Chapter 60 Section 2 The despicable old tricks have produced amazing results in the decadent country
It was snowing heavily, and the motorcade of Special Envoy Wang Wan left Xianyang.
All the way to the east, Wang Wan's mood is always restless.Can such an old scheme work in Wei State?If the mission fails, I can only be a scribe forever. Wouldn't it be an eternal sin to ruin the prime minister's reputation?Attention the officials, this Wang Wan is the person from the prime minister's mansion who was dismissed as an official this time.Three years ago when Lu Buwei first entered the prime minister's office, Jian Ba Wang Wan was among a group of clerks and became a pedestrian in charge of diplomatic affairs.In the Warring States period, diplomatic relations were important positions, and all countries were personally led by the prime minister, and pedestrians were just the assistants of the prime minister who founded the government to deal with the major diplomatic plans.Even so, Xingren is also one of the most prominent officials in the prime minister's office.For a young scribe, it's like being a general from a soldier!Wang Wan clearly remembered that when Lu Buwei purged the officials in the prime minister's mansion, he said: "Government affairs are like people, but they can move forward every step of the way! All opportunities, the most important thing is the actual effect! Today's officials in the prime minister's office can be said to be impossible, but the old people are too slow to manage things, they can be used as plans, not as responsible! The prime minister simply pulls out the young and weeds out the old and the weak, and only focuses on state affairs Those who are super-elevated and in charge should not take promotion as joy, and those who plan for vacant positions should not take it as sorrow to leave their posts. If everyone is of the same mind, Qin will have hope!" Wang Wan admires Lu Buwei and is keenly aware of Lu Buwei's handling of the defeat incident. He was the only official in the Prime Minister's Mansion who accompanied Lu Buwei to be dealt with. Although he was dismissed, he was respected by all the officials in the Prime Minister's Mansion.Lu Buwei did not treat him as a dismissed official at all, and still ordered him to "temporarily act as an official" at the Pedestrian Office.This time, the envoy to Shandong Zhouxuan Daliang was also sent to him as an exception.
The so-called exception lies in the fact that Wang Wan was a diplomatic mission, but he had never been to the six Shandong countries.According to tradition, officials can only serve as deputy envoys for the first time.It has never happened in Qin's diplomatic relations to be the first envoy to be upright and take charge of one's own side.But because of this, Wang Wan couldn't help but admire Lu Buwei's courage in employing people again, and couldn't help but feel anxious.
It's also because Wang Wan's mission is really strange--the rumors sowed people, and put Lord Xinling to death!
As far as the facts are concerned, the plan of alienation is really an old-fashioned trick. Even if it can be done calmly in the enemy's country, it is difficult to say how effective it will be.In ancient times, deliberately creating rumors to slander opponents has always been the loser's helpless venting, and opponents sneered without exception, and never really knocked anyone down.Back then, when the old clan of the Yin Shang Dynasty and the Zhou people rebelled and slandered the Duke of Zhou, didn't even a young emperor like King Cheng of Zhou not believe it?However, since the world was turned upside down in the Spring and Autumn Period, and the rise of scholars and their wisdom, this rumor of attacking the enemy has gradually become an authentic strategy inexplicably, and it has been written into the art of war in a grand manner, which is called the strategy of alienation and counter-intrigue!Even so, in the more than three hundred years of the Spring and Autumn Period, there were very few people who really used the countermeasures of alienation and countermeasures to achieve results, and almost none of the famous monarchs, ministers and generals used this trick.
In the Warring States Period, the despicable tricks of spreading rumors and spreading rumors broke out suddenly and often achieved miraculous results.
The first person to fall was the famous general Wu Qi, who suffered three rumors in his life and died tragically.First, she fled from Lu to Wei with rumors of "killing his wife and betraying Lu"; then she fell in love with the "evil daughter" of the eldest princess of Wei, who refused to marry the young princess, and was jealous of Wei Wuhou, so she had to leave Wei and enter Chu; In order to show his loyalty, he left the army and returned to Yingdu alone, but was shot to death by the old nobles in front of the throne of the king of Chu.
The second feller was the famous general Lian Po.This man was even worse than Wu Qi. He had rumored and plotted four times in his life and eventually died in a foreign country.The first time was the Changping War. Rumors that Qin State belittled Lao Lianpo hit Zhao Guojun and ministers. Lian Po was dismissed from the post of anti-Qin commander and lived in seclusion angrily.The second time, six years after the defeat of Zhao Guo, Lian Po was put into use late, and just after winning a battle, he was attacked by a group of generals.The old general was furious this time, and angrily raised his troops to attack Le Cheng, who had taken over his military power.Although Le Cheng escaped, Lian Po had to flee to Wei State.The third time, Lian Po lived in Wei State as a guest, and was slandered by the rumor that "his heart must be different", so he was not used by Wei State.For the fourth time, King Zhao wanted to use Lian Po because of his repeated defeats in Qin. Unexpectedly, the emissary Guo Kai, who was bought by the enemy, made a bizarre rumor, saying that the old general "one meal and three arrows (shit)", actually coaxed Zhao Wang actually believed it.So the famous general of the first generation finally fled to the state of Chu and died of anger.
The third person who fell from the horse was the reform poet Qu Yuan.This father is loyal and passionate to serve the country, but he is beaten to death in the face of Zhang Yi's slanderous rumors.Later, Zhang Yi faded out, but the rumors of the old aristocrats were always entangled with Qu Yuan, so that the stunned Chu Huai Wang always cast the most suspicious eyes on this most loyal minister, and he did not believe in this eternal figure who died with him afterward.
The fourth loser is the famous general Le Yi.The public had two rumors, the first time he escaped by chance, and the second time he finally fell off the horse.From then on, he lived in seclusion in the country of Zhao and never became a general for life.These two rumors are the plots of old opponents Tian Dan and Lu Zhonglian.It was the first time that rumors spread, saying that Le Yi was ambitious to be the king of Qi. At that time, King Yan Zhao was in power. Instead of deposing Le Yi, he killed the rumor maker who was bribed by Qi!The second time was when the new king came to the throne, Tian Dan repeated his old tricks, and still spread rumors that Le Yi would still be the king of Qi.The new king of Yan believed it inconceivably, and Le Yi was deposed, and the Yan army was immediately defeated.
The fifth person who fell from the horse was Meng Changjun Tianwen.This heroic man, however, has had misfortune all his life. He has been entangled in rumors and evil schemes all his life since he proclaimed himself a king and led the country.In the end, the two generations of King Qi Min and King Qi Xiang were bothered by rumors and were useless, and finally died of depression.
The sixth is Fan Ju, who later became the Marquis of Qin.This man was so talented that he was sent to Qi State as an envoy's entourage. When Xu Jia, an incompetent envoy, was ignored by Tian Dan, he stepped forward to help Chen Dayi, safeguarding the dignity of Wei State and promoting the alliance between Wei and Qi.Tian Dan valued talents and persuaded Fan Ju to stay and work in Qi, but Fan Ju politely declined.Such a great achievement, but Xu Jia fabricated rumors with "Qi officials' private cloud", saying that Fan Ju "collaborated with the enemy in private"!The prime minister of Wei Guo immediately believed that Fan Ju was humiliated and tortured in public, and the "corpse" was almost fed to dogs.If it wasn't for a coincidence that he escaped from the dead and changed his name and changed his surname to Qin, Fan Juzhun would have died immediately due to evil rumors and will never be known.
There are also a few illustrious figures who have been entangled in rumors and evil schemes all their lives.One is Wu Xinjun Su Qin, the strategist, Huang Xie, Chunshen Jun of Chu State, Zhao Sheng, Pingyuan Jun of Zhao State, and Tian Dan, Anping Jun of Xingqi.Afterwards, there is Li Mu, the famous general, and Lord Xinling of Wei Guo, whom you will meet soon.It is strange to say that all these miracles come from the six kingdoms of Shandong!However, the envoys, merchants, and scouts of the six countries have always spared no expense to create rumors in Qin, but they have always been muddled. Qin has never wronged a minister or general because of rumors.In more than a hundred years since Shang Yang's reform, there was only one time that King Qin was said to be King Qin by the method of "people's words".Fan Ju's argument is that everyone knows that Qin has a queen mother and Ranghou, but they don't know that there is a king of Qin!Later, although King Qin Zhao formed an alliance with Fan Ju to eradicate the two major political enemies of the Queen Mother Ranghou, but in fact, the fundamental point is that King Qin Zhao originally wanted to seize power and return it to the king. No matter what Fan Ju said, King Qin Zhao would take this step.One side uses "people's words" to motivate the King of Qin to seize power as soon as possible, and the other side has to rely heavily on Fan Ju's talent to purge the Qin government.Because Qin was not influenced by rumors, there was a public discussion among the six countries in Shandong, saying that "Qin people are stupid and don't understand people's words".Through the ages, it is ridiculous.
Knowing this, Lu Buwei insisted on trying, trying to use this despicable old trick to get rid of a strong enemy.
As such a special envoy, Wang Wan's difficulty is that she doesn't know how to spread rumors.Before leaving to ask for advice, Lu Buwei laughed loudly: "You Wang Wan! Just pick the oldest rumors to tell, do you want you to innovate? There is only one thing, you must say it like it! Say it seriously!" Wang Wan worked seriously and suddenly realized Yu then sorted out the rumors of alienation since the Warring States period, and finally selected the two most common rumor weapons:
First, "The princes only know that there is a certain, but they don't know that there is a king."This rumor implied that someone's achievements and prestige far surpassed that of the king, and he might replace the king!The power of these rumors is that a word that turns someone's merits into a threat can make the monarch feel suspicious, and even if it doesn't take effect at the time, it will definitely plant the seeds of internal strife.Tian Dan, who had made great achievements, became sluggish after being hit by this blow.
Second, "I heard that a certain king became king, and I am here to congratulate him."The operation method of this plan is: first create something out of nothing, and use the "hearing" (hearing) method to create a news that a certain person is about to become king; after that, secretly go to a certain mansion to congratulate him on becoming king; Deny it, just find important people to secretly ask someone about the date of becoming king, and tell the person being questioned not to disclose it.This is the most damaging action rumor, and the more secretive it is, the faster the rumor will spread!Le Yi, who is famous all over the world, forcibly fell on top of the "King He" rumors.As long as you congratulate patiently, the person who is congratulated will not fall once, but will fall twice.
Thinking about it, Wang Wan was so curious that she decided to taste this new mission that she had never experienced before.
During the winter period, Daliang showed a leisurely style that had not been seen for many years.
The Six Kingdoms defeated Qin, the old Wei State was the main force, Lord Xinling was the commander in chief, and the people of Wei felt proud.Both the official and public markets have broken the rule of "the winter market opens every tenth", and it is actually a big market every day.The people of Daliang were originally rich and flashy, but this winter they are full of enthusiasm for this festive occasion. Seeing that during the New Year's Eve, even if the market goes around every day, whether to buy or not is a secondary issue.As a result, the big city is crowded with people every day, working hand in hand to sweat and rain, which is comparable to the most prosperous big city of Linzi in those days.The National Government Office also made an exception. In previous years, Wodong was inspected every three days, but this year it was changed to one inspection every five days.The officials were very happy, and they went in and out of the green building of the restaurant with vigor every day, or got together to drink and drink, set up gambling at games, or listen to songs and dances to get drunk and embrace beautiful women; after some romance, they gathered in the two largest restaurants, or Celebrities debated or played chess, tasted tea, or introduced them to visits; however, in the end, they were talking about the court with great interest and criticizing figures, and they were happy and resentful until Diao Dou was fighting at five o'clock, and then they returned to sleep soundly until Zhuo Wu; After a long meal of delicious food and old wine, they drove out on the snow again.
At the time of the wind, flowers, snow and moon, a shocking news flowed out from Daliang: Mr. Xinling is about to become king!
Xue Gong frowned his snow-white eyebrows and narrated this mysterious rumor, but Lord Xinling laughed loudly: "The envoy of Qin is so stupid! It's so absurd, but who would believe him!" Xue Gong shook his head repeatedly: "Believe me!" Lord Ling, don't take it lightly, long-term ruins come true, and there are many rumors and murderers! The court is clear and clear, but the current state of Wei, does your lord think it is clear?" Lord Xinling remained silent for a long time, lighting the charcoal fire in the stove He sighed: "But what a shame! Can Wei Wuji go and shout that he is not king?"
"If the gentleman hesitates, catastrophe is imminent!" Mao Gong stood up abruptly with a bamboo stick.
"Despicable alienation, such a trickster, the king of Wei will never believe it."
"Mr. Xinling is on the mend!" Mao Gong yelled anxiously, "I'm repeating the old saying, but the plan for today is only six words: the king of the Qing Dynasty is really king! Otherwise, the Wei country is hopeless, and the king is also hopeless! You don't want to read it." How can I not miss Wei Guo!"
Xue Gong added coldly: "If Mao Gong exaggerates the truth, the old Wei State Building will collapse!"
Lord Xinling shook his head again and again: "Wuji's loyalty can show the sun and the moon, how can the king of Wei be unaware?"
"Forgive me for speaking bluntly, old man." Xue Gong said grimly, "The heart of a gentleman cannot save the belly of a villain! A few days ago, this old man learned from the waiter in the king's city that the Qin envoy Wang Wan met King Wei and asked for an alliance. King Wei smiled and asked why. Wang Wan Wan replied, "The king of Qin is feared by the king of Xinling! The son died outside for ten years, and the world cherishes him. Once he became a general, he defeated the Qin army. All the troops and horses of the six countries listened to his orders, and the princes only knew that they believed him." Lord Ling doesn’t know that there is King Wei! Can the State of Qin not be afraid?’ King Wei was speechless for a long time after hearing this, and he didn’t call him into the palace to discuss diplomatic relations with Qin. Lord Xinling said, does King Wei trust you?”
"You despicable one!" Lord Xinling angrily clapped the case, "Knowing someone and not knowing someone, how ridiculous! Back then, the courtiers of Qi State used this to slander Tian Dan, and the mediocre King Xiang of Qi was dubious, but after being refuted by Diao Bo's stern words, he no longer believed it. Do you think that King Wei is not as good as King Xiang of Qi?"
"It's not that you're wrong, it's absurd!" Mr. Mao said coldly, lighting his bamboo stick, "When rumors separate people, it's best to think about the way to save the country. What's the benefit of the king complaining about people who separate people? Hope that others will know me What's the benefit? Wang Guo knows the king, how can a king die in ten years!"
"After all, the king of Wei has reconciled with me, how can Wuji betray the king?"
"Mr. Xinling!" Mao Gongzhi couldn't laugh or cry, "As an important minister of the country, loyalty is far from the only one. The root of the matter is whether the king believes in your loyalty? The king is suspicious, even if you are loyal to the country, what good is it! What benefit! What benefit to others! If you claim to be loyal to the country, but a king is surrounded by traitors and ruins the country, how much is loyalty worth!"
Xue Gong continued solemnly: "Your Majesty Xinling still has military power, if you don't become king, I will propose the worst strategy: send troops to get rid of a group of sycophants, and send loyal and capable officers to the various offices of the king's city to ensure that There are always people who state the loyalty and integrity of the king before the king, and it is possible for the king to lead the government and strengthen the country! Otherwise, Wei cannot be saved, and there is no way to stand! If you use corrupt Confucianism to manipulate state power, and do not eradicate traitors because of your own loyalty, you will eventually be betrayed by traitors If the rumors are swallowed up, it will be too late for regrets!"
Mao Gong smiled bitterly: "If this is the case, the old man will not persuade you to become king."
"Second Duke thank you in advance for your painstaking efforts." Lord Xinling cupped his hands and saluted, "However, this is a serious matter, so how about allowing me to enter the palace to meet the King of Wei once before making a decision?"
Mao Gong burst into laughter suddenly: "This old man has no eyes! I thought Mr. Xinling was a great talent to save the country and the people, but he was only a talented soldier! Please take care of yourself, I will leave!" Dudu pointed his bamboo stick and pulled Xue up. The public will laugh and go.
Lord Xinling was stunned and didn't know why, he thought for a long time, and finally boarded the chariot and entered the palace.What Mr. Xinling didn't expect was that the king of Wei braved the snow to welcome him out, holding his hand and asking all kinds of questions, his concern was beyond words.Tasting tea in the study, King Wei frankly entrusted all the words of the envoys of Qin to Lord Xinling, and asked Lord Xinling to weigh and decide on diplomatic relations with Qin.Lord Xinling's heart suddenly fell to the ground, and immediately after returning to the mansion, he sent out his disciples to look for Mao Gong and Xue Gong.Three days later, the doorman reported that the two men had left Daliang, and they did not know where they had traveled.Lord Xinling felt quite uneasy in his heart, but he soon forgot about it, after all, handling Qin's diplomatic relations well is the top priority at the moment.
So when Lord Xinling met with the envoy of Qin, Wang Wan asked him to discuss the peace treaty with Lord Xinling in secret.In view of the fact that this was a common practice in diplomatic relations during the Warring States Period, Lord Xinling discussed with Wang Wan in the secret room of the study.Unexpectedly, after talking for an hour, Wang Wan only praised Lord Xinling for his outstanding achievements or babbled about irrelevant topics, but he didn't mention the terms of the peace treaty.Lord Xinling knew what he meant but he didn't stop him, he just sneered, thinking that the old man wanted you Qin to see how Wei's monarch and ministers can break your divorce scheme!
After this secret talk, many mysterious figures rushed to invite Wang Wan to drink at the wine shop, and there were a lot of topics in the sea and sky, except that it did not involve the peace treaty between Qin and Wei.Wang Wan even cared about drinking heavily, and when she was drunk, she approached the people around her and asked in a low voice and mysteriously: "The son is called king, how do you congratulate him?" I slapped myself, and from then on I only drank and didn't talk.Once, Wang Wan finally got drunk and lost three games in a row, and all three thousand bets were piled up in front of an "old official".Wang Wan yelled to come again.The old official said with a smile, "If you don't have money, you don't gamble. However, Daliang has a habit of gambling, if the public tells a news that the old man has never heard, all the three thousand gold will go to the public, and you can come to play games again!" The flushed Wang Wan haha Laughing: "This envoy is the secret envoy of the King of Qin! Do you know?" The old official shook his head and said with a smile: "The envoys are all secret, who doesn't know? It doesn't count!" Wang Wan yelled angrily: "This envoy's secret You know? Say it!" The old official smiled and said, "You are drunk, so don't tell me." "Drunk? Who is drunk? Not drunk!" Mouth that smelled of alcohol pressed the old official's ears, "Young master wants to establish himself as king, and ask Qin for help. The king of Qin wants fifteen cities as a thank you, but young master only cuts off ten cities. This envoy is here to negotiate this matter! You But you know? Do you know? Say it!" The old official laughed loudly, even saying that he didn't know, the old man conceded defeat, and it was time to play games again.The demeanor was that he was listening to the wind, and just gambled again and again.Wang Wan intends to lose again, but by coincidence she always wins, and the three thousand gold is piled up in front of her, causing Wang Wan to just sigh.
After talking and doing, Wang Wan really didn't know what to do.
A mysterious person sent news that the King of Wei had entrusted all of Wang Wan's arguments to Lord Xinling, and the monarch and his ministers had an intimate conversation for more than an hour.Wang Wan suddenly thought of the sneer of Lord Xinling who only listened to the secret talk and didn't talk about it. It was clear that he was planning to see Qin make a fool of himself.In such a situation, wouldn't staying in Daliang wait to fall into a trap and embarrass Qin?After thinking about it, Wang Wan sent someone back to Xianyang to report: There is no hope of dealing with it, please leave Wei and return to Qin.Ten days later, there was a letter written by Lu Buwei, which was as simple as two lines: "You can live in Daliang without killing the king of Wei, which shows the effect. If you are in charge, stay safe and don't be restless, and return to Qin in the spring!" Obviously, the prime minister He asked the courier about all the details of his stay in Daliang in detail, and judged that it was "sufficiently effective", and was displeased with his restlessness, and asked him to calm down and wait until the coming spring.So what can Wang Wan do?Only by continuing to circulate among the restaurants and mansions, asking old stories and telling old secrets from time to time, no matter how many times the famous officials present heard about it, they immediately looked unpredictable and profound. Look at each other and smile at each other, and immediately They stopped answering Wang Wan and started arguing impassionedly about how to resist Qin Qiangwei.Wang Wan was immediately depressed, deeply felt being teased, and left almost every time in a huff, determined to only survive until after the beginning of spring, at that time, regardless of the prime minister's permission or not, he would leave this ghostly place where he could not decide what to do!
The winter snow was vast, and Wang Wan suddenly felt that she was extremely funny.
The self-deprecating Wang Wan never imagined that when the New Year's Eve was about to end and the river ice was still open, a shocking rumor suddenly flowed out from the long river of tongues in the wine shops in Daliang: the prince who claimed to be a prince would be expelled from the general!Listening to the faint jokes of the officials and scholars, Wang Wan was surprised and puzzled, almost unable to judge.Those who are surprised, if it is true, Gancheng will be destroyed, and Wei people can be so numb!Doubters, if it is false, how can the high-ranking officials, dignitaries, and market rogues all speak with certainty?
In less than ten days, the truth finally came to light—King Wei issued an edict: Mr. Xinling was old and sick, and Prince Wei Zengdai carried the seal of the general in his palm, and the tiger talisman was returned to the royal family.When Wang Wan heard this, she was so astonished that she didn't dare to go out of the post house, fearing that the Wei people would turn on him and tear him alive in the street!Don't want to be frightened, a group of officials came to invite him to have a drink.Driving in the market, no one pointed to Wang Wan's black Qin car.During the feast, a group of officials scrambled to show that they were the first to predict the hidden dangers of the Wei State, and now it has been verified that this is exactly the case!Everyone talked and talked about each other, all the feelings of stealing were gone, and they openly celebrated with each other. They all congratulated the young master for his life and life, and they all lamented that the fate of the Wei Kingdom is finally at stake!
Wang Wan faced a group of monsters intuitively, and left in panic before the banquet was over.As soon as he returned to the posthouse, the fast horse messenger sent a secret letter from Lu Buwei: The state has important matters, return to Qin immediately!If Wang Wan was granted an amnesty, she immediately ordered the carriages and horses to be rectified overnight, and left a clerk to write a letter to the king of Wei to say goodbye.
The official road from Daliang West to Hangu Pass was named Hewai Avenue, which was the most famous traffic axis in the world at that time.The so-called Hewai Avenue is a ten-foot-wide avenue of chariots and horses that runs along the south bank of the Dahe River for more than a thousand miles from east to west. Green, ten miles and one pavilion, it is very convenient for travelers to rest and pay.In winter, the trees are sparse, and the vast reeds on the south bank of the river surround the avenue, and the trees on the side of the road look like long waves outside the curtain. It is really a wonder to travel in winter!
Wang Wan had something on her mind, so she turned a blind eye to the sights and just drove the horses and chariots on their way.When they were about to cross the fork in South Korea, a cavalry team flew forward from behind the convoy, and the leading knight shouted to Wang Wan who was on the chariot: "Someone is chasing you! Envoy, hurry up! I'll wait for the queen!" Then I saw flying riders flying around the vast reed grass outside the Taoist forest, waving their swords and swords clearly, and they were about to go on the road.Wang Wan didn't have time to think about it and shouted for an urgent car, and the driver had already sent the four-horse bronze chariot clattering away!The ten cavalry team flew and seemed to be stuck at the fork of the upper road, and there were shouts of killing behind them.In less than half an hour, Wang Wan's chariots and horses were already on the ground in Luoyang, which is the border of Sanchuan County in Qin State.Wang Wan was thinking about whether to enter Luoyang, when she saw a group of iron cavalry in black flying like lightning from Luoyang Road, and shouted from a distance: "The envoys go back to Qin! I will deal with the aftermath!" Immediately relieved, he waved his hand in thanks and went westward.However, Wang Wan has never been able to solve the mystery of the pursuit.
A few years later, Wang Wan became the prime minister of the Qin State, and after the Wei Dynasty was destroyed, he entered Daliang to inspect the people's rule, and carefully interviewed Lord Xinling's former followers, so he knew the situation of the day: until the imperial edict of King Wei arrived at the mansion, Lord Xinling was still in the dark .Dazed for a long time, Lord Xinling laughed wildly, danced and spun his top like crazy, finally passed out, and only woke up ten days later.At that time Lord Xinling's disciples couldn't contain their righteous indignation, they immediately chased and killed Wang Wan, wanting to avenge Lord Xinling, but they didn't want to be intercepted and killed by Qin's black ice platform secret cavalry, but they failed in the end.Afterwards, the patrons gradually dispersed, Lord Xinling closed his door, took apart the written art of war piece by piece, and burned them one by one, surrounded by wine barrels and a few maids in the dark all day long, and died of exhaustion within four years.The king of Wei, relieved of his heavy burden, issued an order to bury Lord Xinling generously.The Great Liang Qingcheng was dispatched, and the mourners stretched for dozens of miles, their cries were earth-shattering...