Chapter 22 4. I will not escape

Qingzheng sits in the capital waiting to die. It was the war between Qin and Jin that led Jin Huigong to kill Qingzheng.In 645 BC, the second year after Jin refused to sell grain, Qin, which survived the famine, ushered in a bumper harvest.With food in hand, don't panic.The Qin army, with sufficient food and grass, was gearing up to seek justice from the Jin State.In the ninth month of the lunar calendar, Duke Mu of Qin led a personal expedition and led his troops to attack Jin.Jin Huigong also went into battle in person to meet the Qin army.The righteous Qin army was full of fighting spirit and advanced by victory, while the Jin army was defeated again and again, and lost three times to Han (there is a dispute about where it is today).

Huigong asked Qingzheng: "The enemy army has penetrated into our territory, what should we do?" Qingzheng suffocated and sneered back: Didn't your majesty let them go deep?What can be done? Huigong was furious, and shouted: Presumptuous! So he refused to accept the result of the divination, and refused to let Qingzheng be his right-hand car; he also refused to listen to Qingzheng's dissuasion, and insisted on using the small horse-drawn cart produced by Zheng Guo. The result of being so stubborn and never repenting was that on the 14th day, Duke Hui's chariot got stuck in the mud and couldn't get out.Duke Hui became anxious, and called to Qingzheng for help, but Qingzheng ignored him.Not only did he ignore it, but he also said angrily: "You are self-willed, you don't listen to honest advice, you betray your trust, you ignore divination, you are asking for your own defeat, why should you take my car?"I am afraid that this broken car is not worthy of your majesty's use to condescend to escape.

The latter details are less clear.We only know that Qin Mugong was also in a very dangerous situation at that time.On the side of the Jin army, a chariot had already met Duke Mu and was about to capture him.But according to "Zuo Zhuan", it was because Qing Zheng was delayed by Duke Hui of Jin, so Duke Mu was able to escape.According to "Guoyu", it was Qing Zheng who wanted the chariot to rescue Jin Huigong, and then let Qin Mugong go. In short, Qin Mugong was fine, and Jin Huigong was captured. The king is unfair, and the ministers are unfaithful. 10 Jin Huigong's capture can only be said to be his own fault.

But the consequences are serious. If we discuss the matter on a case-by-case basis, Qing and Zheng are directly responsible for the defeat of the Jin army and the capture of Duke Hui.Therefore, when Jin Huigong was released and was about to return to China, someone suggested that Qingzheng escape. Qingzheng said: I will not escape! Regarding this, Qingzheng's statement is as follows: According to the rules, if the army is defeated, it should commit suicide; if the general is captured, he should die.I celebrated Zheng, not only caused the monarch to be defeated and captured, but also failed to die for the country after the defeat, which is an unforgivable crime.If you still flee and let the monarch lose the opportunity to punish the guilty minister, it is not like a human minister.He is obviously a minister, but he is not like a minister. If he is so "a minister but not a minister", where else can he escape?

So he waited for Huigong to catch him. Duke Hui returned home and had just reached the outskirts of the city. When he heard that Qingzheng had not fled, he immediately ordered him to be arrested and brought to justice. Hui Gong said: "You sinner, why don't you run away?" Qingzheng said: In order to complete the king.When the emperor came to the throne, if he fulfilled his promise and repaid virtue with virtue, the country's power would not decline.After the country's power has declined, if you accept advice and adopt faithful advice, war will not break out.After the outbreak of war, if good generals are employed and troops are used properly, the battle will not be defeated.Now that the defeat is defeated, all that can be done is to kill the sinners to thank the world.At this time, if you still let the minister go, how can you keep the feudal state?That's why I waited here specially to ensure that Your Majesty will not make one last mistake.

When Duke Hui heard this, he almost went mad with anger, and shouted repeatedly: "Kill him quickly!"Kill him quickly! Qing Zheng was very peaceful. Qingzheng, who was calm and calm, smiled slightly: It is the right way for ministers to speak bluntly according to reason; it is the sageness of kings for the king to punish directly according to the law.In short, the monarch and his ministers must speak the word "straight" in order to benefit the country.Therefore, even if the emperor does not act, the subordinates will commit suicide. Historians do not record the weather at that time.Calculated according to the solar terms, there should be a chill between the heaven and the earth at this moment.

The ministers of Jin were divided into two factions.One faction advocated the release of Qingzheng and let him perform his crimes and meritorious deeds; the other faction believed that not only could he not be spared his death, but even let him commit suicide.Because Qingzheng's greatest crime is ignoring his father and making his own decisions.This guy has already acted on his own in the war, how can he be allowed to end himself now?If this is the case, then where is the discipline and system? In fact, Hui Gong's best choice at this time is to adopt the former suggestion.Because of doing so, the king will have the reputation of not caring about past suspicions, and the ministers will have the reputation of taking the initiative to punish, which is beneficial to the state of Jin.It's a pity that Huigong is a jerk.If he is an asshole, he cannot be expected to make wise decisions.If the bastard still has unlimited and supervised power, the only thing he can do is turn himself from a small bastard into a big bastard.

Therefore, Huigong finally killed Qingzheng. Fortunately, after Qingzheng was killed, Duke Hui seemed to know how to restrain himself.In the following eight years, I haven't heard of him doing anything absurd.In this sense, it can also be said that Qing Zheng did not die in vain. 11 However, the prince Shen Sheng died too unjustly. 10.See "Xunzi·Wangba". 11.See this section for a synthesis of "Zuo Zhuan·Xi Gong Fifteen Years" and "Mandarin·Jin Language III".