Strategies During the Warring States Period (403 B.C-221 B.C.)
Cuo Si-ma argued with Yi Zhang in front of King Hui of the State of Qin. Si-ma
wanted to attack the State of Shu. Zhang said, "Attacking Shu is not as good as
attacking the State of Han." The king said, "I would like to hear both of you
explain your reasoning."
Zhang responded, "We should befriend the States of Wei and Chu, and then send
an army to occupy the region along the Three Rivers, block the entrance of
Mountains Huan-yuan and Gou-shi, and set checkpoints on the road to Chun-liu
City. We should then have Wei blockade Nan-yang City, and Chu send an army to
Nan-zeng City. Our own army should attack Cities Xin-cheng and Yi-yang in order
to reach the suburbs of Eastern Zhou and Western Zhou. Then we can denounce the
Emperor of the Zhou dynasty and invade the lands of Chu and Wei. The emperor
will know that he does not have enough military strength to fight against us,
and hand over his governing symbol, the Jiu-ding 1. According to
imperial court documents, once we have the Jiu-ding, we will be able to coerce
the emperor and exercise power over all the other kings in China. Then all these
kings dare not disobey. This plan would be the work of a great king. Now Shu is
a remote and undeveloped country, and the leader of barbaric nations. If we
attack Shu, it will tire our soldiers and people. The small gain in our
reputation is not worth the cost. Furthermore, it is not profitable to capture
their land. It is said, 'One must go to the capital city to compete for
emperorship and go to a market to compete for profit.' The Three Rivers are the
food market and the palace is the seat of government of our world. Si-ma
suggested that your Majesty not compete with other kings in China, but compete
with barbaric tribes instead. If you follow his advice, then your approach will
be far from the goal of great kings."
Si-ma said, "I do not agree with Zhang. It is said, 'A king who wants to
enrich his country must expand its land; who wants to strengthen his army must
enrich his people; who wishes to be an emperor must broaden his virtue. Once a
king has met these three conditions, the emperorship will follow.' Now our land
is small and our people are poor. Therefore, I would like to suggest that we
start with an easy goal. Shu, a remote western country and the leader of the
barbaric nations, is now ruled by a king who is as debauched as Jie and Zhou
2. If we attack it, we would be like jackals and wolves scattering a
flock of sheep. Capturing their land is sufficient for expanding our territory.
Acquiring their wealth is sufficient for enriching our people. Simply mobilizing
our troops without wounding crowds will cause Shu to surrender. Therefore, our
conquest of Shu will not make the world think of us as a bully. Confiscating the
wealth of Shu will not make the other kings in China consider us greedy. This
single act will boost our reputation and make us more prosperous. Furthermore,
we will be praised for overthrowing tyranny and bringing order to chaos. If we
were to attack Han and coerce the emperor, we would become infamous. This action
would be illegal and would not necessarily benefit us. It would be dangerous to
attack an emperor who all the other kings in China respect. Let me explain why.
Zhou symbolizes the central government recognized by all the people in China.
The State of Han is Zhou's ally. If Zhou knew they would lose Jiu-ding and Han
knew they would lose the Three Rivers anyway, these two countries would surely
unite their forces and plan together to fight against us. By seeking
reinforcements from the States of Qi and Zhao, they could break through the
siege of Chu and Wei. Then they could give Jiu-ding to Chu and the land along
the Three Rivers to Wei. You could not prevent them from doing so. This is why I
say attacking Han would be dangerous and is not as good an option as attacking
King Hui said, "Great! I will follow your advice." Eventually, the king
dispatched his troops to attack Shu. After ten months, they captured it. Thus,
Shu was conquered. Qin demoted Shu's king to a duke and sent Zhuang Chen to be
its prime minister. After annexing Shu, Qin increased its strength and
prosperity, and looked down upon other countries in China.
The Jiu-ding was a sacrificial caldron with a tripod. During Emperor Yu's
reign, the neighboring countries sent the drawings of beasts to the palace and
all the nine governors sent metals to the capital city. The emperor ordered his
artisan to build the Jiu-ding with these metals and inscribe the drawings of
beasts so that people could be wary of their attack.
Jie was the last emperor of the Xia dynasty and Zhou was the last emperor
of the Shang dynasty. Both of them are tyrannical and profligate.