freenovelworld Chapter 262 The Age of Great Conflict
Chapter 262 The Age of Great Conflict
These six ministers were from different families, which is the so-called system of three armies and six ministers.
Among them, the Central Army General was the Chief Minister, ruling the State of Jin, and the Six Ministers served as generals and ministers, in charge of the military and political affairs of the State of Jin. The Six Ministers would only vacate their positions after death, expulsion, or voluntary retirement, and the vacancies would be filled according to the principle of "the eldest dies first, the second is the last", and they would take turns in ruling.
This system was not static. During this period, Jin had four armies and eight ministers, five armies, sixteen armies, and twelve ministers, but most of the time it was still based on three armies and six ministers.
The Six Lords of Jin actually came from 11 families, not just 6. There were 72 Six Lords in Jin throughout the dynasties, and except for 3, the remaining 69 were from these families.
Jin adopted the hereditary system of nobles, so these families basically monopolized the political resources of Jin. These 11 families are Hu, Zhao, Xi, Xu, Luan, Fan, Zhonghang, Zhi, Han, Wei, and Xian.
Many outstanding figures emerged from these families, such as Hu Yan, Zhao Dun, Han Jue, Luan Shu, etc. They were all important figures in the Spring and Autumn Period, and their talents became the key to the rise of Jin State.
However, the success and failure were all due to the six ministers.
These families fought for power. From the establishment of the Three Armies and Six Lords by Duke Wen of Jin in 633 BC to the Battle of Jinyang in 453 BC, this system was implemented in Jin for a total of 180 years, and staged countless tragic tragedies, such as the Xia Gong Incident, which is also the true prototype of the well-known "The Orphan of Zhao".
By the sixth year of Duke Ping of Jin, only four of the six nobles of Jin remained: the Zhi clan, the Han clan, the Zhao clan, and the Wei clan. After the final competition, the Han, Zhao, and Wei clans finally divided Jin, and the Spring and Autumn Period ended, entering the Warring States Period.
The Six Lords of Jin were not only the builders of Jin's hegemony, but also the historical witnesses of Jin's hegemony.
These families served in the same dynasty for more than ten generations and took turns in managing the state affairs of Jin. They witnessed the rise, prosperity and decline of Jin.
While establishing its hegemony, the State of Jin was also maintaining the authority of the Zhou royal family, resisting foreign enemies, and defending Chinese civilization. As the saying goes, "Chinese civilization can be seen in the Spring and Autumn Period, and the righteousness of the Spring and Autumn Period can be seen in the State of Jin." If you don't understand the history of the State of Jin, it will be difficult to understand the history of the Spring and Autumn Period. This is the reason.
[Understand the historical knowledge of Li Kui, the pioneer of the Reform Movement, and the Legalists in one go]
He was the first person to carry out reforms during the Warring States Period. His reforms were much earlier than those of Shang Yang. He was also a pioneer of the Legalist School and had a profound influence on the Legalist School during the Warring States Period. In this video, let's talk about the pioneer of the Legalist School - Li Kui.
Speaking of reform, the first thing that comes to mind is Shang Yang's Reform. Shang Yang's Reform was indeed the most significant and successful reform in the Warring States Period, but the first person to carry out the reform in the Warring States Period was not Shang Yang, but Li Kui.
Li Kui, surnamed Yang and clan Li, given name Kui and courtesy name Minghui, was a native of Wei during the Warring States Period. He was a politician of Wei in the early Warring States Period and a pioneer of the Legalist school.
Li Kui was the first to propose the concept of reform and launched reforms in the State of Wei, making the country rich and powerful.
Li Kui's reform was the beginning of China's reform. Later, Wu Qi's reform in Chu and Shang Yang's reform in Qin were basically implemented on the basis of Li Kui's reform. However, Li Kui's death is lamentable and tragic.
He killed innocent people due to misjudgment and eventually chose to write a suicide note and sacrifice his life for the law.
First, the hereditary system of nobles and officials that protected the privileges of the nobility was abolished. Li Kui adopted the principle of "salary for labor and reward for merit" and selected officials based on merit and ability.
He was a representative of the landlord class and was able to firmly grasp the political power. As early as the Spring and Autumn Period, all countries were basically aristocratic politics, emphasizing "no punishment for officials, no courtesy for common people".
Therefore, no matter how much a noble broke the law, he was still a noble; no matter how much merit a slave had, he was still just a slave. Under such a background, the structure of the entire society was stable, but the country's development momentum was very insufficient.
The first item of Li Kui's reform was actually the final subversion of the remaining hereditary system of slave aristocrats. It caused some nobles without merit to lose their status, and enabled a large number of knowledgeable people from commoner families to be reused, step onto the political stage, and make contributions to the State of Wei.
Second, we should promote the teaching of making full use of the land and implement the equal purchase and sale of grain. Making full use of the land is to tap the potential of the land, increase the yield of crops, and increase the country's rent and tax revenue.
In terms of specific measures, Li Kui required farmers to cultivate the land carefully and set the standard yield of 1.5 dou per mu, and required an increase of dou per mu. At the same time, a variety of grain crops should be planted in the fields to prevent certain crops from being damaged by diseases.
Farmers should work hard, weed diligently, rush to harvest, and make full use of the idle land in front of and behind their houses to plant mulberry trees and a variety of fruits and vegetables. Wei State had little land but a large population, so food was naturally related to national security.
Li Kui strengthened the state of Wei by making full use of the land. The Pinglian Law stipulated that the state would purchase grain at a fair price in good years and sell it at a fair price in years of famine, using the method of "taking surplus to make up for shortage" to balance the price of grain.
This measure will help combat the phenomenon in which large landlords and big businessmen hoard grain and monopolize grain prices, which results in high grain prices hurting farmers and low grain prices hurting merchants.
As the foundation of the small peasant economy, farmers naturally had to maintain the stability of the small peasant economy and consolidate the feudal economic foundation. The Wei State was also the first to establish small peasants and private land ownership, which made the national strength flourish.
Third, reform the military system, establish the Wuzu system, and implement a skills assessment system for soldiers.
According to the different characteristics of the soldiers, they were organized into corresponding arms, and the military-industrial system was promoted, which stimulated the fighting spirit of the soldiers. This made the Wei Wuzu the most powerful force at that time and could be called the earliest special forces in history.
After the reform, the Wei Wuzu dominated the various states. In the Battle of Yinjin, 5 Wei Wuzu defeated 50 Qin troops. This also shows that the strong combat effectiveness of the Wei Wuzu was second to none in the military world of the Warring States Period.
Fourth, he established the Law Classic. Li Kui summarized the legislative experience of various countries and formulated the Law Classic in order to prevent and suppress peasant resistance and protect feudal private ownership. The Law Classic is divided into six chapters: Laws on Thieves, Laws on Robbers, Laws on Prisoners, Laws on Capture, Miscellaneous Laws, and Specific Laws.
The law of thieves is to prevent the peasants from infringing on private property in order to protect the private property of the landlord class; the law of thieves is to suppress acts that undermine the feudal order;
Prisoner laws and arrest laws are methods of punishing criminal acts and are the most detailed regulations; miscellaneous laws are regulations on other crimes; and specific laws are regulations on increasing or reducing sentences.
The Book of Law is a code of law that protects the feudal system. It is not only a culmination of the laws of previous countries, but also a blueprint for the laws of the Qin and Han dynasties. Therefore, Li Kui is listed as the ancestor of the Legalists in the Warring States Period.
And the later Shang Yang Reform was basically promulgated based on the content of Li Kui's Law. Li Kui's strength lies in that he proposed the most important concept at that time, that is, legal consciousness.
In the Book of Law, Li Kui proposed that “regardless of relatives or relatives, regardless of noble or humble, all decisions shall be made according to the law”, which shows his concept of rule of law. However, one thing to understand here is that the “rule of law” of Li Kui and the later Legalist school is by no means the rule of law in the modern sense.
In the history of Chinese legal system, it was just a tool of repression in the hands of emperors and was almost a synonym for punishment.
In the Law Classics, there are provisions that "if the prince is displeased, he shall be whipped; if he does not repent, he shall be deposed or replaced", and there are provisions that "if he accepts gold, he shall be executed", which means that the law stipulates that if the prince gambles, he shall be whipped, if he does not repent, he shall be deposed and replaced; if he does not repent after repeated admonitions, the prince shall be replaced;
If a general or below accepted bribes, he would be executed according to the law. It can be seen from this that the law was not harsh and had a great impact on the hierarchical principle of slave society.
However, these legal measures defeated the slavery hierarchy, but brought about the feudal hierarchy. Feudal society was still a privileged society, and the legalist view of the rule of law was ultimately still "rule by man", with no democracy or equality at all.
Li Kui's reforms made the State of Wei take off at that time, and also became a model for many reformers in the near future to travel around the world and carry out reforms to strengthen the country.
As the first reformer among the princes of the Warring States Period, the power of Wei reached a peak during the reign of Wei Wenhou. The 50 years of his reign were the 50 years when Wei dominated the world and dominated the princes.
However, the shortcoming of Li Kui's reform was that the political reform only abolished the hereditary system of the aristocracy, but did not fundamentally abolish the hereditary system of the royal family.
After the reform, Wei State became strong and prosperous, but the fruits of the reform were gradually stolen by these hereditary nobles. The hereditary nobles still controlled almost all of Wei State’s production resources, and they later became an obstacle to Wei State’s continued development.
As the saying goes, "When you are poor, you must think of change, and change will lead to success." This is an unchanging truth, but it is easier said than done. Every change will affect the interests of the original powerful and will be obstructed.
Although Li Kui's reforms had their shortcomings, he was the first person to take the lead in reforms, and he deserves our admiration even more.
[Read all about the Overlord of the Generation - Wei Wenhou in one go Historical Trivia and Historical Figures]
He suppressed the Qin State and made it dare not go east. He dominated the Central Plains and became the first hegemon of the Warring States Period. In this video, let's talk about the great leader Wei Wenhou.
Wei Wenhou, surnamed Ji, clan Wei, named Si, was the founding monarch of the State of Wei during the Warring States Period. In 376 BC, Han, Zhao, and Wei divided the land of Jin, which is known in history as "The Three Families Divide Jin".
The division of Jin by three families became the dividing point between the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period in China. The three kingdoms of Han, Zhao and Wei were formed, and the prelude to the annexation of the seven kingdoms in the Warring States Period was also opened. However, Wei Wenhou was actually an underestimated hero in history.
After Wei Wenhou ascended the throne, he appointed Li Kui and took the lead in carrying out reforms among the seven major powers in the Warring States Period. Wei Wenhou is most praised for his unconventional and meritocratic reforms.
"Zizhi Tongjian" and "Records of the Grand Historian" record many of his deeds of respecting wise men and humble themselves to scholars.
He took Tian Zifang as his teacher, appointed Duan Ganmu and Li Kui as prime ministers, Wu Qi as general, and Ximen Bao as the magistrate of Ye. He took the lead in carrying out reforms in the political, economic, and military fields, opened up thousands of miles of land, expanded the territory, destroyed Zhongshan Kingdom in the north, and took the Hexi area in the west, making Wei Kingdom the overlord of the Central Plains.
Historian Qian Mu commented on Wei Wenhou in his Pre-Qin Philosophers: "Wei Wenhou, with his great reputation, established a country by treating the wise and the humble with respect, winning the hearts of the people and shocking the princes. He was of historical significance and inspired the spirit of Shi Kai."
From this passage, we can see how Wei Wenhou recruited famous teachers from all over the country and used them for his own benefit. This attitude of respecting the wise and humble undoubtedly made him famous quickly, and heroes and talents from all over the world rushed to join Wei Wenhou, creating a situation where talents from all over the world entered the Wei State.
So, how did Wei Wenhou make Wei the overlord of Central Plains?
There was once a classic line: "What is the most expensive thing in the 21st century? Talent, of course." In fact, this sentence is not only applicable to the present, but also to any period.
In order to attract talents, Wei Wenhou worshipped Zixia, a Confucian master at that time, as his teacher, raising the status of Confucianism to an unprecedented height. However, Zixia was not rigid. He did not adhere to Confucius' dogmatic thought of "self-discipline and restoration of propriety".
He did not follow Mencius's so-called "kingly way" and "benevolent government", but showed a more pragmatic side. His rigorous attitude towards scholarship and his way of dealing with things in line with the development trend of the times were just in line with the development trend of the times.
Zixia also surpassed Confucius and became the first Confucian scholar to be known as the "Emperor's Teacher".
Thanks to the blessing of the "Emperor's Teacher", Zixia personally took charge of Xihe, and was in the limelight for a while. Many talented people came to study under him. At the peak, he had more than 300 disciples. Since then, Confucianism in the Three Jins has flourished and formed the famous Xihe School in history.
The Xihe School was earlier than the Jixia Academy and was the talent education center at that time.
The influence of the Xihe School was quite enormous. First, it trained a large number of talents for the State of Wei, and then attracted a large influx of talents from other vassal states, and spread the new ideas and new propositions learned here.
Secondly, the influence of this kind of cultural soft power cannot be underestimated. It not only penetrated the culture of Qin, Chu and Zhao, but also gradually made Wei the cultural center among the Central Plains countries.
The establishment of the Xihe School played an immeasurable role in the cultural and political development of the State of Wei. From then on, the State of Wei carried out a large number of reforms and innovations under the planning of various knowledgeable people, until it finally became the first hegemon of the Warring States Period.
Key 2: Excellent diplomatic strategy
The Three Families divided Jin, and the Warring States Period ushered in a time of great contention, with nations vying for hegemony, the strong becoming stronger and the weak perishing. The reason why the Warring States Period became the most exciting era in Chinese history was not only because of the war strategies, but also because of the diplomatic games of various countries.
The diplomatic game is still of great practical significance today. Sun Tzu said: "The best military operation is to attack the enemy's plans, the next best is to attack his alliances, the next best is to attack his troops, and the worst is to attack his cities."
The best strategy for using troops is to defeat the enemy with tactics, the second best is to defeat the enemy with diplomacy, the third best is to send troops to attack the enemy, and the worst is to attack the city. This also shows the importance of diplomatic strategy.
Wei was located in the Central Plains, surrounded by four warring states. It was flat on all sides and had no strategic locations to defend, making it very vulnerable to attack. During the Spring and Autumn Period, the Jin State, which had not yet split, dominated the Spring and Autumn Period and suppressed the Qin State, forcing it to not dare to go east for a hundred years.
This shows that the combined strength of the Three Jins was enough to stand out from the crowd. After the Three Jins were divided, although Han, Zhao, and Wei inherited the Three Jins' legacy, they were superficially united but actually alienated, guarded against each other, and each had the intention of annexing the other.