The genius of the first generation: Wu Qi
text/Gao Jiansuo
Speaking of Bingsheng , everyone will think of: Sun Wu . Not only is the achievements made in Sun Wu's life obvious to everyone, but his book " Sun Tzu's Art of War " is still regarded as a military sacred textbook by people today. In fact, there is another person in history who was praised by later generations as "the leader of military strategists and the god of law without descendants"!
Wu Qi (440 BC-381 BC), Jiang surname, Wu clan, named Qi, Wei State Zuo clan (man. Warring States early military strategist, politician, reformer, and representative of military strategist. He served in the three kingdoms of Lu, Wei and Chu throughout his life. He was well-versed in military thoughts, Legalism, , and Confucian , and had extremely high achievements in internal and military affairs.
Wu Qi was born in a wealthy family with "a family of thousands of gold". He once wanted to get an official position through lobbying and bribery in Wei State. However, his family was dispersed and could not be obtained. His fellow villagers laughed at him for being in a down-and-out manner. In anger, Wu Qi killed more than 30 people who slandered and mocked him. Later, he bid farewell to his mother and bit his arm and sweared: "Qi will not be the prime minister of the family, and will not enter Wei again."
Wu Qi once had a wife in Wei State, and later divorced her. There are two ways to divorce Wu Qi.
"Wu Qi asked his wife to organize a group, and the width was narrower than the limit. Wu Zi sent him to change it. His wife said, "When he was accomplished, he was punished again, but he was not up to the limit. Wu Zi was furious. His wife replied, "I first passed it and could not change it." Wu Zi came out, and his wife asked his brother to ask his brother to go in. His brother said, "Wu Zi is a law. He wants to do his best to achieve success with Wancheng, so he must first practice his wife and concubine, and then do it. You should not go in.
Another way of saying: Wu Qi showed his wife the silk woven belt and asked her to weave such a ribbon. After the ribbon was weaved, the newly weaved one was particularly good. Wu Qi said, "Why did you let you weave a ribbon with the original one? Different? "His wife said, "The materials used are the same, but it only takes more time, so it's better." Wu Qi said, "This is not my order."
Wu Qi went to Lu and became a disciple of Zeng ZiHeng son Zeng Shen . At that time, Tian Ju, a doctor from Qi, went to Lu to ask about politics, talked about mutual joy with Wu Qi, praised his love of learning, and married his daughter to Wu Qi as his wife. Later, Wu Qi did not die for his mother, and kept the oath of "not joining the ministers and ministers, never returning". Zeng Shen thought he was unfilial and cut off the relationship between teachers and students with Wu Qi.
From then on, Wu Qi gave up Confucianism and began to attack military tactics. He learned in three years and achieved success. When Qi attacked Lu, Lu Xiang Gong Xiuyi recommended Wu Qi was a general, Duke Mu of Lu hesitated because Wu Qi's wife was the daughter of Tian Ju, a doctor of Qi. Wu Qi then killed his wife to show his sincerity.
Lu Jun appointed Wu Qi as a general. Wu Qi and his soldiers had the same clothes and food, sucked the pus and blood for the soldiers, led the army to defeat the Qi army, and was promoted to the Supreme Minister. Duke Mu of Lu had doubts about Wu Qi because of Wu Qi's killing his wife . Later, Wu Qi accepted bribes from Zhang Chou, a counselor of Qi. Zhang Chou deliberately leaked his whereabouts, and slandered about Wu Qi.
Lu is the country with the most important ritual and moral thoughts. Although Wu Qi won a battle, his actions were inevitably criticized, and he even more suspected Wu Qi. Wu Qi left Lu and came to Wei .
At that time, the State of Wei was reforming and strengthening, and there was a huge demand for talents. Wu got up to Wei State and was recommended by Zhai Huang and others, and was appointed as a general by Wei Wenhou . Wu Qi presided over the military reform in Wei State and established the first professional army, " Wei Wuzhu ", and seized all the lands of Hexi in Qin State.
Wu Qi was the magistrate of Hexi County, "he generalized the three armies, governed all officials, and guarded the Xihe River", which was quite prestigious. Once, the Qin State sent 500,000 troops to attack Yinjin , in an attempt to recover the lost territory in Hexi. In this famous " Yinjin Battle ", Wu Qi defeated the 500,000 Qin army with 500,000 troops, creating a miracle in the history of war.
Wu Qi led Wei Wu soldiers to "fight seventy-two, win 64, and solve the rest", which can be said to be a real battle invincible.
Wu Qi also participated in the Wei State's battle against Zhongshan. Later, Wu Qi and Wei general Leyang spent three years to conquer Zhongshan. Wei Wenhou immediately ordered the prince to attack Zhongshan and conferred Leyang on Lingshou .
"Han Feizi" records that Wu Qi served as a general of the State of Wei and led his army to attack Zhongshan. Among the soldiers, there was a man with poisonous sores. Wu Qi knelt down and sucked the pus and blood for him personally. The injured mother stood up and cried. Someone asked, "What will the general cry when he is like this?" He replied, "Wu Qi sucked his father's inventor and his father died. Now the son is about to die. Now I cry." After Wei Wuhou ascended the throne, Tian Wen became the prime minister, and Tian Wen hu Gongshu Zhu took over. Gongshuzhu was afraid of Wu Qi's qualifications and ability. Gongshuzhu married his wife, Princess of Wei. He deliberately asked his wife to blame him in front of Wu Qi, and encouraged Wei Wuhou to marry the princess to test Wu Qi. Wu Qi refused to marry the princess, and Wei Wuhou issued an edict to recall Wu Qi from Xihe County . Wu Qi understood that it was difficult for him to realize his political ambitions and left Wei and went to Chu.
At that time, Chu State had political corruption and economic backwardness; it was attacked by Han, Zhao, Wei and other countries for years and continued to lose its territory. The king of Chu State King Dao of Chu had to bribe Qin to make peace with " Sanjin ". Therefore, King Dao of Chu was very eager for real talents and supporters who reformed and strengthened the country, and he appreciated Wu Qi very much.
After arriving at Chu State, King Dao of Chu, who had long heard of Wu Qi's name, quickly appointed him as the prime minister of Chu State and began to carry out various reforms in Chu State. With the support of King Dao of Chu, Wu Qi boldly implemented a series of reforms. First, reduce the aristocratic fiefdom system, migrate the old aristocrats to vast desolate areas, and give the farmable land to the people to cultivate; second, reduce the official salary and order, thereby increasing military and political expenses; third, change the military system and select "fighting men" to form elite troops; fourth, rectify the administration of officials and break the evil customs of the officialdom.
Time flies, and eight years have passed without realizing it. Wu Qi's reforms have achieved good results. These reforms have made the Chu State richer and the troops stronger. The State of Chu once "pacified Baiyue in the south, merged Chen and Cai in the north, and attacked Qin in the west", becoming one of the best major powers at that time. The country's power became stronger and stronger, achieving the effect that all the princes and countries feared the Chu State, and the Chu people "stricken the world and subdued the princes."
Wu Qi severely hit the vested political and economic interests of the Chu nobles because of the reform and reform, and offended the aristocratic forces of the Chu State. In the 21st year of King Dao of Chu, King Dao died of illness. Wu Qi returned to the capital of Chu to attend the funeral. The princes and nobles took the opportunity to cause trouble. Wu Qi knew that he could not escape death, so he ran to the coffin of the King of Chu, lying on the body of the King of Chu, shouting: "The ministers rebelled and plotted to murder my king."
The old nobles who hated Wu Qi were shot at Wu Qi. While Wu Qi was shot to death, many arrows also shot on the body of the King of Chu. According to the law at that time, the damage to the corpse of the king should be implicated in the three tribes. Later, King Su of Chu succeeded to the throne and destroyed more than 70 families of the three tribes that shot and killed the nobles of King Dao of Chu at that time.
Wu Qi's death declared the failure of the reform. However, the residual heat of the reforms still promoted the transformation from the aristocratic politics of the Chu State to bureaucratic politics. The Chu State was still strong for a while and had a vast territory.
"In Lu, Lu exists, in Wei, he dominates Wei, and in Chu, he is strong Chu." When he was in Lu, he repelled the invasion of Qi; when he was in Wei, he repeatedly defeated Qin, and gained all the lands in Hexi of Qin, achieving the hegemony of Wei Wenhou; when he was in Chu, he presided over the reform, which is known in history as " Wu Qi Reform ". Wu Qi is such a powerful person!
Wu Qi was as famous as Sun Tzu. Wu Qi advocated "cultivating cultural virtues within and military preparations outside", inherited Sun Wu's military idea of "knowing oneself and enemy, and not being able to win in a hundred battles", and also proposed military ideas such as "governance is the victory and teaching the army is the first". Wu Qi's military theory and military practice are valuable legacy in the history of my country's military thought.
Wu Qi never failed in his life. He was called the sub-sage in " Four Saints of Military Arts ", and was called Sun Wu together with Sun Wu. His " Wu Qi's Art of War " was valued by military scholars of all generations, and was listed in " Seven Books of Martial Arts " with "Sun Tzu's Art of War". Cao Cao once said, "Wu Qi is in Wei, and the Qin people are not afraid to go east; in Chu, the Three Jins are not afraid to plan south."
"Wu Qi's Art of War" exists six chapters: "Planning the Country", "Improving the Enemy", "Governing the Military", "On Generals", "Responding to the Changes", and "Encouraging Soldiers", which is different from "Sun Tzu's Art of War". The book advocates "cultivating cultural virtues within and military preparations outside."War is not the only way to pursue hegemony. The fundamental way lies in "cultivating cultural virtues within" and emphasizing political education.
Wu Qi also wrote in "The Kingdom of the People's Republic of China": "In the world, five victories will bring disaster, four victories will bring disaster, three victories will bring over, two victories will bring over, and one victorious will bring over. Therefore, few victories will win the world, and many will bring over." This further shows that in Wu Qi's view, the number of victories will not lay the foundation for a strong country, but may instead drag down the national strength and lose the power and few will help. It reveals the connotation of "it is easy to defeat, but it is difficult to defend against victory", reflecting his position of opposing military and military force.
Coincidentally, these remarks are somewhat consistent with the fact that the soldiers in "The Art of War" are very fast. "If you have a long time, you will be dull and your troops will be sharp, if you have a strong attack, you will be weak, and if you have a long time, your troops will be ineffective."
Wu Qi's reputation in history was not very good. The people of Lu said that he was knowledgeable in foreign countries and was cruel and benevolent; the people of Wei said that he was "greedy and lustful" and was knowledgeable in foreign countries; the people of Chu said that he was slandered, and even rioted in private to kill Wu Qi. In fact, these rumors even in Sima Qian and dare not say that they are facts, and at best they are considered gossip news.
From Wu Qi's experience in Lu State, we infer that the social environment at that time: First, the nobles had begun to decline. A large number of civilians were promoted through military merits, thus becoming a new political force. Although the nobles began to decline, they still controlled the government and joined forces to oppose upstarts like Wu Qi who influenced their own interests.
Sometimes, historical changers often suffer the most slander because new forces are not strong enough, while old forces control public opinion. Few people judge them with friendly, even objective remarks.
In fact, in ancient times, especially feudal dynasties, attached great importance to "eating the king's fortune and loyalty to the king." Qu Yuan Loyalty to the Chu State jumped into the river and committed suicide for generations, and Zhuge Liang Devoting his life to death has been remembered by thousands of people after his death. Therefore, people like Wu Qi who have super abilities and personal morality are very unwelcome to rulers.
Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period Eight hundred years ago, Wu Qi can be regarded as a figure at the level of the God of War. Wu Qi alone opened an era as one of the few military strategists, politicians and thinkers in history. His influence and contribution have long been underestimated. However, his thoughts are just as good as his achievements and will not be outdated in any era!
His colleague Li Mi said that he "can't pass the military with military force", and Wei Liaozi praised "Who is the one who has raised 70,000 people but no one in the world? It's said 'Wu Qi'." But in terms of personal morality, he has always been criticized. Bai Juyi scolded him for "his heart is not as good as a bird". Cao Cao said that he "has greedy for generals in Wu, he was confident in killing his wife, and he was scattered gold and asked for an official position, but his mother refused to return after death."
Wu Qi's Tang Dynasty in Wubu Tian was regarded as " Wu Temple Ten Sages " because of his outstanding military talent. After all, his status in military strategists was second only to the "Sage Saint" Sun Wu. However, because of his indelible private morality, he was removed from the "Holy Benevolence and righteousness" Song Dynasty from the "Holy Being and Righteous". It can only be said that time is fate.
According to Wu Qi's life, it is a life of constant struggle and struggle. Fighting against power, secular, conventional, and old laws, he is born a rebel and a destroyer. He rebelled against all seemingly reasonable routines and destroyed all old laws. He had no regrets about this.
has been verified by scholars. Wu Qi has the effect of supplementing and adding to the Confucian classic "Zuoshi Zhuan". According to the conjecture of the author of "Zuo Zhuan" by Children's Books, : "In terms of the author's knowledge and views reflected in this book, he should be a Confucian scholar, and there are a small number of early Legalist thoughts. He is very interested in military affairs, and seems to be good at the military learning."
Mr. Guo Moruo even believes that "Zuo Zhuan" was achieved by Wu Qi. One of the evidences is that many of the conclusions and prophecies in "Zuo Zhuan" are highly consistent with Wu Qi's other works; the second is that there are many predictions about the military and political situation of the Wei State in "Zuo Zhuan", and there are many verifications afterwards, which coincides with Wu Qi's experience in Wei State.
To sum up, Wu Qi is a military genius and a Confucian on the surface, but he is a complete Legalist in his heart. Legalists are destined to be lonely. Wu Qi is very high, and those who are as high as his level do not need to be evaluated by secular morality.The most terrifying power of a person is talent, and what is more terrifying than talent is faith. Wu Qi has both.
Wu Qi's life was a bumpy one, but he never gave up his ideals. Sima Qian said in "Records of the Grand Historian" that Wu Qi "destroyed his body with a violent and young compassion", which means that he only knows how to pursue his goals, but does not know how to protect himself.
The long river rolls, the waves wash away the sand. But looking at Wu Qi's life, no matter how high he is, everything he does is for the interests of the country and always has a firm goal. He is a real politician, not a politician who seeks self-interest. His tragic career truly fulfilled his duties in life!
seek fame and reputation in Kong Laozhuang, and make achievements and learn from Sun Wu.
It is rare to be a capable minister and general who have been famous in history because of his own good fortune. For example, Wu Qili said that the all-round leaders of the three schools of Bing, Law and Confucianism are rare. Perhaps it is difficult to use a few words to determine the right and wrong of Wu Qi. What is certain is that his strategies, insights and ideas that he contributed to Chinese civilization will continue to shine in the sky of history.
