"The teenager didn't know anything, and he was down and down to Han Wei. Zhuxuan flowing water wheel, Yule floating cloud riding. There are different meanings, but there is no difference between the two hearts. Bai Bi gave Hoang Tho, and gold was given to Mao Sui. ---Don Zhang Changzong
Tang Dynasty poet Zhang Changzong mentioned Mao Sui as a historical figure in "Young People's Journey", mentioning the name Mao Sui is not unfamiliar to us, in the volume history books, Mao Sui used his own legendary story to leave a strong and colorful stroke in history. Among them, idioms such as self-recommendation, cone in the bag, and standing out are widely circulated, and are still known to women and children. Regarding Mao Sui, a historical legend, we pay more attention to the inspiring influence of his legendary deeds on us, and pay less attention to his ending.
Historically, after mao Sui successfully introduced himself, he killed himself in the forest the next year, and it took less than a year from fame to let the world sigh. Since then, a legendary figure has fallen, ending his short life. What is the reason for this? Or is there something else?
1. Unscrupulous doormen
According to the "Genealogical Records of the Mao Clan of Qingyang", "Sui was a prince of the plains, a meritorious prince of Dingchu, a prince of Weizhen, placed a guard, entered Xingyang, and later thought to be a Wang clan." Mao Sui was born in 285 BC in present-day Tengzhou, Shandong Province. Mao Sui's life was not very impressive at the beginning, but he was also talented and ambitious, and he can be regarded as a young man with lofty ideals now. Mao Sui traveled in all directions when he was young, and at the age of 26, he traveled to the zhao kingdom at that time and devoted himself to being a doorman under the Plains King's Gate.
Mao Sui, who was a doorman, did not emerge, and did not even leave any impression in front of the Plain King. But this does not mean that Mao Sui does not have any ambitions, he understands that he just lacks an opportunity to show his talents, so he has been waiting for this opportunity, hoping that one day his talents can be appreciated by others, rather than always being an unsuccessful doorman.
2. Self-nomination
In 257 BC, after the Qin state defeated the Zhao state at the Battle of Changping, it did not stop there, and wanted to take advantage of the victory to pursue and destroy the Zhao state in one fell swoop. 200,000 Qin troops besieged the capital of the Zhao state, Handan, and after the Battle of Changping, the Zhao state suffered heavy losses, and the king of Zhao was anxious, listened to the opinions of the pingyuan jun, and immediately ordered the pingyuan jun to go to the chu state to complete the "covenant of connivance", hoping that the chu state could send troops to save each other.
Pingyuan Jun did not dare to slacken off, and immediately prepared to go to the Chu Kingdom. He hoped that among his many doormen, 20 people would be selected to go with him, but only 19 people were picked, and the remaining one was difficult to choose. The people who went to accompany Pingyuan Jun this time had to pick someone who was brave and resourceful, but many people could not choose this last one.
Mao Sui understood that this was an opportunity, and he wanted to seize this opportunity. So he went up to Pingyuan Jun and said, "Sir, can you take a villain with you on this trip?" Pingyuan Jun looked at Mao Sui and asked, "How long have you been with me?" Mao Sui replied, "Three years." The doorman next to him was laughing, and Pingyuan Jun continued: "A talented person is like an awl, even if it is placed in a bag, it will expose its sharp tip." "It means that you came to my door for three years, and you didn't show your talents and tell me how to believe in you."
The doorman next to him laughed even louder, and Mao Sui did not care about the laughter of the others, and replied unhurriedly: "If I had been in the bag earlier, the sharp edge that appeared must have been sharper than the awl, but I have not been in the bag all along." "Meaning I didn't get a chance to show my talents before, please give me a chance."
PingYuanjun was a little surprised to hear Mao Sui's answer, and he saw Mao Sui's courage and ambition. I didn't expect that there were such brave and resourceful people under my door, and there was a feeling that the warriors were actually by my side, so I agreed to take Mao Sui with me to the Chu state to complete the "covenant of unity and indulgence", hoping that the Chu state could send troops as soon as possible to solve the difficulties of the Zhao state.
Three, three inches of tongue, stronger than a million male masters
After Pingyuan Jun and the others arrived in the Chu state, they should have quickly signed a contract with the king of Chu, hoping that the Chu state would step up its troops to rescue the Zhao state. News came from the front that the soldiers and horses of the State of Qin had already surrounded Handan heavily, and the State of Zhao was already in danger, and looking at the current attitude of the King of Chu, a matter of a few words of the covenant of indulgence had been dragged from early morning to noon, and the signing of the contract had been delayed.
The doormen who came with them, the 19 people in front of them did everything they could to no use, at this time, the doormen who came together said to Mao Sui: "Brother Mao, you can go and lobby." Who knew that Mao Sui, carrying his sword, stepped up to the King of Chu and said, "The covenant of unity and indulgence, a few words, what is difficult for the King of Chu to decide?" The King of Chu was shocked to think that Mao Sui was a villain, and why did he accuse him with a sword, but he did not expect that Mao Sui would threaten the King of Chu with a sword and explain the stakes in the Covenant of Harmony to the King of Chu clearly, probably as follows:
First of all, although the strength of the Zhao state was not as good as before, if it really wanted to go to war, it could still negotiate with the qin state, rather than no chance of victory at all.
Secondly, Zhao Guo's neighbor Wei Guo is also an ally, if Chu and Zhao are allied, that is, the alliance of the three kingdoms of Chu, Zhao and Wei, and the effect must be one plus one greater than two.
In the end, before the Qin state plundered the land of the Chu state, but also insulted the great king your ancestors, this is a shameful thing, now we two countries ally together against the Qin state, the Chu state can not only recover the lost land, but also revenge the previous revenge, the king you think about it.
After listening to Mao Sui's words, the King of Chu suddenly woke up and immediately signed a treaty of alliance with the State of Zhao, confirming the alliance between the State of Chu and the State of Zhao. Mao Sui's operation came down, learned about the war situation of the Zhao Kingdom, and let everyone look at him with astonishment, since then, Mao Sui's deeds have been widely circulated, his reputation has risen, and after returning to the Zhao Kingdom, the King of Zhao has also honored Mao Sui as a guest.
Fourth, Mao Kills Himself
Mao Sui was undoubtedly successful, and from the beginning of Mao Sui's self-recommendation, a series of deeds made Mao Sui gain a high reputation in the hearts of the people of Zhao and the King of Zhao, but this was not entirely a good thing. In 256 BC, qin and Zhao fought a war, and the State of Yan saw that the State of Zhao had suffered heavy losses and wanted to take advantage of the void to enter, without giving the State of Zhao a chance to breathe.
King Zhao watched the Yan army coming, and his country's troops suffered heavy losses, and there was no one who could lead the army to fight. He could only rush to the hospital, remembering the merits that Mao Sui had made before, so he ordered Mao Sui to lead the army to fight with the Yan state.
Mao Sui rushed to push back when he heard this, saying that it was not something I was good at when the king led the troops to fight, so he hastily ordered me to lead the troops to fight, how could I joke about the security of the country? King Zhao replied, "Sir, you didn't say that last year, last year you also recommended yourself to go to the Chu Kingdom to sign the agreement of the Connivance, and last year's trip will certainly be done this year, so you don't have to shirk it anymore." ”
Mao Sui knew that his talent was to be a lobbyist, to be a diplomat, and he knew nothing about leading soldiers to fight, but he could not shirk it, and could only lead the soldiers to harden. In the Battle of Qamdo, the Zhao army led by Mao Sui was defeated step by step, and it was unbearable to see, and finally in a small forest, feeling ashamed of his country, he had no face to go back to meet his king and people, so he apologized for his sins.
epilogue:
Throughout his life, Mao Sui was very clear about his talents and positioning, and he also dared to confidently show his talents, and had courage and ambition. In the end, he was ordered to do something that he was not good at, and sent himself to a dead end, which could not help but cause the world to regret, and a generation of diplomatic talents fell.
Mao Sui died a miserable death after he successfully proposed himself, if King Zhao had not let Mao Sui lead the army to fight at that time, would Mao Sui's end have been a different kind?
References: "The Young Man's Journey", "The Biography of Mao Sui"