Since the Spring and Autumn Period, the State of Zheng, which was located in the land of four wars, was repeatedly attacked by the State of Jin, State of Chu and others. Due to its weak power, Zheng was forced to continuously pay tribute to other big countries in order to survive. At the same time, the rulers of Zheng lived a very luxurious and corrupt life. In order to satisfy the demands of the great powers and the needs of their own corrupt lives, the rulers of Zheng arbitrarily exploited the people. Later, the slaves of Zheng, who could not bear the burden, finally rose up and resisted. In the 23rd year of King Zhou Jing's reign, Zheng's slaves launched a large-scale uprising in Fuze. At that time, thousands of slaves gathered in the middle of a large lake in Zhongmou, Henan, to confront the rulers of Zheng. Later, Zheng sent Uncle Zi and his troops to suppress them. Due to the huge disparity in strength, although the slaves persisted tenaciously, they failed to win in the end. This uprising was the earliest recorded people's resistance war in our country's history. Later, although China gradually developed from slavery to feudalism, the contradictions between classes still existed, so the fire of uprising continued to burn.
Robber Zhi, formerly known as Liu Zhanxiong, also known as Liu Xiazhi, is said to be the younger brother of Liu Xiahui, a famous minister in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Robber Zhi was the nickname given to him by later rulers. About 475 BC, he led a team of 9,000 people to launch an uprising.
The uprising led by Liu Xiazhi was very powerful. What he pursues is a free and equal society, and what he hopes to achieve is a life in which everyone "farms and eats, weaves and clothes, and has no intention of harming each other." At this time, the ruling class could get food without farming, and get clothes without weaving, and exploited the people to live a life without worries about food and clothing. He scolded the rulers on behalf of the exploited working people. Confucius advised him to imitate the sages and disband his armed forces. After listening to Confucius's advice, Liu Xiazhi rebuked Confucius, saying that what Confucius said was what he despised and despised, and told Confucius to leave quickly and did not want to talk to Confucius anymore. The rebel army he led was very brave. Wherever he went, "big countries defended the city and small countries entered the territory." He attacked the city, rescued slaves, killed nobles and confiscated their property. The princes were frightened and frightened by the news. There is a passage in "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals" describing Liu Xia Zhi, saying that when he seizes the property of the rich, he can always know exactly what is in the storehouse; when taking action, he always rushes ahead and is very brave; when retreating, he always He who stays behind is very loyal; he has the ability to judge opportunities and is very smart; he can evenly distribute the fruits of victory after victory, which is very benevolent and righteous. His rebel activities ranged widely, from the State of Lu south of Mount Tai to the States of Qi and Jin in the west. He and the rebels he led were all traced there. But later, due to the bloody suppression of the ruling class, the uprising did not win in the end, and Liuxiazhi also died heroically in the struggle against the ruling class. Xunzi praised Liuxiazhi as "his reputation is like the sun and the moon, and it has been passed down to Shun and Yu forever".
In 301 BC, Qi general Kuang Zhang led the four kingdoms of Qin, Qi, Han, and Wei to jointly attack Chu. The coalition defeated the Chu army at Chuisha, and the Chu general Tang Mei was killed. During the Battle of Chuisha, Zhuang Qi led his troops to raise the flag of rebellion and began to lead the people in uprising. His uprising team was very brave, rampaging across the world and invincible, and even once captured Ying, the capital of Chu State. Facing his attack, the ruling class was helpless. "Han Feizi" said: "Zhuang Qi stole within the territory but the officials could not stop it." It can be seen that the rebel army he led at that time brought a heavy blow to the ruling class of Chu State. He divided the Chu State's ruling area into several pieces. Later, perhaps considering that the situation of the Chu State at that time could not withstand internal and external troubles, Zhuang Qi chose to withdraw his troops and decided to put the national interests first, which enabled the Chu State to end a civil strife and gain a moment of breathing space, and began to concentrate on dealing with Threats from external forces. Zhuang Qi was recruited not because of personal interests, but to safeguard national interests at a critical moment for the country's survival. Although Zhuang Qi is called a "big thief" in ancient books, he is undoubtedly a very wise and benevolent leader in the hearts of the righteous people who follow him.
Many times, "thief" is just a slur used by the ruling class against the working people who dare to resist. According to historical records, during the Warring States Period, "thieves were rampant" and "thieves gathered in large numbers", which shows how fierce the people's struggle against the rulers was at that time. The large number of troops often hide in hiding, and when the ruling class is not prepared, they jump out and deliver a fatal blow to them. This deep and irresolvable contradiction between the rulers and the working people is actually caused by the ruling class's brutal exploitation and oppression of the working people.
According to "Guanzi Da Kuang", during the Warring States Period, farmers in Wei State had to pay up to two-tenths of the field tax to the state in years with average harvests, and one-tenth of the field tax even in years with poor harvests. . And if the harvest is good, the tax rate is as high as three-tenths. Land tax is just one of many taxes. In addition to it, there are many other taxes. According to records, Shang Yang's reform stipulated that the "oral tax" collected was levied on adults, and it was levied on a per capita basis. The tax amount was very heavy. In addition, there are various customs duties, city taxes, and even taxes on homes, gardens, and livestock. Some people say that taxes during this period were twenty times as high as in ancient times, and half of the farmers' income was plundered by the rulers as taxes.
In addition to unbearable taxes, military service and corvee were also very heavy due to the frequent wars during the Warring States Period. During the Warring States Period, corvée conscription was not limited to men, women, the elderly and children were also sometimes conscripted. According to the "Warring States Policy", General Zhao Chang of Chu State vowed to live and die with the defensive positions he was stationed in. He recruited more than 300,000 people to build fortifications. Men and women from just adulthood to 60 years old were recruited to the eastern region of Chu State. , in addition to building fortifications, many women and elderly people even joined the ranks of defending the city. Due to the needs of the war, men, women, old and young were all conscripted into the army, which seems unimaginable now.
In addition to causing a large number of casualties, the war also caused food shortages caused by uncultivated fields. The army cannot go without food and pay for a day, but where does the food and pay come from? The only option is to increase taxes and plunder from the people. This has little impact on the ruling class, who can still "have fat meat in the kitchen and fat horses in the stables", but it is a terrible abyss for the working people. Death", the situation is very miserable. The living conditions between the ruling class and the people are too different, so conflicts between them are naturally unavoidable and are about to break out.
Although various countries have formulated very cruel punishment systems for the people's resistance struggles, it is still to no avail. The people complained, and uprisings in various places naturally followed.
