The so-called "start a family first, then establish a career" evolved from the ancient saying of "cultivate oneself, manage one's family, govern the country, and bring peace to the world". This is meant for men, and it's not unreasonable. In ancient times, when young men first entered society, they faced various temptations, harbored various desires and needs, and easily got lost. If they started a family at this time, they would have a foundation and not be uneasy. This is the so-called "determination of starting a family." . However, if you are unfortunate enough to marry a Hedong lion or a prodigal daughter, then most of your future time will definitely be spent in hardship. How can you travel around the world, have a heart in your heart, and achieve great things? So people say that behind every successful man there is a great woman who works silently. Leyang is a successful man, and his wife is the great woman Leyang Ziqi listed in "Book of the Later Han·Biography of Women".
Leyang was a native of Zhongshan and a general under the command of Marquis Wen of Wei. He was one of Wei's two most important battlefield heroes along with Wu Qi, the god of war. Among Leyang's descendants, there is a particularly famous figure who is often used by Zhuge Wuhou to make a fool of himself, and that is Le Yi. Although Leyang later became famous and prominent, he was once in despair when he was young and did not know where to go. If his wife had not been there to correct and support him, I am afraid that there would be one less famous general Leyang in history and one more. A mediocre person who spends his days eating and waiting to die.
When he was young, Leyang's family was not wealthy, and his father died early, so Leyang could only depend on his widowed mother. When he grew up, Leyang had no ambitions and was idle all day long. Even after marrying a wife, he was still undecided. One day, when he was wandering on the road, he unexpectedly picked up a piece of gold cake. What an unexpected surprise. So he returned home happily, stuffed the gold cake into his wife's arms, and showed it off. Unexpectedly, he talked proudly for a long time, but did not see any reaction from his wife. When he turned around, he only saw his wife's face covered with frost. So he lowered his head and said nothing, waiting for his wife to give instructions. As expected, I only heard her say coldly: "I heard that people with lofty ideals do not drink the water of the 'Stealing Spring', and those who keep themselves clean do not eat food that comes from outside, not to mention that they are complacent about picking up property on the road and ruining their own moral character!" After hearing this, Leyang's face turned red and white, and he was so ashamed that he grabbed the gold cake and threw it on the road. He also secretly blamed himself for having no ambition and living in a hazy way, so he said goodbye to his mother and wife and went out to study. . Before leaving, he secretly swore that if he failed in his studies, he would never return home.
Don’t be afraid of making long-term aspirations, be afraid of always being determined. After studying abroad for a year, Leyang couldn't bear the hard and helpless life outside, so he took leave and returned home. Leyang pushed the door open and entered the room, where he saw his wife leaning on the machine to spin. He said hello, fully expecting his wife to be happy that he was home. Who would have thought that his wife just raised her head and glanced at him coldly, without even saying a greeting. Instead, she just said this: "Has your husband learned enough? Why are you back now?" Leyang muttered: "I've been gone for too long and I miss home. Mainly... I miss you, so I came back." To be honest, even if Leyang wanted to impress his powerful wife, This should also be what he really meant. Unexpectedly, his wife became even more angry after hearing this. She suddenly got up from the machine, picked up a pair of scissors in a hurry, rushed to the machine in a few steps, and cut the cloth being woven on the machine with a bang, creating a huge The "wound" looks shocking.
"What are you..." Leyang was so frightened that she couldn't speak. "This piece of cloth comes from spring silkworm silk, and it is woven back and forth on this machine to take shape. At first, it was just a few weak threads, woven one by one, slowly accumulated to an inch wide, and accumulated inch by inch, and finally Only then can it become a horse. Today I cut it off, so all the time and energy I spent in the past will be in vain! When you go out to study, you should "know your fate every day" and know something you didn't understand before every day. Only in this way can you achieve success. Noble moral character; if you go home after studying halfway, what's the difference between me and cutting this piece of cloth? Wouldn't it be that all the hard work has been wasted?" Although the tone was stern, there were tears flashing in the corners of his eyes. Leyang was moved by his wife's words and felt ashamed, so he returned to his teacher to continue his studies. He stayed there for seven years and never came home to see her again.
However, such a good wife who gave up the happiness of family for her husband's fame and career did not die well in the end. One night, a thief came to Leyang's house to steal. Leyang was studying abroad and was not at home. The thief not only wanted to steal money, but also was interested in the beauty of Leyang's wife. Of course Leyang's wife refused, so the thief kidnapped Leyang's mother with a knife and dragged her out the door. Leyang's wife then followed him to the door with a knife, forming a confrontation between the two.
"First, put down the knife; second, obey me; otherwise, I will kill your mother-in-law!" The thief laughed wildly. Leyang's wife thought to herself: "If I obey this thief, how will I behave in the future? But if I don't, my mother-in-law will die because of me. How will I face my husband when he comes back?" Leyang's wife looked up to the sky and sighed, suddenly backhand With one knife, he cut his neck and died. This was far beyond the thief's expectation. Seeing that he could not succeed, he let Le Yang's mother go in fear and turned around to escape. When the local chief found out, he hunted down the thief Zhengfa and gave Leyang's wife a rich burial, giving her the title "Zhenyi".
It can be seen from these examples that Le Yangzi's wife is a strong woman. We know that both Yue Fei and Hai Rui were raised by widowed mothers, and their mothers had a huge impact on the formation of their characters. This is relatively easy to understand. However, Leyangzi's wife is a very rare woman from ancient times to the present who can influence her husband as a wife. Le Yang's wife has a heroic blood in her bones. She never gives up or compromises. Le Yang is also a "teachable child". Whether studying or fighting, she has this ruthless energy that will not give up until she achieves her goal. .
"Being a farmer in the morning, ascending to the emperor's hall in the evening." Le Yang studied hard for many years, and finally got an opportunity to be worshiped by Wei Wenhou. So where will General Leyang lead his army to attack?
Zhongshan Kingdom.
Zhongshan was originally a country established by the Di people in the north. It was located to the east of Zhao State and was not adjacent to Wei State. So, why did Wei Wenhou cross Zhao State to attack Zhongshan? If you lose the battle, you will make the world laugh. If you win, you will pay a heavy price and make wedding clothes for Zhao. It turns out that Zhongshan has always been a vassal state of Jin and must pay tribute to the king of Jin every year. However, after the three families were divided into the Jin Dynasty, the Jin Dynasty declined and no longer had its original deterrent power, so the king of Zhongshan stopped paying tribute.
Wei Wenhou couldn't stand it anymore. Once upon a time, the state of Qi was in great prosperity. Duke Huan of Qi united with the princes, respected the king and resisted the barbarians, and finally became the first overlord in the Spring and Autumn Period. Nowadays, the Wei State is also prosperous under the governance of Marquis Wen, and it has become the most powerful country among the three Jins. Therefore, Wei Wenhou had to send troops to teach the Zhongshan Kingdom a lesson both emotionally and rationally, both public and private. In this way, he could "respect" the Jin monarch and show Wei's status as the leader of the Three Jin Dynasties.
Originally, when he ordered generals, Wei Wenhou did not immediately think of Leyang. Leyang was able to become a general because of Zhai Huang's recommendation. Speaking of which, Le Yang and Zhai Huang not only had no grudges, but also had enmity: Le Yang's son Le Shu killed Zhai Huang's son Zhai Jing. However, Zhai Huang was open-minded and could separate state affairs from family affairs. He knew that what Wei Wenhou was looking for was not the enemy who killed his son, but the capable person who could help him bring down the Zhongshan Kingdom.
Falsely speaking to Zhao, Leyang led the well-trained elites of Wei to the capital of Zhongshan. Along the way, Leyang did not encounter any strong attack. This shows that Wei's national power is far superior to that of Zhongshan, and it also shows that Leyang is really a general who is good at using troops. However, it takes half a mile to travel a hundred miles, and it was only at this last step that Leyang realized that his troubles had just begun. His son Leshu had been playing for Zhongshan Kingdom before, and now he appeared on the tower again.
At first, Le Shu looked well-dressed and just shouted down, telling his father Le Yang to withdraw his troops and return to Wei. But not long after, Le Shu was tied up and gagged. The monarch of Zhongshan appeared and shouted: "Leyang, withdraw your troops immediately, otherwise don't blame me for being ruthless and chop your son with a knife!"
However, can this method really be effective? Leyang glanced up at the tower coldly, turned around and went back to his tent, ignoring the words of the King of Zhongshan. Afterwards, the Wei army launched a fierce attack on Zhongshan. The Lord of Zhongshan had to put Leshu aside for the time being and organize the army in the city to resist the Wei attack.
"Does this guy really not care about his son's life and death?" Zhongshan Jun became ferocious and simply chopped Le Shu into meat paste, boiled it into soup, and gave it to Le Yang. When the envoy from Zhongshan delivered the meat soup made by Le Shu to Le Yang's tent, it was still warm. The envoy told the whole story, and Leyang sat quietly, never speaking, and not even looking at the envoy. Before he could finish speaking, Leyang opened the lid, took the spoon, and ate the meat soup one bite at a time. The messenger didn't dare to look, turned around and ran away. When he reported the process of his trip to Mr. Zhongshan, Mr. Zhongshan was stunned and speechless. In any case, he has understood that there is no reason to give up between Wei and Zhongshan.
The Zhongshan envoy was not the only one who saw Leyang eating the meat soup. The Wei generals under Leyang were also watching. They saw that the general was determined to capture Zhongshan! So without waiting for Leyang's order, he launched a general attack from all directions day and night, and finally defeated the Zhongshan Kingdom.
From the time of setting out to conquer Zhongshan, three years passed without realizing it. Now that victory was finally achieved, the soldiers of Wei were naturally all smiles, because they could finally go home. But at this time, Leyang didn't know where he was. His wife had committed suicide and his son could be said to have been killed by him...
Some people say that the reason why Zhai Huang recommended Leyang was because he had already calculated everything. He knew that Leyang, who was eager to make contributions, would do whatever it took to win, even if it meant sacrificing his son's life. In this way, Zhai Huang would He avenged his son. is that so? I'm afraid only Zhai Huang himself knows this.
Let’s go back to Wei State. After Wei Wenhou learned that Le Yang had wiped out the Zhongshan Kingdom, he was very happy. When he heard that Le Yang had eaten his own son, he praised his adviser and said, "Le Yang did this all for me!" Hong, very excited. Unexpectedly, Shi Zan didn't see it that way. He said coldly: "He can even eat his son's flesh. Who else in the world would he not dare to eat?" These words made Wei Wenhou break into a cold sweat. Yes, is there anything else in the world that he doesn't dare to do?
"After Leyang attacked Zhongshan, Marquis Wen praised his achievements but doubted his intentions." ("Warring States Policy: Leyang attacked Zhongshan as a Wei general")
