What is history: it is the echo of the past to the future, the reflection of the future on the past. - Hugo
To be a subject, it is naturally inseparable from the trust of the monarch. But this trust is also a "double-edged sword", and when the courtiers are promoted step by step, they will lay the cliffs of the lord of merit in the road ahead. Some people, such as Zhang Yi, crossed dangerously. Some people, such as Shang Martin, fell to pieces.
As the two great heroes of the Qin State, Shang Martin and Zhang Yi one promoted the idea of the Fa in the Qin State, and the other practiced the Zongheng family strategy for the Qin State.
It can be said that the ability and achievement of the two are indistinguishable. But the two ended completely differently. There are at least three different reasons for this.
First, the two men followed different ideas, which in turn made the two people in different situations in the Qin Kingdom.
Shang Martingale was a loyal follower of the Fa, and Zhang Yi was the representative of the Zongheng family. The difference in the worldview of the two determines the difference in the life path they choose.
Although shang martingale and Zhang Yi both responded to the qin state's recruitment in order to realize their personal ideals, they became qin courtiers.
The legalistic thinking that Shang Martin followed made his use mainly limited to the qin state. That is to say, from the very beginning, Shang Martin and Zhang Yi had different roles in the Qin state—the former was an official who handled internal affairs, and the latter was a "diplomat" who traveled around the world.
Spending all day in front of the monarch of the Qin state meant that Shang Martin would have more supervision from the monarch than Zhang Yi, or beware. Moreover, although Shang Martin and Zhang Yi were both Qin courtiers, Shang Martin had far more Qin officials than Zhang Yi in daily contact. Therefore, Shang Martin's direct political enemies will also be far more than Zhang Yi. Therefore, from the very beginning of entering Qin as an official, Shang Martin had to bear many more political risks than Zhang Yi, who had been away for a long time.
Second, the actual behavior of Shang Martin and Zhang Yi is different.
Perhaps some friends will feel that this point is not of comparative value, after all, one of them is mainly carrying out internal reforms in the Qin State, and the other is running for the Qin State to achieve "Lian Heng". Yes, Shang Martingale and Zhang Yi's field is not the same, and their achievements are not superior or inferior. Therefore, the "difference" we are going to say here is the specific performance of the two people when completing their tasks.
As an eloquent zongheng family, Zhang Yi is undoubtedly sleek in his handling of things when lobbying around. In the Qin State, because he had been outside for a long time, he did not have much direct interest in the courtiers of the Qin State, so he made fewer enemies in the country. Abroad, because he was an emissary of the Qin State, he would not easily die.
But the martingale is different. Although the reforms carried out by Shang Martin were more beneficial than harmful at the national level, they actually harmed the original interests of the nobles of the Qin state. Although Shang Martin's debates with Gan Long, Du Zhi, and others before the reform began showed his excellence, they had already made a large number of enemies for themselves.
And in the process of actually changing the law, Shang Martin is still constantly "digging a pit" for himself. Taking the familiar matter of Standing Wood winning the trust as an example, Shang Martin thus won the trust and support letter of the grass-roots people of the Qin Kingdom, and gradually had a mass foundation for changing the law. But this also made Shang Martin's name and change law tightly tied together, "women and babies all speak the law of the Shang King, and the law of the King."
Coupled with the fact that Shang Martin also conceitedly said: "Ziguan I rule Qin Ye, and I am with the Five Hubs Of Great Masters", it made the "Gong Gao Zhen Lord" become a label he could not tear off in the eyes of those with hearts.
In terms of the content of the change, although Shang Martin advised Nongsang to implement the military merit system, he also implemented the impersonal harshness of the legal family. He advocated torture and practiced sitting-in- and sedamish, he pursued a policy of ignorance, burning poems and books, he suppressed commerce and restricted the free movement of people... Shang Martin was a follower of the Ideas of the Dharma, but he was already an extreme follower, brutally oppressing the people in the Qin Kingdom. Therefore, with the advancement of the change of law, he is less and less supported by the people at the bottom.
In this way, compared with Zhang Yi's eight-sided exquisiteness, the more Shang Martin worked in the Qin kingdom, the more he was regarded by political enemies as an indispensable thorn in the eye, and the more he was regarded by the people as a cool official who was inferior to nothing. And such a martingale, naturally only needs a small opportunity, can be suppressed to no place to turn over.
Third, the relationship between Shang Martin and Zhang Yi and the monarch was different, and the stage of the country was also different.
Although both were serving the monarchs of the Qin state, Zhang Yi was assisted by King Hui of Qin and King Wu of Qin, and Shang Martin was assisted by Duke Xiaogong of Qin and King Hui of Qin.
Shang Martin was able to exert his fists in the Qin Kingdom because of the strong support of Qin Xiaogong. However, he and the successor King Hui of Qin had married a great liangzi. When King Hui of Qin was still a prince, he broke the law, and Shang Martin wanted to punish him according to the new law. Because he was the crown prince, King Huiwen of Qin himself was exonerated. However, his holiday with Shang Martin was not spared.
Therefore, after King Hui of Qin ascended the throne, Shang Martin, who relied on the support of Qin Xiaogong, naturally lost power.
In order to consolidate his rule, King Hui of Qin also had to take measures to reverse the situation in which "women and babies speak the law of the Shang King, and the law of the Great King". It was the old Shang Martin who, at the suggestion of King Hui of Qin, was beaten by the courtiers as a "villain" who plotted rebellion and became the target of being hunted down. Because he had been oppressing the people with strict laws, the fleeing martingale could not get the help of well-wishers, and was eventually arrested and killed.
Compared with Shang Martin, Zhang Yi was appreciated by King Hui of Qin. Although he was later not able to be used by the successor King Wu of Qin, he did not offend the people of the Qin state after all, successfully escaped from the Qin state, and finally continued to shine in the Wei state.
In addition, although Shang Martin and Zhang Yi were close in era, the Qin state was at different stages of development when they were officials in Qin. The reason why Shang Martingale was reused was because there was still a big gap between the Qin state at that time and the six eastern countries, and it was urgent to strengthen its own strength. Therefore, Qin Xiaogong did not hesitate to give Shang Martin power at the cost of "women and babies all speak the law of the Shang King, and the law of the Great King", and let him carry out drastic reforms.
However, in the era of King Hui of Qin, the national strength of the Qin State was close to that of the Six Eastern Kingdoms. At this time, the primary problem facing the Qin state was how to deal with the joint hostility of the six countries. Therefore, at this time, talents like Zhang Yi are more useful. As for shang martingale, first, it was of little use, and second, King Hui of Qin urgently needed to strengthen the centralization of power and consolidate his rule, and liquidation was inevitable.
As a courtier, such a remarkable but tragic end as Shang Martingale can also be regarded as a tragedy of life. It's just that this tragedy has been repeated again and again in the future, and in the final analysis, it was also a malady of the society at that time.