After the three families were divided into Jin, Wei was the strongest among the three. In order to strengthen itself, the State of Zhao began to focus on domestic development. If its aristocratic forces could unite, they would be able to arrogantly surpass any other vassal state at that time. At that time, the State of Wei realized the huge threat from the State of Zhao, and then ordered Leyang to destroy Zhongshan and Ximen. Leopard's measures to govern Yecheng.
The strength of Zhao State is mainly reflected in its military. Due to the special geographical location, it can be said that all the people in Zhao State are soldiers and the people's customs are fierce. In the fourth year of Zhao Liehou's accession to the throne, civil strife broke out in the Qi State. Gongsun Hui, a Qi official, rebelled against the Qi State in Linqiu (now northeast of Juancheng, Shandong). In order to find refuge, he threw himself into the Zhao State. Naturally, the State of Qi would not give in, so it sent a large army to attack Gongsun Hui. Zhao Liehou made a prompt decision and decided to send troops, and also united the two countries of Wei and South Korea to cheer for Gongsun Hui.
The armies of both sides fought on the Longze line. The Qi army was undoubtedly defeated by the coalition forces of Han, Zhao and Wei. Thirty thousand horses and horses were killed and two thousand chariots and passengers were captured. The next year, the allied forces of Han, Zhao, and Wei gave Emperor Zhou some benefits, so the three Jin Dynasties were able to continue to attack Qi in his name, and the allied forces once reached the Great Wall of Qi.
It was also at this time that Ji Wu, King Weilie of Zhou, announced that the three families of Han, Zhao and Wei would become princes. The land of the Three Jin Dynasties finally became a member of the vassal states of the Warring States Period.
But all of this is the result of Han, Zhao, and Wei acting together. Zhao has not acted alone. The State of Zhao was deeply influenced by the influence of the old aristocracy, and the calls for development by the emerging aristocrats never stopped.
The most representative one is Gong Zhonglian of Zhao State. As a minister of the State of Zhao, this person had long cherished the ambition to rejuvenate the country, but the current State of Zhao did not seem to have such conditions.
Look at Zhao Liehou who was obsessed with music all day long and gradually neglected government affairs. He even once wanted to promote two artists who were good at singing "Zheng Ge" (a kind of soft folk song) to a higher rank. However, the impact of this matter was too great, and Zhao Liehou did not dare to make the decision without authorization, so he asked Gong Zhonglian, who was the prime minister at the time, to come to discuss it. After meeting Gong Zhonglian, Zhao Liehou asked: "I have someone I like. They please me very much. Can I give them a noble status?"
Gong Zhonglian had long heard that Zhao Liehou favored these two people, so he was unwilling to let this situation continue, at least not to let its influence expand. Therefore, Gong Zhonglian believes that the king can make those people rich, but he cannot make them noble, otherwise it will definitely cause chaos and endless harm to the government. Seeing Gong Zhonglian's strong opposition, Zhao Liehou could only retreat and do the next best thing, and rewarded each of them with 10,000 acres of fertile land.
Zhao Liehou had made up his mind. Although Gong Zhonglian was opposed to it, he could not directly conflict with him and could only temporarily agree.
After that, Zhao Liehou went to Dai for inspection. A month later, Zhao Liehou came back and remembered the incident again. So he found the two people who were good at singing, and after letting them sing a song, he asked them if they had received the fertile land they had been rewarded with.
Gong Zhonglian quickly replied: "We haven't found a suitable person to handle this matter yet. I am currently working hard to find a suitable person." ("Historical Records") It turned out that Gong Zhonglian wanted to use dragging tactics to make Zhao Zhao Liehou gradually gave up on this matter. Unexpectedly, Zhao Liehou was very fond of those two people and urged Gong Zhonglian to fulfill their promise again and again. In desperation, Gong Zhonglian could only claim to be ill and refuse to go to court.
But this is not a long-term solution. Gong Zhonglian can only delay it day by day. He only hopes that one day Zhao Liehou will realize his mistake, give up the reward of ten thousand acres of fertile land to the two singers, and stop indulging in it. Among the sensual dogs and horses.
Just at this time, a man named Fan Wujun came to Zhongmou. This man happened to come from Daidi, and he also heard about the king of Zhao and Gong Zhonglian. He had a different view on all this, so after he met Gong Zhonglian, he hurriedly advised him: "From the outside, it seems that the king is not doing his job properly, but if you think about it carefully, you will find that the king is actually a philanthropic person, so he The two singers will be rewarded, but his method is somewhat inappropriate. Four years have passed. During this period, as the Prime Minister of Zhao State, have you ever recommended talents to the king?"
Gong Zhonglian shook his head, of course not. Therefore, Lord Fan Wu took the opportunity to recommend three people to Gong Zhonglian, claiming that each of them had extraordinary talents. These three people are Niu Zhu, Xun Xin, and Xu Yue. After some investigation, Gong Zhonglian found that these three people were indeed extraordinary, so he recommended them to the king of Zhao. It turns out that Niu Zhu, Xun Xin, and Xu Yue are all members of the emerging gentry clan, and everyone has something to learn. Xu Yue was good at rectifying finances and evaluating officials, so he suggested Zhao Liehou to "save money and use money frugally, and measure merits and virtues." Xun Xin was good at formulating and evaluating the official system, so he suggested "selecting, training, and appointing talents, and appointing officials to enable them." The animal essence is in Confucianism, so he persuaded Zhao Liehou to "benevolent and righteous, and make an appointment with the king."
As expected by Lord Fanwu, Zhao Liehou happily listened to the three people's suggestions and was so impressed by their talents that he decided to entrust them with important tasks. At the same time, he also ordered Gong Zhonglian not to give the two singers any more acres of land, but to give Niu Zhu, Xun Xin, and Xu Yue three official titles, with Xun Xin as "lieutenant" and Xu Yue as "internal history". Cattle and livestock are “teachers”. The position of "lieutenant" is mainly responsible for commanding operations, the position of "division" is responsible for education, and the position of "internal history" is mainly responsible for collecting land rent and evaluating officials. Prime Minister Zhonglian also received the reward of "two attacks on clothes". With the efforts of these three people, Zhao State began a series of reforms in the political and economic system. Since then, Zhao's national power has been greatly enhanced.
Zhao Liehou was wise. He listened to other people's opinions at critical moments, allowing Zhao State to complete the political and economic reforms in the early Warring States Period. However, Zhao Liehou was also lonely. Most people in the entire Zhao State did not understand him. He thought that he had neglected the affairs of state by listening to those miraculous voices. But who understands the truth of being in a high place? Zhao Liehou could only find a trace of spiritual comfort in music. At the same time, the capital of Zhao State at that time was Hebi in today's Henan Province. Music was prosperous at the junction of Zheng State and Wei State. This convenience affected Zhao Liehou's aesthetic concepts. But even such a simple request could not be met. Zhao Liehou couldn't help but sigh, where is his soulmate?
In fact, Zhao Liehou's close friend did not exist. He was Wei Wenhou of Wei State. Like Zhao Liehou, this man also likes music very much. Wei Wenhou once asked Zixia, saying that if he wore black clothes and listened to the so-called elegant music of ancient times, he would fall asleep, but once he listened to the so-called elegant music of Zheng Guo and Wei Guo, he would not feel sleepy. Know the reason for tiredness?
Seeing that Wei Wenhou humbly asked him for advice, Zixia said that the reason why ancient music is called elegant music is because it expresses the principle of cultivating oneself, harmonizing one's family, governing the country, and bringing peace to the world. The reason why the music of other countries is called vapid music is that it sounds good but is indulgent and decadent, makes people happy but depresses them, is fast and changeable and makes people upset, is proud and withdrawn and makes people arrogant. Yi. Under the corrosion of this kind of music, people's virtues will be lost and the world will fall into chaos.
After hearing Zixia's explanation, Marquis Wei Wen thought that Zixia's words made sense, and he would definitely pay more attention to it when he governed the country in the future. But in Wei Wenhou's eyes, the charm of music is definitely not inferior to beauty. Soon after, Wei Wenhou began to create music on his own.
Once, when Wei Wenhou was listening to a music performance, he was able to point out mistakes on the spot. Just as he looked at Tian Zifang triumphantly, Tian Zifang got angry and yelled in front of Wei Wenhou, saying that the king's duty was not to manage music, but to manage the musicians. Wei Wenhou knew that Tian Zifang was dedicated to himself and the country, so he could only bow to Tian Zifang and admit his mistakes.
It was in the hands of these two music-loving monarchs that the vibrant states of Zhao and Wei were born, and Zhao Liehou was lucky enough to become the founding monarch of Zhao. The land of the Three Jins originally had a strong foundation of the Jin State. Under the guidance of the feudal system, the Three Jins took the lead in emerging from backwardness and became extremely powerful. The territory of the Zhao State has expanded from central Jin to present-day eastern Shanxi and Hebei. The state of Wei became the well-deserved leader of the Three Jins.
Tian Zifang, a native of Wei, was a friend of Marquis Wen of Wei and a student of Zigong, a disciple of Confucius. He was famous among the princes for his moral knowledge. After Wei Wenhou heard his name, he admired him very much, so he hired him as his teacher and treated him with great courtesy.
The evaluation of Tian Zifang in history books is: "He is a man, resolute and decisive. He is proud of the princes and despises wealth." Everyone knows that pride requires capital. Tian Zifang's capital is his talent, but this is not important, what's more important is that he doesn't care. He doesn't care whether he is rich or not, he doesn't even care about his own life. The prince of Wei Wenhou was named Wei Ji. Wei Ji had an exaggerated temperament, loved to show off, and did not take others seriously.
One day, Wei Jigao was riding in his car, and his entourage was playing and playing and holding up placards, swaggering through the market, making passers-by stand on both sides and become silent. At this time, I saw a person in the crowd walking with his chest held high, as if this majestic team of horses and horses did not exist. This person was Tian Zifang. He was so eye-catching that Wei Jie, who was lying in the car, naturally recognized him. Wei Jing remembered the teachings of his father Wei Si (Marquis Wei Wen) and said, "Tian Zifang is a saint, and I regard him as my teacher. When you see him, you must dismount from your horse and salute, and treat him as your master." So Wei Jing got off the car and Prepare to salute Tian Zifang.
The attendants around him saw Prince Wei Ji kneeling submissively by the roadside, waiting for Tian Zifang to come over. But Tian Zifang seemed to have seen nothing, staring at the horizon and walked over.
Seeing Tian Zifang walking slowly, Wei Jing was stunned. He had never expected such a result, so he jumped up from the ground and stopped Tian Zifang with a few steps. Wei Jihe asked: "Should rich people be arrogant towards others, or should poor people be arrogant towards others?" Tian Zifang straightened his clothes and said calmly: "Of course it is poor people who are arrogant towards others. Rich people What qualifications do they have? If a prince shows his arrogance to others, he will surely lose his fief; if an official shows his arrogance to others, he will surely lose his family. The country and the family are both a drag on them. The poor and humble people have nothing, and What are you afraid of? If your words and deeds are not understood by others, and if you are not popular with others, then you can just wave your sleeves and go straight to Chu and Yue, just like taking off your shoes. Can the rich and noble people compare to this?"
Wei Jing had no choice but to turn around and leave angrily. If all the tramps in the world heard Tian Zifang's words, they would probably sigh, "You are very close to me!" Yes, it is true that there are not many people like this who are as free and open-minded as a dragon in the clouds.
Another time, Wei Wenhou and Tian Zifang had a long talk. Tian Zifang mentioned Xi Gong several times and praised him endlessly. Wei Wenhou asked curiously: "Who is Xigong? Is he your teacher?" Tian Zifang replied: "No, he is my neighbor. But he talks well and is always to the point, appropriate and accurate, so I admire him very much. Him." Marquis Wei Wen asked again: "Then who is your teacher? How does he compare to Xi Gong?" Tian Zi said solemnly: "My teacher is Dongguo Shunzi. He has an ordinary appearance, but his heart is in line with nature. He He is in harmony with the light and dust, conforms to the heaven and the earth, but can maintain his true feelings and authenticity. He is as open-minded as a valley and can tolerate all things. If someone does something or says something that is not in line with the way of heaven, then he will bluntly point out his fallacy, and he can correct the evil every time. He is said to be It is no exaggeration to say that he is a saint or a saint. As a disciple, I really don’t know what words to use to praise him."
"Is there such a person in the world?" Wei Wenhou looked disappointed, completely unaware that Tian Zifang had stood up to leave. One day later, Wei Wenhou came to his senses and sighed to the people around him: "Tian Zifang's teacher is really unfathomable and makes people look up to him. I always thought that I had practiced enough, but today I know that there are people outside the world, and there are people outside the mountains." Mountain. After Mr. Tian Zifang talked about his teacher's character, I was completely speechless as if someone had clamped my mouth. It seems that what I learned before was just ignorant talk, just like the rough clay sculptures in the ruined temple. It’s worth it. Alas, the Wei State is just a drag on me. If one day I can follow Dongguo Shunzi and listen to his teachings day and night, then that is the life I really want!”
Of course, Wei Wenhou just thought this way, otherwise how could he achieve Wei's hegemony? But from this we can see how extraordinary Wen Hou himself is. If he is a dim-witted monarch, then his ambitions and interests must only be above sex. How could he sit down with an expert like Tian Zifang to discuss the mysteries and mysteries of life? How could someone like Dongguo Shunzi, a powerless and unknown master, yearn for him?
Probably because he offended the future king Wei Ji, Tian Zifang did not stay in Wei in the end. He went to Qi and became the prime minister of Qi. What was the result? "The great rule of Qi".
