Chapter 28 first plain text code

The strength is weak and the spirit is tired for a long time, and then the exhaustion will never be enough. Gou benefits the life and death of the country, how can it be avoided because of misfortunes and blessings? Relegation is just because of the kindness of the king, and it is better to cultivate the humble than the soldiers. Play and talk about stories with Shan's wife, try to sing to ruin the old scalp. This is a farewell poem written by the national hero Lin Zexu to his family when he was sent to Xinjiang by the Qing government in the autumn of 1842 and passed through Xi'an.The sentence "If you want to benefit the country in life and death, don't avoid it because of misfortune and good fortune", vividly expresses the poet's feelings of dedicating himself to the country and having no regrets even though he died, and all readers are excited about it.

Lin Zexu's poem has allusions. According to "Zuo Zhuan" records, in 538 BC, the ruling Zichan of Zheng State promulgated the decree "Zuoqiu Fu". As mentioned earlier, Qiu was an administrative unit in the Spring and Autumn Period.The so-called "nine husbands are wells, four wells are towns, four towns are mounds, and four mounds are fields", there are about 150 laborers in one mound.Making Qiufu means extracting military tax (for military service and tax payment) according to the hill. In addition to well fields, the private fields of high officials are also included in the scope of collection, so as to increase the country's fiscal revenue and ensure sufficient military resources.It is not difficult to imagine that the monarch supports this policy, but the class of ministers and senior officials has a lot of opinions because their own interests have been damaged.Some people publicly insulted Zichan, saying: "This man's father died on the road, and he himself was a helper for tigers. Issuing such an order, where do you want to push the country?"

Zichan's father, Gong Zifa, died in the Weizhi Rebellion in 563 BC, and he did not die, so it is said that he "died on the road".Using this incident to scold Zichan, one is to insult the ancestors, which is very vicious like "I x your uncle"; the other is to satirize Zichan, you are also a doctor, why did you forget your class and go to What about doing something that harms others but does not benefit oneself?Does this do justice to your dead father? Someone even made up a story, saying that Zichan's father, son, had criticized Zichan like this before the incident: "You are arrogant, you live alone, and you are loyal to the monarch. The monarch is wise, maybe he can listen to your words; I’m too lazy to pay attention to you. Whether the monarch listens or not, you can’t know for sure, but you have already separated from the masses. If you separate from the masses, you will definitely endanger yourself. Not only endanger yourself, but also endanger my old bones.” The so-called masses here , Of course, refers to the officials, not the mortal beings sweating in the fields.

The voice against "Zuoqiu Fu" is getting stronger and stronger.Finally one day, the doctor Hunhan said to Zichan, "Didn't you hear? Someone insulted you openly on the street!" "Really?" Zichan said lightly, "Since the New Deal is implemented, it is expected that I will be scolded. As long as it is beneficial to the country, I will put life and death aside (the benefit of the community is life and death), and I will do my best to implement it. If you are not afraid of death, you will be even less afraid of being scolded." Hunhan said, "But they really scolded you too harshly."

Zichan said: "It doesn't matter, let them scold you. People who do good things should not change their minds easily, and laws and regulations cannot be changed overnight. Only by persisting can we achieve results. I have done nothing wrong. Why should I worry about what others say?" I?" Hunhan stepped back and said to others: "If Zichan does this, the Guo clan (Zichan's father, Gongzi, pronounced Ziguo, that is, takes the country as his clan) will be in danger, and he will definitely be the first among the 'Qimu' perish. A gentleman enacts laws regardless of feelings, which will inevitably lead to greed; enacts laws out of greed, and the consequences are even more unimaginable." Hunhan also used the topic, "Among the countries with the surname Ji, Cai, Cao, and Teng are probably the most Those who will perish first, because they are close to the big country and do not know etiquette; the Zheng country will perish before the Wei country, because it is close to the big country and does not obey the laws of the previous kings. Government orders are not based on the laws of the previous kings, but are determined by individual will, but I don’t know that there is such a thing as personal will, everyone has it, and everyone is different, if everyone has their own ideas, who would respect him as a ruler?”

Is Hunhan's words reasonable?Of course there is.No matter from the standpoint of the family or maintaining the ruling regime, Zichan's new policy is a betrayal of himself, and it will do a lot of harm to him, but not any benefit.But from the standpoint of the country, the New Deal is undoubtedly a good medicine to increase military and economic strength.It can be seen from this that Lin Zexu's sentence "why not avoid it because of misfortune and good fortune" is actually an interpretation of Zichan's "benefit to the community, life and death".Since the country is the most important thing, personal interests can only be put aside, even if it is not good for yourself, you have to say it, and you have to do things that are not good for you.

It is also worth mentioning that Hunhan's prediction was completely accurate.The State of Cao perished in 487 BC, the State of Cai finally perished in 447 BC (during which it was once destroyed by the State of Chu and later restored), the State of Teng perished in 414 BC, and the State of Zheng in 375 BC. The Wei State continued until Qin State unified the world. In 536 B.C., Zichan launched a new measure to engrave the criminal law of Zheng State on the big tripod and stand it outside the palace gate so that the common people who come and go could see it clearly. "Or "casting punishment tripod".This incident caused an uproar at the time, and its sensation was no less than that of dropping an atomic bomb.

Shu Xiang, an old scholar in the state of Jin and famous for his erudition, heard about this and wrote a long letter to Zichan.The letter said: "In the past, I had always had hope for you, thinking that you were the pillar of Zheng Guo, but now it seems that I was completely wrong. In the past, our former kings judged cases according to the seriousness of the matter, and did not enact criminal laws because they were afraid that the people would have Competing hearts. Even so, it is still impossible to prohibit people from doing bad things, so they use morality to educate, use government orders to restrain, use etiquette to guide, use credit to maintain, and use benevolence to support. The establishment of official salaries is to reward those who People who obey the leader; severe punishment is to warn those who are bold and reckless. This may not work, so admonish them with loyalty, reward and punish them according to behavior, educate them with professional knowledge, and drive them with kindness, Treat them solemnly and resolutely judge their crimes. This is not enough. We must also seek virtuous ministers, officials who know the details, honest and honest village chiefs, and teachers who are good at guiding people to manage this society together. In this case Only then can you safely use the people without worrying about disasters. Now that you have not only enacted the criminal law, but also made it public, have you ever thought about the consequences of doing so? From then on, the people know the law and will never I will respect you rulers. When they encounter problems, they will go to see the punishment tripod. If they are not convinced by the judgment of the government, they will raise objections according to the legal provisions. In this way, you will inspire the hearts of the people to fight. According to The letter of the law will do things, and as long as one or two flukes succeed, the country will have no way to govern."

What does Shu Xiang's position mean?To put it succinctly: First, the starting point of the ruler is always good, and what he does is always right; Second, the less common people know, the better. It is best to be like sheep, only knowing to be obedient; Third, the law is the most terrible tool for the people to fight against the rulers. Once everyone knows the law, tastes the sweetness of applying the law, and demands to act according to the law, the ruler will have no reason to exist—everything happens on its own terms. Legal control, no matter how great and correct leadership is, it is useless.

Thousands of years later, I can still feel the uneasy heartbeat of Uncle Xiang when he said these words.Yes, if the common people's minds are opened, they know what they can do and what they can't do, they always use legal provisions to fight against the government, and they even shamefully demand equality of rights and obligations, can this country survive?Isn't this the same as in the United States, where the president is impeached for a little incident, and ministerial officials can only take economy class on business trips, making people all over the world laugh?Zichan, Zichan, you can't be your ruler properly, you have to give up the power that belongs to you to those mud legs?Taking a step back, even if you want to formulate laws, that's fine, but don't cast that kind of punishment tripod and make it known all over the world!

"In the Xia Dynasty, someone violated the government order, so the "Yu punishment" was imposed; in the Shang Dynasty, someone violated the government order, so the "Tang punishment" was imposed; this kind of thing also happened in the Zhou Dynasty, so the "nine punishment" was imposed. But none of them was made public. Only the ruler can control it." Shuxiang continued, "Now you are in power in the state of Zheng. As soon as you came to power, you demarcated the boundaries of paddy fields and emphasized property rights; you promoted Qiu Fu, which was widely questioned; now you are keen to formulate laws and cast criminal laws in Ding Shang. You plan to use these methods to stabilize the people. Isn’t it counterproductive? From then on, the common people know how to go to court, and they will abandon etiquette and morality and turn to the law. It will decrease, it will only increase, and there will be more and more cases of bribery for the sake of litigation. If this continues, the state of Zheng will probably decline when you are alive. I heard that if the country is going to perish, more laws must be enacted , that’s what you’re talking about!” Zichan read the letter, smiled slightly, and replied with a pen: "As you said, I am an incapable person and cannot consider future generations. My policies are only used to save the present and future generations. Leave it to future generations to consider! Although I cannot accept your suggestion, thank you for your reminder." Uncle Xiang's words were not without reason.Laws can only stipulate issues of principle. When encountering specific cases, people tend to treat them flexibly and take advantage of loopholes in the law.At that time, there was a well-known litigator in the state of Zheng named Deng Xi, who devoted himself to researching the loopholes in the childbirth punishment book and helped others to fight the lawsuit.As far as the cases he has handled, the white ones can be said to be black, and the black ones can be said to be white. There are almost no lawsuits that he can't win. There is a story to illustrate Deng Xi's power: Once there was a flood of water and a rich man was drowned.The corpse was salvaged by others, and the rich man's family asked for redemption, but the person who retrieved the corpse asked for too high a price, and the family refused to accept it, so they approached Deng Xi for advice.Deng Xi said: "Don't worry, who else can he sell to besides you?" The person who found the corpse was waiting impatiently, and asked Deng Xi for advice.Deng Xi replied: "Don't worry, if he doesn't buy it from you, who else can he buy it from?" It can be imagined that with a person like Deng Xi, the implementation of Zichan's criminal law will not be so easy.Through litigation, Deng Xi's reputation grew. He also opened a school to teach apprentices, imparting experience in litigation, and even compiled a "Bamboo Punishment" (criminal book written on bamboo slips) privately as a textbook. Specializes in teaching people how to take advantage of the loopholes in the punishment tripod.Finally one day, Zichan couldn't bear it anymore, and sent someone to arrest Deng Xi, and beheaded him in the street. Of course, there have been some disagreements in history about whether Zichan killed Deng Xi. "Zuo Zhuan" did not mention Deng Xi at all. "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals" speaks conclusively, saying that Zichan "killed Deng Xi and killed him, and the people's hearts will be convinced." "Liezi" even records a story that Zichan's two brothers indulged in drinking and sex, and Zichan asked Deng Xi for advice on what to do.In that case, the relationship between Zichan and Deng Xi is extraordinary, and I am afraid that Deng Xi will not be killed. In my personal opinion, with Zichan's self-cultivation, he should not treat Deng Xi in such a simple and rude way. Less than a month after Zichan cast the punishment book, a strange thing happened in Xinzheng City.In broad daylight, many people saw a bloody man in white clothes walking down the street with dull eyes.When you look carefully, isn't it Liang Xiao who died in the "Battle of Liangsi"?Everyone was so frightened that they hurriedly invited a mage to exorcise the ghost. Unexpectedly, all methods were exhausted, but they didn't work at all. On the contrary, they frightened the mage away. Someone even had a dream at night, seeing Liang Xiao wearing armor and holding a spear, walking slowly along the road where he was killed that year, saying as he walked, "On the second day of March, I will kill Sidai. On the twenty-seventh day of the first lunar month next year, I will kill Gongsun Duan." Sidai is Liang Xiao's number one enemy, and Gongsun Duan also participated in the crusade against Liang Xiao back then.The problem is that Liangxiao is quite scary. He goes to the streets during the day and sleeps at night, which makes people in Xinzheng city panic. Some lost their hats, some messed up their clothes, and some didn't even bother to pick up their shoes. Everyone was in a panic, but they didn't know where to go.Later generations used "Xiang Jing Bo You" as an idiom to describe frightening oneself for no reason, which comes from this. On the second day of March 536 BC, Si Dai died without any illness.On the twenty-seventh day of the first lunar month in 535 BC, Gongsun Duan died as promised.But Liang Xiao still doesn't stop, he still has nothing to do and wanders around the city, making faces when he sees children, and pinching women when he sees them.The panic in Xinzheng City reached an unbelievable level, and people came to Zichan one after another, begging him to find a solution. Zichan said: "How can I manage the matter of ghosts and gods? You must let me solve it, so I will try it reluctantly." So Gongsun Xie, the son of Gongzi Jia, and Liangzhi, the son of Liang Xiao, were appointed as doctors. They worship their ancestors. This trick really worked, and since then, Liang Xiao's ghost hasn't caused any more trouble.As Xinzheng City gradually regained its former calm, people's admiration for Zichan became more and more profound. Naturally, the discussions about "Zuoqiu Fu" and "Casting Book of Punishment" gradually subsided. Uncle Zi thought this was unbelievable, so he went to ask Zichan for advice. "Ghosts in the world must have a home, and someone has to sacrifice to them so that they won't become evil ghosts." Zichan didn't have the slightest complacent look on his face, "I did this to find a home for them and keep them from wandering around. Just wandering." "Then, what's the reason for establishing Gongsun Xie?" Uncle Zi meant, Gongzi Jia didn't make trouble, why did he establish his descendants? Zichan was silent for a while, then slowly said: "Isn't that just to please them?" "They?" Uncle Zi was stunned for a moment, "Who are they?" "Of course it's the common people, who else can there be?" Zichan said, "Think about it, sons Jia and Liang Xiao were unkind and unrighteous when they were alive, and died dishonorably. Logically speaking, there should be no descendants to sacrifice. But because Liang Xiao turned into a ghost to frighten people, and made the city of Xinzheng restless. When people came to me to solve the problem, I had to violate the principle to establish their descendants. Do you think I am trying to curry favor with them? No, I This is to please the common people. If the common people are happy, my work will be easier to do!" Confucianism respects ghosts and gods and keeps them at a distance, so Zi does not talk about strange powers and gods.But silence does not mean disbelief, and this attitude is perfectly reflected in Zichan.Zichan believed in and respected ghosts and gods, but he only dealt with ghosts and gods in matters related to the people.In other words, if one day he is pleasing ghosts and gods, it is actually just to please the people. This pleasing doesn't matter, Zichan's reputation for doing good deeds to ghosts and gods can be spread.In the summer of 535 BC, Zichan went to Jin to visit.It happened that Duke Ping of Jin was ill. Han Qi received Zichan on behalf of the monarch, and asked privately, "The widow has been bedridden for three months. The officials have tried their best to worship all the mountains, rivers, ghosts and gods that should be sacrificed. , but his condition only worsened but not relieved. A few days ago, he dreamed that a big yellow bear broke into the bedroom. Everyone said that you are knowledgeable and good at dealing with ghosts and gods. You said, what kind of evil ghost is making trouble? " Zichan smiled wryly, well, I have become a mage in the state of Zheng Guo.But Han Qi asked earnestly, so he had to deal with it: "With the wiseness of the Marquis of Jin, and you as Zhengqing, how can there be any evil spirits? As for the yellow bear you mentioned, I heard that in the past, Yao sent Gun (Yu's father) went to control the water, but Gun failed to complete the task, so Yao killed Gun in Yushan. His ghost turned into a yellow bear and ran into Yuyuan (the water of Yushan). Later, Dayu's son Qi established the Xia Dynasty , has been offering sacrifices to Gun. The Shang and Zhou dynasties also offered sacrifices to him, and it has never ceased. Now that Jin has become the leader of the world, maybe they forgot to sacrifice to him, is this the case?" Zichan's words were indeed just coping.Think about it, the state of Jin has been in power for more than a hundred years. From Jin Wengong to Jin Pinggong, which generation of monarchs sacrificed to Gun?Why did this problem come up in Jin Pinggong's generation?But Han Qi was convinced after hearing this, and immediately ran to sacrifice to Gun.Believe it or not, it doesn't matter, anyway, "Zuo Zhuan" said that after that, Jin Pinggong's illness gradually recovered.Duke Ping of Jin was very happy, and thinking about how to thank Zichan, he gave him the two great tripods that Ju State had paid tribute to.Jin Pinggong may mean: Don't you like casting punishment tripods?I'll give you two at a time, let you make enough, and see who dares to gossip! As a result, Zichan's reputation for doing good deeds to ghosts and gods became even louder.Zhao Cheng, the deputy commander of the Chinese army of the state of Jin, visited the hotel where Zichan stayed many times, and had long talks with Zichan.One day, Zhao Cheng asked Zichan a question: "You said that Bo You became an evil spirit, is there really such a thing?" "Of course there is." Zichan said solemnly, "When a person has just died, it is called the po, and its yang energy is called the soul. When a person is alive, the soul is powerful and has the ability to manifest , as time goes by, it will gradually weaken until it becomes invisible. If ordinary men and women do not die well, they can still attach themselves to others and cause chaos, let alone Bo You is the descendant of our ancestor Mu Gong, his father and son Ear (Gongsun Zhe) and grandfather Ziliang (Gongzi Quji) are all famous officials of Zheng State. The family has been in power for three generations. Even in a small country like Zheng State, there are many items owned and used, so they absorb There are also many essences, and the family is huge, and the strength that can be relied on is also strong, but the result is not a good end. Isn't it natural for him to become an evil ghost?" Zhao Cheng nodded again and again, Zichan was secretly amused.In this world, no one likes to listen to people's words, but nonsense is very convincing! The main purpose of Zichan's visit to Jin this time was to return the land to Jin. It turned out that four years ago (539 BC), Zheng Jiangong visited the state of Jin accompanied by Gongsun Duan.Gongsun Duan was respectful and humble, attending various occasions, and his words and deeds were in line with etiquette.Duke Ping of Jin was very happy, and he followed Han Qi's suggestion, saying that he would reward Gongsun Duan with prefectures and counties (place names in the state of Jin). As mentioned earlier, Gongsun Duan likes to "pretend".After Zichan came to power, he appointed him as minister, and Taishi went to make appointments three times. He refused on the surface, but secretly did the work behind his back.Unexpectedly, as soon as he arrived in the state of Jin, he stopped pretending. As soon as Mr. Jin Ping finished speaking, he immediately kowtowed to thank him and accepted the reward without hesitation. "Zuo Zhuan" commented on this: Look, this is the benefit of observing etiquette!A person as arrogant as Gongsun Duan has gained such a great benefit because he kept the etiquette in the state of Jin. It would be even more terrible if he kept the etiquette from beginning to end! Is it really that simple?of course not. It is said that Zhou County was originally the fiefdom of Luan Bao, a member of the Luan clan.After the Luan Ying Rebellion, Shi Gai, Zhao Wu and Han Qi all wanted to take it as their own.Zhao Wu said that the prefectures and counties were originally part of Wendi, and Wendi is the traditional territory of the Zhao family, so it is natural that the prefectures and counties should be entrusted to the Zhao family, which is to respect history.Both Shi Gai and Han Qi said, don't fuck with your uncle, the prefectures and counties were drawn out from Wendi very early and entrusted to the Que family, then returned to the Zhao family, and then to the Luan family, all transferred It's been three times, and you're still talking about history. If everyone is like you, it's hard to tell who owns the land in the world.Zhao Wu was thin-skinned, embarrassed by these two scolding, and voluntarily withdrew from the competition.Shi Gai and Han Qi also blushed when they saw Zhao Wu's high style, saying: "A gentleman can't take advantage of small things with a high-sounding appearance." They also gave up.In this way, the prefecture and county became a land of no owner, which had been idle for many years.Until Gongsun Duan accompanied Zheng Jiangong to visit Jin, and stayed at Han Qi's house.Han Qi made a wishful thinking: Anyway, I can't get it now, why don't I give it to Gongsun Duan as a favor, and if it comes back later, won't it fall into my hands?This is the real reason why Gongsun Duan won the state and county. Later, Gongsun Duan also passed away, and his son Feng Shi inherited the family business.Zichan is keenly aware that now is the best time to return the prefectures and counties to Jin State—no, to Han Qi.He said to Han Qi: "In the past, he was wrongly loved by the Marquis of Jin and thought that Gongsun Duan behaved well, so he rewarded him with states and counties. Unfortunately, he died early and had no blessing to receive the reward from Marquis Jin. His son did not dare to enjoy it, but I dare not let the Marquis of Jin know, so I begged me to give it to you privately, please accept it." Han Qi said: "What are you doing? Don't do this, it's not good for people to hear." Zichan thought to himself, pretend, keep pretending!But he said: "Feng Shi is afraid of his own poor fortune, and even feels trembling to accept the salary of his ancestors, let alone a gift from a big country? Of course, you preside over the state and county for his family. With you supporting him on the stage, it is natural There won't be any problems. I'm afraid that in the future, someone will make a fuss about this matter, saying that Zheng Guo took advantage of your country, causing land disputes, and the Feng family will not be able to afford it. You take over the prefectures and counties to keep Zheng Guo far away. This kind of dispute also gives the Feng family a reassurance!" Han Qi said: "Oh, I didn't expect this level. Since you said so, I can't accept it!" "It must be collected." Han Qi had no choice but to accept the state and county reluctantly.But he still felt that he had a psychological barrier, especially when he thought of the red faces of the Heshi and Zhao families for the prefecture and county, he felt ashamed now.In order to comfort himself, he simply made a deal with the Le family of the Song Dynasty, exchanging the prefecture and county with Le family's original county, and turning the original county into his own territory. Only then did he feel at ease.