During the Spring and Autumn Period, Duke Xian of Jin favored Li Ji, so he wanted to depose the crown prince Shen Sheng and establish Xi Qi, the son of Li Ji.
Li Ji was a rather cunning and vicious woman, and when she learned that Jin Xiangong had the intention of changing the crown prince, she ostensibly cried and advised Jin Xiangong not to do so, but secretly engaged in conspiracies and tricks to frame prince Shensheng.
In the twenty-first year of the Jin Dynasty (657 BC), Li Ji pretended to be kind enough to remind the crown prince ShenSheng: "The king once dreamed of Qi Jiang (the author's note: Qi Jiang was the wife of the Jin Dynasty, the biological mother of prince Shen Sheng, who had died at that time), and the prince should immediately go to Quwo to sacrifice his mother, and when he returned, he would sacrifice the meat to the king." Crown Prince Shensheng then rushed to Quwo to sacrifice his mother, and after returning to the Capital of Jin, he gave the sacrificial meat to the Duke of Jin.
Duke Xiangong of Jin was just out hunting at that time, and Crown Prince Shensheng put the meat in the palace. Li Ji sent someone to put poison on the gizzard meat. Two days later, Jin Xiangong returned to the palace after hunting, and the cook brought the gizzard meat up, jin Xian wanted to enjoy it, and Li Ji pretended to be kind to stop it, saying: "The meat comes from afar, you should taste it first." ”
The cook threw the gizzard meat on the ground and the ground protruded; the cook threw the gizzard meat to the dog, and the dog died immediately after eating it; the cook gave the gizzard meat to the eunuch to eat, and the eunuch died.
Li Ji then pretended to cry and said, "Why is the prince so cruel?" In order to inherit the throne, even his own father dared to kill, let alone others? Besides, you are old and can still live for a few days, and the prince can't wait to kill you! He also said, "The reason why the prince did this is only because of me and Xi Qi." Our mother and son would rather hide in another country or commit suicide early, rather than let my mother and son be mutilated by the prince in vain. When you wanted to abolish him, I opposed you; to this day, I realize that I was very wrong. ”
Crown Prince Shensheng heard this and fled to the new city. Jin Xiangong was very angry and killed Du Yuanqian, the teacher of Prince Shensheng.
After Prince Shensheng fled, someone said to him, "It was Li Ji who put the poison in the flesh, so why didn't the prince make it clear himself?" Crown Prince Shensheng said, "My father is old, and without Li Ji he will sleep unsteadily and tastelessly." If I had made it clear, my father would have been very angry with Li Ji. This doesn't work. ”
Someone said to Crown Prince Shensheng again, "Then you should flee to another country." Prince Shensheng said, "Who can accept me if you run away with this crime?" I killed myself. On December 2017, Shen Sheng committed suicide in Xincheng.
When the story is told, the problem comes. If you are Prince Shensheng, how are you going to resolve Li Ji's conspiracy?
In the twelfth year of the Jin Dynasty, Li Ji gave birth to Xi Qi, and the Duke of Jin Xian already had plans to abolish Chang Liyou, saying: "Quwo is the place where our ancestral temple is located, and Pu is close to Qin and close to Zhai, if I don't let the princes guard those places, I will be worried." Therefore, He sent Crown Prince Shensheng to garrison Quwo, Gongzi Zhong'er to garrison Pu, Gongzi Yiwu to garrison Qu, and Duke Xian of Jin and Xi Qi, the son of Li Ji, to garrison Qu. According to this, the Jin people already knew that Crown Prince Shensheng would not be able to take the throne.
Four years later, the State of Jin set up a second army, with Duke Xiangong of Jin himself commanding the army, and Crown Prince Shensheng commanding the army, and successively destroying Huo, Wei, and Geng. After the whole army returned to the Jin state, the Jin Xiangong sent people to build a city for the crown prince Shensheng in Quwo.
This was another move by The Duke of Jin to keep Shen Sheng away from the center of power in the Jin state, indicating that his intention to depose Shen Sheng as crown prince was becoming more and more obvious.
The chancellor Shi Pu therefore advised Shen Sheng, "Crown Prince, you can no longer be made the monarch." Distributed to the capital, the title is Qing, and the prince's position has been raised to the extreme in advance, so how can he take the throne? It is suggested that Shen Sheng follow The example of Wu Taibo and flee and take refuge, so as not to cause disaster.
Wu Taibo was the son of the zhou tribal leader Gu Gonggong(古公亶), the eldest of the ranks, and his two younger brothers, Zhongyong and Ji Li. Gu Gonggong's father was located in Ji Li and his sons Ji Chang, Taibo and Zhongyong avoided giving way, moved to Jiangdong, and founded the state of Gou Wu.
Shi Pu suggested that Shen Sheng study Wu Taibo and had foresight. Unfortunately, Shen Sheng did not take Shi Hagi's advice in the end, and finally fell into Li Ji's plot and was forced to commit suicide. In other words, if Shen Sheng had taken Shi Hau's advice, he would have been able to defuse Li Ji's plot.
In the seventeenth year of the Jin Dynasty, that is, in 661 BC, the Duke of Jin Xian asked the crown prince Shen Sheng to lead an army to attack Dongshan.
In ancient times, the crown prince was the one who offered sacrifices to the temple, the sacrifice of the shrine, and the person who checked the diet of the monarch in the morning and evening, so he was called Tsukiko. If the monarch wants to travel, the prince should stay behind; if someone stays behind, the prince will follow. Those who remain are called prisons, and those who follow them are called Fu jun. On the other hand, the commander-in-chief of the army issued an order, which is the full-time job of the monarch and the secretary of state, not the prince's business. The Duke of Jin gave Crown Prince Shensheng the command of the army, which was actually a dilemma for the crown prince. If Shen Sheng had to ask for orders from the Jin Dynasty in everything, there would be no majesty to speak of; and if he acted arbitrarily, he would not be filial piety.
Therefore, when Duke Xiangong of Jin asked Crown Prince Shensheng to lead an army to attack Dongshan, in fact, he did not regard Shen Sheng as a prince, but as a secretary, and once again showed his intention to replace the prince with actions.
The Jin minister Li Ke dissuaded, and Jin Xiangong said: "I have several sons, and I don't know who to appoint as the crown prince." Without answering, Rick withdrew and went to see Prince Shensheng. Crown Prince Shensheng asked, "I'm going to be abolished, right?" Rick said: "The prince work hard, let you command the army, afraid that you will not be able to complete the task, why abolish you?" Moreover, what you are afraid of is filial piety, and you should not be afraid of not being able to take the throne. Pay attention to self-cultivation and not blame others, and you can avoid disasters. ”
From Rick's words, it can be seen that Shen Sheng wants to resolve Li Ji's conspiracy and do three things: first, improve his ability and complete the task given by Jin Xian; second, he must honor Jin Xiangong; third, pay attention to self-cultivation and cultivation, and not blame others.
Rick's words were actually to persuade Shen Sheng to take the initiative to give up the position of prince, but Shen Sheng did not seem to understand Rick's meaning, and finally fell into Li Ji's plot. If Shen Sheng could understand Rick and voluntarily give up the position of prince, he might not be forced to commit suicide.
In addition to the above-mentioned shilang's suggestion of fleeing and Rick's suggestion of taking the initiative to give way, what else can Shen Sheng do? Referring to the example of Cao Pi's preservation of the crown prince's throne during the Three Kingdoms period at the end of the Han Dynasty, Shen Sheng should also do the following in order to resolve Li Ji's conspiracy:
First, strive to win the trust of the Jin Dynasty.
The reason why Jin Xiangong had the idea of abolishing Chang Liyou was nothing more than two reasons: one was that Shen Sheng's ability was insufficient, and the other was that he did not trust Shen Sheng. Therefore, what Shen Sheng wants to do, in addition to improving his ability to do things as suggested by Rick, should also try to win the trust of Jin Xiangong, not only to let Jin Xiangong see his own ability, but also to let Jin Xiangong see his filial piety.
Of course, filial piety is not foolishness. After being framed by Li Ji, Shen Sheng was still worried that his father was old and could not do without Li Ji, and was unwilling to point out Li Ji's plot in front of Jin Xiangong, which seemed to be filial piety, but in fact it was foolish and filial piety, and it was not advisable.
At the end of the Three Kingdoms of the Han Dynasty, Cao Cao also had the idea of deposing Cao Pi and establishing Cao Zhi. Cao Pi was in a hurry and sent someone to ask The Taizhong Grand Master Jia Xu for ways to consolidate his position. Jia Xu said, "May you, General, carry forward your virtue and grace, personally do the things of a humble person, work tirelessly sooner or later, and not violate the rules that you should abide by as a son, so that you can do it." ”
Jia Xu's words were very similar to what Rick had said to Shen Sheng. The difference was that Shen Sheng did not listen to Rick's words, while Cao Pi listened to Jia Xu's words and secretly tempered himself to gain Cao Cao's trust.
Once, Cao Cao went out on a campaign, and Cao Pi stayed behind to guard Yecheng. Wei Yi took the opportunity to secretly entangle the party and plotted an attack on Yecheng with Chen Yi, a lieutenant of Changle Wei. Before the scheduled date, Chen Yi was afraid and reported the matter. Cao Pi then took decisive measures to kill Wei Yi and thousands of people involved in the incident, quickly stabilizing the situation in Yecheng and providing a stable rear for Cao Cao to fight outside.
On another occasion, Cao Cao went out on a campaign, and Cao Pi and Cao Zhi both came to send them off. Cao Zhi took the opportunity to exert his literary talents and exported them into chapters to praise Cao Cao's merits, which attracted the attention and appreciation of others, and Cao Cao was also very happy. Cao Pi saw the situation and was sad, and later listened to Wu Qian's advice, and when he resigned, Cao Pi did not say anything, but just cried and bowed, which made Cao Cao and his subordinates very sad. Therefore, everyone believes that Cao Zhi's rhetoric is gorgeous and sincere, and they all say good things for Cao Pi in front of Cao Cao.
Second, we must have a precautionary heart.
The heart of harming others must not be there, and the heart of preventing people must not be without. Especially within the brutal and fiercely strifeed court.
At first, Yang Xiu and The Ding Yi brothers planned to make Cao Zhi the Prince of Wei, but Cao Pi was very worried, so he hid Wu Qian, the head of the Chaoge, in an old bamboo box, picked him up by car, and discussed countermeasures with him. The reason why Cao Pi wanted to hide Wu In an old bamboo box was to prevent his opponents from being framed.
However, no matter how dense the egg was, there were also seams, and the matter was eventually known to Yang Xiu and reported to Cao Cao. Cao Cao had not yet investigated, and Cao Pi was terrified and told Wu Zhi. Wu Zhi suggested that Cao Pi remain silent, take the plan into account, and still use a bamboo box to carry silk into the mansion the next day. Yang Xiu and the others also reported to Cao Cao, and Cao Cao sent people to check on them, but there was no one inside, so Cao Cao became suspicious of Yang Xiu and the others.
In the seventeenth year of Jian'an, Cao Cao's western expedition to Guanzhong, The Hejian people Tian Yin and Su Bo instigated the people of Youzhou and Jizhou to rebel, causing chaos. Cao Pi, who was in charge of staying behind in Yecheng, planned to personally lead an army to conquest, but was persuaded by Gongcao Changlin to stop. Cao Pi then sent the general Jia Xin to fight and immediately destroyed the rebels.
After the war, more than a thousand people asked for surrender, what to do with these people? Cao Pi asked the officials who stayed behind to discuss it together. Many of the people who participated in the discussion believed that Cao Cao had ordered that those who surrendered after being surrounded would not be pardoned. Cheng Yu, on the other hand, believed that Cao Cao's previous orders were a temporary response strategy adopted during the war. Now that the world is basically at peace, you can't kill casually; even if you want to kill, you should first report to Cao Cao. Participants in the discussion also said that military action could be arbitrary without the need for instructions. Cheng Yu retorted that arbitrariness refers to the temporary occurrence of an emergency and must be decided immediately. Now that these rebels were in the hands of Jia Xin, he advised Cao Pi not to make decisions.
After weighing it up, Cao Pi thought that Cheng Yu's statement was more in line with his own interests, so he sent someone to report to Cao Cao, and Cao Cao did indeed order pardon and not to kill.
Through the above two things, we can clearly see that in order to keep the position of prince, Cao Pi has a strong sense of prevention, which can be described as cautious everywhere, such as walking on thin ice, and never leaving any handle or opportunity for the opponent.
On the other hand, Shen Sheng, first easily believed Li Ji's Jin Xian Gong dreaming of Qi Jiangzhi, and then put the sacrificial meat in the palace, without any precautions, giving Li Ji a chance to frame him.
Third, seek the support of the minister.
Similar to The Duke of Jin, Cao Cao hesitated for a long time on the question of whether to abolish Chang Liyou and constantly asked the opinions of the ministers around him. As a result, a number of ministers, including Cui Yan, Mao Jiu, Jia Xu, Xing Yue, and others, all supported Cao Pi. In this way, even if Cao Cao had a very strong idea of abolishing the long and young in his heart, he had to weigh it carefully.
The reason why these ministers supported Cao Pi, in addition to Cao Pi himself being the eldest son of Cao Pi, was also related to Cao Pi's initiative to win their support. For example, in front of such upright gentlemen as Cui Yan and Mao Jiu, Cao Pi tried his best to show simplicity and virtue to win their favor; and for strategists like Jia Xu, Cao Pi took the initiative to consult with them when things were undecided, and listened to their opinions and suggestions, so that he could naturally get the favor and support of people like Jia Xu.
In addition, when Cao Cao went out on the expedition, Cao Pi's performance of only crying and not saying anything also won the support of the military generals. With the support of these people, Cao Cao finally dispelled the idea of abolishing Cao Pi and establishing Cao Zhi.
Look at Shen Sheng again. At that time, There were two key ministers under The Duke of Jin, one was Shi Huang and the other was Rick. In addition to persuading Shen Sheng to emulate Wu Taibo and fleeing, Shi Lang did not see how he supported Shen Sheng. Although Rick had previously supported Shen Sheng, when Jin Xiangong revealed the idea of abolishing Chang Li's childhood, Rick deliberately pulled away from Shen Sheng. An obvious example is that when Shen Sheng was sent by Jin Xiangong to fight dongshan, Rick, after reminding Shen Sheng to be good, pretended to be ill and did not follow Shen Sheng on the march. It can be seen that he did not fully support Shen Sheng.
Due to the lack of support from key ministers, Shin Sang was isolated after being framed by Li Ji, and could only flee in a hurry, and finally ended up committing suicide.
In short, Shen Sheng in the Spring and Autumn Period and Cao Pi in the Three Kingdoms period at the end of the Han Dynasty were both at risk of being deposed as princes, but due to the different countermeasures they took, the results were also very different. Comparing shen sheng and Cao Pi's response measures still has a lot of inspiration for us today.