SHI JI 73: THE BIOGRAPHIES OF BAI QI AND WANG JIAN
South they captured Yan and Ying, north they overran Changping, and in the end surrounded Handan, for Lord Wuan was their leader. What destroyed Jing and wiped out Zhao was the plotting of Wang Jian. Thus I made “The Biographies of Bai Qi and Wang Jian”

BAI QI

Bai Qi was a native of Mei in Qin. Being skilled in the use of arms, he served under King Zhaoxiang of Qin.
In King Zhaoxiang’s thirteenth year (294 BC) Bai Qi was given the rank of zuoshuzhang, appointed a general, and sent to make a surprise attack on Hann’s city of Xincheng. This year the marquis of Rang became prime minister of Qin and appointed Ren Bi to be governor of Hanzhong.
The following year Bai Qi was promoted to the rank of zuogeng and attacked the Hann and Wei forces at Yique, cutting off 240,000 enemy heads. He also took prisoner the enemy leader Gongsun Xi and captured five cities. Bai Qi was transferred to the post of state commandant and, crossing the Yellow River, seized the area from Anyi east to Ganhe.
The following year Bai Qi was given the rank of daliangzao. He attacked Wei, defeating it, and seized sixty-one cities of various sizes. The following year he and Sima Cuo, a “guest minister” of Qin, attacked the city of Yuan and captured it.
Five years later, Bai Qi attacked Zhao and captured the city of Guanglang. Seven years later he attacked Chu and captured five cities, including Yan and Deng. The following year he attacked Chu and captured the Chu capital city Ying, burned Yiling, and pushed east as far as Jingling. The king of Chu, abandoning his capital, left Ying and fled east to take up residence in Chen. Qin then made Ying into Nan Province and promoted Bai Qi to the position of Lord Wuan. Bai Qi went on to gain control of Chu and bring order to the provinces of Wu and Qianzhong.
King Zhaoxiang, thirty-fourth year (273 BC): Bai Qi attacked Wei and captured Huyang, routing Mang Mao, capturing one of the Three Jin generals, and cutting off 130,000 enemy heads. He engaged the Zhao general Jia Yan in battle, at which time 20,000 of Zhao’s men were drowned in the Yellow River.
King Zhaoxiang, forty-third year (264 BC): Bai Qi attacked the Hann city of Jing, captured five cities, and cut off 50,000 enemy heads. Forty-fourth year (263 BC): Bai Qi attacked Nanyang and cut off the road leading to Taihang.
King Zhaoxiang, forty-fifth year (262 BC): Qin attacked the region of Yewang in Hann. Yewang surrendered to Qin, thus cutting off the road to Shangdang. Feng Ting, the governor of Shangdang, consulted with his people, saying, “The road to the capital area of Zheng is cut off and you can no longer expect to be treated as people of Hann. The Qin forces press forward day by day and Hann is powerless to withstand them. The best thing would be to turn Shangdang over to the state of Zhao. If Zhao accepts us, Qin in its anger will surely attack Zhao. And if Zhao is faced with attack, it will be certain to ally with Hann. Once Hann and Zhao are united, then they can face up to Qin!”
He accordingly sent a man to report his decision to Zhao. King Xiaocheng of Zhao consulted with Lord Pingyang and Lord Pingyuan.141 Lord Pingyang said, “Better not accept the offer. If we accept, the headaches will outweigh the gain.” But Lord Pingyuan said, “With no effort on our part we acquire a province — surely we should accept!” Zhao accepted the offer and enfeoffed Feng Ting as Lord Huayang.
Forty-sixth year (261 BC): Qin attacked the Hann cities of Goushi and Lin and captured them.
Forty-seventh year (260 BC): Qin dispatched the zuoshuzhang Wang He to attack Hann. He seized Shangdang, whereupon the inhabitants of Shangdang fled to Zhao. The Zhao army encamped at Changping in order to take charge of the refugees from Shangdang.
In the fourth month Wang He launched his attack on Zhao. Zhao appointed Lian Po as commander of its forces. When the soldiers of the Zhao army clashed with the Qin scouting forces, the Qin scouts cut down the Zhao assistant general Jia. In the sixth month Qin gained momentary advantage over the Zhao army and seized two of its outposts and four commanders.
Seventh month: the Zhao army constructed walled fortifications and guarded its position. Qin attacked the fortifications, captured two commanders, and broke through the Zhao ranks, seizing the western section of the walled fortifications. Lian Po strengthened his walls and waited for Qin to attack.
Qin repeatedly challenged Lian Po to battle, but the Zhao forces refused to venture out of their fortifications, though the king of Zhao several times berated Lian Po. Meanwhile the Qin prime minister, the marquis of Ying, sent men to use large sums of money in spreading rumours among the people of Zhao, saying, “All Qin is afraid of is that Zhao Kuo, the son of Lord Mafu, may take commands.142 Lian Po is easy to deal with and will soon surrender.”
The king of Zhao was already angry at Lian Po’s army because of its many failures and frequent defeats, and now he saw that it held fast to its defence works and did not dare to fight, and he had also heard the rumours that Qin had spread abroad. He accordingly ordered Zhao Kuo to replace Lian Po as commander and to lead a strike against Qin.
When Qin heard that Zhao Kuo, the son of Lord Mafu, had taken command, it appointed Bai Qi, Lord Wuan, to be supreme commander of the army, with Wang He as assistant general, and circulated an order throughout the army that anyone daring to reveal that Lord Wuan was in command would be cut in two.
When Zhao Kuo arrived to take over, he sent out his troops in a surprise attack on the Qin army. The Qin army, feigning defeat, raced from the field, leaving two lines of ambush troops ready to fall on the enemy. The Zhao army, following up its supposed victory, pursued the enemy as far as the Qin fortifications, where the defenders of the fortifications drove them back and prevented them from gaining entrance. Then the Qin ambush forces, numbering 25,000 men, cut off the rear of the Zhao army, while another division of 5,000 cavalry sealed off the Zhao fortifications. Thus the Zhao army was split into two parts and its supply lines were cut off. Qin then dispatched lightly armed men to make sudden strikes. The Zhao forces, realizing they could not win in combat, built more fortifications and held tight to their position, awaiting the arrival of reinforcements.
When the king of Qin received word that Zhao’s food supply had been cut off, he journeyed in person to the Henei region, where he bestowed one grade of noble rank on the population and called up all males over fifteen years of age and sent them to Changping to block Zhao’s relief forces and food supplies.
By the time the ninth month arrived, the Zhao soldiers had had no food for forty-six days and many were secretly killing and eating their comrades. Forming themselves in four battalions, they attacked the Qin fortifications four or five times, attempting to break out of the encirclement, but could not do so. The Zhao army commander Zhao Kuo called out his finest men and led them into combat, but the Qin army shot and killed him with arrows. Thus Zhao Kuo was defeated, and 400,000 of his soldiers surrendered to Lord Wuan.
Lord Wuan recalled that earlier, when Qin had captured the region of Shangdang, the inhabitants of Shangdang, unhappy at the thought of becoming Qin subjects, had gone over to the side of Zhao. He calculated, therefore, that since the Zhao troops might well turn against him, he would face the danger of revolt if he did not kill them all. He consequently devised some deception and had them all massacred, sending only 240 of the youngest ones back to Zhao. Counting earlier and later actions, he took prisoner or cut off the heads of 450,000 men, leaving the people of Zhao trembling with fear.
Forty-eighth year (259 BC), tenth month: Qin once more sent forces to restore order in the province of Shangdang. It divided its army into two, Wang He attacking and capturing Pilao and Sima Geng restoring order to Taiyuan. Hann and Zhao in alarm sent Su Dai to go with lavish gifts and speak to the prime minister of Qin, the marquis of Ying. “Has Lord Wuan taken captive the son of Lord Mafu?” asked Su Dai.
“He has,” said the marquis.
“And is he now besieging the Zhao capital city of Handan?”
“He is.”
“If Zhao is destroyed, then the king of Qin will be king of that area as well, and Lord Wuan will become one of the three highest ministers of the state. On Qin’s behalf Lord Wuan has won victories, attacking and seizing over seventy cities. In the south he has gained control of Yan, Ying, and Hanzhong, and in the north he has taken prisoner the army of Zhao Kuo. Even the achievements of the Duke of Zhou, the Duke of Shao, and Lü Wang, the three highest ministers of the Zhou dynasty, could not top this! Now if Zhao is destroyed, Qin will be its king, and if Qin is its king, then Lord Wuan is certain to become one of the three highest ministers. Can you bear to be subordinate to him? Indeed, whether you wish it or not, you will have no choice!
“In the past, when Qin attacked Hann and besieged the city of Xingqiu, it placed Shangdang in a difficult position. But the people of Shangdang all chose to put themselves under Zhao’s rule. For many long days the world has been unhappy at the thought of becoming subjects of Qin! So now if you destroy Zhao, its northern regions will go over to Yan, its eastern regions to Qi, its southern regions to Hann and Wei, and then how many people will you have won in the action? Therefore you would do best to settle for a concession of land rather than merely adding to the achievements of Lord Wuan!”
The marquis of Ying accordingly spoke to the king of Qin, saying, “Qin’s soldiers are worn out. I beg permission to make peace with Hann and Zhao in exchange for territorial concessions so we can rest our men.”
The king gave his permission, and the Hann region of Yuanyong and six cities of Zhao were ceded to Qin in exchange for peace. In the first month,143 all Qin troops were withdrawn. When Lord Wuan received the order, it became the start of bad feeling between him and the marquis of Ying. In the ninth month Qin once more called out its troops, ordering fifth rank counsellor Wang Ling to attack the Zhao capital city of Handan. At this time Lord Wuan was ill and could not undertake the journey.
Forty-ninth year (258 BC), first month: Wang Ling attacked Handan and won a slight advantage. Qin called out more troops to assist him. Wang Ling lost five companies of men. Lord Wuan’s illness abated.
The king of Qin wanted to send Lord Wuan to replace Wang Ling as commander. But Lord Wuan said, “Handan is in fact not easy to attack, and relief forces from the other feudal rulers will be arriving any day. The other rulers have for a long time borne great hatred toward Qin. Now, although Qin has destroyed the enemy army at Changping, over half of its own men have died in the action and the country’s resources are exhausted. We have embarked on a distant expedition beyond the Yellow River and the mountains, hoping to wrest control of another country’s capital. But if Zhao rallies its forces from within, while the other rulers attack from without, Qin’s army is certain to be defeated. This will not do!”
The king of Qin personally ordered Lord Wuan to accept command, but when this had no effect, he sent the marquis of Ying to make a polite request. But Lord Wuan persisted in his refusal, unwilling to undertake the mission, and finally pleaded illness. The king of Qin then ordered Wang He to replace Wang Ling as commander.
The Qin forces besieged the city for eight or nine months but could not capture it. Meanwhile Chu ordered Lord Chunshen and the Wei ducal son Wuji to lead a force of several tens of thousands of men and attack the Qin army, which suffered large losses.
Lord Wuan said, “Qin would not heed my counsel, and now see what happens!”
When the king of Qin heard of the remark, he was furious and tried to force Lord Wuan to return to active duty, but Lord Wuan insisted that his illness was too grave. He likewise refused when the marquis of Ying repeated his earlier request. Lord Wuan was forthwith stripped of all honours, reduced to the rank of a common soldier, and ordered into exile in Yinmi, but being ill, he could not undertake the trip.
By the time the third month arrived, the other feudal rulers were pressing their attack on the Qin army, which was several times forced to fall back. Messengers arrived daily in the Qin capital. The king of Qin sent men to expel Bai Qi from the capital, saying he was not permitted to remain in Xianyang any longer. He finally set out, leaving by the west gate of Xianyang and proceeding ten li until he reached Duyou.
King Zhaoxiang, after deliberating with the marquis of Ying and the other officials, said, “When Bai Qi set off for exile, he was still disgruntled and unsubmissive in attitude and offered complaints!” The king thereupon dispatched a messenger to present Bai Qi with a sword and ask him to make his own settlement of the matter.
As Bai Qi drew the sword and prepared to cut his throat, he said, “What crime have I committed against Heaven that I should come to this?” Then after some time he said, “In fact I deserve to die. In the battle of Changping, when several hundred thousand soldiers of Zhao surrendered to me, I tricked them and had them buried alive. That is cause enough why I should die!” Then he committed suicide.
Lord Wuan’s death took place in the eleventh month of the fiftieth year of King Zhaoxiang of Qin (257 BC). Since he died without having committed any crime, the people of Qin pitied him and all the hamlets and towns offered sacrifices to his spirit.

WANG JIAN

Wang Jian was a native of East Hamlet in Pinyang in Qin. From his youth he was fond of military affairs and served the First Emperor of Qin.
In the eleventh year of the First Emperor’s reign (236 BC), Wang Jian led an attack on the Zhao region of Eyu and conquered it, capturing nine cities.
In the eighteenth year (229 BC) he led an attack on Zhao, and after a year or more succeeded in conquering it. The king of Zhao surrendered, and the entire territory of Zhao was taken over by Qin and made into provinces.
The following year the state of Yan sent Jing Ke in an attempt to assassinate the Qin ruler. The king of Qin ordered Wang Jian to attack Yan. King Xi of Yan fled to Liaodong and Wang Jian gained control of the Yan capital of Ji before withdrawing.
Qin ordered Wang Jian’s son Wang Ben to make a surprise attack on Jing.144 After defeating Jing’s forces, he returned and attacked Wei. The king of Wei surrendered and Qin took over the territory of Wei.
By this time the First Emperor of Qin had wiped out Hann, Wei, Zhao, the Three Jin, had put the king of Yan to rout, and had several times defeated the Jing armies. Li Xin, a Qin general noted for his youth and daring, had in the past led a force of several thousand men in pursuit of Dan, the heir apparent of the state of Yan, advancing as far as the Yan River and defeating and capturing Dan. The First Emperor, admiring Li Xin’s worth and bravery, questioned him, saying, “I want to attack and take control of Jing. In your estimation, how many men will it take to do so?”
“Not more than 200,000,” replied Li Xin.
The First Emperor then questioned Wang Jian, and Wang Jian said, “You cannot do with less than 600,000 men.”
“You are getting old, General Wang!” said the emperor. “Why so timorous? General Li, now, has his youth and daring to rely on! I’ll go by his word.”
In the end he ordered Li Xin and Meng Tian to lead a force of 200,000 men south in an expedition against Jing. Since Wang Jian’s advice had not been heeded, he asked to be excused from service on grounds of illness and retired to Pinyang to spend his old age.
Li Xin attacked Pingyu, Meng Tian attacked Qin, and they dealt a crushing blow to the Jing army. Li Xin also attacked the cities of Yan and Ying and captured them. Then he led his forces back west and joined Meng Tian at Chengfu. The men of Jing followed him, pushing ahead for three days and three nights without once stopping to rest, and inflicted a major defeat on Li Xin’s army, breaking through his fortifications at two points and killing seven commandants. The Qin army fled in confusion.
When the First Emperor heard of this he was enraged. He galloped in person to Pinyang and apologized to Wang Jian, saying, “I failed to listen to your counsel, General, and as a result Li Xin has brought disgrace on the Qin army. Now word has come that the Jing forces are advancing day by day. Though I know you are ill, I trust you will not be heartless enough to abandon me at a time like this!”
But Wang Jian declined, saying, “I am old and infirm, hardly in my right senses any more. Your Majesty has only to select some other commander worthy of the post.”
The emperor renewed his apologies, saying, “Please, General. No more talk of that kind.”
Wang Jian said, “If Your Majesty is determined to employ me, then I must have 600,000 men — no less will do!”
“Whatever you advise, General,” said the emperor.
Wang Jian was accordingly put in command of a force of 600,000 men, and the emperor saw him off as far as the Ba River. As they were going on their way, Wang Jian requested the emperor for the gift of a great many fine fields and houses, gardens and ponds.
The emperor said, “Just go on your way, General. Why all this worry over poverty?”
Wang Jian replied, “Though many of Your Majesty’s generals have achieved merit, they have never succeeded in being enfeoffed as marquises. So while I enjoy Your Majesty’s favour, I want to use the opportunity to ask for fields and ponds for the sake of my sons and grandsons, that is all.”
The emperor roared with laughter.
By the time Wang Jian reached the Hangu Pass, he had five times sent messengers back to the capital to repeat his request for suitable farm lands. Someone said to him, “Aren’t you being a bit too persistent in the way you beg for rewards, General?”
“Not at all,” replied Wang Jian. “The king of Qin is suspicious and puts no trust in others. Now he has emptied the state of Qin of all its armed men and turned them over to my sole authority. If I do not ask for a lot of fields and houses for the sake of my sons and grandsons and seem to be thinking only of my own interests, then I will just give him occasion to doubt my motives.”
Thus Wang Jian in the end replaced Li Xin as leader of the attack on Jing. When the king of Jing heard that Wang Jian was on his way with a greatly augmented army, he called out all the soldiers in the country to repel the Qin forces.
Arriving in Jing, Wang Jian proceeded to build strong fortifications and stay within them, unwilling to engage in battle. The Jing soldiers repeatedly challenged him to combat, but he would never emerge from his defences. Each day Wang Jian rested his soldiers, allowing them to bathe and wash their hair, and kept them content with good food and drink. He mingled with his men and ate the same food they did. After some time, he sent someone to ask what amusements they indulged in. “Stone-throwing and high-jumping” was the answer. With that Wang Jian said, “The men are now in shape for use.”
Though Jing had repeatedly challenged the Qin troops to battle, they refused to come forth, and so the Jing troops began to withdraw and go back east. Wang Jian then called out all his men and went in pursuit, ordering the young men to lead the attack, and dealt a crushing blow to the Jing army. Advancing as far as the area south of the Qi River, he killed the Jing general Xiang Yan, and with this the Jing forces fled in defeat. Taking full advantage of the victory, the Qin army seized control of one after another of Jing’s cities and towns, and a year or so later captured the Jing king Fuchu. Thus Wang Jian put down all resistance in the region of Jing, which was made into provinces and districts, and then proceeded south to subjugate the rulers of the Hundred Yue tribes. Meanwhile Wang Jian’s son Wang Ben joined with Li Xin in defeating and gaining control of the states of Yan and Qi. By the twenty-sixth year of his reign (221 BC), the First Emperor had united the entire realm under his rule. The Wang and Meng families achieved the greatest merit in this process, and their fame has been handed down to later ages.
By the time of the Second Emperor, both Wang Jian and his son Wang Ben were dead, and the Meng family had been wiped out. When Chen She began his revolt against the Qin, the Qin dispatched Wang Li, the grandson of Wang Jian, to attack and besiege the king of Zhao and Zhang Er in the city of Julu. Someone said, “Wang Li is a renowned general of Qin. Now if he leads the powerful forces of Qin in an attack on the newly re-established state of Zhao, he is certain to crush it!”
“Not so!” said one of the man’s retainers. “Any family that acts as generals for three generations will surely meet with defeat. Why? Because the earlier members inevitably will have attacked and killed many people, and those who come after will suffer the bad luck that results. And Wang Li’s family have been generals now for three generations!”
Not long after, Xiang Yu came to Zhao’s rescue, launching an attack on the Qin army. As the retainer had predicted, Wang Li was taken prisoner and his army surrendered to the feudal leaders.
 
The Grand Historian remarks: The proverb says, “There’s something short about a foot, and something long about an inch”. Bai Qi gauged the enemy, adapted to the shifts of circumstance, and came up with an inexhaustible supply of strategies, until his name made the whole world tremble. Yet he could not save himself from his troubles with the marquis of Ying.
As a general of the Qin, Wang Jian brought the Six States under Qin rule. At that time he was a veteran military leader and enjoyed the esteem of the First Emperor. Yet he was unable to aid the Qin in establishing virtue so as to make firm the roots of its power, but instead sought only to accommodate himself to the situation, to do what was acceptable, and so to live out his days. Was it not right, then, that his grandson Wang Li fell captive to Xiang Yu? Both men had “something short” about them.