After the three branches were promoted, South Korea's national strength was the weakest. Even Zheng Guo, who was later annexed by South Korea, repeatedly defeated the South Korean army. The weakness of South Korea can be seen from this. Not only that, after entering the Warring States, there was also a shocking case in Korean politics: in 371 BC, the people of Puyang (present-day southwest of Puyang, Henan) hired Nie Zheng to assassinate Xiangguo Xialei, and also killed dozens of Korean politicians such as Han Aihou! Fortunately, South Korea's prince Wakasan was kicked down by the doctor Xu Yi, which avoided the tragedy of the core figures in Korean politics being put in a pot.
A killer can turn the sky and the sea surrounded by many guards, although Nie Zheng is strong in martial arts, but it also shows the weakness of Korea - and even can't recruit enough elite guards to defend the monarch and the country!
South Korea, which is so weak and weak, is naturally repeatedly bullied.
In the second year of Han Yihou (369 BC), the State of Wei defeated Korea at Maling (present-day northeast of Changge, Henan); in the ninth year of Han Yihou (362 BC), the State of Wei defeated Korea at Huan (northeast of present-day Yicheng, Shanxi); Han Yihou died in the twelfth year (359 BC) and was succeeded by his son Han Zhaohou, and the following year the State of Qin defeated the Han army at Xishan (southwest of present-day Luoning, Henan); in the second year of Han Zhaohou (357 BC), even the second-rate state of Song also captured Huangchi (present-day Fengqiu County, Xinxiang City, Henan). The State of Wei took the opportunity to capture Zhu in Korea.
The ancestor of the Han clan was Qu Wo Huan, the only orthodox descendant of the Jin dynasty in the Three Jin Dynasties. But now, South Korea is not only far less powerful than Wei and Zhao, but even repeatedly humiliated by second-rate small countries such as Zheng Guo and Song Guo, which is really a disgrace to the face of its ancestors!
At present, South Korea is weak and difficult to return, and it is surrounded by Wei, Qin, Chu and other powerful countries looking around, how to get out of such a dangerous situation? Although Han Zhaohou wanted to change, he didn't know where to start for a while.
Just when Han Zhaohou was in a dilemma, an unremarkable doctor suddenly came forward and proposed a good recipe for breaking the deadlock: "We might as well go to see the king of the Wei state, and wei Jun's ambitions can be realized in Korea, then he will inevitably turn to the world to use troops and consume the strength of the Wei state." The princes of the world, disgusted with the State of Wei, were bound to unite with Korea. In this way, although we bow to one person, we have won the hearts of thousands of people. Therefore, there is no more effective way to weaken the wei army and increase the power of korea than to make a pilgrimage to the wei state! The so-called "Jue" is a kind of jade that the imperial dynasty took. To let Han Zhaohou "Zhi Jue" go to see Wei Jun was to make him a vassal of Wei Jun! ("Warring States Policy, Han Cesan, King Zheng")
What kind of person is so bold as to let his own monarch be a vassal of other countries?!
The person who made this suggestion was originally Zheng Guoren, named Shen Buxi. Before Korea annexed the State of Zheng, Shin lived in Gyeong-yi (present-day southeast of Xingyang, Henan) and was an undefeated "Zheng Guo", with an extremely low status. Can Han Zhaohou listen to what such a lowly courtier said?
In fact, after Han Zhaohou succeeded to the throne, he deeply felt that Korea's national strength was weak, and he had long had the intention to change this situation. The State of Wei, which also belonged to the Three Jin Dynasties, became so powerful because Wei Wenhou reused Li Wu to change the law. Therefore, Han Zhaohou also wanted to change the law in Korea to strengthen the national strength. To this end, Han Zhaohou recruited talents everywhere, and Shen Buxian was one of the talents discovered by Han Zhaohou.
For a time, Han Zhaohou encountered many obstacles, developed a feeling of fear of difficulties, and complained to Shen Buxi: "The legal system is not easy to implement. Shen replied, "The so-called Fa means that meritorious service must be rewarded, and officials will be appointed because of their talents." Now that the monarch has established a system of laws and regulations, he has listened to the requests of his close attendants, which is why the rule of law is difficult to implement! ”
Han Zhaohou listened, was ashamed, and quickly replied, "From today onwards, I know how to implement the decree and how to listen to suggestions." ”
Soon after, Shen Buxian suddenly came to ask for an official position for his cousin.
Han Zhaohou replied solemnly, "This is not what I learned from you. Do you want me to obey your request and corrupt your way of governing the country? Or shall I refuse your request? ”
Shen bu listened, and was so frightened that he rushed to ask Han Zhaohou for his guilt! ("Han Feizi Wai Chu said on the top left")
Han Zhaohou openly said that he had learned the way of governing the country from Shen Buxi, which showed that although the two were monarchs, they were also teachers and students. Under this relationship, Shen Bu persuaded Han Zhaohou to temporarily show weakness to the State of Wei in exchange for Korea's respite, could Han Zhaohou not listen?
Soon, Han Zhaohou went to the State of Wei on a pilgrimage to King Hui of Wei, as Shen Had said.
The development of the situation in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty was as Shen Buxi had expected. After Marquis Zhaohou of Han became a vassal, King Hui of Wei quickly spared Korea and instead focused on the great powers of Qin, Zhao, and Qi. In 353 BC, because the State of Zhao instigated the Song and Wei states to attack Wei, King Hui of Wei, in a fit of rage, sent troops to besiege the capital of the State of Zhao, Handan, and finally attacked Handan. However, the State of Qi did not want to take advantage of the void and falsely attacked the Wei state of Xiangling (present-day Sui County, Henan) to force the Wei army to retreat, but ambushed the Wei army at Guiling (桂陵, northwest of present-day Changyuan, Henan or northeast of Juye, Shandong), causing the Wei army to suffer a great defeat!
The great defeat of the State of Wei at Guiling fully proved the depth of Shen Buxi's planning skills, and also made Han Zhaohou rely on him more. Two years later (351 BC), Marquis Zhaohou of Han resolutely promoted this former "Zheng Guo", a "lowly vassal of the State of Zheng" to Xiangguo, and promoted the change of law in Korea.
Because Shin Bu-chan dominated Korea's legal changes, he was often classified as a legal figure by posterity. However, what Shen Bu harmed learned was the art of Huang Lao, adhering to the concept of "quiet because of inaction" and establishing the outline of the penal name spell. The so-called "quiet cause and inaction" is actually to establish a set of legal systems that can adapt to reality on the basis of not changing the status quo, and to promote and implement them through the method of supervising and evaluating performance. Historically, the Shen Non-Harmful Transformation Method was also known as "Magic Cure".
What is "magic cure"?
Once, Han Zhaohou pretended to have lost one of his fingernails, deliberately pretending to be looking around in a hurry. When the people left and right saw it, some of them cut off their fingernails to offer to Han Zhaohou. After this incident, Han Zhaohou was able to examine which of his closest subjects was truly loyal and honest.
This is one of the key points of the "technique" of governance: to ask subordinates what they know, then they can know what they did not know before; to understand a thing deeply, then things that they did not know before can also be distinguished.
On another occasion, Han Zhaohou sent emissaries to the county to inspect. When the emissary returned to report, Han Zhaohou asked him, "What did you see on the road?" ”
The prophet thought for a moment, as if nothing important had happened along the way, and answered honestly, "I didn't see anything." ”
But Han Zhaohou still asked him to think carefully: "Even so, what did you see on the road?" ”
The knight thought about it again, and finally mentioned a trivial matter: "Outside the south gate of the county town, there is a small yellow cow eating the grass seedlings on the left side of the road." ”
Han Zhaohou was immediately very excited, and immediately warned the knight: "Don't leak out what I asked you!" ”
Subsequently, Han Zhaohou ordered: "The decree prohibiting cattle and horses from entering other people's fields above the growth of grass seedlings has long been promulgated, but the local officials do not take this seriously." Immediately report the number of cattle and horses entering the farmland, and if the investigation is wrong, the responsible officials will be severely punished! ”
The ministers listened, hurriedly patrolled around, investigated such incidents in all three directions of the county, and then quickly reported them.
When Han Zhaohou read the report, Du Du did not mention the situation at the South Gate, and immediately reprimanded the officials: "Not all the reports have been made yet!" ”
The officials had no choice but to investigate in detail again, and as a result, they found out at the south gate that the little yellow cattle had entered the farmland!
After this incident, the local officials suddenly felt that Han Zhaohou could see clearly, and everyone was afraid and uneasy to abide by their duties and did not dare to act recklessly.
Han Zhaohou only knew about the fact that there were calves eating grass seedlings at the South Gate, but he used this to supervise his subordinates to strictly investigate, and as a result, similar incidents that occurred in the other three gates were all found out! This is one of the ways to use "art" to promote government decrees.
The so-called "technique", according to Han Feizi's summary, is to appoint officials according to their talents, to seek performance according to their positions, to manipulate the power of life and death, and to assess the ability of their subjects.
For the head of a country, it is impossible to do everything himself, nor can he do everything. Therefore, when governing a country, the most important thing is to manage "people", not "things". As long as you can skillfully use various "techniques", you can manage the "people" well, so that the courtiers are active in doing things, then the lord of the people can "quietly do nothing" and achieve the great rule of the world.
In this sense, the method of "magic" governance is something that the master must master.
However, if the lord of man can be "skilled" in governance, can't a subject respond with "skill"?
At the critical moment when the State of Wei besieged the Zhao state of Handan, Shen Buxian wanted to persuade Han Zhaohou to cooperate with one of the parties. However, he could not understand Han Zhaohou's preferences, for fear of falling out of favor due to verbal discord, and he never dared to show his attitude.
Just when Shen Buxian hesitated, Han Zhaohou consulted his opinion first: "Which side should I join?" ”
Shen Buxian was a little anxious, and in a hurry, he quickly used the "delaying tactic" and said: "This is the key to the safety of the society, the major affairs of the country, and the subordinates ask for careful consideration before answering!" ”
After descending the dynasty, Shen Buxian hurriedly and privately instigated the two ministers, Zhao Zhuo and Han Chao, saying: "Both of them are state debaters, and they are human subjects, and even if they can be adopted every time they enter the court, they are just doing their duty." Zhao Zhuo and Han Chao listened, immediately went to the court, and explained their respective views to Han Zhaohou. Shen Buhao, on the other hand, carefully observed the color of his words, speculating about which proposition Han Zhaohou admired more, and then he spoke according to the preferences of the monarch himself, and sure enough, Han Zhaohou was greatly pleased and relied more heavily on Shen Buhao.
Just after Shen Buxi's status gradually increased, the magnates of other countries also began to pay attention to him. One day, Zhao Guoxiang Dacheng sent someone to visit Shen Buxi at noon to talk about the importance of cooperation between Han and Zhao. Both Zhao and Han were oppressed by the State of Wei, and cooperation was naturally something that both sides liked. However, Dacheng's noon talk of cooperation is not the cooperation between the two countries, but the cooperation between him and Shen Buxi: "You push me heavily to Zhao Guo in Korea, and I push you heavily in Zhao Guo to South Korea; in this way, you are equivalent to having two Koreas, and I am equivalent to having two Zhao countries." ”
Han and Zhao Xiangguo privately asked each other to trust and borrowed from each other, which was obviously using power for personal gain. Although it is not known whether Shen Buxi agreed or not, it can be seen from Shen Buxian's experience of testing Han Zhaohou that he would not allow it?
Han Feizi claimed that "techniques" are enforced by the lord of man, and that the subjects of man should teach the "law"; but the master of man can grasp the "art", so why can't the subject also practice the "skill"? When monarchs and courtiers all carry out "techniques" to test each other, a situation of "policies at the top and countermeasures at the bottom" will inevitably take shape. In this way, can Shen's harmless "magic" cure still be effective?
In 351 BC, Shen Buxian was appointed by Han Zhaohou as the State of Xiang; in 341 BC, the State of Wei was defeated by Wei five times in Southern Liang (southwest of present-day Ruzhou, Henan), and was forced to ask the State of Qi for help, defeating the Wei army with the help of Tian Ji and Sun Zhen; shen Buxian died in 337 BC; two years later, the Qin state attacked Yiyang (present-day Yiyang, Henan) for the second time; in 334 BC, Han Zhaohou insisted on building a high gate despite the strength of the state, and was predicted by the Chu people Qu Yiusu that he would "not go out of this gate"; the following year, Han Zhaohou died and never got out of this gate again!
Shen did not harm the law, and thus came to an end. South Korea never again made it to the highlights, becoming the weakest of the Seven Warring States Heroes.
Reflecting on the Shin No Harm Change Law, Han Feizi, who is also a Korean, saw it very thoroughly: Although Shin Bu Harm established a new law, he did not specifically implement the new law, but only blindly emphasized the "magic" rule; this led to the inability to unify the old and new laws in South Korea, and the number of adulterous and evil things increased. When the adulterer sees that the old law is beneficial to him, he acts according to the old law, and when he sees that the new law is beneficial to him, he acts according to the new law. In this way, even if the "technique" of Shen Wu is no longer harmful, the traitor can defend himself. The monarch ruled with "skill", and the minister used "skill" to resist, making it difficult to implement the new law, and eventually became a decoration.
However, the reason for the failure of the Shen Non-Harm Transformation Method is still in the "Yellow Old Technique". The Taoist emphasizes "nature", and since Shen does not harm the Taoists, he will not forcibly change the status quo. Therefore, the Shen Non-Harmful Transformation Law and the Shang Martingale Transformation Law are two completely different paths: if the Shang Martingale Transformation Law is a revolution that breaks the great ground, then the Shen Non-Harmful Transformation Law is nothing more than a reform of "quiet cause and inaction". In this sense, it is not so much that Shen is not harmful to changing the "law" as it is that he is changing the "technique." The Shen No Harm Law is an improvement under the old Korean system, and some results can be achieved through "magic" governance in the short term, but it has not completely eliminated the shortcomings of the old system, and it will not be able to recover the fate of South Korea's decline.
The failure of Shen Bu harm should actually be the failure of Taoist thought to govern the country in a chaotic world.
However, from another point of view, this is also the failure of Han Zhaohou. At that time, in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, there were such legal figures as Shang Martin and Wu Qi who advocated radical change, but Han Zhaohou chose Shen Buhao, who was born in Taoism, and was this not a manifestation of his fear of radical change? Unwilling to pay, but want to rely on "quiet cause and inaction" to save South Korea, this may still be Han Zhaohou's wishful thinking, right?