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Bai Qi, Wang Jian, Lian Po and Li Mu are known as the four famous generals of the Warring States Period.

Bai Qi was known as the "Man-Butcher", a nickname he earned because he massacred 400,000 Zhao soldiers in the Battle of Changping.

From then on, people from the six states in Shandong were all afraid when they heard the name Bai Qi.

This famous military commander during the Warring States Period was invincible on the battlefield and made countless military achievements for the unification of the world by the Qin Dynasty.

But this rare military genius was eventually executed by the monarch he served all his life, King Zhaoxiang of Qin.

The reason behind this is truly heartbreaking.

"In the thirteenth year of King Zhao of Qin, Bai Qi, then the left minister, led the Qin army to capture Xincheng of Han."

"The following year, King Han Li appointed Gongsun Xi as his general and united the armies of Eastern Zhou and Wei to fight back against Qin."

"At this time, Bai Qi, who was already Zuo Geng, was recommended by Prime Minister Wei Ran to serve as the commander of the Qin army to resist the attack of the coalition forces."

"After Bai Qi defeated the Eastern Zhou army, he fought a great battle with the allied forces of Han and Wei at Yique."

"Because the armies of Han and Wei had different intentions, neither wanted to fight the Qin army first."

"So Bai Qi first set up a false battle with the Han army, and then took advantage of the Wei army's unpreparedness and suddenly attacked the Wei army with his elite troops, defeating it. Afterwards, the Han army collapsed without a fight."

"In this battle, 240,000 people were beheaded, Gongsun Xi was captured, and five cities were occupied. After the battle, Bai Qi was promoted to the position of national commander for his meritorious service."

"Han and Wei were badly weakened by this, and Bai Qi took the opportunity to cross the Yellow River and capture the land east of Anyi in Han to Qianhe."

"In the following years, Qin launched attacks on Han and Wei again."

"In the sixteenth year of King Zhao of Qin, Bai Qi attacked and captured the Wei Kingdom."

"But then it was returned to Wei, and then Qin captured Wandi in Han."

"At this point, Han and Wei were no longer able to resist Qin, and in the 17th year of King Zhao of Qin, they had no choice but to cede territory to Qin and seek peace."

"In the eighteenth year of King Zhao of Qin, Bai Qi was promoted to the position of Great Minister of Works and was ordered to attack Wei with the guest minister Sima Cuo."

"They attacked and captured cities all the way to Chen, occupying 61 cities of varying sizes. In the following year, they and Sima Cuo captured Xinyuan and Quyang."

"After that, Wei turned to Zhao and in the 27th year of King Zhao of Qin, Bai Qi was ordered to attack Zhao, captured Langguang City, and beheaded more than 20,000 people."

"At the same time, Qin turned its attention to the Chu State in the south, and Sima Cuo set out from Longxi to capture Qianzhong of Chu State."

"After the success, in the 28th year of King Zhao of Qin, King Zhao of Qin temporarily stopped the war with Zhao and sent Bai Qi to attack Chu."

"Bai Qi was in Yancheng, the secondary capital of Chu, and he diverted water from the Changqu Canal into the city, drowning hundreds of thousands of Chu soldiers and civilians. He also occupied several cities including Deng."

"The following year, Bai Qi captured the Chu capital Ying, and then marched eastward to Jingling and southward to the shores of Dongting Lake."

"The King of Chu was forced to flee and moved his capital to Chen."

"After this battle, Qin established Nanjun in Ying and Bai Qi was named Wu'an Jun."

"In the 31st year of King Zhao of Qin, Bai Qi attacked Wei and captured two cities."

"In the 34th year of King Zhao of Qin, Zhao and Wei jointly attacked Han. Wei Ran and Bai Qi led their troops to aid Han."

"It took only eight days to reach the city of Huayang, defeat the Zhao-Wei coalition, behead 130,000 people, pursue the defeated Wei general Mang Mao, and capture three Wei generals."

"After that, Bai Qi defeated the Zhao general Jia Yan and drowned 20,000 Zhao soldiers."

"After the war, Wei offered its Nanyang land to Qin and asked for peace."

"In the 41st year of King Zhao of Qin, Qin replaced Wei Ran with Fan Ju as prime minister and implemented its strategy of making friends with distant countries and attacking nearby ones, and listed Han as its target of attack."

"In the 43rd year of King Zhao of Qin, Bai Qi was ordered to attack Xing of Han. He captured Xing and five other cities and beheaded 50,000 people."

"In the following two years, Bai Qi conquered Nanyang and Yewang in Korea."

"At this point, the connection between Han's Shangdang County and the mainland of Han was completely cut off, so the King of Han asked to cede Shangdang to Qin in exchange for Qin's withdrawal of troops."

"But Feng Ting, the governor of Shangdang, secretly contacted the State of Zhao and expressed his willingness to offer 17 cities in Shangdang County to the State of Zhao, hoping to encourage Zhao and Han to join forces to resist the State of Qin."

"After discussion, Zhao appointed Feng Ting as Lord of Huayang, sent Lord Pingyuan Zhao Sheng to take over Shangdang, and appointed Lian Po as the general to station a large number of troops in Changping to await the Qin army."

"This action angered the Qin State, and in the 46th year of King Zhao of Qin, the Qin State attacked and captured Gaoshi and Lin of the Han State."

"In the 47th year of King Zhao of Qin, he sent the left minister Wang He to attack Shangdang, and the people of Shangdang fled to Changping."

"In April of the same year, Wang He attacked Changping. Although he achieved some results, Lian Po held his ground and refused to fight, and the situation became a stalemate."

"Then Qin launched a diplomatic strategy, first warmly receiving the envoys from Zhao who came to seek peace, to show that Qin and Zhao had reconciled."

"To prevent other countries from coming to the rescue of Zhao, and secretly ceded Yuanyong to Wei, persuading it not to rescue Zhao."

"At the same time, he used a strategy of sowing discord to persuade the King of Zhao to replace Lian Po with Zhao Kuo, the son of Zhao She, the Marquis of Mafu."

Liu Che: As the greatest monarch of the Qin Dynasty, why did King Zhaoxiang of Qin insist on sentencing this meritorious general to death?

All we can say is that Bai Qi was a genius in military affairs but a novice in politics.

It can be said that political immaturity led to Bai Qi's misfortune, because the majesty of the king cannot be questioned.

Bai Qi was born in a humble family and was just an ordinary person, but Wei Ran saw his extraordinary military talent.

Bai Qi's first appearance was to personally lead his troops to capture the new city of Han. The victory in the first battle allowed King Zhaoxiang of Qin to get a glimpse of Bai Qi's outstanding military talent and made King Zhaoxiang of Qin look at him with new eyes.

Later, in the Battle of Yique, Bai Qi led a Qin army of 24 and defeated the -strong coalition force of Han and Wei with a smaller force.

This battle completely established Bai Qi's position as the number one man in the Qin army.

Immediately afterwards, Bai Qi led his army to the south to invade the State of Chu, adopted a water attack strategy, caused the fall of Yancheng, and killed 100,000 Chu troops.

The following year, he captured the Chu capital Yingdu and forced Chu to move its capital. The six states in Shandong were even more terrified at the mention of Bai Qi.

Bai Qi also occupied an important position in the power structure of Qin State due to his military exploits, which also planted the seeds of tragedy for his later fate.

The Battle of Changping between Qin and Zhao completely destroyed the survival of Zhao.

After the Battle of Changping, King Zhaoxiang of Qin decided to take advantage of Zhao's weakness and attack its capital Handan in one fell swoop.

Bai Qi firmly opposed this. From a military perspective, he believed that the Qin army was exhausted and no longer able to fight.

However, King Zhaoxiang of Qin was determined to destroy Zhao for political reasons and personal prestige, so Bai Qi declined on the grounds of illness.

However, disobeying the king's orders undoubtedly brought disaster to Bai Qi.

The facts proved Bai Qi's judgment, which made Bai Qi take another step towards death.

Bai Qi refused to fight first and foremost for his own reputation. There was no need to sacrifice his reputation just to avoid losing a battle.

Bai Qi refused to lead his troops into battle so that the soldiers who followed him in his battles would not die in vain.

In order to prevent the Qin State, which he loyally protected, from suffering huge losses and falling into the danger of destruction.

It should be said that if Handan was not attacked, the Qin State would not suffer any loss except that King Zhaoxiang of Qin lost some face, and the Qin army would not have to die in a foreign land and have their bodies exposed in the wilderness.

For this reason, Bai Qi even confronted King Zhaoxiang of Qin in public.

The three postponements of the order for the Battle of Handan made King Zhaoxiang of Qin unable to tolerate Bai Qi anymore.

In the end, King Zhao of Qin demoted Bai Qi from Marquis Wu'an to an ordinary citizen on the grounds that he was seriously ill and unable to lead troops.

The former god of war saw his position in the court plummet and was expelled from the center of power.

For those who have risen from the grassroots, the Qin Army is much more important than face.

However, in the eyes of King Zhaoxiang of Qin, even the entire Qin State was not as important as his own face.

Bai Qi, who had climbed up from the bottom, was able to empathize with the Qin army. In the eyes of King Zhaoxiang of Qin, they were all just consumables, including Bai Qi. Bai Qi dared to confront the King of Qin and regarded his reputation far more than the king's orders.

The King of Qin has already compromised and what he wants is Bai Qi to boost the morale of the Qin army on the front line.

At this time, if Bai Qi did not go to war with the State of Qin, his existence would have no meaning.

"Afterwards, King Zhao of Qin appointed Bai Qi as the supreme general and secretly sent him to Changping to command the attack on Zhao. He appointed Wang He as his deputy general and strictly ordered the army to keep the secret in order to paralyze the Zhao army."

"After Zhao Kuo took office, he immediately ordered the Zhao army to take the initiative to attack."

"Bai Qi first ordered a Qin army to feign defeat, thus luring the Zhao army to pursue them to the fortification wall that had been set up in advance."

"Then use the main force to defend tenaciously and stop the Zhao army behind the strong wall."

"At this time, the 25,000 Qin troops who had been ambushed on both sides of the fortress moved to the rear of the Zhao army and surrounded them. Another 5,000 cavalry also broke into the Zhao army."

"At this time, the Zhao army was divided into two, and its food supply was cut off. At the same time, the Qin army continued to invade and harass with small groups of troops."

"The Zhao army had no choice but to build fortifications and wait for reinforcements."

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"When King Zhao of Qin learned that the Zhao army's food supply route was cut off, he immediately conscripted all men over the age of 15 in Hanoi to reinforce Changping and prevent Zhao from sending reinforcements and food to Changping."

"By September, the Zhao army had been out of food for 46 days, and had begun to kill each other for food."

"Zhao Kuo led four troops to attack the encirclement repeatedly, but they were all repelled by the Qin army. Zhao Kuo had no choice but to lead his elite troops to break out of the encirclement himself, but was shot to death by the Qin army's arrows."

"With their commander killed and no food or fodder left, the Zhao army of more than 400,000 had no choice but to surrender to Bai Qi."

"Bai Qi believed that the Zhao people were unwilling to surrender to Qin, and that the number of surrendered soldiers was so large that it would be difficult to control them if they rebelled. So he buried all the more than 400,000 surrendered soldiers alive, and only released the 240 youngest ones."

"After the Battle of Changping, Bai Qi pacified the entire territory of Shangdang and attempted to take advantage of the situation to destroy the State of Zhao in one fell swoop."

"In the 48th year of King Zhao of Qin, he divided the Qin army into three parts. One of Wang He's parts captured Wu'an and Pi Lao of Zhao."

"Sima Geng's troops captured Taiyuan, while he himself prepared to attack Handan, the capital of Zhao."

"Zhao and Han were greatly frightened by this, so they sent the debater Su Dai with a large sum of money to lobby the Qin prime minister Fan Ju."

"And tell him that Bai Qi has made outstanding military achievements. If he can also destroy the State of Zhao, his position will surely be higher than Fan Ju's."

"Besides, although Qin conquered a lot of territory, it didn't gain many people."

"It would be better to let Zhao and Han cede land and seek peace. This would also prevent Bai Qi from making any more military achievements, and Fan Ju would be able to maintain his position in Qin."

"After hearing this, Fan Ju indeed suggested to King Zhao of Qin that since the Qin army was exhausted, Han and Zhao should be allowed to cede land in exchange for peace, so that the soldiers could have some time to recuperate."

"King Zhao of Qin agreed to Fan Ju's suggestion, so in the first month of the 49th year of King Zhao of Qin, the Qin army withdrew. When Bai Qi learned about this, he had a conflict with Fan Ju."

"After the Qin army withdrew from Zhao, the King of Zhao followed the advice of his minister Yu Qing and offered the six cities that were to be ceded to Qin to Qi."

"At the same time, he made peace with Chu, formed an alliance with Wei, and won over Han and Yan, using the strength of the six countries to fight against Qin."

"At the same time, we should strengthen our national strength, improve our military, and prepare for another war with Qin."

"In September of the 49th year of King Zhao of Qin, King Zhao of Qin decided to attack Zhao again. Since Bai Qi was ill, he sent Wang Ling, one of the five great officials, as his general to attack Handan."

"In the first month of the following year, Wang Ling's attacks were repeatedly frustrated. At this time, Bai Qi recovered from his illness. King Zhao of Qin decided to use Bai Qi, but was rejected by Bai Qi."

"After the Battle of Changping, when Qin was weak and hungry, Bai Qi wanted to destroy Zhao. After Qin had recovered and had enough food and grass, Bai Qi said that Zhao should not be attacked. King Zhao of Qin was skeptical about this."

"Bai Qi told King Zhao of Qin that after the Battle of Changping, Zhao was afraid of the Qin army, but now Zhao was united in hatred of the enemy, well-defended, and had allies to help it, so it would be difficult to capture it."

"Later, King Zhao of Qin sent Fan Ju to persuade Bai Qi, but Bai Qi claimed to be ill and refused to accept the order."

"King Zhao of Qin then sent Wang He to attack Zhao and besieged Handan for eight or nine months, but still failed to capture it. The Qin army suffered heavy casualties under the attack of the hundreds of thousands of troops led by Lord Chunshen of Chu and the Prince of Wei."

"King Zhao of Qin asked Bai Qi for the third time to lead the army despite his illness, but Bai Qi still refused, saying that he did not want to be a general who humiliated the army."

"King Zhao of Qin was furious, so he stripped Bai Qi of his title and expelled him from Xianyang City and moved him to Yinmi."

"When Bai Qi reached Duyou, ten miles west of Xianyang, Fan Ju told King Zhao of Qin that Bai Qi was very unhappy about leaving Xianyang."

"Then King Zhao of Qin sent someone to give Bai Qi a sword and forced him to commit suicide. Bai Qi could not help but sigh, then drew the sword and cut his throat. This was the 50th year of King Zhao of Qin."

Li Shimin: Bai Qi's influence on the prestige of the King of Qin is beneficial to both sides if they are in harmony, but if they are not in harmony, the prestige of the King of Qin will be greatly damaged.

If the mistakes at the military level could be forgiven, then the political struggle for power was the decisive reason that led to Bai Qi's eventual death.

In the court, the contradiction between Bai Qi and Prime Minister Fan Ju became increasingly apparent, and the two became increasingly antagonistic in the court.

As Bai Qi's prestige grew, Fan Ju was worried that Bai Qi would replace him as prime minister, so he framed Bai Qi in front of King Zhaoxiang of Qin.

Fan Ju took advantage of King Zhao of Qin's suspicion of Bai Qi and slandered him, which intensified the monarch's distrust of Bai Qi and accelerated Bai Qi's tragic end.

There is no doubt that Fan Ju played a role in fueling the murder of Bai Qi.

Su Dai's lobbying was very successful. He said that after the Battle of Changping, the State of Qin was approaching Handan, and if it was taken, Zhao would be destroyed.

Then the person who made the greatest contribution among them would be Bai Qi, and the position of one of the Three Dukes in the future would definitely belong to Bai Qi. I dare to ask if Fan Ju could be inferior to Bai Qi?
Fan Ju was naturally unwilling to see Bai Qi take power, so it is not surprising that he tried to harm Bai Qi.

The Battle of Handan completely caused Fan Ju to lose his status in the Qin court.

Fan Ju sent his trusted confidant Zheng Anping to the battlefield, hoping to take advantage of the opportunity to gain some merit in order to stabilize his position. To be the prime minister of Qin, one must have some military achievements.

But in the end it failed. Fan Ju certainly couldn't accept this as it was a matter of concern for his life and property.

So they hoped that Bai Qi would lead the troops, but Bai Qi refused to go to the front line, which really ruined his future.

Fan Ju, this villain, will definitely raise a knife against Bai Qi!

At this time, Bai Qi had offended the villain Fan Ju and the intolerant King Zhaoxiang of Qin, so the outcome was predictable.

In addition, Bai Qi, who was at the peak of his career at that time, held an extremely important position in the Qin State, to the point where he was almost irreplaceable.

Among the new generation of generals of Qin State at that time, none could compare to Bai Qi.

This was a very dangerous thing, and as a king, he could not tolerate it. This hidden danger expanded step by step, and Bai Qi was getting closer and closer to death.

Although Bai Qi was on guard against Fan Ju, he never thought that Fan Ju would kill him.

He never thought that he had fought more than 70 battles for the Qin State and ended up committing suicide after being dismissed from office.

King Zhaoxiang of Qin was still furious at this time. He sent his personal guards, carrying a sword of death, to Duyou to force Bai Qi to commit suicide.

Faced with the choice between life and death, Bai Qi did not choose to resist, but accepted his fate resignedly.

To Qin Zhaoxiang, Fan Sui was far more important than Bai Qi.

King Zhaoxiang of Qin could do without Bai Qi, but he could not do without Fan Sui for a single day.

Everything Fan Sui did revolved around King Zhaoxiang of Qin, and King Zhaoxiang of Qin's will could be fully exerted through Fan Sui.

Not only that, there is no need to worry about Fan Sui at all, as the relationship between the two has long gone beyond that of an ordinary monarch and his subjects.

Therefore, in the game between Bai Qi and Fan Ju, King Zhaoxiang of Qin naturally stood on Fan Ju's side.

But Bai Qi was different. He revolved around the State of Qin rather than the King of Qin.

The difference of one word makes a world of difference. Bai Qi can be the pillar of the country but he is not a weapon that the king can use at will.

The decision to sentence Bai Qi to death was the result of King Zhao of Qin's careful consideration.

On the one hand, Bai Qi's achievements surpassed those of his master and his military exploits were outstanding, but his arrogance and unruly character made him an unstable factor in the court.

In order to consolidate his rule, King Zhao of Qin had to make such a cruel choice. (End of this chapter)