Longitudinal length

Jia She Ren went back and reported to Su Qin. So Su Qin reported to the Marquis of Zhao Su, saying, "Qin would never dare to invade Zhao, so I should go and make an appointment with the vassals of all the countries." The Marquis of Zhao Su listened to Su Qin and gave him some money, horses, carriages, and men to go to all the countries. Su Qin explained in detail the disadvantages of ceding the land and the advantages of uniting against Qin. He convinced all the lords of Han, Wei, Qi, and Chu to listen to him. So Su Qin went back northward. The lords sent him money and men. On the way, he was surrounded by people, as if he was a king on a tour. All the officials along the road came out to pay their respects. When he passed by Luoyang [Su Qin's hometown], King Xian of Zhou had the streets cleaned in advance and sent his ministers to meet him outside the city. Su Qin's old mother stood by the avenue on crutches, so happy that she could hardly believe it. His two brothers and his daughter-in-law lowered their heads and dared not raise their eyes to look at him. His sister-in-law was lying on the ground and shivering. When Su Qin saw her, he said to her, "Sister-in-law, how proud you were before! Why are you so respectful now?" She said, "Because now my uncle is a big official and has made a lot of money, so I have to be respectful!" Su Qin sighed and said, "Alas! No wonder people want to be promoted and become rich." He invited his family members to get into the car and go home together.

After staying in his hometown for a few days, Su Qin set out to return to Zhao. The Marquis of Zhao made him the ruler of Wu'an and sent messengers to appoint the vassals of Qi, Chu, Wei, Han, and Yan to come to Huanshui of Zhao for a meeting. In 333 BC (the 36th year of King Xian of Zhou), Su Qin and the Marquis of Zhao Su arrived at Huanshui in advance and set up a meeting place and a house for the vassals.

After a few days, the rulers of Yan, Han, Wei, Qi, and Chu arrived one after another. Su Qin first met with the governors of each country and discussed the order of seating. In terms of status, Chu and Yan were the old-timers, while Qi [Tian's Qi, not Jiang's Qi], Korea, Zhao, and Wei were the newly-emerged countries. However, when it comes to war, it is more appropriate to take the size of the country in order. To put it this way, Chu was the largest, Qi the second, Wei the third, Zhao the fourth, Yan the fifth, and Korea the smallest. Among them, Chu, Qi, and Wei were already called "king", while Zhao, Yan, and Han were still called "marquis", with a difference of two ranks. The majority of them felt that this was not a good idea, and they could not even call each other. Su Qin had an idea, he suggested that all six states should be called kings. The king of Zhao was the initiator and master of the kingdom, sitting on the main seat, and the rest of the kingdoms were arranged in order of size. All the "kings" agreed.

On the day of the official meeting, the kings sat down in the pre-determined order. Su Qin went up to the stage and told the kings of the six countries, "All the kings here are kings of great countries, with large lands, large populations, and strong armies. Are you willing to bow down to Qin and give away your land piece by piece?" Su Qin went on to say, "I have already talked to all the kings one by one about the six kingdoms' plan to unite against Qin. Now we just have to 'take a blood oath' and become brothers, and help each other in trouble." The kings of the six kingdoms all bowed their hands and said, "Yes, sir! As you command!" Su Qin held a bronze plate containing bull's blood and invited the kings of the six kingdoms to take a blood oath, worshiped heaven and earth and the ancestors of the six kingdoms, and wrote six covenants, one for each country.