Text/Mao Ying
Volume III Thorns
King Huan was a very capable, literate and martial man. He managed the southeast and consolidated the unity of Dongyi and the Central Plains, which was meritorious in history...
--Mao Zedong
Now the king of Shang has suffered from no way, violently destroyed heavenly things, harmed and abused the people, and fled for the lord of the world.
- "Shang Shu Wucheng"
The merits of King Yin for the development of our nation are insurmountable. In the last years of the Yin Dynasty, there was a very grand historical event, that is, the management of the southeast, which was almost completely erased by historians since the Zhou Dynasty.
——Guo Moruo, "Bronze Age: Refuting Confucianism"
Chapter 31 Miscalculation [Part I]
Yin Dixin's major reform of the ritual activities surprised everyone.
At that time, sacrifice was valued more than anything we can touch and imagine today.
This is not only true of Yin Shang, but also of the surrounding princes and states.
Not only is this the case in the land of China, but almost all the civilizations of the same period in the world are also similar.
In contrast, yin merchants paid particular attention to sacrifice. The longevity of rituals, the luxury of sacrifice, and the coolness of means are all the best in the world.
On the one hand, it is the plot of the "worship" of the ancestors that we can vaguely understand today—because there are too many things that cannot be explained and cannot be controlled, it is necessary to pray more and more reverently to the imaginary or ancestral "center of power" that has been passed down.
On the other hand, as the "co-lord of the world", it is also necessary to set an example for the surrounding areas, whether it is a vassal, an ally, or an enemy.
Over the past few hundred years, with the continuous transformation and derivation of the country's economic development and the contradictions with the surrounding forces, the actions and contents of sacrifices have gradually increased the artificial "political connotations" of showing off, deterring, co-opting, provoking, and so on.
Moreover, this increase is not a hidden hint, but a self-evident explicit statement, which everyone knows and everyone understands.
Therefore, when the form, content, and extent of sacrifice change dramatically, people who know and understand will naturally realize that Yin Shang, the "co-lord of the world" for hundreds of years, wants to change the "national policy"; moreover, this change, which cannot be seen very clearly, may touch the fundamentals.
This kind of consciousness inevitably causes and amplifies vast and different fantasies, and then leads to all kinds of inquiries, verifications, games, and inevitable supporting exchanges.
Then there is the spread of non-shyness, the deeper, more essential, and even the deepest and most essential concerns, attempts, responses, and the revelation of their great "personality".
"So—"
Emperor Yin had a secret conversation with Xuan Lian at the "Xuan Palace" and asked Him lian to remember everything he said, not in any place where others could see it.
"I, we, will probably see the big picture soon. In other words, you can seize the opportunity to quickly understand the general trend of the world, and then find the key point! ”
He took a very confident step, and the gold and jade ornaments on his body clanged.
"On the first level, there are no disrespectful to the emperor's orders, or even those who do not come to the sacrifice. If so, it is divided according to the new and old, near and far, close and distant, strong and weak. The second level is those who have honored the emperor's order to participate in the sacrifice and have a whisper in public. It is also divided according to the new and old, near and far, close and distant, strong and weak. The third layer—"
He stopped to look at Xiao Lian, and Wei Lian also looked at him, and there were many things in his eyes, and it was difficult to distinguish them all; but there was one thing that was clear at a glance, that is, he was stunned.
Yin Dixin didn't quite understand what he was stunned about, nor did he want to think about it much—at the moment, what the loyal and astute Jian Lian thought and how he thought didn't matter. Between them, there is time and opportunity to understand, experience, and inquire. However, the princes and the powerful lords will not give him time and opportunity. He, too, will not give them time and opportunity.
When He looked at the "Emperor of Man", he was somewhat worried--even if he wanted to take the whole world to open the knife, he was afraid that it would be too early.
In his opinion, the situation in the world is very reasonable.
Especially after going to the Autumn Festival to pardon prisoners, Yin Shang is gaining admiration and appreciation from all over the world.
The only thing that can be called "shadow" in the meantime is the cause of death of "Zu Emperor" B.
But even if you want to investigate thoroughly, you really don't need to look at the whole world, and you really don't need to "subvert" the sacrifice.
But he was well aware of the disposition of the emperor, and knew that all his worries could be guessed by the emperor.
If necessary, the emperor will definitely explain.
If you don't explain, I'm afraid you don't have to worry, or if your own ideas are wrong.
So, he buried his thoughts and waited for the emperor to explain, or, waiting to find the "answer" on his own later.
Therefore, he only said: "What the emperor said is old and new, far and near, and he probably understands it, but he is close to him, strong and weak, but he really does not know how to distinguish ..."
"I don't know!"
Yin Dixin especially liked to look at others, especially Wei Lian and Yan Yan, and involuntarily displayed a surprised expression in front of him.
Whenever He Lian did this, he would inadvertently reveal the naughty appearance of his youth, which would warm his heart.
That little "warmth", in this harsh winter season, on this throne of the human emperor who is more cold than the harsh winter, is so useful!
He deliberately kept his words silent, admiring The Surprise of The Gentleman, as if he wanted to see how long he could be surprised.
When Lian Lian's eyes turned flexibly, he finally laughed--"You said you don't know, it means that you used your heart." If you think you know, you don't mean it. Then it's not you! ”
He approached and patted Wei Lian's shoulder very affectionately, as if he intended to reward Wei Lian's surprised appearance, and before he could change back to the calm of the "secret minister", he threw out the next "baggage": "In fact, what is intimacy, how to distinguish between strong and weak, I don't know." ”
In Emperor Yin's vision, in the "first layer" of the account with Emperor Yin, that is, those who did not respect the emperor's orders, or even did not come to participate in the sacrifice, there should be two major princes of "Xin" and "Pi" who "raised the world together" with the ancestor Emperor Tianyi (Chengtang), and there may also be the most hostile of the hundred southeastern parties. As for the "second layer", because of the previous depreciation of The Neutrino and the Old Chonghou, he did not think that there would be any more "internal" situations; "external", it is most likely xiqi (if you come to the festival) who pays attention to "yi" and "morality", and the "ghost fang" of the northern nomadic clan that is fierce and straight.
"Ghost Fang" believes in witches the most, probably hence the name.
The ghost fang is very old, dating back to the time of the ancestors of the Yin Shang.
Ghost Fang was just north of Yin Dixin's "base camp" (around present-day Linzhang County, Hebei), and often had friction with his private soldiers, beating and fighting, and always unconvinced, hating people's teeth.
The ghost side is very frank, can ask you for wine on the battlefield, drink a big prayer, and then return to his camp, and the command crowd rushes over to fight. Defeated, honestly pay tribute, and then drink again, and then fight, never to return, it is really cute.
Emperor Yin thought: After such a change in sacrifice, the bearded leader of the ghost side will definitely scold him for disrespecting the gods and ancestors, and nine times out of ten he will speak out in public. That way, he can catch the big fuss. If you are stern, you can turn your face and buckle your beard, so that his Fang Guo is in a mess and makes a big fight. In that way, the elite soldiers who had been waiting for him for a long time would have every reason to clean them up, make them completely surrender, and even simply destroy the ghost side and seize his territory.
Of course, you can also "flexibly" deal with it, endure the beard, give him enough face, let the whole world see that he, the new emperor of Yin Shang, cares more about neighborhood relations and has more inclusions.
However, in that case, it will seem a bit "powerless".
He still believes in and cherishes "Wei".
Therefore, how to treat the beard, or have to take care of "Wei".
Bearded, drunkard bearded, don't say anything that makes me feel intimidated. I can't lose my authority, and I don't want to destroy you. It's up to you...
Chapter 32 Miscalculation [Medium]
The beard did not let Emperor Yin lose his prestige.
Not only did he not say anything that should not be said, he simply did not say anything.
Although Yin Dixin was surprised, he still felt some relief.
What surprised him even more was that, including the bearded man, his ideas about the "first layer" and "the second layer" had all failed!
Both Xin guo and Pi Guo arrived as scheduled, and neither said anything.
Princes younger than them, as well as many southeastern hundreds of vengeful parties, also came to participate in the sacrifice, but the Su clan did not come.
There is a small Su clan, the gateway to the southeast hundred directions of Yin Shang, the conquest of the southeast "outpost", has always been very low-key, but also very well-behaved, what is wrong this time?
He was busy checking whether the summons had been missed.
The answer is no. Moreover, even if the announcement is omitted, such a major event as the change of the emperor should not be known at all; the spring festival is every year, and it is even more impossible to "not know."
This is how Jizi reminded Emperor Yin that this small tribe had made it clear that they would take the big one and should be severely punished by the emperor.
Bi Gan said that the small party, come or not, do not harm the overall situation, after the fact sent people to blame, to have a passable statement. The human emperor has even changed the rules of sacrifice, and why bother to care so much about the face and body...
Of course, Yin Dixin could hear the meaning of the words, and he also knew that Uncle Bigan did not intend to let anyone hear it.
But at that time, somehow, his thoughts floated away from the "big thing" and drifted to the "Bu Marriage" to marry the amaranth deer with Su.
She's okay.
Do you still have the whip I gave you?
Remember me?
The mouth said, "Do things first." More on that later. ”
Xiqi also did not "give opinions" as Yin Dixin had envisioned.
Ji Chang personally attended the festival and came very early.
As soon as he arrived, he rushed to see the new emperor, and also offered rare birds and beasts, beautiful women and treasures, saying that after years of not being in the dynasty, he was really suffering from disasters, and he was also responsible for the defense of the west, and did not dare to withdraw...
He also explained: "Kao, the emperor knows, Wen is strong and weak, leaving him alone to neglect defense, the subject is not very assured, and the other children are small..."
Emperor Yin wanted to ask, "None of your civil and military officials can assist in the examination", but when the words came to his lips, he changed it to: "Now, is it that other children have grown up to use it, or is it that the examination brother Wen and Wu are both complete?" ”
Ji Chang smiled and swallowed back what he wanted to say next.
During the sacrifice, Ji Chang even publicly praised Yin Dixin's reform, saying that this was sympathy for the world and the sentient beings, and it was the act of the Holy Emperor and the Emperor, who pleased the gods...
Many people echoed and followed the worship of Yin Dixin.
Yin Dixin, who was high above, could not be happy at all in the face of such worship.
In his eyes, they were not worshipping him, but more like worshipping Ji Chang. Among them, there is Uncle Bigan, who has expressed dissatisfaction, and there is his brother Wei Ziqi, who has gone and returned, and there are - nasty, confused, drunkard beard!
The plan fell through!
Everyone seemed to be wearing a mask in front of him, so that he couldn't recognize who was who, let alone dig out people's minds.
His body stiffened, plunging into a sense of frustration he had never felt before.
He didn't know, in the end, whether these people were wearing masks and rushing to him as a person or to the throne of the "emperor of people."
If it is the former, does that mean that he was "thundering" too much before, so that everyone was in danger?
If it is the latter, it must show that he, Zi Xin, and yin Shang's newcomer emperor actually do not understand the true meaning and weight of the two words "human emperor".
Changing others may not think as much as he does. Or think of it, just freeze there, maybe frozen for a lifetime.
But he was no one else.
He never accepted defeat, let alone tolerated it.
So, he immediately broke free from the stiffness, quickly modified, and threw out the design of the "third layer" in time -
At the reception banquet after the sacrifice, he secretly informed each "foreign minister" and the leader of the princely states: "Before leaving, the emperor is willing to discuss privately with Jun Yuxuan Palace for half a day, but there is no definite date. If the king wishes to go, he can sue, and please stay for a while, and within two days, the emperor will tell the truth. ”
Saying this to every "person involved" is to turn heads and ears.
Everyone around can see it, no one can hear it, and of course, no one will ask questions.
Afterwards, those who are frank in their hearts will not ask questions, and most of them will not accept invitations; those who have ghosts in their hearts will be afraid of not being able to hear about others, but let people ask what they hear, it is not good to tell the truth, and it is not good to be nonsense, most of them will accept the invitation without inquiring, or sneak up on those "listening to the wind" who ask each other. Between "frank" and "ghostly", they will inquire about each other, and of course, they will make "back-to-back" into "face-to-face". Then talk, then hesitate, then move...
All these "reactions" are in the sight of the newly formed "awareness" team of Lian Lian.
"Knowing" is the name of this "team" that "created" and is also the mission. Its members were temporarily composed of elite palace guards and Moyi guards, and the sons of The Yinbu in the near army; at the beginning, there were only twenty or thirty people, and by the end of the Spring Festival, it had expanded to nearly fifty people, and for the time being, there was no leader in charge, and all of them reported to Shu Lian himself, who then sorted it out and reported it to Emperor Yin.
Yin Dixin told him that for the time being, he still needed to work hard and hard, not only to complete the mission, but also to select the leader in charge and implement it within the temple. Stress: In the future, there will be many things that must be taken care of, otherwise, he will not be able to do it alone.
What Yin Dixin wanted to wait for most were Bearded and Ji Chang.
But in the end, neither of them explicitly stated that they wanted to come to a "private discussion."
However, the southeast side came the most, and they all came to make demands, but the requirements were different.
Some asked for a reduction in the offering, some wanted to marry, and some came to file a complaint, but no one objected to the change of sacrifice.
For the topic of people from the southeast, Yin Dixin was not interested for the time being, and he also felt that most of them were still perfunctory.
Offerings can be reduced, but only to a limited extent, and it is only a bargain.
Marriage is not a bad thing, but it is not a good thing after all. He didn't care about the results, he was more concerned about how these dirt buns came up with this trick and who taught it.
As for the complaint, it is nothing more than a private offering, a force of force, and so on, and it cannot be fully believed, but it must be explained. With his mouth, in a place like the Xuan Palace, it was easy to get a verbal "two-sided light".
As for how to honor, you can put forward conditions and requirements, and if you have sincerity, I will also have sincerity.
Sincerity is not a lip service, nor can it be confirmed in a moment and a half. Let's all work hard, no one should live up to anyone...
It wasn't until he mentioned that there was a Su clan that Yin Dixin's spirit was slightly concentrated, and he grabbed and asked a lot.
Chapter 33 Miscalculation [Part II]
Through a series of inquiries, regarding the Su clan, Yin Dixin probably learned: Going to the Great Sacrifice to release the prisoners in the southeast made the Su clan feel that the Yin merchants did not distinguish between enemies and friends, lenient and rebellious, and even the prisoners of the enemy and the other side were released, but they held back the few prisoners of the Su clan who had opened the door for yin merchants to conquer the southeast for the past. The southeast hundred parties regained the population, yin merchants reaped thanks, but there was Su shi but withstood the crime of "harming neighbors", both disobedient and afraid; so they walked around, contacting "strong reinforcements" with one hand, and direct neighbors in the southeast hundred parties with the other hand, forming a "barrier" situation for Yin Shang and then to the southeast, and showing complaints and wanting to oppose the posture of "not going to the north"...
They had a few beautiful women there, but they didn't know the names...
There is a lame offspring butler, who is said to be a foreigner, and the real "big thing" may not be touched...
Beautiful women are from foreign tribes, their own clans are all out of the crop, which one with the lame housekeeper family, I don't know...
"Strong aid" to find is not clear, want to find which one, not easy to estimate, if it is Xin, Pi, too far away ...
The word "strong aid" made Yin Dixin sound an alarm in his mind.
He didn't really care about how the little Su Clan was, but he was very worried about this "strong support" if there was none.
He felt that if he was asked for help, no matter which one, from the perspective of direct interests, he might not necessarily look at the small and unspoken Su.
If you do not look at direct interests and pay attention to "indirect interests", then this "strong aid" should be able to pay attention to the "throat" geographical location between the Yin Shang and the southeast where su is located, and it should be seen that the importance of this location to the long-term operation of the southeast of the Yin Shang, it is entirely possible to have the idea of first controlling this "throat" and inhibiting the expansion of the Yin Shang.
Once suppressed, surrounded by enemies and friends, the boss Yin Shang, who is surrounded by vassal states that are difficult to distinguish between friends and enemies, and who has long been trapped in the double problem of "lack of work and no help, tired goods and uselessness", will be even more difficult to return, and the strategy of "standing in the big and broad, civilizing with the customs of a big country; serving the people and teaching the cause of common prosperity in all directions" will be postponed, discounted, and even contained!
Next, Yin Shang either hurriedly and flippantly changed the national policy, or continued to tear down the eastern wall to make up for the deeper and deeper the western wall.
Either way, it will eventually lead to want, complaints, and even chaos, and even the loss of superiority and the foundation of "great power", and the loss of the status of "co-lord of the world"!
This is a very deep bureau, in Yin Dixin's understanding, with the status of Su Shi, it is impossible to understand it in any way. Even if you can think through it, it will not be today, let alone sooner.
That is, who is reminded, or not reminded, just used.
Who?
It's that "strong reinforcement"!
If so, in fact, it is not Su who is looking for "strong aid", but "strong aid" looking for Su!
"Strong reinforcements" not only looked for Yousu, but also those who "suddenly remembered" marriage and other tricks!
If this is the case, then the words of these guys and their support are not credible, and they are worth pondering and worthy of vigilance.
But this gang of guys has a sentence that is still credible, that is, the so-called "strong reinforcement", which is unlikely to be the Country of Xin, which is thousands of miles away, and the State of Pi, who is the boss who pretends to be the boss.
The rest, which can be described as "strong" "foreign parties", are only three left: Xiqi, Efang and Lüfang.
Nishiki also seems a little far away.
Although the Efang side is weaker, it is also a large clan in the south, most likely with ambitions, and it is closer to Yousu, and it has united with Yousu, which can probably form a pinch between the two of them.
However, the Efang side is located in the wilderness, fierce and lacking in wisdom, as far as their small lord of the country who talks and drags a strange long voice, how to look at it, does not look like a person with great wisdom, at best, he wants to dominate the south with his stone swords and bamboo arrows and poisonous insect vine armor.
Lü Fang's surname is Jiang, and it is said that he is also in the same line with his wife, the mother country of the Jiang clan, who has been crowned as the "Imperial Concubine". Because it is a collateral lineage, there is no national surname. Compared with Yousu, it is also "strong". The "Lüdi" where it is located is close to Yousu. Although it is declining, it is definitely enough to have a plan and a foundation. I vaguely heard that they had powerful people there. Ben didn't care, today it seems, didn't care, didn't care, it really can't work!
Ghost Fang's beard rushed in, interrupting Yin Dixin's thoughts and giving him the opportunity to send away the last southeastern lord.
The bearded man held a big wine urn, and when he entered the door, he shouted that he would bring good wine to your emperor.
He teased the bearded man and said you have good wine too, do you know what good wine is? He asked, "After drinking, start fighting?" ”
The bearded man smashed the urn with his fist and held it in both hands for the emperor to taste.
Zi Xin smiled and took it with one hand, and poured it with his head up. Needless to say, the wine is really good. He took a few large sips, handed the urn back to the beard, and the beard was not convinced by the strength of his one-handed urn, and he also pushed it with one hand, and poured it even harder.
Just like that, you come and go, and you don't answer.
In the last round, in the hands of the bearded man, Zi Xin said: "Nothing, all drunk!" ”
The bearded man was not polite, drank until there was not a drop left, gave the emperor an empty wine urn, and smashed it with a clatter.
Yin Dixin was not alarmed, and asked kindly, "Fight?" ”
The bearded urn said angrily, "I want to fight." But you have become a human emperor, and I can't beat you! Admit it! ”
"What's that?"
Zi Xin left the throne and leaned closer to the bearded man: "What is the name of recognition?" I am an emperor, what do you disagree with? ”
"Whoever is the emperor is not my business." But since you have become a human emperor, you should respect heaven and god and ancestors like a human emperor. You, as for the ones, have starved the ancestors of the gods. First of all, I thought you were a generous person, and I didn't want to be so stingy! I am about to mo, you are reluctant to give us a drink in the future, baoqi will have to repay the previous, this is not to please you back! ”
Zi Xin listened, first stunned, then laughed, and then patted the bearded shoulder and laughed.
"Got it—" He tried his best to stop laughing,
"You think I don't respect the ancestors of the gods enough." That's straight to the point! ”
Seeing the bearded man with a serious look, he also changed into a serious look: "Why didn't you say it earlier?" As I said earlier, if I had listened to you, it would not have become a fait accompli. ”
"Say it early! You are the emperor of man. In front of the heroes of the world, we said that you are not, you are not a good emperor and faceless! ”
The bearded man licked his lips and looked at the incomprehensible expression of the Emperor of Ren: "When we fight with you, we are not disobeying you, nor are we disobeying the Emperor, or we are disobeying your Son Xin!" If you become a human emperor, you are not the previous Zixin, we must obey, we must respect! But what have you done. What you do, can you make people convinced and respected! Even if I don't say anything, can the heroes of the world agree? ”
Zi Xin looked at the beard for a long time, and then looked up at the sky and sighed, slowly and firmly patting the bearded shoulder: "What bullshit world hero!" All over the world, I can only see one hero! He said and shot again, very hard, very solid, "Right in front of me!" ”
He knew that the bearded man must have been surprised to hear this.
He likes to look at people's surprised expressions.
Having seen enough, he gently brushed over the bearded and hill-like body and reached the distance of the whisper: "Do you want to hear me talk, why did you change the sacrifice?" ”