The princes fought, Xi Mu's public title dominated Xi Rong, the nations were afraid, the situation was turbulent, and Qin and Jin were so good that Lao Yan flew apart. Duke Xiao of Qin ascended the throne at a young age, the State of Qin was weak and did not return to the tiger state, and from the princes to the nations, Qin was regarded as a small frontier state. Qin Xiaogong was brave and courageous, not willing to be inferior, determined to persevere in supporting the fate of Great Qin, reversing the chaotic world, thinking bitterly, willingly bending the world to recruit talents from heaven and earth, in order to support the ancestral society, strengthen Qin's foundation, promote Qin's prestige, and expand Qin's territory, so that Qin has since become an immortal power, the princes tremble, and the world bows down.
So a simple edict of merit spread throughout the Central Plains:
"In the past, I Miao Gong cultivated virtue and martial arts between the Qiyong and Yong. Dongping and Jin dynasties were bounded by rivers. Xi Ba Rong Zhai, the vast land thousands of miles. The Son of Heaven to the Bo, the princes of Bihe, for the future generations to open, very beautiful. The restlessness of the people who will go forward, the impatience, the simple duke, the son of the son, the internal worries of the country, not to mention the foreign affairs, the three Jin Dynasty attacked and seized the western land of our ancestors, the princes were humble, and the ugliness was great. The Duke of Xian took the throne, calmed the border, ruled Oak Yang in vain, and wanted to go east, restore the hometown of the Duke of Miao, and repair the decree of the Duke of Miao. The widow misses the will of the ancestors, and often hurts in the heart. The guests and courtiers have those who can make a surprising plan to strengthen the Qin, and I respect the officials, and divide the land with them."
The princes are humble and ugly! How ambitious Qin Xiaogong is, how thirsty he is, how unkind the heavens and the earth regard all things as dogs, and the heavenly numerology does not have a thick Qin. If Qin wants to dominate one side, he still needs to strengthen himself, filial piety and wisdom, and longs to restore the strength of Qin Mugong in his lifetime.
Shang Martin, who was far away in the Wei kingdom, was "a scholar of criminal names", specializing in legal science, focusing on the rule of law. Although he was appreciated by Gong Shuzuo, he was not reused by King Hui of Wei after his death, and was given the title of "The king does not use Gongsun Martingale, he will kill him, and he will not be ordered to leave the country". King Hui of Wei didn't think so, and didn't use it or kill it.
Shang Martingale was full of Dharma masters, and the strategy of strengthening the army and consolidating the country could not be carried out, just when the order of seeking merit in the Qin Kingdom in other places spread throughout the Central Plains, Shang Martin was moved, paranoid and single-mindedly practicing the theory of legal science in the chest, and Qin Xiaogong's single-minded desire to be strong will be in line with my wishes! Therefore, he resolutely decided to take Li Wuzhi's "Book of Laws" with him.
Shang Martin couldn't wait to come to the Qin Kingdom, and went to see his old friend JingJian, the old ancestor said that people are divided into groups, things are clustered, Qin Xiaogong is vain and vain, the pattern is the world, and the people around him can even share worries for the country and solve problems for the king. Jing Jian served Qin Xiaogong, saw the arrival of Shang Martin, was extremely happy, and immediately arranged for the two to meet, hoping that the two would see each other as they were, and cooperate for a win-win situation.
At the first meeting, Shang Martin expressed his chest directly, talked about the rule of the country with the emperor's way, took Yao Shun as an example, emphasized the creation of the teacher's law, went with the flow, did not violate the heavenly way, did not go against human morality, and conformed to nature, then the prosperity of the country, he will succeed every day. Xiao Gong knew that the method of strengthening Qin in his heart was far from being deviated, and what Shang Martin said was not false, but Xiao Gong hoped that the Qin State would have a face that would change its fate against heaven and turn the world upside down, and if it followed the path that Shang Martin said, it would not be able to achieve this goal, so he rejected Shang Martin.
Shang Martin was still not dead-hearted, and also through the Jingjian, he once again got the opportunity to meet with Xiao Gong, this time Shang Martin changed a way of governing the country, based on the Western Zhou King's way of governing the country, and based on the prosperous stage of the Western Zhou Dynasty, he made a big proposal. And Qin Xiaogong has always advocated the way of strength and prosperity, taking the Qin Mugong period as an example of admiration, and the minister of Baili Xi as a typical sage seeking the world. Although Qin Xiaogong's attitude is not as tough as before, it may be that he does not want to replicate the success of his predecessors, or Qin Xiaogong has greater ambitions, and such a way of governing the country is also not in line with Qin Xiaogong's ambition to crisscross the chaotic world.
I have to say that success always requires favorable times and places, Jing Jian is his nobleman, and Shang Martin actually has the opportunity to see Qin Xiaogong for the third time through him. If the first two meetings were empty talk about governing the country, then the last time, Shang Martin also learned from his previous experience, and probably understood Qin Xiaogong's request, and this time he directly took the plan book to the interview.
Shang Martin did not have too much nonsense this time, poking directly at the pain points, combined with the advantages and disadvantages of the current several powerful countries Such as Wei Chuqi, giving the place where the Qin State itself needs to change its appearance. Directly throw out, their own "Nine Treatises on the Rule of Qin":
The first is the "Treatise on the Field", which establishes the decree of abolishing the well field, opening the quemo, and buying and selling the field.
The second is the "Theory of Taxation", abandoning the old tax system with no fixed number of tributes, and enabling farmers to pay taxes according to acres of land, workers according to workshops, and merchants to pay taxes according to transactions. In this way, the people are rich and the country is rich.
In the third "Treatise on Farmers", those who become rich by farming and pay more grain taxes can receive state knighthoods. This move will truly inspire farmers to work diligently as the fundamental way to gather grain.
In the fourth "Theory of Military Merit", those who are beheaded in battle are knighted in the number of first ranks. So that all the people of the country will be honored to serve in the army and kill the enemy, and the whole country will be a soldier, the soldiers will be brave, and the wounds will be worry-free, so why should there be no victory?
The fifth "Treatise on Counties and Counties" abolished all the autonomous fiefdoms of the old clans of the Qin State, and set up two levels of official offices in counties and counties, directly under the state government, so that the ruling power of the whole country was unified, like an arm.
In its sixth "Theory of Continuous Sitting", the county has three levels of small officials of the level of li, village, and A. The people take ten households as one, one person commits a crime, and ten households sit together, so that the people are afraid to fight crimes privately and have the courage to fight and make meritorious contributions.
Its seventh "Theory of Weights and Measures" unifies the length, weight, and container of the Qin state, and corrects it by the standards produced by the state government, so as to put an end to the exploitation of the common people by merchants and treacherous officials.
Its eighth "Theory of Official System" restricts the appointment and governance power of officials at all levels, and puts an end to the private side of government affairs.
The ninth "Treatise on Qi Customs" forcibly bans the foolish customs of the people in the mountains and wilderness, such as cold food, sleeping with the whole family, martyrdom of wives and concubines, and so on.
Although this meeting could not determine whether Qin Xiaogong had completely reached a consensus with Shang Martin, there was no doubt that what Shang Martin said really hit Qin Xiaogong's inner thoughts. Qin Xiaogong wanted a bold axe, great talent, and Shang Martingale's expansion of territory, and the strategy of a strong country collided with a spark. Two paranoid people come to a channel and are bound to make the strongest sound of that era. Shang Martin finally stopped the prison, and at this point, a period of ancient kings and courtiers began.
Qin Xiaogong decided to make changes without further ado, but he was still worried about the obstacles encountered in changing the law, so a large debate came into being, and the representatives of the old nobles, Gan Long and Du Zhi, rose up against the change. They believe that the law of profit is not immutable, and the merit is not easy. And Shang Martin's words not only fought against the courtiers, but also strengthened Qin Xiaogong's determination to change the law.
Wei Changyi said: "Doubtful deeds are nameless, and doubtful deeds are fruitless." A saint can strengthen a country without doing so; he can benefit the people and not follow his manners. Filial piety: "Goodness." "If the world is not governed together, the country will not be lawless." Therefore, Tang Wu did not follow the ancient and the king, and Xia Was not easy to die. The anti-antiquity is indispensable, and there are not many imitators. Filial piety: "Goodness." ”
Of course, Qin Xiaogong as a supporter of Shang Martingale, Shang Martingale has no reason to be invincible, this form is also Qin Xiaogong through the debate will express his support for the change of law, of course, Shang Martin did not disappoint him, so a mighty change of law began from the Qin State.
Qin Xiaogong first used the "Order on The Reclamation of Grass" as a test of the law, emphasizing agriculture and suppressing commerce, improving the status of agriculture, weakening some of the privileges of the nobility and those in power, making the whole country into agricultural production, and reforming the tax and rent system.
After that, he hit the iron while it was hot, appointed Shang Martin as the left chief, and had full authority to change the law. Starting from the productive forces, mobilizing the enthusiasm for production, rewarding cultivation and weaving, implementing it in the army, explicitly ordering military law to reward military merit, abolishing the Shiqing Shilu system, and establishing the twenty-class knighthood system, this greatly improved the combat effectiveness of the army, but it also shook the cake of the old aristocratic group with vested interests.
Not only that, but even among the people, there were not a few people who also opposed the change of the law, and it just so happened that at this time, the prince violated the new law, and Shang Martin decided to kill a hundred people. The crown prince was the future monarch and could not use torture, so he executed the crown prince Fu Gongzi and sentenced the crown prince Gongsun Jia to death
After this incident, no one dared to criticize the change of law, but this matter also laid the groundwork for Shang Martin's death.
In 350, Duke Xiao of Qin began to move the capital to Xianyang, and at the same time Shang Martin also carried out a second change:
Reform strategies such as opening up strange feudal territories, abolishing well fields, making land, allowing land to be privately owned and bought and sold, implementing the county system, initially giving, unifying weights and measures, burning poetry books and decrees, plugging private doors, prohibiting eunuchs from wandering, and enforcing household separation decrees to prohibit people from living in the same room with fathers and sons and brothers.
Qin Xiaogong made a bet on the ancestral inheritance and Shang Martin, and Shang Martin also lived up to his trust, and after changing the law, he changed the Qin State from a weak country in the cracks of the nations into a strong Qin that the princes feared.
"The Qin people are greatly pleased, the Tao does not pick up the leftovers; there are no thieves in the mountains, and the family is full; the people are brave in public war, timid in private fighting, and the countryside is greatly ruled."
In today's Qin Kingdom, even Zhou Tianzi needs to celebrate like the princes, and there is no strong country outside the Qin State. Qin Xiaogong was also a broad-minded person, and the promises mentioned in the order of seeking merit were fulfilled one by one at this time. Feng Shang Martin was made of Da Liang, and because of his military merits, he was sealed in shang fifteen yi and was called Shang Jun. At this time, Shang Martin seemed to be under one person, above ten thousand people, with power tilted to the opposition, and an immortal minister, of course, he could also afford it. On the road to prosperity and strength in the Qin kingdom, Shang Martinju has made great contributions, and Qin Xiaogong's unconditional trust in Shang Martingale is the basis for changing the law. Of course, in the past ten years or so of changing the law, there are not a few people who have offended the martingale, and these people have been suppressed by the new law and the martingale, and they are all waiting for an opportunity.
In 338 BC, Duke Xiao of Qin died, and crown prince Si took the throne, that is, King Hui of Qin. The old nobles who had previously taken the opportunity to launch a counterattack, coupled with the fact that the current King Hui of Qin was also surrounded by political enemies he had committed, Gongzi Qian and others accused Shang Martin of "wanting to rebel", and Shang Martin did not have Qin Xiaogong's strength to protect, and naturally he was powerless to refute this crime. They had to flee to the border pass, but they were not allowed in the new law because they did not have a certificate when they stayed.
Shang Martin wanted to flee to the State of Wei, but was refused entry because he had once captured Gongzi Yin, and the desperate Shang Martin returned to his fiefdom. However, at this moment, the combat effectiveness of the Qin army that had undergone the change of law was different from that of the past, Shang Martin was killed, and after his death, he was also shown to the public by "car splitting", and the whole family was cursed. But the new law did not stop, and thus this pair of ancient monarchs and courtiers came to an end.
For the death of Shang Jun, whether it was a personal grudge or a national vendetta, It was the only way for him to stand firm on the heels of the King of Qin. Qin Xiaogong and Shang Martin had already pointed out the way to prosperity and strength for the Qin state, Shang Martin was old, and his death made the final contribution to the Qin state was to stabilize the old aristocratic clique and consolidate the next rule of King Hui of Qin. This powerful qin vassal could only be known to Qin Xiaogong, and in the power system architecture of King Hui of Qin, he had no place to stand, so he became the last victim.
In this story between Qin Xiaogong and Shang Martin, two paranoid people achieve the same ambition, Shang Martin died, but did not fail, and the final winner was the Qin State. Qin Xiaogong did not hesitate to support the reform of the law in contradiction with the old noble family, and Shang Martin was also not afraid of the powerful clan, and insisted on being a pioneer in practicing the dream of a strong country. Suspicious people do not need to be used, employ people are not doubtful, two careerists perform their duties, complete a huge experimental work of art, but also a textbook model of monarchy and statecraft.