If you are poor, think about changes; if you are trapped, seek solutions. The Qin State was weak, fighting all year round, and living in the barren land of the western border. The six kingdoms conspired to divide and eat it, and Qin was like a thing in the six kingdoms' pockets.

If you are poor, you will think about change; if you are trapped, you will seek solutions.

The Qin State was weak, fighting all year round, and living in the wild land of the western border. The six kingdoms conspired to divide and eat it, and Qin was like a thing in the six kingdoms' pockets.

At this time, the old Qin King Qin Xiangong died of poisoning, and the new king Ying Liang Qu succeeded to the throne. Ying Liangqu looked at the Qin people who were hungry and naked, and not only sighed, is Qin going to perish in my hands?

Sun Haohui, the author of "The Great Qin Empire", writes about Qin's dilemma in the opening chapter, which is gripping. Sun Haohui, a law professor at Northwest University, uses stories to connect the story of Qin's rise from weakness to strength during the Warring States Period.

When I was a child, I listened to my elders talking about Shang Yang's reforms. What impressed me most was the Qin State's "tyranny of tyranny more fierce than tigers", "burning books to resist Confucianism" and other images of the Qin Dynasty. Later, I read the tragic story of "Meng Jiangnu Crying at the Great Wall", which made me feel disgusted with Qin Shi for many years.

I didn’t know until I saw this book "The Qin Empire" that I was disgusted with the violent Qin Dynasty before, but it was just because I didn’t understand that period of history. The Qin State was able to rise up proudly and unify China. The monarchs and ministers of all dynasties paid an unknown price. Old Qin people had more than a million dead.

And the "Shang Yang's Reform" was the cornerstone of Qin's transformation from weak to strong, and eventually established a powerful "Great Qin Empire".

Mingjun and strong ministers joined forces to reform

Wei and Qin fought, Qin Xiangong was poisoned and died, and Wei Prime Minister Gongsun Cuo was captured by the Qin army. Qin Xiaogong Ying Liang Qu hastily succeeded to the throne, and the top priority waiting for him is to deal with Gongsun Cuo. It is said that Ying Liangqu should kill Gongsun Cuo to avenge Qin Xiangong.

But Yingliangqu thought over and over again and decided to withstand the pressure and let go of Gongsun Cuo, and ceded Hangu Pass. Hangu Pass is the gate of Qin's national destiny. Qin Xianggong fought bloody battles and fought to the death to seize the barrier to protect the country.

Ying Liangqu released Gongsun Cuo back to Anyi, and in the name of Gongsun Cuo, he exchanged the Qin State for twenty years of stability and self-cultivation. It can be seen that Qin Xiaogong is not only wise, but also has a long-term vision.

At this time, the Qin State was riddled with holes and troubles. Facing the eyes of the six kingdoms, Qin Xiaogong asked for talents from all over the world. Wei Yang entered Qin when Qin was at its weakest.

Then there was the vigorous Wei Yangling Reform . At first, the people did not trust the government, and the old gentry were the most resistant. It was Qin Xiaogong who fully supported him and worshiped Wei Yang as the chief of Zuo Shu, presided over the state affairs and carried out reforms.

In order to implement the reform, Wei Yang established his trust in civil engineering and gained trust. However, the old gentry went on a vendetta, and in order to grab water, large-scale chaos and violence broke out.

involved 700 people sitting together. It is unheard of to kill hundreds of people at one time, and even Qin Xiaogong was not sure.

There are risks in the reform. Qin Xiaogong did not expect it to be so big, but he thought that if he did not execute him, he would be back to the original point. He could only wait for the country to be destroyed, which was the lesser of two evils. In the end, Qin Xiaogong wrote in his own hand: " It is abominable to unruly the people and disrupt the law. When the new law is first implemented, you must not show weakness, but use the law to punish crimes, and do not worry about other matters."

It was Qin Xiaogong's full support that made Wei Yang capable Seven hundred people who fought with weapons were punished according to law.

What Qin Xiaogong didn't expect was that the prince won Si . Because the grain and tax were false, the prince killed 20 or 30 people from the Bai tribe in Mengxi. At the time of the reform, Qin people even the old Qin people were massacred wantonly, which was tantamount to destroying their own foundation.

Wei Yang knew that the situation was serious and did not punish the murderer severely. The Bai family rebelled against Qin and the reform was aborted. So the prince was sentenced to personally bury the Bai family and seize the prince's fiefdom. The crown prince Zuo Fu Ying Qian was punished by cutting off his nose and dismissed from office, while the crown prince You Fu was sentenced to whale punishment and exiled Longxi mountainous area. By punishing the future king, Wei Yang had blocked his own escape route.

The prince wanted his father-in-law to save him, but Ying Qian said, if the father-in-law is not here, you can still survive, but if the father-in-law is here, you will definitely die. When Qin Xiaogong came back and knew that the prince had caused such a big disaster, he struck with his sword. He was really merciless. Only when the queen mother stopped him did the prince save his life.

The success of Shang Yang's reform was due to Wei Yang's hatred and toughness. The second is Qin Xiaogong's selflessness and great help.

What’s more, both of them only have the determination to reform in their hearts. No matter how difficult things are, they never waver.

Qin Xiaogong was born to be a rare wise king. He seemed to show no trace and no one seemed to think it was against him. However, every time he came to the critical point of the court situation, he could turn the crisis around at the critical moment.

And Wei Yang was born to be a rare strong minister. The two of them joined forces tightly and became one, invincible.

Wei Yang vigorously regained Hexi

If you don't watch "The Great Qin Empire", you will never know that Shang Yang's military science is better than law.

Originally, Wei Yang wanted to take advantage of the fact that Wei State was about to destroy Han, and all the Hanguguan troops were transferred eastward. When Wei State had no energy to keep an eye on Qin State, he asked Qin State to move its capital quickly. Unexpectedly, there was news that Wei was defeated.

Wei Yang said: "Pang Juan died in battle! This man is more powerful than a hundred thousand soldiers. The Qin State has conquered the world, and the opportunity has come."

The soldiers are very fast, Wei Yang personally led the "Qin Army's elite" to secretly march to the east bank of Luoshui. . Intending to have a decisive battle with Wei in Hexi, King Hui of Wei had not recovered from the defeat of Pang Juan just now.

Facing Qin's army, he could only hastily send his son Yan to fight. But the young master was arrogant and looked down upon Wei Yang, who was once the concubine. He turned a deaf ear to the advice of the old general Long Jia.

When Wei Yang arrived in Hexi, he neither issued a letter of war nor sent troops to fight. He used the terrain in Hexi to allow the Qin army to quietly attack behind the Wei army's camp. By the time Long Jia arrived at Hexi, the Wei army had been forced to flee east and west by Wei Yang.

Wei Yang's new army consists of five cavalry and one team. They fight together in a small formation and will never engage in crude individual competition. Under the impact of Qin's black storm, the Wei army was quickly defeated and had no chance to form an effective formation to resist. The old general Long Jia was also besieged by Wei Yang's ten cavalry, making it impossible for Long Jia to break out of the circle of ten cavalry. In the end, the entire Wei army was wiped out, and Long Jia killed him with a sword.

Wei Yang concealed the news of Long Jia's death in battle, and took advantage of Young Master Yan's inferiority and arrogance to make Young Master Yan think that Long Jia was neglecting him. On the one hand, he pretended to negotiate peace with Prince Xian, and on the other hand, he sent people to block the Wei army's retreat.

The conceited young master Yan was captured alive by Wei Yang. So far, Wei Yang successfully recovered Hexi and also found a general Sima Cuo for the Qin State. He made great contributions to Qin's future conquests in various countries.

At this time, Wei Yang dared to use his sword to regain Hexi. The success of the reform greatly improved Qin's national power. When the country is rich and the people are strong, only when it is rich can Qin be able to build a powerful army, the "Qin warriors". Any war is ultimately an economic competition.

Some people say that Wei Yang used dark methods to regain Hexi, had no moral integrity at all, and used all possible means. As Wei Yang said when he first met Qin Xiaogong: "As long as you can strengthen the country, you can do anything."

The story behind the reform

Wei Yang's reform was carried out with the determination to die.

Wei Yang knew that in order for the reform to be successful, he first needed a strong executor. Whether the executor had the determination and courage to break through all obstacles was the key to the success of the reform. This person can only be yourself.

Secondly, any reform will definitely touch the fundamental interests of vested interests. This involves too much, and such a reform will definitely arouse the hatred of many people, making it difficult to guard against open and covert attacks. If you are not determined to die, it is easy to be shaken.

He knew that the strong reform would probably not end well, but he was willing to exchange Shang Yang for the powerful Qin. So this person can only be himself.

So he wanted to explore Qin Xiaogong three times, just to determine whether Qin Xiaogong was worth his life.

started to change the law, Wei Yang, civil engineering and trust, which is both integrity and means. Only with integrity can others believe in you and achieve your success.

Seven hundred people were executed. What Wei Yang has to do is to let the old officials see the determination behind Thunder's methods. The process of becoming stronger must be anti-human, cold and cruel. As long as the result is good, all efforts are worth it.

The young prince made a big mistake. It seemed that the prince was young and ignorant, but in fact, someone was instigating him behind his back. What he wanted was to cut off the forces that supported Wei Yang. But Wei Yang could not really deal with the prince. He could only deal with the prince's teacher, Zuo Taifu, Ying Qian, who had his nose cut off, which made Ying Qian, who originally supported him, feel dissatisfied. It also paved the way for Wei Yang's ending.

After the Prince's Incident, Shang Yang's second reform accelerated the pace and achieved unprecedented success. In a few months, the Qin State actually increased its number by hundreds of thousands of households. The other six kingdoms were even more amazed: "Qin people are crazy. It takes three years to Shandong Six Kingdoms , but Qin can do it in one month!"

Wei Yang's reform was successful. Qin Xiaogong not only married the princess to him, but was also promoted to Wei Yang was built by Daliang and served as prime minister and general. Duke Xiao of Qin almost entrusted his life and country to Wei Yang without reservation. Such courage and trust made Shang Yang fearless.

However, the greater the power, the greater the risk. At this time, Wei Yang had actually foreseen his future and was even ready to sacrifice at any time. But he didn't have the energy to care about this. He said: "Underwater monsters will never stay out of the water." What he needs to do is to do more things that are beneficial to the country before the old officials can get him.

Shang Yang's reform promoted the progress of Qin and promoted economic development. It strengthened the national strength and made the country rich and powerful. The credit is not small.

But he ended up with a tragic end. When Ying Si succeeded to the throne, the old officials headed by Qianlong falsely accused Wei Yang of rebellion. Ying Si knew Wei Yang's innocence very well.

But what Yingsi cares about is that Shang Yang's reputation is too powerful. He is afraid that the people of Qin will only know Shang Yang and not know that he is Yingsi. He is afraid that he will fall into the situation of a "puppet king". People are always afraid of things they cannot control.

So Shang Yang's death is inevitable. After all, there are not many people as broad-minded as Qin Xiaogong and Wei Yang.

Some people say that Wei Yang sacrificed his life for reform in order to repay Qin Xiaogong for his kindness. But the relationship between Ying Liangqu and Wei Yang has long gone beyond the conventional sense of kindness.

Some people say that Wei Yang seemed to be born for the Qin State. The success of the reform and the conquest of Hexi made Qin go from a poor and weak country on the western frontier to a powerful opponent that frightened other countries in 20 years. It also laid the foundation for the subsequent unification of Qin.

Shang Yang's reform was not only a temporary prosperity, but also made the Qin State stand out among the others for more than a hundred years with the policies and laws he formulated, and were even continued to be used by successive monarchs until the end of the Western Han .

It can be said that Wei Yang, who had no background and no foundation, single-handedly influenced the historical trend of China for hundreds of years and influenced China's governance thoughts for more than two thousand years.