What is "governing the country"?
In the Xunzi, it is said: The mouth can speak, the body can do it, and the national treasure is also; the mouth cannot speak, the body can do it, and the national instrument is also; the mouth can speak, the body cannot do it, and the country uses it; the mouth is good, the body is evil, and the country is also a demon. The ruler respects his treasure, loves his instrument, uses it, and removes his demons. It is also said in the Zhou Yu Shang Zhao Gong Gong Li Wang To Stop Slander: The mouth of the people is better than the defense of the river; the river will collapse and hurt many people; the people will be the same...
During the period of Qin Xiaogong, before changing the law, Shang Martin recommended three major ways of governing the country to the Qin State:
The first is Yao Shun's "Imperial Dao";
The second is the "royal way" of Xia Yu, Shang Tang, King Wen of Zhou, and King Wu of Zhou;
The third is the topic we are going to discuss today, which originates from the "hegemony" of the Spring and Autumn Five Hegemons.
Since the beginning of Emperor Yan, the "Emperor Dao" is the most respected way of governing the country in ancient China, and to use the words we are more familiar with, it is the "Huang Lao Doctrine". Such a method of governing the country has a significant feature, that is, "slow", the imperial court does not compete with the people for profits, private capital can be accumulated, and then promote the prosperity of industry and commerce, the people's living standards have been improved.
However, to achieve such a goal, not only will the time not be short, but an important condition needs to be met, that is, there is no external pressure, otherwise, such a system will collapse.
In view of this, Qin Xiaogong rejected the "Imperial Dao".
Speaking of the "Royal Way", the successful model of the King's Way of governing the country is the Western Zhou ritual system. Such a system once made the world prosperous, the people were prosperous, and even, in the era of Qin Xiaogong, there were still many people who admired it incomparably. The most important point is that when qin Mugong was in power, the state of Qin, with the help of Baili Xi, once relied on the method of governing the country by the king's way to seize the position of overlord, which was the pride of the old Qin people.
After that, Qin Xiaogong promised to achieve the glory of the Qin Mugong period, so shang martingale recommended this method to Qin Xiaogong.
However, unfortunately, Qin Xiaogong abandoned the way wang Dao ruled the country, making many people feel that he finally chose the policy of "hegemony" to govern the country.
So, is this really the case?
Before answering this question, let's first understand what exactly is a domineering way of governing the country.
As mentioned above, this method originated from the Spring and Autumn Five Hegemons, and the most prominent representatives were Qi Henggong and Song Xianggong. First of all, let's talk about the Duke of Qi Huan, as the head of the Spring and Autumn Five Hegemons, he naturally has a set of feasible and efficient governing policies, that is, everyone is very familiar with "holding the Son of Heaven to order the princes". Yes, it is the way cao Cao started in the Three Kingdoms period, and finally found the source.
However, to implement such a strategy, first of all you must have strength, otherwise, even if the Son of Heaven loses his majesty, no one will buy your account. Do we have to listen to you when you say a word about serving the Son of Heaven? How old are you in that situation? Maybe they will send troops to destroy you directly. After meeting this condition, we must clarify our own purpose, that is, to use the name of the Son of Heaven to develop our own power and seek the interests of our own country. The ultimate goal of Qi Huangong is to quietly replace Zhou Tianzi and become the new lord of the world.
Speaking of Song Xianggong again, he is more ruthless, also with the help of the name of the Son of Heaven, but what he wants to do is to directly and justly expand the territory and eliminate the opponent.
In fact, a careful study of the history of the Spring and Autumn Period is not difficult to see that the rulers of that period almost invariably adopted this method to strengthen their own strength.
On the one hand, although the royal court is weak, it has not reached the point where an individual can step on a foot, and the respect that should be given must be given, otherwise, it will risk the world's great disobedience and become the target of the public;
On the other hand, who would refuse such a thing as using the free labor of other countries for the benefit of their own country? Anyone who has the ability and the qualification to do such a thing will not miss this opportunity.
Therefore, many people believe that Qin Xiaogong ultimately chose to govern the country in a domineering way.
However, this is not the case.
First of all, from the author's previous introduction, it can be found that there is a key point in the implementation of this measure, that is, Zhou Tianzi. Not to say that he was directly abducted, at least before doing things, we must use his banner, on the one hand, there are reasons for zhengda and light to avoid unnecessary contradictions; on the other hand, we can draw many reinforcements.
However, during the period of Qin Xiaogong, the holding of Zhou Tianzi hostage really did not play any role. At this time, the Western Zhou Dynasty had already existed in name only, and the imperial court had no control over the princes, and since the monarchs of the Chu state were proclaimed kings, the princes had established themselves as kings. At this time, there was really no need to play the banner of Zhou Tianzi, and no one would pay attention to him, and even attract the attention of the princes of the world and be jointly crusaded by all countries.
Secondly, at this time, the qin state was weak, not only lost a large area of land, but even the rulers wanted to do the old business of herding cattle.
Therefore, qin xiaogong's overbearing way of governing the country was fundamentally eliminated.
Finally, the goal that Qin Xiaogong wanted to achieve after changing the law was also very different from the ultimate goal of the hegemonic way of governing the country. To tell the truth, at this time, Qin Xiaogong was really not in the mood to think about what was going on to dominate the world and unify the Central Plains, he only wanted to survive, and he only wanted the ancestral inheritance not to be buried in his hands, after all, at this time, the Qin State was really not in a good situation.
So, what kind of way did Qin Xiaogong adopt to govern the country?
We all know that before the Shang martingale transformation method, the Qin state took the route of the royal road, but the time changed easily, and the royal road was no longer applicable to the qin state, otherwise, it would be necessary to follow in the footsteps of the Yan state. Therefore, there is a martingale transformation method, and in general, this is a reform from the inside out.
First of all, the national policy of "governing the country according to law" was determined, and corresponding rules were set for the people, officials, and kings of the whole country. In this way, all aspects of the Qin State could be operated in an orderly manner and gradually developed.
The second is the seizure of power. At this time, most of the power in the Qin state was controlled by the nobility, and the king's decrees could not be well conveyed, so this step was imperative. Weakening the power of the nobility, by rewarding military merit, emphasizing agriculture and suppressing commerce, opening up the channels for the rise of the common people, not only mobilized the enthusiasm of the people of the whole country, but also gave hope to the poor people.
Under these measures, the people of the Qin State broke out with unprecedented enthusiasm, the peasants worked harder, and agriculture developed rapidly, which further improved the economy. Moreover, after having money, there are many things that can be done, and the most important thing is that we can vigorously develop the military.
It is no exaggeration to say that during the Warring States period, military strength determined the survival of a country. With strong military strength, the Qin state could expand its territory, plunder the population, and promote agricultural development. This is a virtuous circle, and it is also the way of a strong country that the Qin State really practices. Therefore, it is unscientific to hastily believe that Qin Xiaogong is practicing the principle of ruling the country by hegemony.
At the same time, this also tells us that when analyzing historical events, we must not stop at nothing, but must deeply analyze every detail and every feature in order to get the most correct results.
Resources:
["History, Volume 5, Qin Benji", "History, Volume 68, Biography of Shang Jun", "Xunzi Wangba"]