Yan Pingzhong (?~500 BC), a famous infant, served the Duke of QiLing, the Duke of Qizhuang, and the Duke of Qi Jinggong in the personnel of Donglai Yiwei (present-day Gaomi, Shandong), and he was diligent and thrifty, worked hard, and was respected by the people of Qi. After he succeeded his father Yan Wei (晏桓子) as the Grand Master of the State of Qi and later as minister of state, he ate only one kind of meat at a meal and did not allow his wife to wear clothes made of silk. When the king mentioned him in the upper dynasty, he was blunt and answered without concealment; When he is not mentioned, he pays attention to correcting his own behavior, and the state's policy is reasonable, so he goes along with it; The state's policies are unreasonable, and he weighs them up against implementation. Therefore, the three emperors of Linggong, Zhuanggong and Jinggong were famous among the princes.
The period of Yanzi's life was the late Spring and Autumn period. This was an era of great changes and great turmoil in ancient Chinese society, and profound changes were taking place in all aspects of society. The long-term war for hegemony in the Spring and Autumn Period caused heavy losses to people's lives and property, and there was a general war-weariness and a series of military activities in the Central Plains at that time. At the same time, a large number of military upstarts were created in the various princely states, and as their political and economic status increased and their patriarchal kinship was destroyed, they urgently demanded the right to rule and waged a struggle for power against the old nobles in the declining office. In line with the social characteristics of this period, Yanzi opposed the invasion war externally, and at home, advocated the implementation of the benevolent government and moral rule of shangxian and loving the people. Yanzi's political activities were divided into two different periods. The two periods reflect these two aspects. The early activities were mainly during the Linggong and Zhuanggong periods, mainly to oppose the Participation of the State of Qi in foreign invasion wars and advocate Yanwu Xiuwen. In the later period, that is, during the Jinggong period, he opposed the tyranny of expropriation, advocated leniency and provincial punishment, and was frugal and loved the people.
Yan Zi was a famous thinker, politician, and diplomat of the Spring and Autumn Period, and his story was widely circulated by later generations:
Father YueShi was a virtuous man, but because of his crime, he was detained, and once Yanzi went out and met him on the road, he untied the horse on the left side of the carriage, redeemed him, and drove him home in the carriage. After returning home, Yanzi did not say hello to him and went into the house by herself. After a long time, Father YueShi saw that no one was paying attention to him, so he asked to go back. Yan Zi was very surprised, and hurriedly put on his clothes and hat and rushed out and said, "Although Yan Bao is not a benevolent and righteous gentleman, after all, he rescued you from disaster, why did you leave so soon?" Father Yue Shi said, "Your words are not true to me, I have heard that a gentleman is wronged, often not understood, and those who understand him will respect him, originally I was detained because people did not understand me, and since Sir saw my strengths and redeemed me, he is my confidant; But those who know themselves are rude to me, so it is better to go to confinement. Yan Zi quickly invited him into the back room and honored him as a guest.
Yanzi's coachman
Yan Zi, as the prime minister of the State of Qi, often took a car when he went out, and once, the coachman's wife peeked at her husband through the crack in the door. Seeing her husband driving a car for the prime minister, holding a large umbrella cover, driving four horses, he was very proud. When the coachman returned home, his wife offered to divorce him. The husband asked, "Why is that?" The wife said: "Yan Zi is not tall enough to be six feet tall, he became the prime minister of the State of Qi, a famous prince, today I saw him go out, I thought deeply, and often showed great humility, you are eight feet tall, but you catch a car for people, and you still feel quite remarkable in your heart, so I don't want to live with you." From then on, the coachman became modest, Yanzi felt strange, so he asked him, the coachman told the truth, Yanzi recommended him to become qi guo's doctor.
Have all one's goods in the window
Qi Jinggong said to Yan Zi: "In the East China Sea, there is a bronze-colored water flow. In this red water, there are date trees, which only bloom and do not bear fruit, for what reason?" Yan Zi replied, "Once upon a time, Qin Miaogong toured the world on a dragon boat and wrapped steamed dates in yellow cloth. The dragon boat swam to the East China Sea, and Qin Miaogong abandoned the yellow cloth wrapped in dates, so that the yellow cloth stained the sea water red, so that the sea water was bronze. Because the dates were steamed, they only flowered after planting and did not bear fruit. Jing Gong said dissatisfiedly: "I pretended to ask, why are you talking nonsense about me?" YanZi said: "I have heard that for someone who pretends to ask a question, he can also answer him falsely. When Qi Jinggong toured Niushan mountain and landed north to the capital of the State of Qi, he suddenly cried: "How can life be like a roaring stream, leaving this beautiful mountain and river and dying?" Ai Kong and Liang Qiu listened and began to cry. Yan Zi was laughing. Qi Jinggong angrily asked him why he was laughing. Yan Zi replied, "If the virtuous monarch holds the State of Qi for a long time, then The Prince of Taigong and the Duke of Huan will have the State of Qi for a long time; If the brave monarch is allowed to occupy the State of Qi for a long time, then the Duke of Zhuang and the Duke of Ling will enjoy the State of Qi for a long time! So, how can you get the throne of the monarch and stand on the earth? And you are alone in tears because of this matter, which is not in line with benevolence and morality. I saw one of the unkind monarchs, and I saw two of them, and that's why I laughed privately!"
Yan Zi makes Chu
Yan Zi came to (the Chu Kingdom), and the King of Chu invited Yan Zi to drink, and when he was drinking and drinking happily, two people were sent to the King of Chu with one person tied up. The King of Chu asked, "What do the people who are tied up do?" (Tolerance) replied: (He) is a native of the State of Qi and has committed the crime of theft. The King of Chu looked at Yan Zi and asked, "Are the Qi people already good at stealing things?" Yan Zi left his seat and replied: I heard that the orange tree grows south of the Huai River is the orange tree, and the place where it grows north of the Huai River is the citrus tree, but the leaves are similar, but the taste of the fruit is different. Why is that? [Because] the water and soil conditions are not the same. Now this person grew up in the Country of Qi and did not steal things, and as soon as he arrived in the State of Chu, he stole it, could it be that the water and soil of the State of Chu made him like to steal things? King Chu smiled and said, "The saint can't joke with him, but I am looking for my own bad luck."
Yan Zi resigned
Yan Zi was eating, Qi Jing sent envoys to come, Yan Zi divided the food and gave it to the envoys to eat, but the envoys did not eat enough, and Yan Zi did not eat enough. After the envoy returned, he told Qi Jinggong about Yanzi's poverty. Qi Jinggong exclaimed, "Alas! Yanzi's family is really as poor as you say! I don't understand, it's my fault. So he sent a messenger to send thousands of dollars and taxes, and asked him to use thousands of dollars and municipal rent) to support the guests. Yan Zi did not accept. After many times of sending each other, Yan Zi finally bowed twice and thanked him: "My family is not poor, because of your reward, the grace spreads throughout the father's clan, the mother's clan, the wife's clan, extends to friends, and uses this to help the people, your reward is rich enough, my family is not poor." I have heard people say this, take a generous reward from the monarch and distribute it to the people, that is, the courtiers rule the people in place of the monarch, and the loyal subjects do not do this; To take a generous reward from the monarch but not to distribute it to the people is to collect the treasures in a basket and to take them for themselves, but the benevolent and righteous do not do this; In the middle of the dynasty, receiving a generous reward from the monarch, outside the dynasty, obtaining the reward of the monarch cannot be shared with the scholars and offending them, and after death, the property is transferred to others, which is to accumulate wealth for the family, and the wise people will not do this. With clothes to wear and food to eat, as long as your heart is satisfied, you can be free from all troubles. ”
Qi Jinggong said to Yan Zi: "In the past, our previous monarch Huan Awarded Guan Zhong the land population of five hundred miles, but he accepted it and did not resign, so why did you refuse to accept it?" Yan Zi replied, "I have heard people say this, and the people of Shengming have thought too much, and it is inevitable that there will be mistakes." Stupid people have been thought about many times and have merit. I think this is Guan Zhong's fault, it's mine, right? So thank you again and can't pick up. ”
Two peaches kill three soldiers
At that time, there were three great generals in the State of Qi, Nameng Yezi, Gongsun Jie, and Tian Kaijiang, and the three of them were highly praised and arrogant, and they did not pay attention to Jing Gong. Jing Gong has always wanted to get rid of them, but he has never been able to find an excuse. Yan Zi thought of a way for Jing Gong, bought two huge peaches and sent them to the General's Mansion, saying that the three generals would decide for themselves, and the two with the greatest merit would eat peaches. Gu Yezi happened to be absent, and Gongsun Jie and Tian Kaijiang felt that he had the greatest credit, so he ate one by one. When Gu Yezi returned, he was very angry when he heard about this matter, and the merits he had built were much greater than theirs, and he felt that this was a humiliation to him, and he drew his sword and killed himself. The other two generals, seeing that Gu Yezi was dead, were also ashamed of their actions and immediately drew their swords and killed themselves. This is the allusion to the famous two peach killing three soldiers in history, and it is a classic work of Killing people with a knife and not bloodshed by Directing Yan Zi.
Yan Ziqiao entered the advice
As a famous Yanzi throughout the ages, his wisdom is breathtaking. In Jing Gong's time, the criminal law was harsh, and if you committed a minor crime, you would have your feet cut off, resulting in disabled people with broken feet everywhere in the country, and the people had long complained about it. Yan Zi has always tried to persuade Jing Gong to change the criminal law, but has not been successful. One day, in order to show that he cared about his courtiers, Jing Gong felt that Yanzi's home was near the market, small and noisy, and wanted to give him a spacious new residence. Yan Zi said, I can't move, this house was lived by ancestors, I have feelings with here; Second, I can understand the business situation close to the market, and it is convenient to buy things. Jing Gong was very impressed and very moved. Ask him: Are you close to the market, do you know what is expensive? Yan Zi immediately replied: "Noble and lowly." It is the shoes worn by people with broken feet, and the shoes worn by healthy people, and it is expensive and cheap, so what kind of scene has the country of Qi become. Jing Gong suddenly woke up and immediately ordered the reduction of the criminal law. Yan Zi's little wisdom changed the important laws of a country.
Yan Zi accompanied Jing on a public tour
As a thinker, Yan Zi left an extremely rich legacy to future generations. The depth of his thinking and his insight into the national economy and the people's livelihood are all rare assets for future generations.
Jing Gong went to Niushan to play, looked north at the capital of the State of Qi and cried: I have such a vast country, but sooner or later I will have to die one day, which is really sad. AiKong and Liang Qiuzhu, who accompanied him around, also began to cry with him. Yan Zi, on the other hand, laughed alone, and Jing Gong was very unhappy. Yan Zi said, if the wise monarchs of the past generations will always guard the throne, then, can you still be the monarch now? I saw a dreaming monarch, a minister I saw a couple, so I laughed.
When Yan Zi accompanied Jing Gong on a tour of Maiqiu, he met an old man. The old man said, I hope you live a long life, I hope you will not offend the people. Jing Gong said that if it is still possible for the people to offend the monarch, where is the claim that the monarch has offended the people? Yan Zi said, "Did You and Gong offend the king or the people?" Was it the king who killed him, or the people who killed him?
Jing Gong woke up like a dream and gave Mai Qiu to the old man as a fief, thanking him for giving him advice and wisdom.
Taishi Company Ma Qian said; "At the beginning, Yan Zi threw himself on the corpse of Duke Zhuang and wept bitterly, and only left after fulfilling the etiquette of his courtiers. As for his daring to express dissenting opinions and making the king's face unbearable, it is as the Filial Piety Sutra says: "The upper dynasty wants to be loyal to the king, and the lower dynasty wants to make up for the king." 'Yan Zi is such a good person!' If Yanzi were still alive, I would have gone to be his slave and carried the whip for him to drive the car. ”