In 241 BCE, five of the six eastern states – Zhao, Han, Wei, Yan, and Chu – formed a final vertical alliance (hezong) against Qin, with Qi abstaining.
The collapse of the last alliance
They appointed Lord Chunshen of Chu as supreme commander and marched on Hangu Pass, Qin’s western gateway.
But Prime Minister Lü Buwei of Qin dispatched five generals – Meng Ao, Wang Jian, Huan Yi, Li Xin, and Neishi Teng – each with 50,000 troops, to counter them. Wang Jian planned a surprise night attack on the Chu vanguard, the alliance’s linchpin.
However, a leak betrayed his plan. Lord Chunshen, terrified, fled without warning his allies. By dawn, Chu’s camp was empty. The remaining four armies, hearing their leader had vanished, panicked and scattered like mice before a cat. The last great coalition against Qin collapsed before a single major battle.
With Chu weakened and alliances shattered, Qin’s path to unification lay wide open.
A boy diplomat and a broken pact
Seeking to isolate Zhao, King Zheng of Qin (later Qin Shi Huang) feigned friendship with Yan. He sent envoys to break the Yan-Zhao alliance, and King Xi of Yan – gullible and fearful – agreed. To seal the pact, he sent his son, Crown Prince Dan, as a hostage to Xianyang, and requested that Qin send a minister to serve as Yan’s chancellor.
Lü Buwei chose Zhang Tang, but Zhang refused:
“I’ve fought Zhao many times – they hate me! To reach Yan, I must pass through Zhao. It’s suicide!”
Frustrated, Lü Buwei sulked at home – until his twelve-year-old retainer, Gan Luo, intervened.
Gan Luo confronted Zhang Tang:
“Do you think the Chancellor will forgive your defiance?”
Terrified, Zhang relented. But still fearing Zhao, he hesitated to depart.
Gan Luo then volunteered:
“Let me go to Zhao first – to clear the way.”
Impressed, King Zheng appointed the boy as a grandee, granting him ten chariots, 100 attendants, and full diplomatic authority.
The boy who outwitted a King
In Zhao, King Daoxiang (son of King Xiaocheng) received Gan Luo with suspicion – then astonishment:
“A child… as envoy?”
Gan Luo cut straight to the point:
“Yan has sent its crown prince to Qin. Qin is sending Zhang Tang to Yan as chancellor. Their alliance is sealed. And you, Great King, are now surrounded.”
He proposed a cunning deal:
“Give Qin five cities in Hejian. In return, I’ll persuade Qin to abandon Yan. Then Zhao can conquer Yan unopposed – gaining far more than it gives.”
Blinded by greed, King Daoxiang agreed. He handed over the maps, registers, gold, and jade.
Gan Luo returned triumphant. Qin halted Zhang Tang’s mission, leaving Yan isolated. Zhao immediately invaded, seizing Yan territory.
Trapped in Xianyang, Prince Dan watched helplessly as his homeland was carved up. Desperate, he sought allies – even approaching Gan Luo – but the boy prodigy died suddenly, cutting off hope.
The fall of Lü Buwei and Dan’s escape
Meanwhile, King Zheng – now 22 years old – moved to seize absolute power. Viewing Lü Buwei as a threat, he stripped him of office in 237 BCE. A year later, Lü was forced to commit suicide.
With Lü gone and strategist Wei Liao advising relentless conquest, Qin accelerated its wars of unification.
Prince Dan, realizing he’d never be released, disguised himself as a servant, smeared dirt on his face, and slipped out of Xianyang in 232 BCE. After a perilous journey, he crossed Hangu Pass and returned to Yan – burning with hatred for King Zheng of Qin.
Rather than rebuild Yan’s army or seek new alliances, Dan fixated on assassination. He spent his fortune recruiting warriors, including the young killer Qin Wuyang, and offered sanctuary to Fan Yuqi (Fan Wuqi)- a Qin general who had fled after a failed rebellion.
Most importantly, he found Jing Ke, a master swordsman. Dan treated him as a brother – sharing his carriage, clothes, food, and home – fearing only that his hospitality might seem insufficient.
The gathering storm
By 230 BCE, Qin had annexed Han. In 228 BCE, it used disinformation to have Zhao execute General Li Mu, then captured Handan, ending Zhao. Only Prince Jia of Zhao held out in Daicheng (Dai City).
Now, Wang Jian’s army turned north – toward Yan.
Panicked, Prince Dan summoned Jing Ke:
“We cannot fight Qin with armies – that’s like throwing eggs at stone. Nor can we revive the alliance. There’s only one way: send a brave man as envoy. If Qin returns conquered lands, all is well. If not… kill the king.”
Jing Ke agreed – but insisted on preparation.
The price of vengeance
To gain audience with King Zheng, Jing Ke needed irresistible gifts. He chose two:
- The fertile lands of Dukang (modern Zhuozhou, Hebei) – mapped on silk.
- The head of Fan Yuqi (Fan Wuqi)- whose family Qin had exterminated, and whose skull Qin coveted.
Jing Ke attained the map from Prince Dan. He then went secretly to meet Fan Wuqi (Fan Yuqi),
“The King of Qin has caused the deaths of your parents and entire clan, and he has even placed a bounty on your head. Do you not wish to seek revenge?”
Upon hearing these words, Fan Wuqi’s tears fell. He sighed and said,
“Whenever I think of the King of Qin, I long to fight him to the death, but how could that ever be possible?”
Jing Ke replied,
“I have a plan that could both rid Yan of this calamity and avenge you, General. But I hardly dare speak of it.”
Fan Wuqi urged him,
“What plan?”
Jing Ke opened his mouth but then fell silent again. Seeing him hesitate, Fan Wuqi pressed,
“If it can bring me revenge, I would gladly give even my own head. What could possibly be too difficult to say?”
Jing Ke then said,
“I am determined to carry out an assassination, but I fear I may not be able to get close to the King of Qin. If I could present him with your head, he would surely grant me an audience. At that moment, I would seize his sleeve with my left hand and stab him in the chest with a dagger in my right. In this way, the vengeance of you, General, of Yan, and of all the feudal lords would be achieved. What do you think, General?”
Fan Wuqi gritted his teeth and said,
“This is what I think of day and night. Do you fear I would begrudge this head of mine? Very well, take it, and may you achieve immediate success!”
With these words, he drew his sword and took his own life.
Jing Ke sent someone to inform Prince Dan who then mourned and buried Fan with honor, and gave Jing Ke a poisoned dagger hidden in a map scroll.
Dan urged haste. Jing Ke waited for his friend Gai Nie – but time ran out. Reluctantly, he chose Qin Wuyang as his aide.
Farewell at the Yi River
On departure day, Dan and loyalists escorted Jing Ke to the Yi River. In a solemn ritual, they removed hats and outer robes, donning white mourning garments.
As musician Gao Jianli played the zhu (a struck zither), Jing Ke sang:
“The wind blows bleakly, the Yi River runs cold;
The hero departs – and will never return!”
Dan knelt, offering wine. Jing Ke drank, seized Qin Wuyang’s arm, leapt into the chariot – and never looked back.
The dagger revealed
In 227 BCE, Jing Ke reached Xianyang. King Zheng, thrilled by the gifts – Fan Yuqi’s head and Dukang’s map – granted immediate audience.
But on the palace steps, Qin Wuyang faltered. His face turned ashen, knees trembling. Courtiers shouted:
“Why does the envoy tremble?”
Jing Ke covered:
“A rustic from the north – overawed by Your Majesty’s majesty.”
Suspicious, King Zheng ordered:
“Send him away. You come alone.”
Alone, Jing Ke presented the head. Then, slowly, he unrolled the map – inch by inch.
At the end – the dagger gleamed.
When the map is fully unrolled, the dagger appears!
Jing Ke grabbed the blade, seized the king’s sleeve, and lunged.
King Zheng jerked back – the sleeve tore. He leapt over a screen, fleeing. Jing Ke pursued.
A court physician hurled a medicine bag – Jing Ke deflected it with his arm.
Then – the king drew his long sword. He hacked Jing Ke’s leg. Crippled, Jing Ke threw the dagger – it missed.
Moments later, Jing Ke was dead, hacked apart on the marble floor.
Legacy of a failed blade
Though the assassination failed, “Tu Qiong Bi Jian” (When the map is fully unrolled, the dagger appears!) became immortal – a symbol of desperate courage against tyranny.
King Zheng, shaken, accelerated his campaigns. Within five years, Yan fell. By 221 BCE, China was unified under Qin.
Yet Jing Ke’s name endured – not as a conqueror, but as the man who dared strike the Son of Heaven.
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