Chapter 4 Zichan's Wisdom in Governance (Part 1): Diplomacy is No Small Matter

The Pingqiu Meeting in 529 BC was a major event in the late Spring and Autumn Period, and it was also the last flashback of Jin's hegemony.History records the meeting of Pingqiu: military parade on August 4th and 5th, princes' pilgrimage to Jin Zhaogong on the 6th, and alliance oath on the 7th. The agenda is very tight. The feudal pilgrimage to Jin Zhaogong on August 6 was actually a preparatory meeting for the seven-day oath.At this preparatory meeting, Jin Zhaogong issued an order: before noon tomorrow, all princes must arrive at the oath place. After the meeting, Zheng Guo’s Zichan ordered the foreign servant (official name, equivalent to today’s director of the Office Affairs Bureau) who was in charge of arranging the monarch’s accommodation: “Rush to the venue immediately, find a sunny place, and set up a tent for the monarch.”

The foreign servant didn't dare to be negligent, so he ordered his subordinates to pack up their belongings, loaded the car, and was about to set off when they met Uncle Zi. Uncle Zi said, "Where are you going in such a hurry?" The servant said: "Received the order from the ruling lord, and rushed to the venue where the oath will be held tomorrow to set up a tent!" Uncle Zi said: "Didn't it be enough to arrive before noon on the next day? You go so early, are you not afraid that others will laugh at us for being too active?" The servant said, "But this is an order from the ruling lord."

"The ruler is in charge of big things, and I'm in charge of small things. You listened to me right, take your things back first, get a good sleep at night, and it's not too late to go tomorrow morning." After Uncle Zi finished speaking, he paced away. up. In the evening, when Zichan came out to inspect the camp, he saw his servant and his subordinates bragging about doing nothing, and he was surprised: "Hey, why are you still here?" The servant reported the situation to Zichan. Zichan stomped his feet angrily: "What nonsense! What are you still doing? Hurry up, don't delay for a moment!"

Zichan usually speaks slowly and slowly, so cursing like this is considered very severe.The servant broke out in a cold sweat from fright.Fortunately, the things had already been packed into the car, and everyone hurriedly harnessed the carriage and rushed to the meeting place, and they were dumbfounded when they saw it.I saw that with the altar of oath as the center, the tents of the princes from all walks of life had been densely spread out, not to mention the treasured land facing the sun, even the worst position could not be found. In Chinese history, Zichan was famous for being "sensitive to things". From this trivial incident, it is not difficult to see that Zichan really paid attention to details and had a foresight.

On August 7, the princes made an oath. An oath is an alliance made with blood.There is also an important agenda before the oath, which is to discuss the order and severity of tributes paid by various countries to Jin.For the princes, swearing allegiance is not a problem, but how much protection money to pay to Jin is the key. Zichan spoke on behalf of Zheng Guo: "In the past, the emperor determined the frequency of tribute from the princes, and the weight of the tribute was determined according to the status. The title is noble, the land is large and the population is large, and the tribute is more. But there are also low-status and heavy tribute. That's because it's within the Dianfu. Zheng Bo, in terms of titles, he is just a man, not as good as other dukes, but he has to bear the same tribute as the dukes. It's really beyond his reach. Please consider reducing Zheng Guo's tribute. Besides The purpose of the cessation of troops and strikes of the princes is to be good-neighborly and peacefully coexist, not to enslave people. But the actual situation is that the envoys sent by the Jin State to collect tributes come every month, and the demands are endless. Smaller countries can't cope with it. Don’t come here, so I often offend Jin. The princes revisited their oaths and recounted their old feelings. Isn’t it to help a weak country? If a small country is always excessively demanded, it will not be able to support it after a long time, so what is there to talk about helping a weak country? Don't blame me for speaking seriously, Zheng Guo's survival or death depends on today's meeting!"

Let me explain: "Serving" means serving the emperor.The system of the Zhou Dynasty was called Dianfu within Wangji, Houfu within 500 miles outside Dianfu, Binfu within 500 miles outside Houfu, Yaofu further away, and deserted areas further away. Clothes.The feudal princes in Jinai (Dianfu) were under the direct leadership of the Son of Heaven, and the land they enfeoffed was also the direct territory of the royal family. Therefore, no matter they were high or low, they paid heavy tribute.In addition, the princes are divided into five categories: Gong, Hou, Bo, Zi, and Nan.According to the custom of the Spring and Autumn Period, Dukes were classified as one class, and Bo Zinan was classified as one class, which is equivalent to the division of "above the provincial and ministerial level" and "below the provincial and ministerial level" today.

Zichan's words are clear-those who should pay heavy taxes are either dukes or vassals in Jinai, and Zheng Guo can't get along with both sides, so they shouldn't pay heavy taxes. Of course, the Jin people will not let go easily, and come up with various reasons to refute Zichan.Zichan showed no sign of weakness, and fought back one by one.Both sides quoted scriptures and references, sometimes with emotion, sometimes with reason, sometimes with tit for tat, sometimes with hidden swords in their smiles, exhausted eighteen kinds of martial arts and various tricks, from noon until the sun was about to set, straight to the mouth Dry tongue, exhausted.In the end, the people of Jin couldn't stand it any longer—it would be dark and the oath could not be held any longer, so they had to raise their hands and surrender. Zichan won the debate rally as firmly as a mountain.

Zi Chan refused to argue in front of the stage, but Uncle Zi broke out in a cold sweat behind the scenes.After the child was born, he scolded: "You are too powerful today! If the people of Jin State mobilize the princes to attack us, will you be responsible for what happened today?" Zichan took a look at Uncle Zi and thought, what happened yesterday is not a small matter, I just don't settle accounts with you, but you are still confused about such a big matter today!He held back his anger, patted Uncle Zi on the shoulder, and said, "I understand your concern. It is indeed terrifying that the Marquis of Jin can mobilize four thousand military vehicles with a wave of his hand. But we cannot be intimidated by the superficial strength." You should know that now the major families of the Jin Kingdom stand side by side, and there are many branches of government, so it is difficult to unify. Whenever there is a major event, there are constant disputes, and the monarch can't intervene at all. In the end, it is often resolved. Do you think it will have time and energy to crusade Zheng Guo?"

Uncle Zi said: "Although that is the case, I am afraid that in case..." Zichan interrupted him: "There is nothing wrong with it. If we speak on behalf of the country, if we don't fight hard, we will only be bullied. If we are all timid, will the country still be like a country?" Uncle Zi dared not say anything more. When Confucius commented on Zichan’s performance at the Pingqiu meeting, he said: “This man is really the cornerstone of the country! The poem says, ‘A gentleman who is happy is the foundation of a state.’ Zichan is that kind of gentleman who is happy.” Said: "Unite the princes, stop greed, courtesy!"

As it turned out, Zi Chan was correct. For Zheng Guo's tough performance at the Pingqiu meeting, Jin State not only did not retaliate, but instead sent a delegation headed by Chinese Marshal Han Qi to visit Zheng Guo in 526 BC, and took the initiative to show favor to Zheng Guo. People respect me one foot, and I respect others one foot. Zheng Dinggong personally hosted a banquet for Han Qi.Zichan was in charge of arranging the banquet and issued an order saying: "Anyone who occupies a place in the court must not do anything disrespectful on the day of the banquet!" Zichan speaks more now than he did three years ago. During the Pingqiu meeting, Zichan accompanied Zheng Dinggong to attend the meeting. Dangguo Hanhu, who stayed in the country, died of illness. The number one person among the ministers of the state, who dares to disobey what he says?

But there are some people who defy the law by themselves. The banquet that day was very grand.Above the lobby, Zheng Dinggong sat in the main seat, accompanied by Zichan, and Han Qi was the only guest.Under the lobby, the civil and military officials of the State of Zheng and the diplomatic corps of the State of Jin are arranged in the east and west compartments, orderly and dignified.The palace band played the welcome music of the Zhou Dynasty, and the bells and drums rang together, with extraordinary momentum.Although the dishes are very rich, everyone knows in their hearts that it is not for you to let go of your belly, just move your mouth and think about it!More importantly, watching the performance of the three people in the hall, they smiled knowingly at the right time. The banquet was going on, and suddenly someone rushed in rashly.Everyone in the state of Zheng recognized that this was Kong Zhang, the grandson of the old Qing Gongzi Jia, who served as a senior official in the court, and because he took advantage of the shadow of his ancestors, he was also a person who "had a place in the court".Kong Zhang looked around, trying to find his own seat, but found that he was not only late, but also entered the wrong door. He was supposed to enter the palace from the east chamber, but he went to the west chamber by mistake and came to the side of the Jin mission.He stuck out his tongue, tiptoeing to find a seat among the Jin people.The master of ceremonies hurried over, meaning that you can't sit here.He had no choice but to back away, trying to sit behind the Jin people, but the master of ceremonies came over again and signaled him that he couldn't do it here either.After that, he retreated to the middle of the band that was playing. Kong Zhang panicked and wanted to come out in a hurry. As soon as he turned around, his sleeve brushed the jade chime, his heel touched the chime, and his elbow knocked down the musician. After being disturbed by him in a performance, he immediately messed up, changing directly from Yangchun Baixue to Xialibaren.Zheng Dinggong's face was livid with anger.On the surface, Zichan remained calm, but in his heart he gritted his teeth with hatred.Han Qi was calm and composed, pretending not to see it, but many people in the Jin mission could not help but cover their mouths and giggle. Diplomacy is no small matter, let alone such an important diplomatic occasion.All the ministers of Zheng Guo felt disgusted by Kong Zhang's irresponsible performance.Afterwards, the doctor Fuzi approached Zichan and said, "You always teach us to be cautious when dealing with people from a big country. A slight slip of the tongue will bring trouble to the country. This time the Jin people made fun of us openly, but they didn't take us seriously. Put it in their eyes. It’s no wonder that they look down on us no matter how polite we are. This time, when something like this happens, they have even more reason not to take Zheng Guo seriously. Forgive me for speaking bluntly, Kong Zhang is rude , is really a disgrace to you." "Nonsense!" Zichan jumped up against the case, startling Fuzi, "As the ruler, if the government orders are improper, the orders are not carried out, the punishments are unfair, the complaints are chaotic, and people are disrespectful, it will cause the big country to bully the mausoleum, and let the people It is indeed my disgrace to be exhausted and achieve nothing, and disasters to come and be unpredictable. But Kong Zhang, he is the grandson of the elder brother of the former king Xianggong (referring to Gongzi Jia), and the descendant of the ruler (Gongzi Jia was in charge of Zheng Guo) , is a hereditary doctor with a noble and prominent position. He was ordered to go to various countries and was respected by the people of the country. When he was young, he led his retainers to the war, and he also had a place in the country's sacrifices. His family has been passed down from generation to generation, and he has kept his family business. Now he has forgotten where he should be. Why should I, Gongsun Qiao, be ashamed of him? You young people You attribute all the crimes to my ruling. Does it mean that the first ruler used the wrong people from the beginning? You, you, if you must educate me, please find other reasons, this reason will not be accepted! " Zichan has changed from his usual gentleness, his face is red and his neck is thick, his voice is also octave higher, like a fighting rooster.Fuzi was frightened by the sudden blow, his legs trembled uncontrollably, his eyes were on the ground, and he didn't dare to look at Zichan again. Why is Zichan so angry?Don't be afraid of opponents like gods, but teammates like pigs.No matter how capable and self-cultivated a person is, he will inevitably be furious when he meets a teammate like Kong Zhang.Going to make irresponsible remarks in front of Zichan at this time is just asking for trouble. However, if you get angry, get angry, Zichan still has to deal with Han Qi. According to "Zuo Zhuan", Han Qi had a pair of precious jade rings, but he only held one piece of them, and the other one was in the hands of Zheng Guo merchants, and he had always wanted it.Taking advantage of this opportunity to visit the state of Zheng, he proposed to Zheng Dinggong that the government of the state of Zheng should come forward to help him get the jade ring. Zheng Dinggong handed over the matter to Zichan.Zichan told Han Qi straightforwardly: "The thing you want is not in the palace, and the widow doesn't know it at all." What kind of attitude is this?What Han Qi wants, let alone Yuhuan, even Yang Yuhuan has to give it!Uncle Zi expressed difficulty in understanding this, and he said to Zichan: "Lao Han is actually quite a good person. He doesn't make any demands at ordinary times, and he always helps us to speak. He is very fair. Doesn't he just want to Piece of Yuhuan? Let alone one piece, we have to give away even ten or a hundred pieces. Think about it, last time Kong Zhang made a fuss, we were already very passive, and now we don’t even agree to such a small request. Some uneasy and well-meaning people will continue to sow discord and destroy the hard-won trust relationship between Jin and Zheng, which is easy to turn against them! Why do you offend a big country for a trivial matter?" Zichan said, "I didn't give it to him on purpose." Uncle Zi said, "Then I don't understand." Zichan said: "This is a question of loyalty. I have heard that a gentleman is not afraid of not having wealth, but of not having a good reputation. I also heard that governing a country is not afraid of the opinions of the big country, but is afraid of chaos in the country. If the people of the big country come When we come to a small country, we respond to every request, and if there is one, there will be two. What do we use to meet the continuous demand? If we give it this time, we will not next time. Wouldn’t it offend him even more? Therefore, for the request of a big country, accept what is reasonable, and accept what is unreasonable Just refute it, there is no sympathy to talk about. Otherwise, the country will not be a country, and sooner or later it will become a vassal of a big country." Uncle Zi said: "I understand what you said, but there is still a difference between Lao Han and others... I don't talk about big reasons, it's just out of personal friendship, I think you should also tell this matter for him done." Zichan said: "If it is for the good of Han Qi, then it is even more unacceptable. He was ordered to go to the state of Zheng, but he took the jade ring from us in private. As a result, Zheng Guo lost its independence, Lao Han also got the name of a glutton, and both sides suffered, so why bother?" Han Qi didn't take advantage of this in the end, so he had to spend his own money to buy the piece of jade ring from the Zheng Guo businessman. Of course, the so-called spending money means setting the price yourself, regardless of whether the merchant agrees or not, you will immediately pay for it and deliver the goods.It's not that Han Qi bullies Henan people, because that's what he did in Shanxi.At that time, merchants ranked last among "scholars, farmers, industry, and merchants", and their political status was extremely low, so they were not qualified to bargain with a big noble like Han Qi. The Zheng Guo businessman naturally knew about Han Qi's background, so he handed over Yuhuan obediently, but emphasized: "Please be sure to tell the ruling lord about this matter." Han Qi said, "Why?" The businessman said: "This is the account of the ruling adults." "What?" Han Qi was completely offended. He rushed to find Zichan angrily, and said, "I asked Uncle Zheng for this piece of jade ring. You think it's unjust, so I dare not refute it. Now I pay for it myself. I bought it from a merchant, and the merchant said that I must tell you, is there such a thing?” Zichan said, "It is true." Han Qi said, "Give me a reason!" Zichan said: "Don't be angry, listen to me slowly. You must also know the history of our Zheng State. At that time, the first king Zheng Huan was a vassal in Jinai. The development of this land led to the state of Zheng today. Therefore, we have sworn oaths with merchants from generation to generation to trust each other. The oath said, 'Don't betray me, and I won't force you to buy your things. , you do not beg me, I will not plunder you, you have profitable business and valuable goods, I will not interfere.' Both parties have kept their oath to this day. Now you come to our country with deep friendship, But you also robbed the goods of the merchants. This is to make us break the oath! I think, if you get a piece of jade ring but lose the support of the princes, you will definitely not do such a thing. If the big country wants us to donate property endlessly , Treat Zheng Guo as a vassal, and we will not do it. I don’t know the reason, can you accept it?” Han Qi was speechless. When he returned to the hotel, he returned the jade ring to the merchant, saying: "Although Han Qi is not smart, how dare he get two major crimes for one stone. I would like to return it to you." It is an indisputable fact that businessmen have a special status in the state of Zheng and have close contacts with the government.In 627 BC, Duke Mu of Qin sent Meng Mingshi to attack the state of Zheng for thousands of miles, but he failed because he was smashed by the businessman Xian Gao (see Chapter 33 of this book).However, it was unimaginable at the time that such a sacred treaty of equality had been signed between the government office and the businessman, and it had been faithfully implemented for more than two hundred years, even under strong external pressure. People feel moved——Thousands of years later, the relationship between the government and businessmen rarely had such a harmonious time. Han Qi stayed in Zheng Guo for a month.In April 526 BC, he set off from Xinzheng to return home, and the six ministers of Zheng Guo were hosting a banquet to see him off.Han Qi suggested that all gentlemen be invited to compose poems impromptu. He likes to hear the stringed songs and knows the elegant meaning, from which he can know what Zheng Guo's attitude towards Jin is. Yingqi, the son of the former Dang Guohanhu, first composed a poem "Wild Grass", which is a famous love poem, which describes the surprise of a lover's encounter: Han Qi was very happy when he heard this, and said, "Ru Zi is really a good man, I am very pleased." Han Hu died in the winter of 529 BC, and it has been less than three years since then.According to the rules at that time, if Ying Qi's father died less than three years ago, no matter how old he was, he could be called a child. Zichan composed a song "Lamb Fur": The poetic meaning is: the lambskin robe is comfortable and beautiful, a diligent gentleman, who works hard for the country and is determined.This is flattering Han Qi face to face.Han Qi quickly waved his hand and said, "I'm overwhelmed, I'm overwhelmed." Uncle Zi wrote a song "Qian Chang": This is a love poem about a woman complaining about her lover's failure to make an appointment.You arrogant boy! Hearing Uncle Zi act like a spoiled child, Han Qi smiled and said, "As long as I'm here, how can I make you think of others?" Uncle Zi hurriedly bowed down to thank him.Han Qi said with emotion: "This poem is so well written! If it weren't for the constant vigilance that our women might fall into the arms of others, wouldn't men always treat women so well?" Next, Si Yan's Fu "Wind and Rain", Feng Shi's Fu "Having a Girl with a Car", and Yin Gui's Fu "Ji Xi", all express the woman's joy for her sweetheart.Han Qi was greatly moved, and said: "Zheng Guo has great hope! Several representatives of the state praised Han Qi, and the poems they wrote were all Zheng Guo's famous lines, and expressed the wish of friendship. Zheng Bo has your escort, so you don't have to What are you afraid of?" He ordered someone to bring out a famous horse from the state of Jin and give it to them, and gave them a song "I will" in return: This is a poem in "Ode to Zhou".What Han Qi meant was: I am afraid of the destiny, and I will sleep up all night and devote myself to maintaining the safety of the four directions. After hearing this, Zichan bowed down, and motioned the other five ministers to bow down, saying: "How dare we not thank you for your great kindness and virtue in stabilizing the four directions and quelling the war?" When parting, Han Qi privately gave Zichan a famous jade and a BMW, and said sincerely: "You want me to give up that piece of jade ring, you are giving me golden jade and good words, so that I can avoid crimes. How dare I not thank you?" Your great kindness?"