Guoxue idiom story (55) The Evil of Feng Jun: The Tragedy of the Orphan of Zhao and the Death of Sanhao

Traditional Chinese idioms, condensing the essence of history; winding paths, meet a different "China".

The idiom to be spoken of today is the evil of the king, which means to pander to the faint ruler and lead him to do bad things.

This is an idiom that is not commonly used or even uncommon in modern people, but in the history of Chinese civilization for thousands of years, it is like a ghost, appearing from time to time to do evil, setting off a bloody storm inside and outside the court.

Looking back at several of these historical fragments today, the intention is to point out that the evil of fengjun is actually the "flower of evil" that blooms from the evil of human nature superimposed on the evil of the system.

Therefore, if we stop at moral criticism and preaching, but do not improve the mechanism of error correction, similar tragedies will never disappear, at most to a tragic extent.

(Part 1) Zhao Orphans: Because of love and hate or for power

"The Orphan of Zhao" is a tragic story that modern people are familiar with, based on the relevant chapters of Sima Qian's "History" of the Western Han Dynasty and Feng Menglong's "Chronicles of the States of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty" in the Ming Dynasty, after the wonderful interpretation and classic reproduction of the opera stage and various films and televisions, a story about commitment and faith is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and to this day, it is still lamentable to read.

Moreover, unlike many opera, film and television stories that are legends, the Orphans of Zhao are really human, but the cause and experience of the story are quite different in different history books, and even the age of the protagonist Zhao Wu at that time was a confused account.

Fortunately, the focus of this article is not on the evidence, but on exploring the human nature and institutional issues behind the story.

Due to space limitations, here is only the record of the "Zuo Zhuan", and the record of the "History of history" can be searched for "History of the Zhao Family".

The reason why the Zhao orphans became "orphans" was related to a woman with a prominent identity, his old mother Zhao Zhuangji.

Zhao Zhuangji, the sister of Duke Cheng of Jin, married Zhao Dun's eldest son, Zhao Shuo.

After Zhao Shuo's early death, Zhao Zhuangji, who was not willing to be lonely, mixed with his uncle Zhao Gonggong (Zhao Dun's half-brother).

When this happened to a well-known and prestigious family, it was not good to say, and Zhao Kuo and Zhao Tong decided to banish this bastard brother to the State of Qi.

No matter how good a foreign country is, it is not home. Besides, he was a descendant of the zhao kingdom and a senior general, and even if he had a lot of silver abroad, he could only be a man with his tail between his legs. Therefore, Zhao Baoqi wanted to not leave, and begged the two brothers to say: "With me here, luan does not dare to make trouble, as soon as I leave, the two brothers will be in danger." ”

Although what Zhao Baoqi said was not unreasonable, the family honor was more important, and Zhao Kuo and Zhao Tong did not agree. Soon, Zhao Infant Qi fled on his own, and later died in the State of Qi.

To the surprise of the Zhao family, it was not the Luan clan who took the lead in attacking, but the "inner ghost" - Zhao Zhuangji. The reason is very simple, Zhao Kuo and Zhao Tong have ruined their own good deeds.

One day in 583 BC, Zhuang Ji ran to the Duke of Jin and reported: "Zhao Kuo and Zhao Tong are preparing for a rebellion. ”

The suspicious Luan and Hao clans took the opportunity to testify on zhuang ji's behalf, and in June of that year, Jin Jinggong killed Zhao Kuo, Zhao Tong, and their people, and gave the fief to Qi Xi.

At this time, Zhao Zhuangji, who was overwhelmed by lust, suddenly found that she had become a lonely person overnight, and she was scolded by thousands of people. Helpless, she hugged her son Zhao Wu and hid in her mother's house and lived in the palace.

A family that has contributed greatly to the country has been wiped out by a few rumors, and many people are indignant. One day, doctor Han Yue said to Jin Jinggong: "Zhao Wan, Zhao Dun have made great contributions to the country, but now the family has no successor, how can we call on future generations to work for the country?" ”

Jin Jinggong was dumbfounded by the question, and he also understood that he was not doing things properly, so he made Zhao Wu the heir of the Zhao clan and returned the Zhao clan's land.

This is the story of the Zhao orphan recorded in two or three hundred words in "Zuo Zhuan", which is not as tortuous and moving as the "Chronicle of history", "Chronicles of the States of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty" and later dramas, films and televisions, but through the words and lines, we can still imagine that the occurrence of this tragedy is so absurd and grotesque.

A woman's bloody mouth because she had nowhere to vent her lust, coupled with a few words of witness testimony from a few sinister villains, made a family that had made great contributions to the national society disappear in an instant.

Just imagine, if this case were in a modern society with a sound legal system, the tragedy of Zhao's orphans would never have happened.

Or that saying goes: a good system makes bad people unable to do bad things, and a bad system makes good people unable to do good things.

(Part 2) The Tragedy of the Three Sorrows, the Classic of the Evil of the King

As mentioned above, Sanhao refers to the three representative figures of the Jin dynasty, Hao, Hao, and Haozhi.

San hao did things in a public manner, offending many people (min bu and hao). Coupled with the fact that their ancestor Hao Que deposed Xu Ke on the grounds of "having a cheating disease", Xu Ke's son Xu Tong has always resented The Hao clan.

That is to say, the people who offended Sanhao were Xu Tong, the favorite ministers of the Duke of Jin, Yiyang Wu, Changyu Jiao, and Luan Shu, the grand master of the Chinese army.

There is also a most critical figure - the monarch Jin Ligong. Because Li Gong's "brothers" are many, and he is the new monarch, the good seats in the country are firmly controlled by several major families represented by Sanhao, and Li Gong's "brothers" also have "little brothers" and families, so many people are waiting with their eyes, where is there no seat?

Therefore, after the Battle of Yanling, Jin Ligong decided to take advantage of the great increase in prestige to get rid of the old guys and replace them with their own people (anti-Yanling, wanting to exhaust the group of doctors, and set them up).

As a result, the "three major forces" immediately hit it off, closely "united" around Li Gong, and began to sharpen their knives.

The first to "hit the knife" was the Sanhao family.

However, the Leaves of the Sanhao Family are deeply rooted, and they are intertwined with other families, and their interests are linked. Those who simply accuse them of corruption, bribery, dereliction of duty, or whatever, are sentenced to a maximum of three years and five years. Besides, under that kind of system, no one dared to say that he was clean, so the sinister and cunning Luan Shu thought of a "must kill skill" - (San Hao) rebellion!

This crime can not only make the Sanhao family ruined, but also deter other families from avoiding it.

In order to prompt Jin Ligong to act as soon as possible, Luan Shu designed a trap to make San Hao jump in.

Having made up his mind, Luan Shu approached The Chu prince Who had been captured in the Battle of Yanling and asked him if he wanted to return to the Chu State, and if so, he would obediently obey. Gongzi hurriedly agreed.

According to Luan Shu's instructions, one day, when Gongzi Ping was chatting with Li Gong, he slowly turned the topic to the Battle of Yanling, and pretended to be mysterious and said to Li Gong: "This battle is actually a conspiracy of Hao Zhi. Your country rushes into battle before reinforcements arrive and are underprepared, and the odds of defeat are high. But Hao Zhi said that he was expecting the defeat of the Jin state, and he took the opportunity to welcome Sun Zhou. ”

This time, li gong's lung tube could be poked, so he asked Luan Shu for confirmation of this matter. Luan Shu was secretly happy in his heart, but pretended to be uncertain and said, "It should be like this, but I am not sure." Otherwise, you sent Hao Zhi to visit the Zhou royal family to see if he was secretly in contact with Sun Zhou. Li Gong nodded in agreement.

Subsequently, Luan Shu sent someone to Chengzhou quickly and told Sun Zhou that He would come to visit and let Sun Zhou definitely receive it so that he could take care of it in the future. Sun Zhou, who was only fourteen or fifteen years old, did not know what the plan was, so he agreed.

Sure enough, after Hao Zhi came to Chengzhou, he met cordially with Sun Zhou, and the relevant scene was quickly transmitted back to the Jin Kingdom by the eyes and ears sent by Li Gong, and Jin Li Gong moved the killing machine.

So, why was Jin Ligong so jealous of Sun Zhou? It turned out that this Sun Zhou was no one else, but the grandson of The Duke of Jin Xiang.

The eldest son of Duke Xiang of Jin, Zhao Dun was forced to establish the Linggong (see the idiom story "Words are Still in the Ear"), tan avoided Zhou, and gave birth to a son Sun Zhou. Sun Zhou is young, but he is smart and capable, and has an excellent reputation.

After Li Gong succeeded to the throne, he was arrogant and lascivious, and he had no children, so many people began to think of Xiang Gong, which made Jin Li Gong very unhappy. At this time, Xianggong had long since died, and his grandson naturally became a thorn in Li Gong's eye. However, Sun Zhou was under the protection of the Zhou royal family, and Li Gong could not help it for the time being.

Therefore, there is no doubt that San hao will die.

Li Gong killed Sanhao, and his favorite minister Xu Tong and others were quickly promoted and reused, occupying the key jin.

The children were very satisfied, and Li Gong was also very happy and began to enjoy themselves.

However, after the mantis catcher yellow finches, they are too proud too soon.

In 574 BC, Luan Shu and Zhongxing Yan, who were captured by Xu Tong and others in the Battle of Sanhao, almost killed, launched a mutiny while Li Gong was looking for pleasure in the family of the favored courtier Li Shi, imprisoned Li Gong, and then killed him.

The trees are scattered. The throne of Dr. Qing had not yet sat on the hot Xu Tong and other adulterous evil children, and they were killed first.

Speaking of Luan Shu, under his auspices, the State of Jin welcomed Sun Zhou as a king, and the history was called the Duke of Jin.

The Duke of Jin was a great and good monarch. Luan Shu was such a good thing, he already knew it all. A few years later, the "Yin Ren" Luan Shu was deposed. 20 years later, his grandson Luan Ying was expelled by the people of the country in the name of killing the monarch, and the Luan clan was exterminated.

Good and evil will be rewarded in the end, only to wait for the early and late!

Appreciation of Sinology Classics:

Jin Zhao Zhuang Ji died for the death of Zhao Bao, and said to the Marquis of Jin: "The original and the screen will be chaotic." "Luan and Hao are signs. In June, Jin courted Zhao Tong and Zhao Kuo. Wu Congji's livestock in the Gonggong. With its field and Qi Xi. Han Yu said to the Marquis of Jin: "The Xun of Cheng ji, the loyalty of Xuan Meng, and the absence of the queen, for the good are afraid of it." Three generations of ling kings, all of which have been protecting heaven for hundreds of years. Fu Is not a king, Lai Qianzhe is not also afraid. The Book of Zhou says: 'Don't dare to insult widows and widows.' So Matilda also. "It is Li Wu, but the opposite is Tian Yan."

- "Zuo Chuan, The Eighth Year biography of Chenggong"