Chapter 22 We must win the trust of the people before reforming the law

One day in 359 BC, the South Gate of Liyang, the capital of the State of Qin, was full of people, and it was very lively.It turned out that the newly appointed Zuo Shu Chang Wei Yang issued a notice, the full text of which is as follows: "Anyone who can move this log to the north gate will be rewarded with ten taels." There was indeed a three-foot-long log standing beside the notice, and two guards were sent to guard it.There were thousands of people onlookers, and everyone was talking about it, but no one stepped forward to move the log. "This is Zuo Shuchang changing ways to amuse us!" Everyone thought so.Indeed, moving a piece of wood from the south gate to the north gate does not take a meal, and you don't even break a sweat. How can it be rewarded with a reward of ten taels?It would be nice to reward ten copper coins.

In the afternoon, a civil servant came over, and at the order of Zuo Shuzhang, he added the word "five" to the notice, increasing the reward from ten taels to fifty taels, then Gu Zi shook his head and walked away with a smile—— He didn't believe it was true either. There was a young man who worked as a porter in Liyang City. After watching for a long time, he finally mustered up the courage to step forward and picked up the wood amidst the laughter of the crowd.According to his thinking, moving a piece of wood is just like exercising, and it doesn't matter if there is a reward or not.

Thousands of people followed him from the south gate to the north gate to watch the excitement. At the north gate, there were also two guards standing under the wall.Seeing the young man coming, a guard went up to the tower to report.Not long after, Wei Yang came under the city wall surrounded by a group of officials. "You moved this piece of wood from the south gate?" Wei Yang asked. The boy nodded shyly. Thousands of people held their breath, like watching a wonderful stage play and finally waiting for the climax.Needless to say, they were more looking forward to the outcome of the play than the actors on the stage, waiting to see the young man's disappointed expression, and then burst into collective laughter.

Wei Yang looked around everyone with a smile, beckoned, and someone came forward with a vermilion lacquer plate.The plate was covered with a red cloth.Wei Yang uncovered it with his own hands, and brought the plate to the young man. "It's yours." The sun was shining brightly that day, and everyone present was blinded by the light reflected by the fifty taels of gold. The boy almost fainted. This incident quickly spread throughout the country, and everyone who heard it was shocked. On the one hand, they were envious of the young man's good luck—five taels of gold, as a commoner, he would not have to work for several lifetimes; On the one hand, it turns out that Zuo Shuchang is such a person who keeps his word!

Only an old man from the Hexi area of ​​Wei State beat his chest and feet after hearing this, and said repeatedly: "Why am I not here, why am I not here?" According to "Han Feizi" records, when Wu Qi was the governor of Xihe County, Qin State had an outpost close to the territory of Wei State.The defenders of this outpost often attack the peasants of Wei State, but it is not worth recruiting troops to attack it.So Wu Qi put a chariot shaft outside the north gate and ordered: "Whoever can move the chariot shaft outside the south gate will be rewarded with high-quality fields and high-quality houses." The car moved to the south gate, and Wu Qi immediately rewarded him according to the order.Soon after, Wu Qi put a stone of red beans outside the east gate, and ordered: "Whoever can move the red beans to the west gate will be rewarded as before." The people rushed to move it.Finally Wu Qi issued an order: "Tomorrow we will attack the Qin army's post. Whoever can lead the charge will be appointed as a doctor and rewarded with high-quality fields and houses."

Wei Yang rewarded people by erecting trees to win the trust of the people, so he naturally learned it from Wu Qi.