AHC: Make the Yan kingdom unite China

Dorozhand

Banned
Why the Yan? Tell us a little something about them...

Idunno, they seem like the most difficult ones to do this with (Chu and Qi were the two other big contenders) because of their position as a buffer against barbarians and their mountainous border with their two enemies Zhao and Qi. I'm challenging the reader to make the Yan defy their unfavourable position and unite China like OTL Qin did.
 
Idunno, they seem like the most difficult ones to do this with (Chu and Qi were the two other big contenders) because of their position as a buffer against barbarians and their mountainous border with their two enemies Zhao and Qi. I'm challenging the reader to make the Yan defy their unfavourable position and unite China like OTL Qin did.

Yan overran much of Qi once, but failed in occupying the country. I don't remember if the reason was guerilla warfare or just incompetence, but the Yan were pushed back. On the other hand, if they remained in control of Qi or annexed it, this could give them a large boost towards making them unify the country.

Of course, Qi didn't unify China, so I can see why conquering Qi might not help Yan.
 
It also seems that culturally, Yan didn't follow the script for most nations in that area. The knife currency gives us a clue, as does their proximity to the Koreans and other tribes. I'd be interested in a Chu or Yan-based hegemony leading up to unification of "China."
 

Dorozhand

Banned
Of course, Qi didn't unify China, so I can see why conquering Qi might not help Yan.

Yeah. Probably the best bet for a non-Qin unification is a Chu state that is able to see what Qin would become and conquers it before its military becomes too much of a juggernaut. It was in the best position to do so. Chu China would be a bright and happy place compared to Qin China.

Since the word "China" comes from "Qin", I wonder if we would be calling it "Chuna" or something :D
 
Perhaps Jing Ke's assassination of Qin Shi Huang in 227 BCE is successful, preventing the rise of the Qin dynasty altogether and continuing the Warring States period. That'd be a start, at least, though how you get the Yans to unite China is another matter altogether.

My other thought would be for Han Guang to defeat Zang Tu and maintain the Yan's autonomy within Xiang Yu's Eighteen Kingdoms, and when the latter dies the unification of China becomes a contest between the Chu and Yan. Again, a start, though I'm not so sure about how to bring about unification.
 
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Make the northern state of Yan unite Warring States Era China.
The most important thing, I believe, is a military reform similar to Zhao's.

Yan overran much of Qi once, but failed in occupying the country. I don't remember if the reason was guerilla warfare or just incompetence, but the Yan were pushed back. On the other hand, if they remained in control of Qi or annexed it, this could give them a large boost towards making them unify the country.

Of course, Qi didn't unify China, so I can see why conquering Qi might not help Yan.
It was agreed that Yue_Yi was the one responsible for Yan's early victory, the removal of him by the suspicious King Hui of Yan (reign 279-271BC) was the cause for Qi's successful counter attack.

Had Yue Yi not been removed, he would have been able to negotiate an extremely favorable peace treaty with Qi (total conquest would be hard since Yan's allies withdrew after Yan occupied Qi's capital, perhaps to limit Yan's power).

IOTL, Qi victory resulted in the weakening of both Qi and Yan, which paved the way for Qin's rise. In order to create a new superpower, Yan must either annex Qi entirely, or have significant gains in the north (which later became Korea or Manchuria). Yan tried the later IOTL, but not to the scale which could compensate for her geographical weakness of having no easily defensible heartland.

That would be the start of a Yan Hegemony.

Idunno, they seem like the most difficult ones to do this with (Chu and Qi were the two other big contenders) because of their position as a buffer against barbarians and their mountainous border with their two enemies Zhao and Qi. I'm challenging the reader to make the Yan defy their unfavourable position and unite China like OTL Qin did.

OTL military powers like Chu, Qin and Zhao thrived on expansions into barbarian territories because of their geographical locations on the periphery (unlike the earlier powers like Zheng and Song who later suffered from their location at the center because they had nowhere to expand into).

Yan's expansions could be northwards. Since "Yan State knife money has been found in Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi, Shandong, Henan, Inner Mongolia, Liaoning, Jilin, Shaanxi, South Korea, Kyūshū and Naha", it was plausible that they conquer some of their trade partners and build up new agricultural bases like Qin and Chu did.

So the steps are:
1) Military Reform to create a steppe-style cavalry etc.
2) Victory over Qi to eliminate a potential backstabber
3) Northward Expansion and Consolidation of new power bases (like Qin did to the western barbarians and Sichuan.)

While doing steps 1-3, keep on engaging in battles in the south to keep the army capable.

4) Final Southward Expansion and Unification.
 
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Perhaps the unification process can happen longer than OTL. If a series of reforms sweep over the Warring States following Shang Yang's reforms, the period might be able to be prolonged. Then, Qin may possibly be able to have a war against Zhao, which would cause great casualties on both sides. Yan could then quickly take over Yan, either militarily or by political marriages. Perhaps Yan would later start to consolidate and expand the Northern borders, allowing the Xiongnu, Huns and Xianbei and Koreans join Yan. Then, during Yue Yi's War against Qi, the increased size and power of the cavalry from the nomads crushes most of QI's infantry. Thus, even when Tian Dan breaks the siege of Ji Mo using the Fire Cattle Column, his infantry is soon crushed by the nomadic cavalry. Hence, the new state of Yan, encompassing Zhao, Yan and Qi, can attack Wei and Han, creating the largest nation, by population and by size and can later attack either Chu or Qi.
 
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