed hunting. The King of Wei asked Xinling Jun how he knew this. Xinling Jun said that he had planted a spy around the King of Zhao and could know his every move.

The King of Wei was very suspicious of Xinling Jun and did not dare to let him participate in government affairs. Later, when the Qin army surrounded Zhao, Pingyuan Jun sent people to Wei for help many times. After receiving a letter full of reproaches from Pingyuan Jun's wife, Xinling Jun decided to ask the King of Wei to send troops to help.

However, the King of Wei was afraid of Qin and did not dare to send troops. As a result, Xinling Jun's retainer Hou Ying gave him an idea to let the King of Wei's favorite concubine steal the military order from the King of Wei's palace as scheduled. So Xinling Jun asked Ru Ji for help, successfully got the military order, forcibly took over the army of General Jin Bi, and sent troops to rescue Zhao.

The siege of Zhao was lifted, but Xinling Jun could not return to Wei and had to stay in Zhao. Qin attacked Wei several times while Xinling Jun was away, so King Anli of Wei had to ask Xinling Jun to come back and lead the Wei army.

The five states united to attack Qin and drove Qin back to Hangu Pass. The King of Qin sent someone to alienate the relationship between the King of Wei and Xinling Jun. The King of Wei believed it and drove Wei Wuji away. Wei Wuji was disheartened and stopped participating in government affairs. In 243 BC, Wei Wuji died.

The fourth is Huang Xie, the Lord of Chu, who was famous for his eloquence and was highly appreciated by King Qingxiang of Chu. In 272 BC, King Qingxiang of Chu sent Huang Xie to Qin to seek peace. At that time, Chu had lost its old capital Yingdu and was forced to move eastward.

The Qin army was aggressive and wanted to send Bai Qi to join forces with the armies of Han and Wei to attack Chu. Huang Xie wrote a letter to King Zhaoxiang of Qin, persuading the king of Qin to unite with Chu, thus solving the urgent problem for Chu.

King Xiang of Chu sent Huang Xie and Crown Prince Xiong Wan to Qin as hostages, and Huang Xie stayed in Qin for 10 years. In 263 BC, King Qingxiang of Chu was seriously ill, and Huang Xie wanted to return to his country with Crown Prince Xiong Wan, but King Zhaoxiang of Qin refused to release them, so Huang Xie helped Crown Prince Xiong Wan escape from Qin.

King Zhaoxiang of Qin was furious and ordered Huang Xie to commit suicide again, but at the suggestion of Prime Minister Fan Ju, he let Huang Xie return to Chu. After Huang Xie returned to Chu, the old King of Chu died of illness, and the crown prince Xiong Wan succeeded to the throne as King Kaolie of Chu, who appointed Huang Xie as prime minister and named him Chunshen Jun.

In 257 BC, Chunshen Jun sent troops to rescue Zhao State at the request of Pingyuan Jun. Soon after, he conquered Lu State and made Chu State strong again. Chunshen Jun entertained thousands of guests and advocated luxury, which made the envoys of Pingyuan Jun of Zhao State feel inferior.

Later, King Kaolie of Chu asked Chunshen Jun to lead the coalition forces of the six states to attack Qin, but they were defeated by Qin. King Kaolie of Chu then distanced himself from Chunshen Jun.

King Kaolie of Chu had no son, so Li Yuan of Zhao gave his sister to Chunshen Jun. When Chunshen Jun learned that she was pregnant, he gave the girl to the King of Chu. Soon she gave birth to a son, who was made the Crown Prince of Chu.

Later, King Kaolie of Chu died. The crown prince was young, and his uncle Li Yuan was worried that the matter would be exposed, so he sent assassins to kill Chunshen Jun and his entire family.

[A review of the history of famous generals who fought back nomadic peoples Wei Qing and Huo Qubing]

Throughout history, the Xiongnu and the Turks have always been a major threat to the Central Plains dynasties, and how to prevent them has always been a headache for emperors of all dynasties. However, there are always a few famous generals who can defeat the Xiongnu and the Turks and return home in defeat.

In this video, let us review the famous scenes of repelling nomadic peoples throughout the ages.

During the Warring States Period, the Xiongnu had become a powerful enemy of the Central Plains dynasty, and the Xiongnu's nemesis at that time was the famous Zhao Wu'an Jun Li Mu. Li Mu was ordered to guard the border and fight against the Xiongnu.

Zhao had just experienced the Battle of Changping in 260 BC, and its own strength was damaged. It was not wise to confront the Xiongnu at this time. Therefore, after arriving at the border, Li Mu ordered the Zhao army not to take the initiative to fight. He turned into a fencing maniac, focusing on building fortifications and engaging in espionage activities.

Whenever the spies brought news of the Huns' attack, he ordered his soldiers to retreat into the city defenses. The Huns' army was unable to break into the city and naturally had no way to deal with Li Mu.

Li Mu had good intentions, but the King of Zhao and the soldiers defending the city labeled him a coward, believing that he was afraid to fight. So the King of Zhao changed his generals at the last minute, and as soon as the new general took office, he broke Li Mu's strategy of holding on, and every time the Huns invaded, he would lead his troops out of the city to fight.

Unexpectedly, he not only failed to repel the Xiongnu, but also caused heavy losses to his own troops. The King of Zhao had no choice but to ask Li Mu to come out of retirement again. After Li Mu returned to office, he continued his previous policies and refused to leave.

At the same time, the soldiers were well fed and well-drinking. The soldiers were naturally uneasy when they only ate and did not fight, so they asked Li Mu to lead the troops to fight. At this time, the Huns also confirmed that Li Mu was a coward who did not dare to fight, so they relaxed their vigilance against him.

In 244 BC, Li Mu finally waited for the right time to send troops, and he decided to lay out a bait. Li Mu had people grazing on the border to attract the Xiongnu army to plunder, and then deliberately failed to stop the Xiongnu from plundering.

The Xiongnu Chanyu tasted the sweetness and thought that Li Mu was neither brave enough nor able to fight them, so he led the main force to plunder the spoils. Unexpectedly, Li Mu's move was to lure out the main force of the Xiongnu.

After annihilating the main force of the Xiongnu who came to plunder in one fell swoop, they were soon surrounded by Li Mu's army and suffered heavy losses. For more than 10 years thereafter, the Xiongnu dared not to invade the border again.

In the Han Dynasty, the Xiongnu was still a troublesome opponent. Even Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, was trapped on Mount Baideng. However, such a tough opponent was defeated seven times by a general of the Han Dynasty.

This Xiongnu killer was Wei Qing. In 130 BC, the Xiongnu moved southward, and Emperor Wu of Han sent four armies to fight them. The commander of one of the armies was Wei Qing.

Wei Qing led his troops deep into dangerous territory all the way to the Xiongnu holy land of Longcheng, and in this battle he defeated 700 enemies and achieved the first kill of the Xiongnu since the founding of the country.

The three armies that set out at the same time as him either failed or returned without success. This victory not only made Wei Qing a marquis, but also made him more valued by Emperor Wu of Han.

When the Huns invaded again in 127 BC, Emperor Wu of Han still thought of Wei Qing, but this time he sent Wei Qing to attack the Huns' stronghold in Henan - the Hetao area of ​​the Yellow River.

Faced with this task, Wei Qing decided to first go around the rear of the Xiongnu army and capture Gaoque in order to cut off the connection between the Xiongnu King Baiyang and the King of Loufan and the Xiongnu royal court.

He then led his troops to surround the King of Baiyang and the King of Loufan, defeating the enemy in one fell swoop and successfully taking back the Hetao area. Not only that, Wei Qing also captured thousands of Xiongnu alive and seized tens of thousands of livestock. However, under his leadership, the Han Dynasty soldiers suffered almost no losses in this battle.

In 124 BC, Wei Qing led 3 troops to attack Gaoque, the seat of the Right Xian King of the Xiongnu. When the Han army arrived, the Right Xian King was drinking. He never thought that Wei Qing would lead his troops to this place.

So the Han Dynasty fought another prepared battle, and the Xiongnu began to experience an unprepared escape. After this battle, Wei Qing captured the Xiongnu, and even more than 10 Xiongnu kings could not escape from Wei Qing. Only the Right Xian King led hundreds of soldiers to break through and escape.

Next, Wei Qing joined the campaign against the Xiongnu with another person - his nephew Huo Qubing. As the saying goes, nephews resemble their uncles, and judging from Huo Qubing's military talent, this is absolutely true.

In 123 BC, Huo Qubing, who was only 800 years old, followed his uncle Wei Qing to fight against the Xiongnu. This was Huo Qubing's first time to participate in a war. Under Wei Qing's instruction, he could only lead cavalrymen to watch the battle on a hill.

When Wei Qing led his army to a great victory and the Xiongnu Right Xian King took advantage of the chaos to escape, Huo Qubing realized that the time had come. He immediately led his army to chase the Xiongnu fleeing soldiers, but he did not expect that the Blood King's army did not catch up with him, but instead let him get the position of Yizhixie Chanyu Daxingfu Ruohouchan.

So Huo Qubing marched towards Ji Ruohouchan's tribe. When he arrived at the tribe, he happened to catch the Huns' ceremony of offering sacrifices to the sky. He let some soldiers blend into the ceremony and took the opportunity to set fire.

When the Xiongnu were in chaos due to the fire, he led his army to rush down from the high ground, thus obtaining and leading 800 people to kill 2028 enemies. Not only did he directly send Ji Ruohouchan back to the west, but he also captured the Xiongnu Chanyu's uncle, making great contributions.

In 121 BC, Huo Qubing led his troops to fight again. This time he launched a lightning offensive. In just six days, he marched a thousand miles and destroyed five countries, destroying one country a day on average.

Huo Qubing then led his troops to Gaolan Mountain to fight a decisive battle with the main force of the Xiongnu. In this battle, he directly killed the Xiongnu King Zhelan and King Luhou, and defeated the Xiongnu King Hunye.