In 403 BC, the three families of Han, Zhao and Wei were divided into the Jin Dynasty, marking the official entry of history into the Warring States Period. Since then, countries cannibalized each other, and the scale and cruelty of wars have continued to escalate. The highly resp

In 403 BC, the three families of Han, Zhao, and Wei were divided into Jin , marking the official entry of history into the Warring States period .

Since then, countries have been cannibalizing each other, and the scale and cruelty of wars have continued to escalate. The highly respected ritual and music civilization of the Spring and Autumn Period can no longer contain the ferocious desires of people's hearts. As a result, the princes openly exposed their unsubordinate ambitions, and the rule of Zhou Dynasty was shaky in the wind and rain.

In the cruel competition, all countries are facing the test of life and death. This sense of crisis makes the courageous and insightful monarchs one after another begin to seek reforms to become stronger...

In 361 BC, Qin Kingdom King of Qin Qin Xiaogong After ascending the throne, the Qin State was located in the west, economically backward, and was repeatedly attacked by the Wei State in the east.

With the rise of the Wei State, the Wei State became the dominant family and also occupied the land of Hexi , which greatly affected the strength of the Qin State. Even when the six eastern countries met for alliance, they did not call Qin. Everyone despised Qin, which greatly bruised the self-esteem of the king of Qin.

Faced with internal and external troubles, Qin Xiaogong was angry and sought changes, so he issued a recruitment order to recruit wise men from all over the world to help him develop and strengthen Qin.

I miss my late king and it often hurts my heart. Among the guests and ministers, there are those who can come up with strange plans to strengthen the Qin Dynasty. I will respect the officials and divide the territory with them.

"Historical Records·Qin Benji" records that at the beginning of his accession to the throne, facing internal and external troubles, Qin Xiaogong said sadly: I remember the legacy of my ancestors and often feel sad in my heart. Who among the guests and ministers can come up with clever strategies to make Qin strong and prosperous, I will make him a high official and entrust him with land.

Along with this recruitment order, talents from all over the world came in droves. Among these people, there was a scholar in white who stood out because he always dressed in white, so he was called "White Guard Martingale".

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Today, when people mention Shang Yang’s reform, they are all famous, but few people know that Shang Yang’s original name was actually Wei Yang, a native of the Wei Kingdom. Later, because Qin Xiaogong sealed his fief in Shang (today’s Southeast Shang Town, Shangluo City, Shaanxi Province), so it is called Shangjun or Shang Yang.

It is said that when Shang Yang was young, he was fond of the study of criminal names and specialized in ruling the country by law. Later, he was influenced by Legalistrepresentative figuresLi Kui, Wu Qi and others, and he advocated the rule of law.

When he became an official, Shang Yang first chose the State of Wei, which had an absolute advantage among other countries, as the place to display his ambitions. So he came to the State of Wei and served as a concubine under Uncle Cuo, the Prime Minister of the State of Wei.

The Prime Minister of Wei State, Gong Shucuo, admired Shang Yang's talent very much. When he was in danger, he suggested to Wei Huihou that he appoint Shang Yang to succeed him as Prime Minister. Wei Huihou disagreed. Gongshu Cuo also suggested that if Shang Yang was not appointed, he should be killed to prevent him from being used by other countries, which might endanger Wei in the future, but Wei Huihou still did not adopt it.

After Shang Yang heard about this, he left Wei. It happened that Qin Xiaogong issued an order to recruit talents, so after escaping from Wei, Shang Yang happily came to Qin. And the subsequent history will make Wei Huihou understand what impact his missing Shang Yang will have on the fate of Wei.

Historical records record that Shang Yang visited Duke Xiao of Qin three times. At first, he did not know Qin Xiaogong's true intention. In order to find out, he deliberately stated long speeches on the ways of emperors and kings to Qin Xiaogong during the first two interviews. However, Qin Xiaogong, who devoted himself to the actual development of the Qin State and pursued reforms to strengthen himself, felt deeply uninterested in this.

Seeing this scene, Shang Yang was very happy. He knew that this time he would learn something useful. So Shang Yang asked to see Qin Xiaogong for the third time. This time, Shang Yang offered a domineering strategy, which was a quick and effective way to strengthen the country. This plan suited Qin Xiaogong's wishes, and he was very happy, so he appointed Shang Yang as the chief of Zuo Shu, began to implement reforms, and later promoted him to Daliangzao.

"In fact, Qin Xiaogong appointed Shang Yang to reform, and he was able to achieve great hegemony. Talents like Shang Yang are indispensable. People like Qin Xiaogong who have the courage to discover talents and dare to appoint talents boldly are even more valuable in history. "

With the support of Qin Xiaogong, Shang Yang began a vigorous reform movement, which is known in history as "Shang Yang's Reform".

The Qin State during the reform, this country is located in the western border geographically and is regarded as a barbarian by the Central Plains countries. Just like the color it advocates - black, it accumulates huge energy in silence, just waiting for the right one. moment, an instant burst.

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In the governance of the country during the Shang and Zhou periods, etiquette was advocated and the role of moral education was emphasized. However, Shang Yang's overbearing strategy for Qin Xiaogong, that is, the legal system of Legalism, pursued violent intimidation and ruthless governance of the country. This was in line with Qin Xiaogong's urgent desire to change the status quo of Qin during the Warring States Period. Therefore, Qin Xiaogong fought against all opinions and fully supported Shang Yang's reform, regardless of the opposition of Qianlong Du Zhi and other hereditary noble representatives.

"Qin Xiaogong is a very strategic person. In terms of military skills, Qin Xiaogong leads the troops to fight, often charging into battle. He is a warrior and an excellent general. In terms of political ability, this person is ambitious. , and he is very broad-minded and tolerant of others."

After Shang Yang's reform decree was prepared, it was not announced immediately. Because Shang Yang was worried that the people would not believe in him, it would be difficult to implement the new law. So, he erected a three-foot-high wooden pillar outside the south gate of the capital and announced: Whoever can move this wooden pole to the north gate of the capital will be rewarded with ten gold coins. The people were very surprised, but no one responded to the call. Shang Yang then raised the reward to fifty gold.

At this time, faced with the temptation of large sums of money, one man had the courage to move the wood to the north gate. Shang Yang immediately ordered to reward him with fifty gold to show that he did what he said. After that, Shang Yang ordered the implementation of the new law, and it won the trust of the people. And thus created an idiom "moving wood to establish trust".

Long-term proximity with Xirong made the Qin people brave in battle, but at the same time they were relatively backward culturally, which also made it easier for Qin to implement new changes than the Central Plains countries. When Qin's national character and Legalist culture hit it off, Shang Yang's vigorous reform was launched. As a Legalist reformer, Shang Yang's laws were extremely harsh and cruel.

At that time, although Shang Yang's reforms were strongly supported by Qin Xiaogong, what Shang Yang faced was Qin's deep-rooted slavery. The hereditary aristocratic group represented by slave owners hated the new law, but had nothing to do, so they abetted Qin's future. The king, the prince at that time, came out to oppose the new law and wanted to undermine its implementation. However, they thought wrong. With the support of Duke Xiao of Qin, Shang Yang held a sharp sword in his hand and carried out reforms boldly. The path of reform with iron and blood had long been clear.

Shang Yang's Reform was a relatively thorough reform in the pre-Qin period. It abolished the privileges of hereditary nobles, rewarded military merit, and stipulated that noble titles and land and house slaves should be given according to military merit. After Shang Yang's reforms, the Qin State's economy developed, its military combat effectiveness continued to increase, and it became the most prosperous and powerful country in the late Warring States Period.

"Historical Records of Shang Jun" records that the new law " After ten years of implementation, the people of Qin were very happy. They did not pick up things on the road, there were no thieves in the mountains, and the family had enough food. The people were brave in public wars but timid in private fights, and the countryside was well governed." That is to say, ten years after the implementation of the new law, the Qin State gradually became rich and powerful, and its national power rose.

However, reform is always risky. During the reform, the interests of some vested interests will inevitably be violated, and there will be many obstacles.

" Gongzi Qian, Du Zhi, and Qianlong are all representatives of the die-hards. They all blocked Shang Yang from implementing the new law. In order to implement the decree and implement the reform measures, Shang Yang was born in the Legalist family and used severe punishments. The law was well-known, so with the support of Duke Xiao of Qin, he boldly tortured Prince Qian and cut off his nose. "

Prince Qian's torture had two completely opposite effects. First, it shocked and frightened the old aristocrats of Qin State, and they did not dare to oppose the reform for the time being, so the reform achieved very good results in the short term. Secondly, it also caused Shang Yang to have enmity with the nobles of Qin, who hated him very much. So after the death of Duke Xiao of Qin, Prince Qian and others falsely accused Shang Yang of treason, and finally King Hui of Qin tortured him, and Shang Yang eventually died tragically.

Shang Yang came to Qin alone, saved the country's fortunes from collapse, and supported the building from collapse, making Qin jump from a small border country in the west to become the first of the seven heroes of the Warring States period , laying the foundation for the prosperity of Qin. Remarkable achievements. However, because Qin adopted Shang Yang's rule of law, it also left him with a bad reputation for tyranny. The tragic end of this reformer makes people sigh with regret.

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In Shang Yang’s reform, the most important part was to reward military merit, which directly inspired the Qin soldiers to fight bravely to kill the enemy, in order to improve their titles and change their own destiny. The Qin army’s fighting spirit was unprecedentedly high. In order to gain promotion and promotion, the Qin people were as fierce as wolves when fighting, never sparing any wound on the enemy. As a result, the Qin army's combat effectiveness was significantly improved. For a time, it intimidated the six kingdoms of Guandong and won the title of the Great Qin Warriors.

However, the shortcomings of Shang Yang's reform gradually became apparent in the future. Excessively stimulating the warlikeness of the soldiers turned Qin into a war machine with a bloodthirsty nature. When Qin destroyed the six kingdoms later, corpses littered the fields and massacred nearly 1.5 million soldiers from other countries.

The measures of burning poems and books to clarify laws and regulations during the reform directly curbed the development of cultural ideas, so that it later evolved into the tragedy of Qin Shihuang "burning books and entrapping Confucianism", which eventually led to people's uprising, triggering the "Chen Sheng and Wu Guang" "Uprising, the Qin Empire perished as the people rose up to resist.

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In the early years of the Warring States period, since Wei Wenhou appointed Li Kui to implement the reform, the state of Wei had become powerful. Militarily, the combat effectiveness of Wei Wuzu shocked other countries. Therefore, when Wei Huihou ascended the throne, the powerful National power and the ambition to dominate were like a shot in the arm, prompting him to eagerly reach a higher peak, and the arrival of Guigu's successor Pang Juan made Wei Huihou even more powerful.

Subsequently, Wei Huihou's ambitions were put into practice by General Pang Juan. In order to help Wei Huihou realize his ambition to conquer all countries, and also to achieve the feat of sweeping all countries, Pang Juan carefully planned. According to the actual battle situation of the Warring States Period, he asked Wei Huihou He proposed the strategic policy of "weakening Zhao to unite the three Jins, destroying Qin and then conquering the world", that is, first weakening Zhao to capture the three Jins, first destroying Qin and then annexing the countries one by one.

This strategy was initially approved by Wei Huihou, but Wei Huihou was always obsessed with Zhao and Han, who were both countries of the Three Jin Dynasties, and kept thinking about swallowing these two pieces of fat in his belly, so as to defeat Zhao and Han in one fell swoop. The two countries were merged into the territory of Wei State. Therefore, in terms of foreign war policy, Wei Huihou was eager for quick success, which put Wei into a dilemma of fighting on all sides, and also made the surrounding countries hate and fear Wei. The diplomatic failure also laid hidden dangers for Wei's defeat in the Battle of Guiling.

At that time, among the infantrymen of all countries in the world, the military soldiers of Wei were the most elite, and they were called "Wei soldiers". In the Warring States period, when chariots were the main combat force, Wei soldiers who went out as infantry firmly occupied a position. But when it comes to horseback combat, the "sword knights" of Zhao State and the "martial arts knights" of Qi State are both famous in the world.

However, all this has undergone fundamental changes after Shang Yang's reform . The new Qin army forged after the reform won its first victory in the battle to regain Hexi, and was exclaimed by people all over the world as " Rui Shi ". Qin general Sima Cuo used this name to create the "Iron Eagle Ruishi ". Its training goals were: to dismount and fight on foot to surpass the soldiers of Wei, and to mount and fight on horseback to surpass the knights and knights of Qi and Zhao. Xiongnu Hu Qi shall prevail. Coupled with Shang Yang's decree to reward military merit, the combat effectiveness of Qin soldiers has been unprecedentedly improved, ranking first among other countries. therefore, After the defeat, Shang Yang saw the opportunity coming, so he decisively launched a war against Wei in the second year of the Battle of Guiling, that is, in 353 BC. At the same time, Korea and other princely states also took the opportunity to attack Wei, and the situation of Wei was critical. .

At this time, Wei Huihou, who was beleaguered on all sides, remembered Gongshu Cuo's words back then and regretted not following Gongshu Cuo's advice and killed Shang Yang, but it was too late to regret it.

The loss of talents in the Wei State is not unprecedented. As early as 383 BC, the famous general Wu Qi of the Wei State was forced to flee and came to the Chu State because of the suspicion of the monarch Wei Wuhou. Qi's military advisor Sun Bin during the Battle of Guiling also came to Wei, but was jealous and framed by Pang Juan, and was tortured . Later he escaped from Wei and came to Qi. In the battle of Guiling, Sun Bin used a trick to defeat Wei.

As the winner of the Battle of Guiling, Qi's prestige has greatly increased, its national strength has increased, and its future is bright. Qi Weiwang , who was immersed in the sound of congratulations, gradually became arrogant. However, on this day in the main hall of the State of Qi, the words of Prime Minister Zou Ji made King Wei of Qi enlightened.

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According to "Warring States Policy" records, Zou Ji, the Prime Minister of Qi State, was born with a dignified appearance, tall and handsome appearance. But at the same time, there was another famous and handsome man in Qi State named Xu Gong. One day, Zou Ji looked at himself in the mirror and couldn't help but ask his wife: "In your opinion, who is better, me or Xu Gong in the north of the city?" His wife immediately replied: "Of course it is you, Xu Gong." How can I compare to you!" Although Zou Ji was very happy, he didn't completely believe it. So he asked his concubine: "Compared with me and Mr. Xu, who is more handsome?" The concubine answered the same as his wife, thinking that Mr. Xu was not as good as Zou Ji.

The next day, a guest happened to come from other places to visit the Prime Minister Zou Ji. So Zou Ji asked the guest again: "Compared with me and Mr. Xu, who is more handsome?" Faced with Zou Ji's inquiry, the guest's answer was still the same. Yes: Xu Gong is not as handsome as Zou Ji. Seeing everyone saying this, Zou Ji couldn't help but feel complacent.

However, not long after, Zou Ji saw Mr. Xu in person and immediately understood that he was not as handsome as Mr. Xu. So Zou Ji thought: Why is it that although he is not as handsome as Xu Gong, everyone deceives him and says that Xu Gong is not as good as him?

On this day, Zou Ji, who found out the problem, came to see King Qi Wei. He stated to King Qi Wei: "I do know that I am not as beautiful as Xu Gong. But my wife prefers me, my concubines are afraid of me, and my guests want something from me, so they all say that I am more beautiful than Xu Gong. Now. The State of Qi has a vast land and abundant resources. All the concubines in the palace are partial to the King; all the ministers in the court are not afraid of the King; and all the people in the country are not asking for something from the King. From this point of view, the King must have been deceived. It's even more serious."

After hearing this, King Qi Wei woke up from a dream and no longer felt arrogant. Then, he ordered: "Anyone who can criticize my faults face to face will receive a high reward; anyone who can write a letter to admonish me will get a medium reward; anyone who can criticize and discuss my faults in a public place where people gather, and can spread the word to Those in my ears deserve a lower reward."As soon as the decree was issued, people gave advice one after another, and the idiom "everywhere is like a market" was born, describing that because there were so many people admonishing, the palace gates and courtyards of Qi State were as noisy as a market.

Due to the power of Qi The king accepted his advice, and talents from all over the world poured into Qi. As a result, Qi's think tank grew. At the same time, Qi's victory in the Battle of Guiling made Qi's international prestige grow.

During the Warring States Period, international competition became increasingly fierce, and the competition between countries was actually a competition among people. Therefore, countries competed to recruit talents. Since Wei Wenhou implemented Li Kui's reform , Wei State's national power ranked first. But then, he first missed Wu Qi in 383 BC, and then lost Shang Yang in 361 BC. This time he let Sun Bin go. The loss of talents again and again finally restricted the development of Wei. During the period of Wei Huihou, it was even more trapped in the dilemma of fighting on all sides.

In contrast, the encounter between Qin Xiaogong and Shang Yang was like a happy meeting of a thousand-mile horse. After that, with the support of Qin Xiaogong, Qin State implemented Shang Yang's reform, and the connotation of Legalism was similar to that of Shang Yang. The temperament of the Qin State was merged. Since then, the Qin State has risen rapidly and has continued to explore the Central Plains.

During the same period, King Wei of Qi accepted remonstrances, and the national power of Qi State also soared, and he fought in Guiling. The Chu State in the south was also one of the powerful enemies. After the Shen Buhu Reform , Korea became increasingly powerful. At this time, the Wei State was already in crisis.

A great war occurred in 341 BC. It will completely subvert Wei's status as a great power.

After this battle, history will enter a new stage, and who will become the master of the world?

Former classmates meet again, with new and old hatreds. How will the two fight in the war? ?

Not finished, to be continued...

This article has been selected as the documentary creative content of the iQiyi solo column "General History of the Chinese War"

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