Chapter 32 Shang Yang commits suicide

After the Battle of Maling, the state of Wei fell into a slump. In the winter of 341 BC, Wei Yang wrote a letter to Qin Xiaogong: "Qin and Wei are mutual confidantes. Either you die or I live. Wei occupies the fertile land east of Xiaoshan and draws a river with Qin. And govern, if the situation is favorable, attack Qin, and if the situation is unfavorable, expand eastward. Now Qin is governed by the Holy Ming, and the country is prosperous; while Wei has just been defeated by Qi and has not yet recovered. If you don’t attack Wei at this time, when will you wait? As long as If Wei can be forced to retreat to the east, Qin can occupy the solidity of Xiaoshan Mountain and the danger of the Yellow River, and then control the eastern countries, unify the world, and complete the emperor's career!"

Qin Xiaogong always obeyed Wei Yang, so he appointed him as the commander-in-chief to lead the Qin army to attack Hedong and threaten Daliang. King Wei Hui sent his son Ang (ang) as a general to meet Wei Yang. The armies of Qin and Wei faced each other in Hedong.Wei Yang sent someone to deliver a letter to Prince Ang.The letter said: "I was a concubine in the Wei State back then, and I got along very happily with you. Now it's my own master, and the swords and soldiers meet each other. I really can't bear it. I want to invite you to the camp to have a drink. A few cups, reminiscing about old feelings together, signing a covenant, resolving the war, and then withdrawing their troops to keep each other safe, then the people of the two countries will be blessed. I wonder what you think?"

Young Master Ang readily attended the appointment.It should be said that this is not only the trust in Wei Yang, but also the expectation for peace.However, Wei Yang is a person who doesn't miss old love very much.As soon as Young Master Ang entered the Qin camp, he was detained by the ambushed warriors.The Qin army took the opportunity to launch an attack, and the Wei army was defeated without a leader. This battle is undoubtedly worse for Wei Guo.In exchange for peace, King Wei Hui was forced to compromise with Qin and returned part of the Hexi land to Qin. At this time, King Wei Hui remembered what Gongshucuo said to him twenty years ago, and he felt regretful and said: "I wish I didn't use Gongshucuo's words!"

In retrospect, in the era of Marquis Wen of Wei, heroes from all over the world gathered in Daliang, which was very prosperous for a while.Since the death of Marquis Wen of Wei, the state of Wei forced Wu Qi away, released Wei Yang, missed Sun Bin, and handed over the three most outstanding talents of that era to the enemy.Isn't it expected that the state of Wei turned from strong to weak?The terrible thing is that in the following one hundred years of history, those in power in the Wei state seem to have not learned the lesson and are still making the same mistakes—this is a later story, so I won’t mention it here.

This battle also brought Wei Yang's official career in Qin to the apex.After victory and returning to the court, Qin Xiaogong awarded him fifteen cities in Shang (today's Shangluo area, Shaanxi Province), known as "Shangjun".Therefore, Wei Yang was also called Shang Yang in history. Ironically, in order to maintain the centralization of Qin, Shang Yang deprived many old-fashioned nobles of their privileges and feudal titles.Qin Xiaogong rewarded him with fifteen cities, which was equivalent to allowing him to own a country within a country, but he readily accepted it without feeling that there was anything wrong with it.

At that time, a man named Zhao Liang, who was quite famous in Qin State, visited Shang Yang's mansion.Shang Yang had just received the reward, and he was proud of the spring breeze. He said to Zhao Liang: "At the beginning, the customs of Qin State were the same as those of Rong and Di. Father and son did not separate families, and men, women, and children lived in the same room. I used etiquette to regulate the behavior of Qin people, making them different from men to women. I live in separate houses. I organized the people of the country to build palaces and city gates, and made Xianyang as beautiful as the capitals of Lu and Wei. In your opinion, how does my governance of Qin compare with that of the five 羖 (gu) doctors back then? "

羖 is the ram.During the Spring and Autumn Period, Baili Xi, a worthy official in Qin Mugong's reign, was said to have bought it from the state of Chu for the price of five sheepskins. Zhao Liang said: "The five officials were born in a poor family. Qin Mugong bought him back at the price of a slave and entrusted him with a heavy responsibility, surpassing ten thousand people, but no one in Qin State was dissatisfied. Carrying out virtuous government, giving both kindness and power to the outside world, princes from all over the world came to pilgrimage. But he never took credit for pride. He didn't take a car when he went out, he didn't take an umbrella when it was hot, and he went around the country without an entourage. When he died, all the people of Qin State cried bitterly, and even the children didn't want to play. His contributions will forever be recorded in the annals of history, and his virtues will always be remembered by future generations. But you, as a great leader of the Qin State, did not benefit the people, but built a palace, punished the prince's teacher, and tortured the people with harsh criminal laws , This is inviting resentment and accumulating disasters! Since ancient times, educating the people is more deeply rooted in the hearts of the people than ordering the people, but you blindly use the criminal law to intimidate the people and make everyone obey your authority. As long as you go out, dozens of people will follow behind you A chariot with heavily armed and strong guards on it, and guards along the way, otherwise you dare not go out. With all due respect, your situation is like the morning dew, and you will soon be in danger of dying , how can you compare with Doctor Wuyan?"

Shang Yang remained silent. "If you want to live longer, return the fief to the monarch, find a remote place to cultivate fields and trees, and live for the rest of your life. If you are still greedy for glory and wealth and monopolize power, once the situation changes, Qin will kill you. Are you still short?" When Zhao Liang said this, Shang Yang remained silent.After all, it is easier said than done to retreat bravely, even a hundred times more difficult than going upstream.From another perspective, he is not unaware that he has offended many people.But if the reform does not offend others, then it is not called reform.As long as Qin Xiaogong is still on his side and trusts him, he doesn't care who he offends.

However, God seems to have played a big joke with Shang Yang.In 338 BC, less than half a year after this conversation, Qin Xiaogong died suddenly. According to the "Warring States Policy" records, before Qin Xiaogong died, he proposed to pass the throne to Shang Yang, but was rejected by Shang Yang.Whether Qin Xiaogong's move was out of sincerity or out of temptation, future generations have no way of knowing. After the death of Qin Xiaogong, Prince Yingsi succeeded to the throne, that is, King Qin Hui in history. As mentioned earlier, there was an unpleasant experience between Qin Huiwang and Shang Yang.Although this matter has passed for a long time, it has always been hidden in King Qin Hui's heart, and has never been let go.

Regarding this point, Shang Yang undoubtedly knew it well. After some consideration, he took the initiative to propose to King Qin Hui that he would retire from his old age and return to his hometown, and return to his fief to live a peaceful life. Like many people who are smart and confused for a while, Shang Yang's wishful thinking is that I don't want the power, but let me keep the wealth! King Qin Hui almost agreed to his request, but at this moment, King Qin Hui's teacher, the son Qian who had his nose cut by Shang Yang, came out to speak. "The minister's meritorious deeds will endanger the security of the country. Nowadays, men, women and children in the state of Qin only know that there is the law of the king of Shang, but they don't know the authority of the king. The king of Shang has long been above the king of the state of Qin and has become the leader of the state of Qin. Master. Now he proposes to retire from his old age and return to his hometown, but he is only retreating to advance, he wants to return to his fief to accumulate strength, and when the time comes, he will counterattack you."

Ever since Gong Ziqian had his nose cut, he stayed behind closed doors for a while and didn't see any guests for eight years. Later, he found someone to put on a mask before he dared to go out.His hatred for Shang Yang can be said to be deep in his bones, and now that the clouds are finally open to see the sunrise, he will naturally spare no effort to punish Shang Yang to death. Another teacher of King Qin Hui, Gongsun Jia who was sentenced to tattooing by Shang Yang, jumped out without losing the opportunity and provided King Qin Hui with some "evidence" that Shang Yang wanted to rebel. Under the repeated bombardment by the two teachers, Qin Huiwang quickly issued a secret order to arrest Shang Yang.Of course, when the guards set off from the palace to Shang Jun's mansion, Shang Yang had already obtained the information.He changed into civilian clothes, slipped out from the back door of his house, quickly left Xianyang, took the path and went straight to his fief Yushang. He thought to himself, relying on the armed forces of Yushang Shiwuyi, he should be able to fight the Qin army! Shang Yang traveled day and night, and when he passed a small town in Lantian, he was tired and hungry, so he found the only inn in the town to stay. "Who are you? Where are you from? Where are you going?" The innkeeper asked him three questions in a row (these three questions are enough to make Kant and Hegel think about it for a lifetime), Shang Yang had already prepared, and gave a false name, saying that he came to Xianyang and was going to visit relatives in the mall. The boss struggled to register the information, and spread his hands: "Bring it!" "What?" Shang Yang froze for a moment. "A letter of introduction!" The boss gave him a blank look. "What letter of introduction?" Shang Yang got a little nervous, took out a dozen copper coins from the package, and fortified them to the boss. The boss waved his hands again and again: "Are you really not understanding or are you pretending not to understand? Lord Shang has promulgated a decree long ago, no one is allowed to stay in the store without a letter of introduction issued by the government. If I take you in, I will have to go to jail!" "Ah?" Shang Yang patted himself on the head vigorously, and walked out of the inn dejectedly.Walking to a place where no one was around, he let out a long sigh and said to himself, "I never thought that Shang Jun's new law would be so harmful!" The idiom "doing it yourself will kill you" comes from this. Not long after Shang Yang returned to Shang, King Qin Hui's army also arrived.As mentioned earlier, Shang Yang was good at politics, but not very good at fighting. Coupled with the disparity in power, he was quickly defeated. After that, he fled in a hurry with his clansmen, and once wanted to defect to Wei State.But the people of Wei resented him for deceiving Prince Ang, winning the battle of Hedong by despicable means, and drove them back to Qin. In the end, Shang Yang was killed by the Qin army in Tongdi (now Hua County, Shaanxi Province).His body was taken back to Xianyang, where he was punished by being split by a car.But Qin Huiwang still felt unrepentant, and executed all Shang Yang's clansmen. This is the so-called extermination of the Nine Clans. The old nobles of Qin State rejoiced and applauded, thinking that the sky was about to change.But what is intriguing is that after King Hui of Qin killed Shang Yang, he did not make any changes to the decrees promulgated by Shang Yang. The mountain is still the same mountain, the beam is still the same beam, the Qin State is still the same Qin State, and the law of the Shang Jun is still the highest standard that everyone must abide by. Qin Huiwang is not a fool.All the laws and decrees formulated by Shang Yang are nothing more than to strengthen the centralization of power and make Qin State stronger. Why should they be abolished?He killed Shang Yang just to appease the wounded hearts of the nobles so that he could better follow Shang Yang's way of governing the country. Qin State has embarked on the fast track of reform and development, and it is impossible to go back to the old road of self-styledness. Farewell, Shang Yang, you have completed your mission, let us complete the next work!