[snowybeagle]

Why did Han Xin (韩信) invade the State of Qi (齐) even after the Han (汉) envoy Li YiQi (郦食其) persuaded Tian Guang (田广), King of Qi, to submit to Han (汉)?

It was not necessary for him to do that to boost his achievements, he had already accomplished a lot by then.

Was he seriously concerned that the submission was not reliable?

Or was there petty rivalry between him and Li YiQi?

Or was he trying to draw the armies of Chu (楚) into a battle at a place and time of his own choosing?

Any ideas?

[Borjigin Ayurbarwada]

"It was not necessary for him to do that to boost his achievements, he had already accomplished a lot by then."

Simple, When Li succeeded in convincing Qi, Han Xin's adviser urged him to march on Qi anyway, they said "You have done so much and now are you going to let a scholar get the credit?" So Han Xin attacked Qi anyway and the king of Qi thought Li was lying to him and had him executed, it was ambition of merit not anything else.

[snowybeagle]

warhead, on Jan 31 2005, 10:39 AM, said:

So Han Xin attacked Qi anyway and the king of Qi thought Li was lying to him and had him executed, it was ambition of merit not anything else.

That is according to a recorded account.

But let's analyse it deeper.

First, would Han Xin seriously feel threaten by Li YiQi? Perhaps, perhaps not.
We might never know, though we can analyse other actions of Han Xin and Li YiQi. The latter had some good ideas (and some bad ideas too) but his personality might piss off others, so it might have been a personality clash.

More significantly, let's look at the geopolitical and military situation.

Qi was traditionally a powerful state in its own right. Even though both Qi and Yan submitted to Han, the former would be much less easily controlled than the latter. In case of complications, Qi could pose a far more serious threat than Yan.

[Sephodwyrm]

By the way, Li was boiled alive.
The invasion of Qi was a great success for Han Xin, but it also probably meant that Liu Bang will have personal scores to settle with him latter on. Its probably unnecessary from Liu Bang's point of view, but to Han Xin it is probably important if he is ambitious.

[Shadowfax]

I am thinking maybe Li YiQi somehow angered Liu Bang, and thus Liu Bang was apporved of Han Xin's invasion of Qi and didn't say anything about it? But then Li Yiqi was the one who suggested to make peace with Q, perhaps they already planned the attack on Qi even before Li Yiqi went to Qi Kingdom, and Li already knew he was going on a deadly mission?

[Zuo Zongtang]

Han Xin was proving his part as a loyal soldier. He never recieved an order to stop, and so he will continue until he has been ordered to stop. At the same time, his advisor, Kuai Tong, saw benifits in attacking Qi and argued that Han Xin will win merit and get revenge against Li Yiji as well. Han Xin, the general, must prove to be more useful then Li Yiji the scholar. These were the arguements that Kuai Tong brought up to Han Xin, as translated by Burton Watson:

Quote

You have recieved a royal order to attack Qi. In the meantime the king of Han has independently dispatched a secret envoy to talk Qi into submission. Bu there has been no royal order instructing you to halt, has there? How can you fail to proceed on your mission? Furthermore, this one man, Matster Li Yiji, by bowing graciously from his carriage and wagging his meagre tongue, has conquered the seventy-odd cities of Qi, while you, iwth your army of thousands, needed a year and over before you could gain control of the fifty-odd cities of Zhao. Could it be that what you have done in your several years as a general is not equal to the accomplishments of one wretched Confucianist?"