Brief: This article details the final military campaigns that led to the Qin unification of China in 221 BCE. It chronicles the systematic destruction of the rival states—starting with the punitive campaign against Yan and the strategic flooding of Wei’s capital. The narrative highlights the pivotal clash with Chu, where veteran general Wang Jian secured 600,000 troops and ensured the King’s trust by feigning greed for land to mask his lack of political ambition. After crushing Chu resistance, Qin forces mopped up the northern states before conquering Qi, which had fatally trusted in neutrality. The article concludes with King Zheng proclaiming himself Qin Shi Huang, the First Emperor.
The Fall of Yan
After the failed assassination attempt by Jing Ke, King Zheng of Qin – now consumed by fury – ordered Generals Wang Jian and Wang Ben to crush Yan without mercy.
Crown Prince Dan led Yan’s forces in person, but they were routed decisively. He and King Xi of Yan fled with survivors and civilians to Liaodong (modern Liaoning). Yet King Zheng demanded Dan’s head as the price of peace.
Cornered and desperate, King Xi executed his own son, sending Dan’s head to Xianyang as a token of submission. Though temporarily spared, Yan was now a rump state clinging to life in the frozen northeast.
A strategic pause: Turning south
King Zheng consulted his chief strategist, Wei Liao:
“Han is gone. Yan is exiled to Liaodong. Zhao survives only in Dai. None can threaten us now. But winter is harsh. Let us first conquer Wei and Chu in the south. Once they fall, the north will collapse on its own.”
Heeding this counsel, King Zheng withdrew northern troops and dispatched Wang Ben with 100,000 men against Wei.
King Jia of Wei (grandson of King Anxi) pleaded with Qi for aid. But Qi’s chancellor, Hou Sheng, warned King Jian:
“Qin has not harmed us these years. Why provoke it over others’ wars?”
Qi chose neutrality – a fatal illusion of safety. Abandoned, Wei stood alone.
In 225 BCE, Wang Ben diverted the Yellow River to flood Daliang, Wei’s capital. The city fell. King Jia and his ministers were carted off in cages to Xianyang.
The cost of underestimating Chu
Next, King Zheng turned to Chu – the last great southern power. He asked young general Li Xin:
“How many troops do you need?”
“200,000 will suffice,” Li Xin replied confidently.
But veteran Wang Jian insisted:
“600,000 – no less. Chu is vast, populous, and capable of raising a million men.”
Dismissing the old man as timid, King Zheng appointed Li Xin and Meng Wu to lead 200,000 troops south.
They met General Xiang Yan – and were annihilated. Seven generals died; the army shattered.
Humiliated, King Zheng personally visited Wang Jian, begging him to return. After extracting a promise of 600,000 men, Wang Jian agreed – but not before making a peculiar request.
The general who asked for gardens
At the farewell banquet in Bashang, Wang Jian presented King Zheng with a list:
“Grant me fine estates, houses in Xianyang.”
King remarked,
“When the general returns victorious, would he still fear poverty?”
He granted all the requests in full, thinking to himself,
“This old general really does have a rather petty streak.”
En route, Wang Jian sent messengers again – asking for a garden, then a fish pond.
His deputy, Meng Wu, teased him.
“The old general’s requests for houses and fields are understandable, but why ask for gardens and ponds as well? Once the war is over, will the general still fear not being enfeoffed as a lord?”
Wang Jian whispered into his ear,
“Which ruler is not suspicious? Can you guarantee that our king is any different? With 600,000 troops – the entire Qin army – in my hands, how could the king not fear rebellion? My petty requests show I crave only land and trivial matters, not power. It eases his mind.”
Only then did Meng Wu understand. He nodded and said,
“The old general’s insight leaves me utterly in awe.”
The decisive blow to Chu
Wang Jian camped at Tianzhong Mountain (modern Runan, Henan). Xiang Yan, with 400,000 men, issued daily challenges – but Wang Jian refused battle, focusing only on logistics.
For over a year, nothing happened. Xiang Yan grew complacent:
“He’s here to defend, not fight.”
Then – suddenly – Qin struck like a thunderclap. Unprepared, Chu’s army shattered. Xiang Yan fled south, losing men and territory daily. His deputy Jing Qi committed suicide. King Fuchu of Chu was captured.
Undeterred, Xiang Yan rallied 25,000 recruits, joined Lord Changping (the king’s brother), and declared him new King of Chu in Jiangnan, behind the Yangtze.
But Wang Jian had already ordered warships built. In 223 BCE, Qin crossed the Yangtze, crushing the last resistance. Changping died by arrows; Xiang Yan took his own life.
Chu – the mightiest rival – was no more.
Mopping up the north: The end of Yan and Zhao
Wang Jian retired. His son, Wang Ben, inherited command.
In 222 BCE, he marched on Liaodong, captured King Xi of Yan, and sent him to Xianyang in chains. Then he turned to Daicheng, where Prince Jia of Zhao – now King of Dai – fought one last stand before falling on his sword.
Yan and Zhao were extinguished.
The last domino: Qi’s illusion of safety
Only Qi remained.
For decades, King Jian of Qi had refused all alliances, trusting Qin’s false friendship. Even as five states fell, he sent no aid, believing neutrality would save him.
Only when Qin armies massed on his border did he belatedly mobilize – but it was too late.
In 221 BCE, hundreds of thousands of Qin troops swept into Qi like a mountain avalanche. Qi’s untested soldiers melted away. Wang Ben entered Linzi within days. King Jian surrendered without a fight.
Thus, Fan Ju’s strategy of “befriend the distant, attack the near” reached its perfect conclusion.
The birth of the First Emperor
With all six states conquered, King Zheng stood alone atop the realm.
He declared:
“My merit surpasses the Three Sovereigns; my virtue exceeds the Five Emperors.”
He fused these titles into one: “Huangdi” – Emperor. As the First Emperor, he became Qin Shi Huang.
The 500-year chaos of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods ended.
China was unified – not by alliance, but by sword, strategy, and will.
Note
King Zheng of Qin (Qin Shi Huang)
The ruler who conquered all six warring states and became the First Emperor of China in 221 BCE. He ended centuries of civil war and founded the Qin Dynasty.
Wang Jian
The greatest general of Qin. He demanded 600,000 troops to conquer Chu and used requests for land to prove he had no political ambition, calming the king’s suspicion.
Wang Ben
Son of Wang Jian. He flooded Wei’s capital, conquered Yan and Zhao, and finally accepted Qi’s surrender.
Li Xin
A young, overconfident Qin general who failed to conquer Chu with only 200,000 soldiers.
Xiang Yan
Chu’s top general. He defeated Li Xin but was eventually crushed by Wang Jian.
Wei Liao
Chief strategist of Qin who designed the step‑by‑step unification plan.
Unification of China (221BCE)
Qin defeated Han, Zhao, Wei, Chu, Yan, and Qi – ending the Warring States period and creating a single empire.
Ally the Distant, Attack the Nearby
Fan Ju’s classic strategy that guided Qin’s conquests: make peace with far states while defeating neighboring ones one by one.
Flooding Daliang
Wang Ben diverted the Yellow River to destroy Wei’s capital – a decisive and ruthless tactic.
Self‑Preservation Through Greed
Wang Jian asked for farms and gardens to show he only wanted wealth, not power, so the king would not distrust him.
The last domino falls
Qi thought neutrality would save it, but it was the last to be conquered.
A general’s wisdom
Wang Jian proved that patience and political caution win wars and keep you alive.
From warring states to one empire
The meaning of Qin’s achievement: China became united under one ruler.
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