Post-Coalition Spoils Imbalance / 联军战后利益失衡
Post-coalition spoils imbalance / 联军战后利益失衡 is the problem 《资治通鉴·周纪》73丨历史上自由恋爱的开创者是谁？ draws from the aftermath of 乐毅’s anti-Qi victory. A common-enemy alliance can win the initial war, but the allied states have different geography, occupation capacity, and satisfaction thresholds after victory.
In the source, Le Yi sends distant 秦国 and 韩国 back with treasure, lets 魏国 and 赵国 take nearer gains, and keeps 燕国 advancing in 齐国. The host treats Qin as the dangerous outlier: treasure is not enough for a powerful expansionist state, so Qin soon attacks Wei, takes 安城, and threatens 大梁.
《资治通鉴·周纪》76丨谁给了楚顷襄王的自信？ carries the same imbalance into the Zhao front. Qin asks 赵惠文王赵何 to join an attack on Qi; when Zhao refuses after being warned by Su Li on Qi’s behalf, 秦昭襄王 attacks Zhao. The source reads this as Qin’s dissatisfaction after the anti-Qi coalition continuing to search for compensation, leverage, and punishment.
《资治通鉴·周纪》77丨廉颇与蔺相如 史上最著名的一对“好基友” broadens the sequel by showing Qin weighing where to apply pressure after the Qi collapse. A Zhanguo Ce letter advises Qin not to attack Wei because Wei is the waist of the eastern lords and may trigger coalition rescue; attacking Chu looks safer because the other lords are less likely to save it. The source therefore adds target selection to the imbalance problem: Qin’s dissatisfaction after coalition victory can become either eastward punishment or a southern pivot.
The concept extends 共同敌人联盟 by naming the post-victory phase. The enemy’s defeat does not settle allied incentives; it can expose which ally received land, which received only money, and which sees the new balance as a threat.
Key Claims
- Coalition victory can create a second incentive problem after the common enemy is beaten.
- Geography matters because nearby states can occupy land more easily than distant allies.
- Treasure compensation may satisfy a weak or distant ally but fail with a strong expansionist ally.
- A post-victory allocation can trigger new wars against former or recent partners.
- In this episode, Qin’s attack on Wei is read as both territorial extraction and a move to disturb a possible Yan-Zhao-Wei post-Qi balance.
- Zhouji 76 adds that Qin’s dissatisfaction can also become punitive pressure on Zhao when Zhao refuses to keep helping Qin pursue Qi.
- Zhouji 77 adds that Qin’s next target choice is coalition-sensitive: pressure against Wei risks a rescue response, while pressure against Chu looks less likely to reactivate the eastern states.
Connections
- 乐毅, 燕国, and 齐国 - source campaign and occupation setting.
- 秦国, 韩国, 魏国, and 赵国 - allies with different payoff structures.
- 安城, 大梁, and 秦国东进压力 - Qin’s follow-on move.
- 共同敌人联盟 and 联盟自保失灵 - adjacent coalition concepts.
- 赵惠文王赵何, 石城, and 渑池 - Zhouji 76 Zhao-front continuation of the same post-coalition imbalance.
- 楚国, 司马错, and 白起 - Zhouji 77 southern pivot and military follow-through after target selection.