Chapter 12 4. Feng population, Qin Xiangong abolished people's burial and rewarded birth

The system of burial with living people has existed in ancient China. It has been practiced in Qin State for more than 300 years since the time of Qin Wugong.Among them, Qin Mugong developed this system to the extreme. When Duke Mu was in power, Qin State had three doctors who loyally assisted him, namely Yanxi, Zhongxing and Hu. One day, Duke Mu of Qin invited the three senior officials to have a drink. Duke Mu of Qin said, "The three senior officials are really capable and have helped me do a lot of things. With talented people like you, our Great Qin can have the prosperity it is today."

Dying said: "Your Majesty's words are serious. Compared with His Majesty, what we have done is nothing. We just try our best to use our abilities and serve His Majesty. If compared with His Majesty's strategy and virtue, it is a world of difference." what." After drinking for three rounds, Qin Mugong suddenly showed a sad expression, and said: "The widow is really scared. I am afraid that I will die in the future. I will go to Huangquan alone. It would be great if I have your company. Even if we go to the underground palace, we will be alone." Being able to be together and discuss strategies..."

Seeing that Qin Mugong was sad about this matter, he felt that it was a bit unreasonable, so he comforted Qin Mugong and said: "Your Majesty, don't be sad. We are willing to follow His Majesty for the rest of our lives, and we will return together in life and death. Even if we go to Huangquan Road together, we are willing." The other two also nodded in agreement. Qin Mugong was very happy, raised his glass and said: "The three virtuous ministers are really my confidantes, I toast you..." Unexpectedly, Qin Mugong really passed away a few days later.In his last words, Qin Mugong directly named Yanxi, Zhongxing, and Hu to be buried with him, and said clearly: "This is our prior agreement."

Yanxi, Zhongxing, and Hu regretted it greatly. They thought it was Qin Mugong who was talking nonsense after drinking.Unexpectedly, the real purpose of the drink that Qin Mugong invited was to prepare for his own funeral. Before he was dying, he made a last word and told the posterity: "I am going to die soon, but more than a hundred people will be buried alive when King Qin died. Going with it, can the souls of innocent people rest in peace? Now that the trend of burial is so rampant, no matter whether it is a prince or an official, they all use the number of burials to show their prominent status. This is really ridiculous. If things go on like this, when will the country Prosperity! Remember, if someone dies in the future, no living burials are allowed..." Unfortunately, in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Period when burials of living people were prevalent, his last words were not carried out.

When Qin Xiangong returned to the country to take power, Qin was in the most turbulent time, and there was a mess inside and outside the court.The slave-owner class took the opportunity to rise, while the landlord class was greatly restricted in its development at this time.At this time, due to successive years of war and cruel burial system, the population of Qin State decreased sharply, resulting in a large amount of land not being reclaimed, which led to the extreme emptiness of Qin State treasury, and the army could not pay military salaries on time, which greatly reduced morale; the neighboring State Wei State On the other hand, they are eyeing like a tiger, and may invade Qin's territory at any time.

This dangerous situation made the aggressive Qin Xiangong restless.He thought for many days, and in order to change this situation, he decided to implement a reform with the main measures of abolishing the burial system, encouraging more births to increase the population, and recruiting foreign farmers into the Qin Dynasty for reclamation. Xian Gong ordered the abolition of the sacrificial burial system, which was strongly supported by the people at the bottom of Qin, because they would not be killed in vain.Previously, the slave-owner aristocrats of Qin State used the number of martyrs to show their identities, so Qin State killed a large number of young and middle-aged slaves every year.Qin Xiangong abolished the burial system, which prevented a large number of young and middle-aged laborers from being killed in vain, and preserved a large number of labor forces for Qin, which was very beneficial to Qin's agriculture, industry and commerce.

What Qin Xiangong didn't expect was that he abolished the measure of burial of living people, but he encountered strong resistance from some royal aristocratic forces and slave owners.They believe that canceling the sacrificial burial system is slandering the ancestors and being disloyal to the deceased ancestors.Among the many opponents, the dying descendant, who was a doctor at the time, was even more representative.He completely abandoned the dying words of his ancestors, and began to follow the practice of burying the living.Not long after, when his father died, more than a hundred people were buried for him. During the burial ceremony, he shouted to the sky: "The ancestors have passed away. In order to pay tribute to his spirit and protect the descendants, he must kill people and follow him!" "

After Qin Xiangong knew about this, he was furious.Such a measure that he personally formulated to benefit the country and the people encountered such stubborn resistance, so what hope can there be for the revival of the Qin State? Kui's actions were clearly an open provocation to Duke Xiang of Qin.Qin Xiangong originally wanted to deal with it directly, but then he thought, it would be better to call a group of ministers and have a debate with him in the hall, so as to warn other ministers. The next day, Qin Xiangong summoned a group of ministers to discuss matters in the palace hall, and Shu was among them.Qin Xian said straight to the point: "The widow summoned you today because I want to talk to you dear ones about something." As he said this, he glanced at Liu, his expression was disapproving.

"Since the widow came back from Wei, I found that there are many difficult problems in my country, which need to be solved as soon as possible. Of course, this needs to be done step by step. But I just announced a policy to abolish burials, and many people publicly opposed it. The widow is very angry." He glanced at Liu, and continued: "Doctor Liu, can you tell me what you think?" Hearing Qin Xiangong calling him, he knew that he was coming for him, so he said bravely, "Back to the king, I think the system of burial cannot be abolished." Qin Xiangong said: "Your doctor may speak directly if you have something to say."

Zhuo said: "Your Majesty, the ancestors of my ministers are from the family of Chezi. During the period of Qin Mugong, the first king served as a doctor. He was favored by King Mu and made many achievements. After the death of King Mu, the ancestors were dying The three officials, Hu and Hu, were all buried with Duke Mu. If a minister is loyal to the king and a servant is loyal to the master, he must have the courage to give up his life. Even if he dies, his heart will be stable, and the soul of the deceased will bless the world. If we go against it and use the king's system, the souls of the deceased will not be able to find peace, and the lives of the world will gradually decline."

Qin Xiangong said: "I know the history of your ancestors. The three officials, Yanxi, Zhongxing, and Hu, were the three great ministers of the late king. Among them, it is really the loss of Daqin." He turned his head to the lock and said: "I have heard that the doctor's ancestors told the descendants before they were dying, that if someone dies, they must not be buried. true?" At this time, Zhuang's face turned red, and he said: "It is true that this happened. The ancestors were already old and mentally weak at that time, so what they said should not be taken seriously." Qin Xiangong said angrily: "Bold, you are clearly perfunctory with lies, even a three-year-old urchin can tell the truth from what you said. The deaths of the three doctors, Yanxi, Zhongxing, and Hu, were clearly forced. Yanxi knew that he was going to die soon, so he warned future generations in advance that when it was your turn, the misunderstanding became like this, do you think you are worthy to be the queen of Che Zi!" Seeing that Qin Xiangong was angry, he was terrified, and hurriedly knelt on the ground and said, "Your Majesty calms down, and I also think about the great Qin Sheji. Now that I hear what your Majesty said, my heart suddenly clears up. Thinking about what I did in the past, I am really stupid. My Majesty I am guilty, and I hope that the king will give me a chance to make amends." "The widow summoned you here today to settle this matter. It is of course best to repent. I will not pursue the previous crimes." Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Qin Xiangong said: "Today's discussion in the court I hope that everyone will bear in mind the matter, and the sacrificial burial system will be completely abolished from today! If there are still people who persist in their obsession, they will definitely be killed!" This court discussion had a very good effect. Since then, the use of living people for burial has never happened again. As an alternative measure to the burial system, the slave-owner nobles of Qin State began to use pottery figurines instead of real people for burial.The land of Qin was very small, so Duke Xian encouraged those who had more sons and rewarded those who had more sons.In addition, Xian Gong also attracted people from neighboring countries and tribes to farm and herd in Qin State, and treated them equally with his own people.Through these measures, the population of Qin State increased significantly, and many original wastelands were reclaimed. In this incident, Qin Xiangong made full use of the method of convincing people with reason to resolve the incident. Although the matter could be resolved by force, it could not win the hearts of the people.But using reason to solve it is to give a certain "reason" to people's hearts, thus reducing the occurrence of violence and bloodshed.