To be a sage lies first in virtue and then in thought. The virtuous, regardless of selfish interests, are willing to do nothing for the country and the people; the thinker, thoughtful, Zhang Chi has a degree. This is the case with Yan Bao, who fulfills the duty of a courtier for the king, the conscience of an official for the people, is not humble in the face of power, and fulfills the people's aspirations with his own virtue.
Yan Nian was the shang dafu of the State of Qi during the Spring and Autumn Period, he went through the three dynasties of Qi Linggong, Zhuang Gong, and Jing Gong, and assisted the government for more than 50 years, and was a famous politician and thinker in ancient China. So, what kind of legendary story does Yan Baby have?
Yan Ping Zhongbao, Lai Zhiyi Wei people also. Qi Linggong, Zhuang Gong, and Jing Gong were more important than Qi with frugality, and they were in harmony, they did not eat heavy meat, and concubines did not wear clothes.
Yan Bao, also known as Yan Zi, was the son of Yan Wei, the sixteenth year of the Zhou Ling King (556 BC), Yan Wei died of illness, and Yan Bao succeeded him as Shang Dafu. After that, he served the three dynasties of Qi Linggong, Zhuang Gong, and Jing Gong, and assisted the state administration of the State of Qi for more than 50 years. Yan Bao was short in stature and did not look proud, but he was quick-witted, able to speak eloquently, loyal to the country, and repeatedly advised Qi Hou, and had great prestige in the state of Qi.
After Cui Zhu rebelled and killed the Duke of Qizhuang, Yan Bao learned the news, and he resolutely rushed to the capital with his attendants to mourn at the risk of his life. When Yan Bao came to Cui Zhu's door, the attendant saw his look and said worriedly, "Are you ready to be buried for the monarch?" Yan Bao said, "The monarch is not my own monarch, so why should I be buried for him?" ”
Then someone asked him, "Then are we going to run away?" Baby Yan said, "Is it not my fault that the king's death is not my fault?" Why am I running? When the retinue heard him say this, they became even more suspicious and said, "Since you are not martyred for the monarch and do not want to flee, let's go back." Baby Yan said, "Now that the monarchs are dead, where can we go back?" As a monarch of all nations, the first duty to be fulfilled is to administer the country, not to bully others; as a minister of the monarch, he should assist the monarch in presiding over the affairs of the country, not just to obtain the lulu. So if the monarch dies for the state, his subjects should die for him; if the monarch flees for the country, his subjects should flee with him. But if the monarch flees only for his own selfish desires, who else but his beloved ones will be held responsible? ”
This passage was said by Yan Bao for the mourning of the Duke of Qizhuang, and also fully demonstrated Yan Bao's ability to speak eloquently, and at the same time pointed out that Sang scolded Huai and scolded Cui Zhu, a traitorous courtier, for plotting to kill the king.
After saying this, Yan Baozi broke into the Cui family, took off his hat, threw himself on the corpse of Qi Zhuanggong and cried, and left after crying. Hearing these words, Cui Zhu's heart was very unhappy, his personal entourage wanted to kill Yan Bao, but was stopped by Cui Zhu, Cui Zhu sighed: "He is the beloved person of the people, if I kill him, I will definitely lose the hearts of the people." ”
After the death of Duke Zhuang of Qi, Cui Zhu conspired with Qingfeng to establish a new monarch, and finally selected Duke Qi Zhuang's half-brother Qiu Suo as the monarch, that is, the Duke of Qi Jing. In order to further consolidate his power, Cui Zhu eliminated dissidents and forced Manchu Wenwu to make an ally with him, show loyalty to him, and if he disobeyed, he was immediately executed. One by one, the ministers expressed their loyalty to Cui and Qing, and soon it was Yan Bao's turn, only to see him calmly raise a glass and swear to heaven passionately: "I am only loyal to the monarch and the country." But whoever plays for the tiger and aids in the abuse will not die! "Finished, drink it all up."
Cui Zhu was furious when he saw this, and pulled out his sword against Yan Bao's chest and asked him to renew his oath. Yan Baby was calm and self-assured, and replied sharply: "If you want to kill, you will be killed, but I will never give in!" Cui Zhu became even more embarrassed and angry, and wanted to kill him. At this time, Cui Zhu's henchmen hurried forward to stop it, and quietly said to Cui Zhu: "Don't do it!" "You killed Zhuang Gong because he fainted, so he didn't cause the people to resist, and if you killed the baby, you would be in big trouble." In the end, Cui Zhu did not kill the baby and returned home unharmed.
At the beginning of Qi Jinggong's reign, he let Yan Bao govern Dong'a, and did not reuse his intentions. Yan Infant served in Dong'a for three years, and Qi Jinggong heard that the evaluation of Yan Infant was negative, and he was very angry, so he summoned Yan Infant to reprimand him and wanted to remove him from office.
Yan Bao hurried forward to apologize and said, "The monarch should not be angry, the subject already knows the fault, if you are willing to give me another chance, I will re-govern Dong'a, and after three years I will definitely let you hear the praise." Qi Jinggong agreed. Sure enough, three years later, people who returned from Dong'a praised Yan Bao's talent. Qi Jinggong was very happy and decided to summon Yan Bao and reward him, who knew that Yan Bao refused the reward.
Qi Jinggong was very strange and asked why. Yan Nian said: "Three years ago, the subjects governed Dong'a, worked diligently, put the people first, scrupulously fulfilled their duties, and acted in accordance with the rules, which also harmed the interests of various powerful groups. Therefore, in order to make the courtiers step down as soon as possible, they tried their best to slander the courtiers in front of you, and the king was naturally unhappy after hearing this. In the next three years, the subject did the opposite, and it turned out that those rumors were naturally praised. Therefore, the minister felt that in the first three years of governing Dong'a, the king should give rewards to the subjects, but the ministers had to face punishment; in the last three years, the king should punish the ministers, but the result was that the ministers faced praise. So the minister really can't accept it. ”
Qi Jinggong listened to Yan Baby's advice, and only then did he realize that he had missed him as a sage, and deeply regretted that he had listened to rumors before, so he ren Yan Baby was Qi Xiang and asked him to assist him in governing the country of Qi. Yan Bao not only has political foresight, but also outstanding diplomatic skills.
In 531 BC, Yan Bao sent an envoy to the State of Chu, and the King of Chu saw that he was short in stature and repeatedly took the opportunity to humiliate the State of Qi. With his clever words and good arguments, he resolved the humiliation of the King of Chu one by one and maintained the dignity of the State of Qi. The king of Chu was ashamed and finally treated him with kindness.
During his tenure as a minister, Yan Bao was a clean and honest official, attached great importance to frugality, and for the sake of the country and the people, and repeatedly advised Qi Jinggong to relax government decrees, reduce taxes, and let the people rest and recuperate. With the assistance of Yan Bao, the State of Qi took on a new look and became a generation of sages.
Yan Bao's ability to save himself in the turmoil in the Country of Qi showed his talent. Cui Zhu dared to kill the monarch but did not dare to kill the yan baby, which shows the influence of the yan baby in the minds of the Qi people. Later generations wrote a book for him, "Yanzi Spring and Autumn", which recorded the words and deeds of Yan Bao, advised the monarch to be diligent, refused to covet pleasure, and became a classic for future generations to study.
The Han Dynasty historian Sima Qian greatly admired Yan Bao and turned it into Guan Zhong, and Confucius once praised: "Saving the people without boasting, making up for the three kings without having them, and Yan Ziguo junzi also!" ”