"Sima Cuo's Comments on Attacking Shu" comes from "Warring States Policy·Qin Policy".
It is said that in 361 BC, the Shu Kingdom was in trouble with Xiao Qiang. The Qin Kingdom wanted to take the opportunity to send troops to conquer and expand its territory. However, at this time, South Korea invaded the Qin Kingdom's border. So whether King Qin Hui wanted to "defeat Shu" or "defeat Shu" What about "Han"? The ministers of Qin started a debate.
This article mainly records the debate views between Sima Cuo and Zhang Yi.
The article first lists Zhang Yi’s views. He advocates attacking Korea first. So what should be done to achieve success? First of all, we must "get close to Wei Shanchu, send troops to the three rivers, block the mouths of Fuyuan and Fengshi, and act as a garrison." In other words, Qin should first make good relations with Wei and Chu, and then send troops to Sanchuan to block Fuyuan and Fengshi Mountain passes, and block the dangerous road to Tunliu. Then let Wei cut off the road to Nanyang, Chu attacked Nanzheng, and Qin attacked Xincheng and Yiyang, and sent troops to the suburbs of the two weeks east and west to denounce the crimes of the monarchs of the two weeks, and then turned around and gradually swallowed up the land of Wei and Chu. In the end, the Qin State can take charge of the Nine Tripods of Zhou and "hold the emperor to command the world", then no one in the world will dare not listen.
After saying this, Zhang Yi went on to discuss why he did not advocate attacking Shu first. Zhang Yi believes that the Shu Kingdom is a small country in Xirong. "Our soldiers and soldiers are not enough to become famous, and the land is not enough to make profit." It is neither famous nor profitable, so why attack it?
Sima Cuo responded tit-for-tat, expressing opposition from the beginning and putting forward his own opinions.
Sima Cuo advocated attacking Shu first. He said to King Hui: "If you want to make the country rich, you must expand its territory; if you want to strengthen the army, you must enrich its people; if you want to be king, you must expand its virtues." This means that in order to make the country rich and powerful, it must expand its territory and expand its territory. To make the army strong and the horses strong, the people must be rich; to achieve the emperor's hegemony, he must subsidize all directions. Once these are accomplished, hegemony is just around the corner! However, the Qin State was now small and the people were poor, so Sima Cuo planned to start with the easiest and most practical thing, so he advocated attacking Shu first.
The Kingdom of Shu is indeed a small and remote country in the west. It is the leader of Rong and Di, and civil strife is currently breaking out. At this time, Qin attacked it as easily as a wolf chasing a sheep. Capturing Western Shu will be of great benefit to the Qin State. "The land can be enough to expand the country, the wealth can be enough to enrich the people, and the troops can be repaired without hurting the people, and they have already surrendered. Therefore, if you conquer a country, the world will not regard it as violent; it will benefit you." As far as the west sea, the princes do not think that I am greedy. I have achieved both in name and in reality, and I have the reputation of prohibiting violence and stopping chaos."
Next, Sima Cuo discussed why conquering Korea was not feasible. If he attacks Korea and kidnaps the emperor, he will definitely have a bad reputation, and it may not be beneficial. In this way, South Korea and Zhou will inevitably unite with other princes to fight against Qin, which is really dangerous!
After listening to the arguments of the two ministers, King Qin Hui finally agreed with Sima Cuo and decided to send troops to attack Shu, which was conquered in less than a year. After the pacification of Shu, the title of the king of Shu was reduced to "Marquis" and he became a vassal state of Qin. At the same time, the Qin State has become stronger and does not pay attention to other vassal states. The hegemony of the Central Plains is just around the corner!
Whether it is Zhang Yi or Sima Cuo, their arguments closely revolve around the word "pros and cons", and each expresses his or her own opinion. But why did Zhang Yi lose? Zhang Yi was a well-known political strategist during the Warring States Period. With his sharp tongue, he "made the princes fearful when he was angry, and when he lived in peace, the world was destroyed." However, Zhang Yi's views in this debate were too idealistic. For example, would Wei and Han have good relations with Qin? Are you willing to send troops to contain the South Korean army? Furthermore, if the emperor is held hostage to command the princes, will the princes surrender? These are all uncertainties. If you are not careful, you may lose everything.
On the other hand, Qin general Sima Cuo started from the vital interests of Qin and discussed the foreseeable benefits, which was finally convincing!