Wei Liao's Conquest Strategy

A strategic framework for defeating multiple adversaries by exploiting internal weaknesses rather than direct military confrontation.

Overview

When facing multiple states that might form alliances against you, use financial resources to corrupt their leadership rather than relying solely on military force.

Steps

1. Assess the threat: Recognize that while individual states may be weak, their united front (合从/hezong) poses a significant danger
2. Allocate resources: Commit substantial funds (e.g., 300,000 gold) for bribery operations
3. Target key officials: Identify and bribe powerful ministers (豪臣) in each state
4. Disrupt coordination: Use bribed officials to sow discord and prevent unified action
5. Execute military action: With alliances broken, proceed with conventional military conquest

Decision Points

• If states show signs of uniting → prioritize bribery operations
• If a state is isolated → proceed with direct military action

Expected Outcomes

• Enemy states unable to form effective coalitions
• Reduced military casualties and costs
• Systematic conquest of individual states

Historical Context

This strategy was proposed by Wei Liao to Qin Shi Huang and contributed to Qin's unification of China.

Validation

• Verify that the coalition threat (合从) was assessed before allocating bribery resources
• Confirm that targeted officials (豪臣) in each state have been identified and their influence on alliance coordination evaluated
• Check that military action is only initiated after alliance disruption is confirmed and individual states are isolated