First, Wang Jian and Wang Ben's father and son destroyed five of the six kingdoms
In Qin's war to unify China, Wang Jian and Wang Ben's father and son undoubtedly contributed the most. Except for Korea, which was destroyed by Nei Shi Teng, the other five kingdoms of Zhao, Chu, Wei, Yan, and Qi were all destroyed by Wang.
In the war to unify the six kingdoms, Zhao and Chu were the most difficult to conquer, and the person who achieved the great feat of destroying Zhao and Chu was none other than the famous general Wang Jian. In 228 BC, Wang Jian led the Qin army to conquer Handan, and the State of Zhao was destroyed. In 224 BC, Wang Jian led an army of 600,000 to attack Chu, and destroyed the State of Chu the following year. These two battles were tough battles, and Wang Jian took the greatest credit.
Wang Jian’s son Wang Ben also performed very well. He destroyed the Wei State in 225 BC, the Yan State and the remaining forces of the Zhao State in 222 BC to replace the regime, and commanded his army in 221 BC. Join Qi, destroy the Qi State, and achieve the unification of China.
As the saying goes, the bird is hidden in the bow, and the rabbit is dead and the dog is cooked. Prior to this, several famous generals of the Warring States Period did not end well, such as Bai Qi of Qin, Lian Po of Zhao, and Li Mu. Wang Jian and Wang Ben, father and son, had such great achievements that they were able to shock the Lord. Why were they able to be saved? This is mainly because Wang Jian has political wisdom. Second, ask for land and ask for houses: Wang Jian's political wisdom
Compared with Bai Qi, Lian Po, Li Mu and others, Wang Jian's political wisdom is much higher.
After destroying Zhao State, Qin State targeted Chu State. At that time, the King of Qin asked Wang Jian and Li Xin how many troops were needed to destroy Chu. Li Xin replied that it only required 200,000, but Wang Jian said that it must be 600,000. At that time, the Qin State had about one million troops, and 600,000 was equivalent to more than half of the total strength of the Qin Army. This proposal undoubtedly aroused the vigilance of the King of Qin. If the 600,000 troops were handed over to Wang Jian, could the King of Qin not be worried? Therefore, the King of Qin finally chose Li Xin's plan and attacked Chu with 200,000 men.
At this time, Wang Jian realized that the King of Qin had distrusted him, so he simply retreated and applied for retirement on the grounds of illness. The King of Qin followed the current and agreed to Wang Jian's resignation and relieved him of his military power.
Later, Li Xin defeated Chu and returned. The King of Qin had no choice but to go to Wang Jian himself and agreed to allocate 600,000 troops.
At this time, Wang Jian not only had to consider the issue of destroying Chu, but also how to preserve himself and his family after destroying Chu. He knew that a general was like a sharp sword on the battlefield and a hunting dog raised by the king. When the day came that he was no longer using it, he would be like a "rabbit dead and a dog cooked", which was also common in Chinese history. Think about it, everyone, Wang Jian has 600,000 troops. If he rebels, can King Qin be able to bear it? Therefore, the King of Qin ostensibly reused Wang Jian, but in his heart he had to be wary. This was the king's ambivalence.
If Wang Jian is fighting hard on the front line and someone falsely accuses him of rebellion behind his back, the King of Qin will believe him even if he doesn't believe it. The king would rather kill by mistake than take the risk himself.
Before leaving for the expedition, Wang Jian made a special request: he had taken a fancy to some good land and mansions, and hoped that the King of Qin would reward him. King Qin couldn't help but laugh. If you destroy Chu, are you afraid that you won't have a mansion to live in? He felt incredible at Wang Jian's request. After the army set off, Wang Jian did not give up and sent five people to the King of Qin to implement the matter of sealing fields and rewarding land.
The generals were also puzzled as to why the old general was so petty. Wang Jian said to everyone: The King of Qin is suspicious and has entrusted the entire army to me. How can he not be suspicious and wary of me? I ask for land and house as a family property for my children and grandchildren, which shows that I am determined to stop here and have no ambition. Everyone was convinced after hearing this. This is the so-called political wisdom of "asking for land and asking for houses". Third, after Qin destroyed the Six Kingdoms, Wang Jian and Wang Ben's father and son died a good death
It was precisely because of Wang Jian's prudence and precautionary measures that after Qin unified China, he avoided the fate of a rabbit dying and a dog cooking.
Although history books do not describe Wang Jian in detail in his later years, we can find some clues.
First, after Wang Jian destroyed Chu, he also commanded the southern expedition to Baiyue. "Historical Records" records: "Because of the southern expedition to the king of Baiyue." After that, Wang Jian's deeds were not found in the history books.
Secondly, in the twenty-eighth year of Qin Shihuang, that is, 219 BC, Wang Ben and his son Wang Li followed the emperor on his eastward tour. At that time, Qin Shihuang erected a monument in which Wang Ben's name appeared: "King Wei Qin also controlled the whole world, and he was named emperor. He was responsible for pacifying the eastern land and conquering Langxie.
Liehou Wuchenghou Wang Li, Liehou Tongwuhou Wang Ben, Lunhou Jianchenghou Zhaohai, Lunhou Changwuhoucheng, Lunhou Wuxinhou Feng Wuze, Prime Minister Wei Lin, Prime Minister Wang Wan, Qing Li Si, Qing Wang Wu, and the fifth doctor Zhao Ying and the fifth doctor Yang Zhencong discussed with each other at sea. "It can be seen from this inscription that Wang Ben only inherited the Eastern Patrol as a marquis and had no actual official position. It can be seen that Wang Ben, like his father Wang Jian, faded out of the political arena.
Third, to the Qin Dynasty In the second year of Qin Dynasty, Wang Jian and his son Wang Ben had already passed away. ”
Fourth, Wang Jian and Wang Li both died a good death. Although the history books do not record how Wang Jian and Wang Ben died, they must not have been killed. Because Wang Jian’s grandson and Wang Ben’s son Wang Li , was already the senior general in Northern Xinjiang after Meng Tian when Qin II came to power. If Wang Jian and Wang Ben were executed, then Wang Li could not be in a high position. Fourth, how did Wang Li die? >
Let’s talk about Wang Jian’s grandson Wang Li
According to historical records, Wang Li was granted the title of Marquis of Wucheng in 219 BC, the 28th year of Qin Shihuang. The year was two years after Qin unified the Six Kingdoms. There may be two reasons why Wang Li was granted the title of Marquis: One is that he made military exploits in the war to unify the Six Kingdoms, and he probably followed his father Wang Bi to participate. A series of battles; the second possibility is that Wang Jian and Wang Ben's father and son contributed too much, and as a favor, Wang Li was also named a prince.
I personally prefer the former possibility. That is to say, Wang Li participated in the battle to unify the six kingdoms and made great contributions. The reason is as follows: During the later Battle of Julu, Wang Li led the Qin army to suppress the rebel army. At that time, the rebel army called Wang Li "the famous general of Qin". , it can be seen that Wang Li was experienced in many battles.
In 215 BC, when Meng Tian attacked the Huns, Wang Li should also have participated in the Northern Expedition, because by the end of Qin Shihuang's reign, Wang Li was in northern Xinjiang. His position was second only to Meng Tian. After the Shaqiu Incident, Zhao Gao sent an envoy to Northern Xinjiang to order Meng Tian to hand over military power to Wang Li. Later, Meng Tian was executed and Wang Li became the highest military commander in Northern Xinjiang.
After the uprising of Chen Sheng and Wu Guang, Wang Li's troops were transferred to the east to suppress the rebels. They were controlled by the famous general Zhang Han. Wang Li's troops were the main force of the Qin army that attacked Julu. Later, Xiang Yu made a last-ditch battle and defeated the Qin Dynasty. The army was defeated and captured.
What happened to Wang Li? The information I read on the Internet said that Wang Li was executed by Xiang Yu, but I did not see this statement when I read the history books. "Historical Records" writes: "Xiang Yu rescued Zhao and attacked the Qin army, but Wang Li was captured, and Wang Li's army surrendered to the princes. "It only mentions that Wang Li was captured, not that he was killed. Sima Qian wrote another sentence when commenting on Wang Jian: "It is not appropriate that Wang Li, the grandson of the Sun, was captured by Xiang Yu!" Still only mentioned that Wang Li was captured, and did not mention that Wang Li was captured. It is not mentioned that Wang Li was killed.
So, why do people think that Wang Li was killed by Xiang Yu?
Because Xiang Yu later killed only a few of the 200,000 Qin soldiers? None of them were killed, including Zhang Han, Sima Xin, etc., but Wang Li's name was not seen. Therefore, it was speculated that Wang Li might have died in this trap, but this was just a hypothesis. Wang Li was a famous general after all. Not necessarily included in the trap.
However, it is almost certain that Wang Li did not survive, because there was no trace of Wang Li in the subsequent battle between Han and Chu. As a famous general, he will be the target of competition and is unlikely to be unknown. Fifth, about the descendants of the Wang family
Wang Li has two sons, one is Wang Yuan and the other is Wang Wei. .
Wang Yuan fled the Qin Dynasty and moved to Langye. Later, this branch evolved into the Langya Wang family and reached its peak in the Jin Dynasty. After the fall of the Western Jin Dynasty, Yiguan moved south and the Eastern Jin Dynasty was established. It is inseparable from the support of the Langxie Wang family, so there is a saying that "the king and the horse rule the world". The king is the Langxie Wang family, and the horse is the royal Sima family. The Wang family even ranks before the Sima family, which shows the power of his family. Da. Wang Dao, a famous politician in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and Wang Xizhi, a famous calligrapher, all came from the Langye Wang family. According to the rule of later generations, the Langye Wang family produced 92 prime ministers in Chinese history.
Wang Li's other son, Wang Wei, and his ninth grandson lived in Jinyang, Taiyuan. This branch evolved into the Taiyuan Wang family and had two branches, one was the Jinyang Wang family and the other was the Qixian Wang family. The Wang family has produced many famous figures, such as Wang Yun in the Three Kingdoms era, Wang Ling in the Wei Dynasty, and Wang Tanzhi in the Jin Dynasty.