" Zi Zhi Tong Jian " begins with one thing, that is, the three families of Han, Zhao and Wei were divided into and received official titles from Emperor Zhou . Sima Guang believes that the impact of this incident is extremely bad. Originally, only the relatives of the Emperor of Zhou or the heroes of the royal family were eligible to be enfeoffed as princes. However, the three families of Han, Zhao and Wei were enfeoffed by force. Sima Guang lamented that the title was in chaos, which meant that the princes, and even more so, that the title of Emperor Zhou had lost credibility and was no longer useful.
"The Analects of Confucius" says, "If the name is not correct, the words will not be smooth." Status has always been an important thing. Because, ultimately, it's about strength. If you have no strength, have fame and no prestige, you will be embarrassed sooner or later; if you have strength, but have charm without fame, you will become famous sooner or later. This theory can be applied to any era. I will not give examples. You can apply it yourself.
Choosing a successor is a matter of knowledge
We still talk about promotion among the three companies. As we all know, Han, Zhao, and Wei were originally the three major families of the Kingdom of Jin. But in fact, earlier, there was another family in Jin that was more powerful than these three major families - Zhishi . So how did Zhishi disappear? It also starts with choosing a family successor.
Zhi Xuanzi, the head of the Zhi family, wanted to make Zhiyao his heir apparent and asked his clan members for their opinions. Zhiyao is really not an ordinary person. He looks good, has a smart mind, is strong, has many talents, and is decisive in doing things. Although he has so many advantages, Zhiguo still thinks that he cannot be the successor. Because he has one shortcoming, that is, he has no heart of kindness. Zhiguo asserts that Zhiyao, as the successor, will despise and bully others because of his many advantages and his wealth and power, offending many people and eventually leading to the destruction of the family. But Zhi Xuanzi didn't believe it, and still thought Zhiyao was excellent, so he decided to make him his successor.
Zhiguo saw that Zhixuanzi's decision could not be changed, so he changed himself. He found Taishi, the leader in charge of household registration, and quit the Zhi family tree to start his own business.
Later, Zhiyao successfully became the head of the Zhi family and was known as Zhibo. Facts have proved that Zhiguo's words are right. Zhibo is very arrogant, offending people everywhere, and going further and further down the road of ruining his family. The key is that he offended someone who shouldn't be offended, that is Zhao Xiangzi .
Zhao Xiangzi is the head of the Zhao family. That's right, it's the Zhao family orphan. Speaking of which, Zhao Xiangzi was born with poor conditions, so it was not easy for him to take the position of Zhao family's successor.
Zhao Xiangzi, whose name is Wuxie, is the youngest son of Zhao Jianzi, the head of the Zhao family. Zhao Jianzi had many sons, but he could only choose one successor. Since ancient times, comparison has been harmful. When they are all born from the same father, they are better than their mother. Wuxie's mother was not only a concubine, but also a barbarian from Di. Among the brothers, Wu Shi had the humblest background and had no sense of existence. So why did he become the successor in the end? Of course, it is because I am eager to learn and make progress. There is also a legend here.
When several major families are in a stalemate, choosing a suitable successor is related to the life and death of the Zhao family. Originally, the eldest son Bolu had been established as the crown prince. But a fortune-telling activity changed this situation for Zhao Jianzi.
Zhao Jianzi had a subordinate named Gubu Ziqing who was good at fortune telling. Zhao Jianzi invited him to his home to predict fortune for his sons. Gubu Ziqing looked at Zhao Jianzi's pile of sons, shook his head, and made it clear that their lives were not good. Zhao Jianzi was very anxious: Is the Zhao family about to die? Gubu Ziqing immediately comforted him, saying that on his way here, he clearly saw a young master who was very extraordinary. Zhao Jianzi knew that it was Wujie, so he immediately said that he was not of good background and would not consider it. But Gubu Ziqing retorted: "Nobility is not determined by birth. Destiny is destiny. Even if you are of low birth, you will definitely be rich." So Zhao Jianzi called Wuxie over and asked him about his homework. As expected, Wuxie answered all the questions fluently and very correctly.
Although there was evidence from the physiognomy results, Zhao Jianzi still wanted to get a glimpse of the secret of fate and took a unified examination.He said to his sons: "I have a treasure talisman hidden on Changshan Mountain. Whoever of you can find it will be rewarded." As a result, everyone returned empty-handed, and only Wuxie claimed to have found it. He said to his father: "On Changshan Mountain, you can see Daiguo. The Zhao family should occupy Daiguo." This son had great strategic vision. Zhao Jianzi was overjoyed, so he deposed his eldest son Bolu and made Wuxie the heir apparent.
Later, Wuxie succeeded to the throne, the famous Zhao Xiangzi.
A contest between two leaders with different styles
The feud between Zhao Xiangzi and Zhibo began before he succeeded to the throne.
Zhibo asked the Zhao family to attack Zheng Guo. Zhao Jianzi fell ill, so he sent the prince Wu Xie to take over. It is normal for the two of them to work together and eat and drink together. What was abnormal was that Zhibo drank too much and forced Wuxie to drink and even beat him. At that time, Wujie's follower was about to fight back for his master, but Wujie stopped him. He said: "The reason why my father made me the heir apparent is because I can bear the humiliation and bear the burden!"
But those who were beaten did not care, but those who beat others did not give up. Zhi Bo thought Wu Shi was ugly, incompetent and unlovable, so he asked Zhao Jianzi to destroy him. Although Zhao Jianzi did not agree, the relationship between Zhao Xiangzi and Zhi Bo was finally concluded.
Later, relying on his strong power, Zhibo asked the three families of Han, Zhao and Wei to cede territory to the Zhi family. The Han and Wei families were really afraid, so they agreed. Only Zhao Xiangzi said: "The land was passed down from our ancestors, how can we give it away casually?"
Unable to accept the oppression, Zhibo decided to beat him. He united the two families of Han and Wei to send troops to attack the Zhao family. There was a huge disparity in strength. Zhao Xiangzi knew that resistance would be a dead end, so he led his troops to retreat to Jinyang. After being surrounded for a long time, Zhibo thought of attacking with water. Jinyang was flooded, the whole city was starving, and the city was about to be destroyed, but Zhao Xiangzi was planning a counterattack. He sent people secretly out of the city to lobby the Han and Wei families to defect.
Originally, Han Wei followed Zhibo to attack Zhao, but they had no choice but to do so. Moreover, they were also worried that after Zhibo destroyed Zhao, his strength would greatly increase and he would turn around and eat them. Therefore, they hit it off with Zhao Xiangzi. As a result, the battle to destroy Zhao became a decisive battle between the Han and Wei families and Zhao Xiangzi's internal and external cooperation to deal with the Zhi family.
In the end, Zhao Xiangzi won, destroying the Zhi family and killing Zhi Bo.
When Chinese people write history and make up stories, they always point out or set up a person who can discern the secrets of heaven, such as Zhiguo or Gubu Ziqing. But does the life experience of Zhibo and Zhao Xiangzi illustrate Zhiguo's wisdom in judging people, or does Gubu Ziqing's extraordinary fortune-telling skills? In my opinion, neither.
Life is a strange journey. Those who are ahead in everything may not be successful, and those who are one step behind may not be in trouble. Often, it is better to seize the opportunity than to catch up from behind.
