Chapter 9 Qi Jinggong's philosophy of employing people

Qi Jinggong did not break his promise.In December 517 BC, he personally led an army to attack the State of Lu and captured Yuncheng. In retrospect, this is the second time Qi Jinggong has done something similar.The first time was in 536 BC when he helped Duke Jian of Yan restore his country. At that time, in order to use troops against Yan, he traveled thousands of miles to Jin to report on his work, and only sent troops after obtaining the permission of Jin. Nearly ten years later, when he meddled in Lu's internal affairs again, he forgot to apply for another permit from Jin. Since when did Qi Jinggong become so independent?We have to start with the Pingqiu meeting in 529 BC.

As mentioned earlier, at the Pingqiu meeting, Qi Jinggong felt that the military power of the Jin State was still very strong and could not compete with it, so he succumbed to the Jin State and joined the alliance. Three years later, in the spring of 526 BC, Qi Jinggong couldn't help but feel ready to move, and sent troops to invade Xu State.For Qi Jinggong, this was a tentative attack-it was against Xu State, and it was a test of Jin State's reaction.The result of the test made him very excited. Jin State turned a blind eye to it and pretended not to see it; while Xu State and the nearby Tan State and Ju State were all frightened by Qi Jinggong's menacing approach. Competing to be the first to go to the Qi army's camp to show his courtesy, Xu Zi even gave the family treasure-Jiafu's cauldron to Qi Jinggong.Therefore, in February of this year, the four countries of Qi, Xu, Tan, and Ju held an alliance in Putun (in today's Jiangsu Province), and Duke Jing of Qi became the overlord of the East without hesitation, and he was likely to fight against Duke Zhao of Jin.

Just in August of this year, Jin Zhaogong passed away, and his son Qu Ji came to the throne, that is, Jin Qinggong.If the Six Ministers of the State of Jin still had some scruples about Duke Zhao of Jin, they ignored the young Duke Qing of Jin, and the power of the State of Jin completely fell into the hands of the Six Ministers. Qi Jinggong saw all this and was delighted.If the Jin people are united and twisted into one rope, Qi is indeed not its opponent; now that the Jin government is declining, there are many political parties, and the six ministers have their own little ones, then there is nothing to be afraid of!

In 523 BC, Duke Jing of Qi sent the doctor Gao Fa to crusade against Ju State on the grounds that Ju State was disrespectful.Duke Gong of Ju abandoned the city and fled, and hid in Jizhang (zhang, the place name of Ju State, in today's Jiangsu Province).Qi Jinggong sent Chen Wuyu's son Sun Shu to follow him, breaking Ji Zhang, and Ju Gonggong had to flee again.The state of Jin still has nothing to say about this. In the spring of 522 BC, civil strife broke out in Song State and Wei State successively.The Hua and Xiang Er clans of Song State rebelled, killed a group of sons and grandsons, and imprisoned several confidants of Song Yuangong.Song Yuangong negotiated with the Hua and Xiang Er clans, and handed Da Zile as a hostage to the Hua and Xiang Er clans, and the situation temporarily calmed down.In the state of Wei, Qi Bao, Bei Gongxi, Chu Shipu, Gongzi Chao and others resisted the oppression of Gong Mengzhen (zhi, the elder brother of Wei Linggong), killed Gong Mengzhen, and caused Wei Linggong to suffer.Duke Ling of Wei fled in an emergency and settled in the city of Dead Niao on the border of Qi and Wei.

At that time, Qi Jing just wanted to send his doctor Gongsun Qing to Weiguo.Hearing the news of Wei's domestic turmoil, Gongsun Qing sent someone to ask Qi Jinggong for instructions: What should we do next?Continue to complete the mission or return home?If you move on, where should you submit your credentials, Emperor Qiu or Dead Bird? Qi Jinggong's answer was very straightforward: "He is still in the territory of Wei State, he is the monarch of Wei State. Of course you are dealing with him." Gongsun Qing then went to the dead bird.Seeing Duke Ling of Wei, Gongsun Qing was about to offer an invitation, but Duke Ling of Wei refused and said: "The fugitive king has lost his country and is ashamed to see others, so don't insult the order of Marquis Qi." Losing power, you can't afford to be asked by the Marquis of Qi, you should go to Diqiu to find the person in power now!

Gongsun Qing said: "Your widow clearly ordered his ministers in the court to serve your deacon with a humble attitude. I dare not disobey." The so-called deacon is the staff.This is a commonly used diplomatic expression in the Spring and Autumn Period. It actually refers to Wei Linggong himself, but in order to show humility, he does not directly refer to him, but to his subordinates.It means that I am not worthy to serve you, and I am satisfied if I can serve your subordinates well! When Wei Linggong heard this, he was so polite, there is a joke!He became more and more coquettish: "If the monarch and lord care about the traditional friendship between the two countries, take care of our country, and appease the community, then he should perform the invitation ceremony in a place where there is a ancestral temple." !These words were reserved, but Gongsun Qing understood that it was implying that Qi State should help him return to Diqiu!

Gongsun Qing didn't dare to accept this fault, the two of them were modest for a long time, but they didn't submit their credentials.Later, Wei Linggong asked to visit Gongsun Qing in the hotel. Gongsun Qing thought it was an "indecent" behavior and firmly disagreed.Duke Ling of Wei asked repeatedly, but Gongsun Qing had no choice but to order someone to untie a good horse from his carriage and present it to Duke Ling of Wei as a gift before receiving Duke Ling of Wei in the hotel. What a clever character Wei Linggong is?Immediately take this horse as your driving horse to show your importance.

That night, Wei Linggong stayed in the hotel.Gongsun Qing arranged the security of the hotel and participated in the night patrol in person.Duke Ling of Wei was very sorry, and declined, "How can I bother you to worry about my worries?" Gongsun Qing replied, "The ministers of Qi are your shepherds. If you don't protect your safety, you will be sorry for your lord. Holding a big bell and torch for guard, he stood outside Wei Linggong's bedroom all night. This incident moved Wei Linggong greatly.In July of the same year, Qi Bao and Bei Gongxi had an internal strife, and Bei Gongxi attacked and killed Qi Bao.Wei Linggong took the opportunity to fight back to Diqiu, formed an alliance with Bei Gongxi, and regained control of the political power.Although Qi State did not contribute to this matter, it gained a good reputation among the princes because of Gongsun Qing's outstanding performance.At that time, public opinion believed that Gongsun Qing was still able to treat each other with courtesy during Wei Linggong's crisis, which showed that Qi Jinggong respected people and deserved the title of king of a great country.After Wei Ling returned to the country, the first thing he did was to announce the good news to Qi, and greatly praised Gongsun Qing for his courtesy.

Qi Jinggong was very proud. He took Wei Linggong's letter and circulated it to all the senior officials, saying: "This is because of your good education!" Give everyone the credit. Everyone understood and praised Qi Jinggong for his leadership.Only the doctor Yuan Heji kept a straight face and didn't say a word.When Qi Jinggong asked, he said: "Gongsun Qing has done well, it means that everyone has educated well; what if he does not do well? Do we also have to bear the responsibility together? The ancients said that father and son brothers are not related to each other. Not to mention among colleagues? I dare not accept your praise." It made everyone lose interest.

Give Yuan Heji two words: Twist! In October of the same year, Duke Jing of Qi fell ill, which could not be cured for a long time.The envoys sent by the princes of various countries to condolences came one after another, and they were overwhelmed.Duke Jing of Qi had two favorite ministers, one named Liangqiuju and the other named Yiqian. They said to Qi Jinggong, "We worship ghosts and gods in order to seek wealth, which is even better than that of the previous king. Now that you have been ill for so long, Even the princes are not at ease, it is the fault of the sacrificial officials. The princes don’t know, they think we don’t respect ghosts and gods! Why don’t you kill the sacrificial officials, which can be regarded as an explanation to the princes?”

Qi Jinggong felt that it made sense, so he told Yan Ying about it and asked his opinion.To make a digression, this is also Qi Jinggong's excellence. Although he occasionally gets confused, he can always ask the right person before making a decision. After hearing this, two words came to Yan Ying's mind: Absurd!So he told Qi Jinggong a story. Back then, Qu Jian asked Zhao Wu, what kind of moral character is this person in the military association?Zhao Wu replied: "This old man manages his family well, and he does his best in handling state affairs without selfish distractions. Their family holds sacrifices, and they say what they say to ghosts and gods. They are frank and honest, and they have a clear conscience. , and there are not so many suspicious people, so that the sacrificial officials have nothing to ask for ghosts and gods, and they are at ease." Qu Jian relayed these words to King Chukang.King Chukang was deeply touched and said: "It is no wonder that he can assist the five generations of monarchs and lead Jin to become the overlord if he can achieve no grievances between humans and gods." Qi Jinggong didn't know if he really didn't understand, or he was pretending to be crazy, and asked: "Liangqiu said that the widow is worthy of ghosts and gods according to the money, and he should not be sick, but he got sick, so he said that the priest should be held accountable. Now give me Telling a story, isn’t it an answer to the question?” Yan Ying said: "The so-called virtuous king, who manages internal affairs and foreign affairs in an orderly manner, does not violate propriety in anything he does, and has no complaints from humans and gods. His priests report work to ghosts and gods. Being able to enjoy sacrifices with peace of mind, the country is blessed, and the priests also share the happiness. They often live a long and healthy life, and their descendants prosper, because they don't have to tell lies for the king, and they maintain integrity to ghosts and gods. "However, there are also those who are unlucky. They encounter a promiscuous monarch. They don't rule internally and externally. They indulge in selfish desires, high platforms and deep pools, singing and dancing. , that is to report the sins of the monarch; if you cover up your mistakes and only say good things, it is falsehood and fraud. It is hard to tell the truth, and you can only use irrelevant empty words to perfunctory ghosts and gods. But are ghosts and gods so easy to deceive? Deceived He, no matter how high-end sacrifices you offer, he will not enjoy them, and he will bring disaster to this country, and the priests will not be spared. The priests of the faint king often have a bad death, because they are insincere in front of ghosts and gods!" To make a digression, why did this ancient sacrificial official have the same disease as some of today's media? Duke Jing of Qi blushed and thought to himself, what a dwarf Yan, isn't this going round the corner and saying that I'm a faint king?Yes, yes—"Then, in your opinion, what should the widow do now?" "It's difficult!" Yan Ying frowned and thought for a long time, "Have you heard that song? The trees in the mountains, the Henglu (officials guarding the mountains and forests) look at them; the reeds in the lake, the fishermen look at them; The firewood in the sou (sou, the meaning of Huze) is watched by Yuhou (the official in charge of mountains and lakes); the salt clams on the seashore are watched by hope (officials in charge of maritime affairs). People in remote areas, both Entering the city to serve, but also exploited by border taxation; hereditary doctors, forced to buy and sell; Foreign pets, deceive the superiors and deceive the inferiors; sensuality, dissatisfaction, punishment; the people who suffer are the people, and the curse is endless." Qi Jinggong listened in a daze, thoughtful. "Cursing is a terrible thing." Yan Ying continued, "Qi has a vast territory and a large population. If everyone is dissatisfied, even if your priest is good at praying, can he stop so many people from cursing? Therefore, in my opinion, killing the sacrificial officials will not solve any problems, and repairing the internal affairs is the most important thing you should do now." Qi Jinggong slapped his thigh: "Well said, I'll listen to you!" Immediately issued an order to the relevant departments to relax the policy, cancel the checkpoint, open the mountains, forests and lakes, reduce taxes, and exempt the people from the tax owed over the years.After the implementation of the policy, the whole country was applauded. What's even more miraculous is that Qi Jinggong's illness was cured automatically. In December of the same year, Qi Jinggong, who was refreshed, went to Beiqiu to hunt. He sent someone with a bow to summon Yuren (an official in charge of mountains and rivers, similar to Yuhou), but Yuren refused to come to see him.Qi Jinggong was very angry, and he arrested the Yu people and questioned them, and the Yu people replied: "According to the regulations of the previous kings, when the king is hunting, he sets up a banner to call for officials, holds a bow to call for soldiers, and holds a fur hat to call for Yu people. The servant didn't see the leather hat, so he didn't dare to come." Qi Jinggong knew he was wrong, so he let him go. On the way back to Linzi from Beiqiu, Duke Jing of Qi stayed at Chuantai (place name, in today's Shandong Province) for a few days, and Yan Ying stayed with him all the time.According to the news, Liangqiu set off from Linzi and traveled day and night to Trentai to meet Qi Jinggong. Qi Jinggong was very happy to see Liang Qiuju, and said to Yan Ying: "Only this kid is reconciled with the widow (only Ju is with me and my husband)!" Yan Ying said unceremoniously: "He and you are the same, not the same." Duke Jing of Qi wondered, "Is there any difference between harmony and sameness?" "Of course there is." Yan Ying said, "Take cooking as an analogy. Water, fire, oil, salt, sauce, and vinegar are used by the chef to balance the taste. If the salty acid is not enough, add salt and vinegar. If the salty and sour are too salty, add water to dilute it. A gentleman will be at peace after eating such a dish. The same is true for the "harmony" between the monarch and his ministers. There are good factors and bad factors in what the monarch thinks is okay. Factors, the responsibility of a minister is to point out those bad factors and avoid them so that they can be implemented; if the king thinks it is impossible, the responsibility of a minister is to point out the favorable factors for the king's reference. In this case, Harmonious government and harmonious people are true harmony. But Liang Qiuju is not like this. If you say yes, he will say yes; !" Qi Jinggong thought to himself, my original intention was just to say that Liang Qiuju was close to me, but you Yan dwarf used the topic to educate me.He laughed dryly twice, and said, "What you said makes sense. If I don't have you, how can I govern the country? But if I don't have this Liangqiu certificate, I will feel unhappy. Let's leave the matter of governing the country to You do it, and leave it to him to have fun. The widow will not interfere with your running the country, and you should not interfere with the widow's fun, how about it?" This makes it clear that Liang Qiuju is just a villain, and I will not let him participate in the government.The matter of governing the country is still left to you, Shorty Yan, to take care of it. After hearing this, Yan Ying expressed his sincere conviction. Regarding the relationship between harmony and unity, Confucius has a brilliant summary: "Gentlemen are in harmony but different, and villains are in harmony but not in harmony." It means don't keep talking about unified thinking. ; Disagreements of opinion must be allowed, and everyone must have the right to express their true wishes, so that society can be truly harmonious. On this day, Qi Jinggong and his ministers had a pleasant afternoon drinking wine and listening to music.Qi Jinggong said with emotion: "If since ancient times, people would be so happy if they could not die!" This is a common problem of the so-called Mingzhu.Yan Ying said: "If a person can live forever, those happiness are the happiness of the ancients. How can it be your turn? The land of Qi State was first belonged to the Shuangjiu family, and later the Ji Kuang (ce) family replaced it, and then there were Feng Boling and the Pugu Clan ended up in the hands of our Jiang Taigong. If people can survive, the Shuangjiu Clan is still ruling this land, and happiness is also his happiness, so you probably won’t feel happy.” Duke Jing of Qi nodded his head in praise.To make a digression, metabolism is a common sense in the world. If those in power live long, how will future generations live? Just when the monarch and ministers of Qi State were enjoying themselves and the country was flourishing, the turmoil in Song State intensified.Song Yuangong suddenly launched an attack, killed the hostages sent by Hua and Xianger, and attacked them.Hua Hai and Xiang Ning fled to Chen State, and Hua Deng fled to Wu State. In the summer of 521 BC, Hua Hai and Xiang Ning sneaked into Song State from the border of Chen State and called the rest of the party to launch a rebellion.In the winter of the same year, Wu Jun took Hua Deng as his guide and invaded Song State, echoing the rebels from afar. Song Yuangong sent people to ask for help from all countries.Of course, Duke Jing of Qi would not give up such a good opportunity, and without waiting for the State of Jin to speak, he sent his doctor Wu Zhiming to rescue the State of Song.The Qi and Song coalition forces defeated the Wu army in Hongkou (in present-day Henan Province) and captured two generals of the Wu army.But at the same time, another Wu army led by Hua Deng, with the cooperation of the rebels, defeated the defenders of the Song Dynasty under the city of Shangqiu and approached the inner city. Song Yuangong wanted to abandon the city and flee.Pu, the cook of the doctor, advised: "We ministers, you can ask us to defend this place with our lives, but you can't let us use our lives in exchange for your escape. It's not the last moment, please be patient!" Sure enough. After a few days, Wu Zhiming led the Qi army to the city of Shangqiu.Song Yuangong stood on the tower of the east gate and watched, and saw the defenders waving flags and shouting slogans, and their morale was very high.He couldn't help being infected, and went down to the city to inspect the troops in person, saying: "The death of the king is not a shame for a single person, but also a shame for all Song people. Please cheer up, the rise and fall of the Song Dynasty, let's fight here! " Wu Zhiming also felt this atmosphere. He said to his subordinates: "You have also seen that the enemy outnumbers us. To defeat them, you must have the determination to die. Please put down the long spears in your hands. Pick up the short sword and rush to the enemy line with me!" As the saying goes: "One inch is long, one inch is strong; one inch is short, one inch is dangerous." Long Ge is very powerful, and it is also good for self-preservation, but when the two sides enter a state of melee, it is not easy to play its role.Wu Zhiming's tactic is to ask his soldiers to take the initiative to engage in hand-to-hand combat with the enemy, put them to death and survive.This desperate style of play really worked, and the rebels and Wu Jun soon fell into chaos.The cook Pu took the opportunity to rush out of the inner city, took a piece of cloth to wrap a head, put it in front of the car, and shouted: "This is Hua Deng's head!" The rebels believed it and abandoned their armor and fled. This battle was recorded in the annals of history as the first time in the Spring and Autumn Period that short weapons were used in combat.Hua Hai, Hua Deng and others fled to Zheqiu (a place name in the Song Dynasty, now in Henan Province). In November of the same year, Jin's reinforcements finally arrived.The Jin army, led by Xun Wu, called on nearby countries to send troops to help, form a coalition of princes, and jointly crusade against the rebels of the Song Dynasty.Qi Jinggong readily agreed, and sent Yuan Heji to lead troops to join the coalition. At this time, the rebel army is at the end of its strength, how can it stop the large coalition forces?In the battle of Zheqiu, the rebel army was basically wiped out.Hua Hai, Xiang Ning, and Hua Deng fled again, but this time they did not go to Wu State again, but went to Chu State and got the asylum of King Ping of Chu. By quelling the turmoil in the Song Dynasty, Qi Jinggong's reputation in the world has been greatly improved.Song Yuangong admired Qi Jinggong even more, because he knew best that if Wu Zhiming hadn't fought to the death under the city of Shangqiu, it was really unknown whether he would be able to keep his status as a monarch. Because of this relationship, in 517 BC, when Qi Jinggong led troops to capture Yuncheng and was about to send Lu Zhaogong back to the country, Song Yuangong actively cooperated.Of course, his way of cooperating was not to send troops, but to go to the state of Jin in person and ask the state of Jin to help solve the problem. The night before his departure, Song Yuangong dreamed that Da Zile had already ascended the throne, and he and his father Song Pinggong were dressed in neat court clothes to assist Da Zile.The meaning of this dream is self-evident.When he got up the next morning, Duke Song Yuan summoned Liuqing to the palace and said, "I'm not talented enough to unite my relatives. I'm ashamed to make you worry about this. If thanks to everyone, I can die well, please When organizing funerals for widows, keep everything simple and don’t follow the specifications of the previous king. Please!” Liuqing was very sad when he heard Song Yuangong say this, and replied: "If you say that you lower your own enjoyment standards for the sake of the country, we dare not object. But according to the laws of the Song Dynasty, the funeral of the monarch has its own etiquette system. How can we Dare to lower the standard without authorization?" Song Yuangong set off with the idea of ​​​​mortal death in this way, but he died in Quji in Henan before he reached the state of Jin. In March 516 BC, Duke Jing of Qi led an army and escorted Duke Zhao of Lu back to Yuncheng.In this regard, "Spring and Autumn" records: "The public comes from Qi, and lives in Yun." "To self..." is a commonly used sentence pattern in "Spring and Autumn", which means returning from a certain place.Although Lu Zhaogong did not enter Qufu, he finally set foot on the territory of Lu State, which can be said to be "Zhi Zi". In the summer of the same year, Qi Jinggong issued an order strictly prohibiting accepting any property from Lu.This means that Qi State rejects all possibilities of peace talks and insists on going to war with Lu State.Ji Sun Yiru was terrified by this aggressive aura, and quickly sent Shen Feng and Nv Jia to sneak into the Qi army camp to find Gao Wei (yi) to do work. Who is Gao Yu?He is the descendant of the famous Gao family in Qi State.As mentioned earlier, during the Luan-Gao Rebellion in 532 BC, Gao Qiang was defeated and fled to the State of Lu, and the Gao family declined from this.Gao Yu is just a doctor, so what's the use of asking him to do a job?It turns out that there is another relationship: Gao Ju is a retainer of Qi Jinggong's favorite minister Liang Qiuju. When Shenfeng and Nv Jia went to Qiying, they did not bring any presents, they just hid two taels of brocade in their bosom.But their promise to Gao Ju made Gao Ju's heart flutter: "If you can help us, we will help you become the heir of the Gao family, plus five thousand grains." Yu is a unit of measurement in the Spring and Autumn Period, five thousand Yu is equivalent to two hundred and forty shi, and this check was not lightly written. Gao Yu went to Liangqiu Ju with two taels of brocade, and said: "The people of Lu have prepared a hundred taels of this kind of satin to give to you, but the road is blocked and you can't send it in, so I'll show you these first. I don't know if you are satisfied or not?" Liang Qiuju stroked the smooth satin with his hands, and several layers of smiles appeared on his thin face. In the evening, when he was having dinner with Qi Jinggong, he suddenly said, "Have you noticed that the officials don't seem to be doing their best for this operation?" "Oh?" Qi Jinggong narrowed his eyes and thought for a while, it seemed that there was some meaning. Liangqiu said: "Don't misunderstand, it's not that the officials are unwilling to carry out your orders, but there are other reasons. Think about it, Song Yuangong went to Jin for Luhou, and died before halfway; In order to let Lu Hou return to the country, he died without a problem. Is this because God wants to abandon the Lu country, or is it because Lu Hou offended ghosts and gods? In my opinion, you might as well stay here and let the officials follow Lu Hou Go to war. If the battle goes well, you will pursue the victory; if it doesn't go well, you don't feel ashamed if you didn't go out in person." People in that era were most afraid of the so-called destiny.Hearing what he said, Qi Jinggong felt that it was okay to be cautious, so he stationed down and assigned the task of attacking Lu to his son 鉏 (chu, son of Qi Jinggong). Some people in later generations wondered: the Lu people spent a lot of money to buy Gao Yu and Liang Qiuju, just in exchange for Qi Jinggong not to drive his own conquest, is it meaningful?The answer is yes.With the current rising momentum of Qi State, if Qi Jinggong goes out in person, he will definitely not give up until he achieves his goal.The young master is different. Although he is a "son", he is not a big son, and his status is equal to that of a doctor. Even if he cannot achieve his goal, he still has a lot of room for maneuver.