In the fifty-seventh year of King Nan of Zhou Dynasty (258 BC), the historically famous incident of Lord Xinling stealing a talisman to save Zhao occurred. Since then, Lord Xinling has become a household name. Regarding the situation of the Warring States Period at that time, his move not only saved Handan and the State of Zhao, but also prevented the Qin State from destroying the Six Kingdoms and ensured the temporary peace of the Wei State.
At that time, it was the end of the Warring States Period. The Qin State was annexing the six kingdoms and the wars were frequent and fierce. In 260 BC, in the Battle of Changping, the Qin army suffered a tragic victory and the Zhao army was defeated. 400,000 Zhao's elite soldiers were killed by Bai Qi. In order to complete the grand blueprint of unifying the world, Qin took advantage of the victory and besieged Handan, the capital of Zhao, in an attempt to destroy Zhao in one fell swoop, and then further annex Han, Wei, Chu, Yan, Qi and other countries. At this time, the situation in all countries was very tense, especially Handan, the capital of Zhao State, which was under siege. The princes were either frightened by Qin's military force and did not dare to assist, or they wanted to sit back and take advantage of the situation out of the consideration of watching the fire from the other side. benefits. However, Zhao was alone, so King Zhao ordered Pingyuan Lord Zhao Sheng to find a way to seek help from other countries. Because Wei was a close neighbor of Zhao and a country of in-laws, Pingyuan Lord thought of Wei first. For the Wei State, the lips are dead and the teeth are cold, and the households are in danger. Saving the Zhao State is equivalent to saving itself. The existence of the Zhao State means that the Wei State also exists. On the contrary, if Zhao is destroyed, Wei will also perish. However, after experiencing successive defeats, the monarch of Wei had developed a huge fear of Qin's tiger and wolf divisions, so he refused to send troops to rescue Zhao. Only then did Lord Xinling steal the talisman to save Zhao.
The world only knows that Lord Xinling stole the talisman to save Zhao, but few people know the above background. They don't even know who Lord Xinling is.
The name of Lord Xinling was Wei Wuji. His birth year is unknown. In 243 BC, he died young due to being addicted to wine and sex. Lord Xinling is the youngest son of King Zhao of Wei and the half-brother of King Anli. He is a legitimate member of the aristocratic class of Wei. An important talent of Lord Xinling is his military command ability. Under his leadership, the Wei army repeatedly defeated Qin's attempts to unify the world, and he became a famous military strategist of the Wei state at the end of the Warring States Period. Regarding the origin of his title, "Historical Records" records that in the first year of King Anli (276 BC), Wei Wuji was granted the title of Xinling (now Ningling County, Henan), so later generations called him Xinling Lord, the same as Mengchang Lord of Qi State. Tian Wen, Chun Shenjun Huang Xie of Chu State, and Zhao Sheng, Pingyuan Lord of Zhao State, were collectively known as the Four Young Masters of the Warring States Period.
Of course, at the beginning, Lord Xinling's military talents were not fully reflected. The reason why people respected and admired him was because Lord Xinling was able to recruit talents and support a large number of diners and scholars.
In fact, all this is due to the social trend at that time of favoring scholars. At that time, the scope of taxis was very broad. In addition to the Mohists who represented the lower classes such as farmers and workers, many people represented the landlord class and participated in political activities. In fact, the practice of raising scholars gradually began and developed under the promotion of the princes, ministers and officials during the Spring and Autumn Period. During the Warring States Period, in addition to the preferences of the monarchs, many princes in Shandong countries would compete to raise scholars, and scholars became the most active part of society. kind of people. It was under the influence of this social atmosphere, coupled with his reputation, wealth, status and talents, that Lord Xinling became respected by everyone. Historical records record: "The young master is a kindhearted man and a lowly scholar. Regardless of the virtuous or dishonest scholars, he treats them with humility and courtesy. He dare not be arrogant because of his wealth. Scholars fought for thousands of miles to return here, and there were three thousand diners."
Scholars at that time could be mainly divided into four categories. One category was academicians, such as Confucianism, Mohism, Taoism, Ming Dynasty, Legalism, Agriculture and other experts. Among them, Confucianism and Mohism had the greatest influence, but Legalism was the most applicable. By writing books and writings, he reflected the thoughts of various classes in society at that time and put forward political opinions that were beneficial to the interests of their respective classes. While making great contributions to culture, he also had a huge influence on politics.
The reputation of foster scholars is very great, so when they arrive in a country, their treatment will be extremely generous. Especially the famous figures among them will enjoy unparalleled respect. For example, whenever the Confucian master Mencius went out on a study tour, he would have dozens of cars as his guard of honor, and hundreds of attendants to serve Mencius and his disciples. Mencius traveled among various countries. Because of his prominent reputation, everyone from the monarchs to the poor at the bottom of the country rushed to see his style and hear his expositions. During this period, the monarch, generals and prime ministers all gave gold to Mencius to provide him and his entourage with food, clothing, and accommodation.
There is also a type of people with greater influence, called strategists, that is, strategists who are good at combining vertical and horizontal strategies. This type of people have a deep understanding of politics and have practical talents. They can use their words to get their ideas recognized and implemented by the monarch or the great nobles, and eventually become famous.
Based on people's political discussions at that time, later generations also formed a monograph specifically describing these discussions - "Warring States Policy". The most representative figures in it are Su Qin and Zhang Yi, both of whom were disciples of Guiguzi. But they served different monarchs, making the Warring States period even more turbulent.
In addition, there is another category called alchemists or warlocks. At a rough glance, they seem to have little impact on the overall situation of the Warring States Period, and most of them are heretical. But if you look carefully, these people can be divided into two types.
The first type is experts in astronomy, geography, calendar, agriculture, medicine, crafts and other subjects. The same writing of books and theories has allowed their ideas to be widely disseminated, especially among the people, and their practicality is very great. The other type is the wandering people who use yin and yang philosophy, the magic of gods, divination, and dream prediction to predict good and bad luck, house magic, etc. to defraud people of food and clothing. Of course, at the time, their remarks were closest to the true existence of their souls. . This type of people promoted the development of primitive religion to a certain extent, among which the ideas of yin and yang, gods, etc. laid a certain theoretical foundation for the development of traditional Chinese Taoism.
The other category was the most despised but influential person in society at that time - diners. There is no doubt that there are an extremely large number of people in this category, and the Four Young Masters of the Warring States Period owe their fame to a certain extent. According to records, at that time, Lord Xinling had thousands of diners, and the categories were very complex, including roosters, dog thieves, bullies, and even traitors, criminals, butchers, gamblers, assassins and other scoundrels. .
Among them, there are many people who have done many ridiculous things: Mengchang Jun Tianwen of Qi State once passed by Zhao State. The people of Zhao had heard of his name for a long time. After hearing the news, they gathered in the fields to watch. Unexpectedly, they were not as well-known as they were when they met. The people of Zhao bluntly said: "Mengchang Jun is so famous, but he is just a short man."
Tian Wen thought he had been greatly insulted and became furious. When the diners under his door saw this, they also stared back angrily. Unexpectedly, those Zhao people not only did not stop ridiculing, but intensified their ridicule. Most of the diners under Mengchangjun's family were born in the wilderness of rivers and lakes. When they saw their master being humiliated, they got out of the car angrily and killed hundreds of Zhao people who were watching. They were also afraid that Lord Mengchang would be tarnished by this, so they simply kept doing nothing and killed all the people in the county before riding away.
Not long after, Tian Wen lost his position, the tree fell and the hozens scattered, and the diners dispersed; Tian Wen was restored, and the diners came back one after another. It can be seen that if you do not carefully select, diners may just eat and drink without any benefit.
The aristocratic lords went to great lengths to attract guests: Lord Pingyuan of Zhao State did not hesitate to spend all his family property in order to support his guests; Lord Chunshen of Chu State gave his top guests the treatment of a national scholar wearing pearls and shoes in order to attract real talents. , and also built a guest city for the superior guests to live; while Mengchang Lord of Qi State often ate the same meal as the guests and gave gifts to the guests' relatives; Seeking the hermit for his own use, he became the most influential person among the four princes of the Warring States Period.
Special times provide special soil for the cultivation of nourishers. In these troubled times of the Warring States period, when heroes were vying for hegemony, the popularity of raising scholars formed a colorful watercolor, leaving a strong mark on history.
