During the Warring States Period, there was an outstanding politician in the Qin State, his surname was Gongsun, he was born into the nobility of the Wei Kingdom, and people often called him Wei Yang or Gongsun Marting. Shang Ying had a keen interest in criminal law and the study of names at a young age, and he served as a concubine under the Gongshu of the Wei State. Before Gongshuzuo died, he strongly recommended Shang Ying to King Wei Hui, but unfortunately King Hui did not accept it. However, when Qin Xiaogong issued an order to seek merit, Shang Ying resolutely decided to leave Wei and go to Qin, where he made a statement to Xiaogong with his art of transforming the law and strengthening the country, which Xiaogong greatly appreciated.
However, Gan Long, Du Zhi and other ministers were opposed to Shang Ying's idea of changing the law, and they preached ancient laws and ancient rituals, believing that "the wise man does not change the law and governs", and "the ancient law is not wrong, and the etiquette is not evil". But Xiaogong was not swayed by these remarks, and he appointed Shang Ying as the head of the left and firmly supported him in promoting the reform of the law. The content of Shang Ying's reform mainly covered many aspects: He implemented the law of joint sitting, incorporated the Qin people into the Shi and Wu groups, and strengthened social supervision; he promoted the transformation of the big family into an individual family and adjusted the family structure through legal means; he forbade private fighting, encouraged the Qin people to kill the enemy and make meritorious contributions, and used military merits to evaluate the title; he implemented the strategy of emphasizing agriculture and suppressing business, and encouraged agricultural production through preferential policies; he also demanded that members of the clan should also establish military merits, and determine the status of nobles by the size of military merits.
After the promulgation of the law change decree, in order to win the trust of the people, Shang Ying placed a three-zhang long log at the south gate of the national capital, and offered a reward to recruit people who could move the wood to the north gate. At first no one responded, but when he raised the bounty to fifty gold, someone finally stepped forward to complete the task and received the bounty. This move not only demonstrated Shang Ying's determination, but also won the trust of the people.
In the process of implementing the law reform, Shang Ying was very strict with the implementation of the law, and even if the prince broke the law, he mercilessly punished the prince's masters, Gongzi Qian and Gongsun Jia. This attitude of fairness and selflessness in law enforcement made the Qin State able to abide by the law from top to bottom, and also laid an important foundation for the successful implementation of the law reform.
A few years after the implementation of the new decree, the social economy of the Qin State has achieved remarkable development, the people are well-off, and the state is becoming stronger and stronger. Xiaogong spoke highly of Shang Ying's exploits and appointed him as the Great Liangzao. Subsequently, the Qin state moved its capital to Xianyang and continued to promote the reform of the law, including the implementation of the county system, the abolition of the well field system, and the unification of weights and measures.
With the assistance of Shang Ying, the Qin State gradually became rich and powerful. By the twentieth year of filial piety, the state of Qin was strong enough for Zhou Tianzi and other vassal states to send people to congratulate him. The following year, Qin took advantage of Wei's defeat at the Battle of Maling to attack, and Shang Ying skillfully used tactics to capture Wei's Gongzi Yin and defeat the Wei army, eventually forcing Wei to cede Hexi to Qin for peace. Because of his outstanding military achievements, Shang Ying was enshrined in the fifteenth town of Shang and was honored as the king of Shang.
However, Shang Ying's reforms in the Qin state also aroused resentment among some nobles. After the death of Xiaogong, the new monarch Hui Wang ascended the throne, and Gongzi Qian and others took the opportunity to take revenge on Shang Ying and frame him for a rebellion attempt. Shang tried to flee to Wei, but Wei refused to accept him due to his designs to defeat Wei. Eventually, Shang had no choice but to return to Qin and launched a rebellion, but was defeated and captured. King Hui ordered Shang Ying to be punished by splitting his car and exterminating his family.
Regarding the relics of Shang Ying, items such as copper halberds, copper upsets, and copper square quantities have been found in the past. The inscriptions on these items record Shang Ying's official position and exploits in the Qin state, proving his important position in Qin politics. At the same time, based on documentary records and inscriptional evidence, we can know that Shang Ying's official position in the Qin State was equivalent to that of the Minister of State, and the name Xiangbang did not appear in the period of filial piety.
In the late Warring States period, the works of Shang Yang or his successors have been handed down to the world. Han Feizi mentioned the internal and external chapters of Shang Yang in his writings and praised his philosophy of governance. Sima Qian in the Western Han Dynasty also read Shang Jun's writings and recorded some of the contents. However, due to the many battles that took place in the decades following Shang Ying's death, such as the Battle of Chuisha, the Battle of Huayang, and the Battle of Changping, some of the content in the Book of Shang Jun may have been written in the late Warring States period. Despite this, Shang's ideas and contributions had a profound impact during the Warring States period and even in later generations.