In fact, it was not easy for Li Si to successfully convince King Qin. First of all, Li Si was also on the list of deportees ordered by King Qin. There was no sufficient evidence to prove his innocence. This embarrassing status made it difficult for Li Si to defend himself. Secondly, the King of Qin is not an easy person to deal with. Li Si must have a good grasp of the scale and be rigorous in his words when seeking skin from a tiger, otherwise it will definitely be a thankless task. Thirdly, the Zheng Guoqu incident had a profound impact on the Qin State, and it would not be possible to eliminate the impact overnight.
However, Li Si came with full of hope, but his ambition was not fulfilled, so he was naturally unwilling to leave Qin. Even if other countries gave him more generous treatment, they could not give him the opportunities of a country as powerful as Qin. Therefore, Li Si could only risk his own life to remonstrate and write a letter to speak out. Li Si wrote:
"I heard today that the officials of the Qin State, big and small, are all restless. They think that the guest ministers are harmful to the country. They think that they are all dedicated to becoming spies for their own country and come to harm the interests of the Qin State. I am not talented and I secretly think that this is the case. This idea is really ridiculous."
"I think back to the time when Duke Mu was so heroic and dominating the world, how he cherished talents and knew how to use talented people in an eclectic way. In order to strengthen the Qin State, Duke Mu continued to consolidate the foundation of the Qin State, and then spread all over the country. Visiting Xirong, I finally got Yu; I went up and down Wan, and I got hundreds of miles of Xi; I welcomed Uncle Jian to Song, asked for Pi Bao to Jin, searched for Gongsun's branch, and surrendered to Qin from Jin."
"These five people have one thing in common, that is, they are all from foreign countries. Duke Mu appointed them without hesitation, so that more than 20 tribes of Xirong were able to submit to the Qin State, and the Qin State was able to lay a foundation and dominate the northwest. Duke Mu became the leader in one leap One of the Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period."
"Since the three families were divided into the Jin Dynasty, Wei and Qi have become stronger one after another. Qin is about to lag behind the eastern countries, and the land west of Hexi has also fallen into the hands of Wei. When using foreign troops, troops and territory are always lost, and the old Qin people fight privately. It became the trend and the country was decadent. At this time, Qin Xiaogong appeared and saved the Qin State. He overcame all opinions and had unique insight. He let Shang Yang, a frustrated scholar in the Wei State, carry out reforms in the Qin State. After Shang Yang's reforms, Under the Qin Dynasty, the customs of the Qin State were changed, the people became rich and prosperous, and the country became rich and prosperous. The Qin State became a powerful country in the world. It occupied the high ground and looked at the Central Plains. It controlled the army and conquered the world. It attacked the Chu State first and captured them. The army then attacked Wei and captured their city. Qin was able to expand its territory; the Qin army also used this to show its power. The country was strong, the people were prosperous, and the world was waiting for help."
"Although Lord Shang died, his policies were continued in the Qin State. The kings of Qin in the past dynasties all respected the practice of governing the country by law. The people of Qin in the past dynasties knew the severity of Qin's laws and regulations; the officials of Qin in the past dynasties all knew their rights and responsibilities. In this way, Only then could Qin remain strong for thousands of generations."
"After Qin Xiaogong died, King Hui was able to dominate the Qin Kingdom and search for talents from all directions. The appearance of a person made the Qin Kingdom more powerful. This person was Zhang Yi. King Qin Hui used his strategy to merge with Bashu from the west and capture Sanchuan; Capturing Shangjun in the north, the Wei State gained control; occupying Hanzhong in the south, including the barbarians, even the capitals of Chu State, Yan and Ying, were in the hands of Qin State, and the king of Chu State also became a little bird and trapped beast in Qin State's cage; the Qin army Then he moved towards the east, occupied the dangerous land of Chenggao, and separated the rich land so that Qin could rest and recuperate. The alliance of the six kingdoms was dissolved, and all the countries surrendered to Qin in the west. "
"This situation has continued to this day and has not changed. The other kings of Qin were wise and powerful, so I will not go into details here. Let's just talk about King Zhaoxiang of Qin. He appointed without hesitation and without hesitation the people who had escaped from Wei. Prime Minister. In addition, the King of Qin also used his strategy and wisdom, iron fist and iron blood to depose Ranghou and expel Huayang Lord. The Qin Kingdom was strengthened and private power was put to an end. Many years later, Qin invaded the lands of other countries. , defeated the military power of the princes, and the Qin State finally became the glorious state it is today, with an unbreakable foundation and a solid position."
"The four kings mentioned above are undoubtedly decisive, wise, and talented people, but they still need to rely on the power of Ke Qing. From this point of view, Ke Qing has no fault in Qin. Just imagine, if the four All the kings are just like now, expelling guests from other countries and alienating scholars and talents. How can Qin be as strong and wealthy as it is now?"
"For example, now the king is carrying the precious jade from Kunshan, wearing precious beads and jade, a bright moon bead on his chest, and a Tai'a sword on his waist. His car is a Xianli horse, with a green phoenix flag erected and beating the leather. Drum. Like the guests, most of them are not native to Qin, but the king is not dissatisfied because they come from foreign countries. What is the reason for this?"
"According to the current views of the ministers, as long as they are guests from other vassal states, they will be discarded and expelled from Qin. So does the king also have to use products produced by Qin? Beautiful luminous jade cannot decorate the court; exquisite The rhinoceros horns and ivory utensils must be discarded. The beauties of Zheng and Wei must not be in the harem. The stables outside the palace cannot raise fine horses. The gold and tin from the south of the Yangtze River must not be used as the treasure of Qin. The utensils and paintings of Xi Shu must be discarded or returned."
"Furthermore, how many products of the Qin State that decorate the harem, entertain the mind, and satisfy the eyes and ears come from other countries and regions. Could it be that the Qin State just discarded them all like this? If so, the hairpin with the beads embedded in it, your Majesty It should be thrown away; the princess should throw away the earrings with pearls; everyone should take off the clothes made of Dong'a silk; the beautiful ornaments can only be thrown away. Even those that turn vulgarity into elegance , beautiful and beautiful Zhao women, they should not be allowed to stand beside the king."
"The music of Qin is authentic, beautiful and pleasing to the eye. Your Majesty, you should listen more to the sound of banging earthenware pots. The original bamboo zither is the truly elegant art. Slapping your thighs and humming is what Qin has to offer." Real music. As for the folk music of Zheng, Wei and Sangjian, your Majesty will definitely not be able to listen to it; your Majesty will definitely not watch the court music and dance of Shao, Yu and Wuxiang. It is not from Qin, so how can it be used in Qin?"
"But the reality of the Qin State is not like this. If you don't see it, the Qin State has long abandoned the traditional urn playing and turned to the music of Zheng and Wei. It has also stopped playing the ancient zither and listened to the elegant music of Shao and Yu. , what is the reason for this? It is nothing more than making the people of Qin feel more comfortable and live more comfortably."
"However, looking back at the Qin State's employment policy, it is exactly the opposite of the things that are enjoyed in life. It does not ask about merits and demerits, does not care about right and wrong, regardless of relatives or friends, and does not see the merits. As long as they are not Qin people, they will be expelled. This kind of policy makes people feel It’s unbelievable. Could it be that in the King of Qin’s heart, he only cared about beauties, gold and silver treasures, jewelry and jades, music and dances for enjoyment, but he didn’t pay any attention to the people of Qin, its future, and the talented people in the world? This kind of thing? How can we conquer the feudal lords, dominate the world, encompass the four seas, and encompass the entire universe by doing so?"
"I believe that only when the land is broad and fertile can the country be rich and abundant in food; only when the country has a large population can the army be in sufficient numbers, well-trained, and fight bravely. How can you underestimate the world when you climb Mount Tai? That's it. Because Mount Tai can not reject a grain of foreign soil. How can the Yellow River and the sea be so majestic and wide? It is because they will not reject foreign water. Isn't this the case with kings? Only by widely accepting the common people can he promote his Virtue and Policy.”
"From this point of view, no matter which direction the land comes from, no matter which country the people come from, only if the weather is good in the four seasons, can the ghosts and gods send the gospel. In the past, when the three emperors and five emperors ruled the world, the world would be in great order; if they attacked the world, the world would be helpless. This is the reason in this way."
"But now the Qin State is preparing to abandon the people who are loyal to the king to help other hostile countries; dismiss all the guests and scholars, and go to other vassal states to make contributions. Such actions will be watched by the scholars in the world, and they will be ordered to How dare you be friendly to Qin? What's the difference between doing this and helping thieves and giving them weapons to steal your own grain?"
"The world is so vast that it is full of wonders. How many precious artifacts come from other countries, but Qin can regard them as its own treasures; how many beautiful girls come from vassal states, but Qin can treat them as its own and keep them close to each other." Isn't this the case with Zi Neng people? Some of them are indeed not good people. They must have ulterior secrets when they come to Qin. But how can your Majesty make generalizations? You must know that most people are more willing to be loyal to Qin. If If Qin insists on this strategy and expels scholars and guests from all directions, the strength of the enemy country will definitely increase greatly, and the number of people in the enemy country will definitely increase greatly. As a result, Qin will become increasingly weak, and other countries will take the opportunity to become stronger and stronger, and Qin will be offended even more. The people of the world and the princes of all directions. When that time comes, who can guarantee that Qin will not face annihilation?"
"I am not afraid of being simple. I hope your Majesty will think again."
The King of Qin was certainly not an ignorant person. After reading Li Si's brilliant and passionate letter, he couldn't help but feel happy. Qin has such talented people, so why worry about failing to accomplish great things?
As a result, the King of Qin made a decisive decision and canceled the order to expel guests. Li Si also took the opportunity to rise through the ranks and received greater attention from the King of Qin, becoming a Tingwei in charge of criminal laws. The State of Qin paid more attention to recruiting talents from the princes and reused guest ministers from various countries. Most of these people had the ambition to achieve great fame and great achievements. While becoming famous, they also made outstanding contributions to the great cause of the unification of the State of Qin. People such as Wang Jian, Li Si, Wang Qi, Mao Jiao, Wang Ben, Li Xin, Wei Liao, Wang Li, etc., during the era of Qin Shihuang, laid a strong foundation and solid foundation for the Qin State from politics to economy, culture to military. great deeds.
Wei Liaozi's happy life
The king of Qin swept Liuhe, what a majestic sight! Swing your sword to cut through the floating clouds, and all the princes will come to the west.
The clear judgment comes from the apocalypse, and the roughness leads to the talents. Withdraw the troops and cast the golden man, and open Han Valley due to the east.
Inscribed on the Kuaiji Ridge, galloping towards Langyatai. Seven hundred thousand prisoners were sentenced to Tulishan Kuma.
I still want to take the elixir, but my confusion makes my heart sad. A continuous crossbow shoots at sea fish, and a long whale looks at Cui Wei.
The forehead and nose resemble the Five Mountains, making waves and spraying clouds and thunder. The mane covers the blue sky, how can we see Penglai?
Xu City is carrying Qin's daughter. When will the boat return? But under the three springs, a golden coffin was buried with cold ashes.
——Li Bai's "The King of Qin Sweeps Liuhe"
This is the third poem in the "Ancient Style" poem by Li Bai, the poet of the Tang Dynasty. There are 24 sentences in the whole poem, which gives a relatively comprehensive evaluation of Qin Shihuang's life in terms of merits and demerits. His faults were of course extravagance, cruelty and harsh punishment, which ultimately led to the demise of Qin and Chu. On the other hand, it introduced the great historical achievements of Qin Shihuang: unifying the country and establishing the first empire in Chinese history. A powerful feudal unified empire.
The reason why Qin Wangzheng was able to complete his grand ambition of unifying the world was closely related first to his talents and strategies, and secondly to the assistance of many capable people, famous generals and wise ministers in the Qin State. When the King of Qin was in power, it was a critical moment for the decisive battle between Qin and the Six Kingdoms. It goes without saying that people such as Lu Buwei, Li Si, Wang Jian, Meng Tian and others made great contributions to the state of Qin. The person who really helped King Qin figure out the key to eliminating the princes of Shandong and formulate a strategy to unify the world was Wei Liao.
Regarding Wei Liao's life deeds, there are great discrepancies in historical records. One theory is that he was active during the historical period when the Wei State moved its capital from Anyi to Daliang, and he was a person during the period of King Hui of Wei. But another theory is that Wei Liao came to Qin in the tenth year of Qin Wangzheng (237 BC). There was a difference of more than 90 years. There were obviously two people named Wei Liao, but the intersection with Qin Wangzheng later was Really believable.
At this time, Qin State could easily defeat any vassal state in the east and beat them into submission. However, if they united, Qin State would have to temporarily avoid their attacks.
Wei Liao took a fancy to this, so after coming to Qin, he immediately suggested to the King of Qin, "Speaking of the current Qin State, it is extremely powerful. Compared with the Qin State, the princes of Shandong are like the magistrates of counties and counties. But if When they join forces, they will achieve unexpected results. Although Zhibo was a powerful minister in the Spring and Autumn Period and Jin Dynasty, he was eventually attacked and destroyed by Han, Zhao, Wei and other officials; although Fu Chai was the King of Wu in the late Spring and Autumn Period, he was eventually defeated. He was still killed by Yue King Gou Jian; although King Min was the king of Qi in the early Warring States Period, he would inevitably die because of the alliance of Yan, Zhao, Wei, Qin, etc. to break Qi. This was all the result of the alliance."
Therefore, Wei Liao suggested that the King of Qin should not be stingy with property, but only need to use it to bribe the powerful officials of various countries to disrupt their strategies and cause them to have a Xiaoqiang dispute. As long as this method is adopted, Qin will only lose hundreds of thousands of gold and silver treasures, but the princes will be destroyed one by one.
When King Qin heard this, he realized that Wei Liao was not only good at military affairs, but also had his own unique insights in diplomacy. His ideas coincided with Li Si's ideas. Therefore, Qin Wangzheng decided to make him his minister. From then on, he consulted him on many major matters and often listened to his opinions. Even in order to show his favor to Wei Liao, the King of Qin always treated Wei Liao with the courtesy of a student, allowing Wei Liao to enjoy the same clothing and food as him.
Wei Liao was not only able to maneuver on the battlefield and understand everything in diplomacy, but he was also able to make an objective and scientific analysis of Qin Wangzheng himself. He believes that Qin Wangzheng is "extremely cruel, lacking in kindness, and his heart is as vicious as a tiger or a wolf. In times of difficulty, he can treat others with humility, but if he is allowed to gain the world, Qin Wangzheng will definitely ignore the feelings of the people in the world, even those around him." People will also become his servants, and everyone in the world will become his slaves."
For the first time, Wei Liao publicly stated the essence of Qin Wangzheng's character, and every sentence was true and to the point. All this can be seen from the various tyranny implemented by the King of Qin after he unified the world. Since Wei Liao realized that the government of Qin could only share the hardships but not the blessings, he had the idea of leaving the King of Qin and the state of Qin.
Wei Liao did not intend to raise his own worth or look down on Qin, but he was worried about himself and the future fate of the entire world, so after he had the intention to leave, he left without any hesitation. But he didn't know that the entire world was under the control of Qin Wangzheng. How could a little Wei Liao escape from Qin Wangzheng's grasp?
As soon as Wei Liao walked out of Xianyang, a large group of people chased him, and he was ordered by the King of Qin to go back. The King of Qin at this time was indeed very wise. He knew that the country at this time was in a period of employment. Talents like Wei Liao were outstanding in politics, military, and even diplomacy. Qin Wangzheng would not let him leave no matter what. If he is allowed to leave and be used by other countries, Qin Wangzheng will kill him without hesitation.
Wei Liao finally agreed to stay in Qin. Qin Wangzheng put all his efforts into this. He rewarded Wei Liao with all kinds of gold, silver, jewelry, fine clothes, beautiful women, and BMWs to win his heart. He even promoted Wei Liao to the high-ranking official position of Guo Wei, in charge of The army of the whole country is in charge of Qin's comprehensive military affairs.
At this time, Wei Liao was still frightened. If he left again, King Qin would probably kill him on the spot. Now the King of Qin is treating him well, and Wei Liao doesn't want to be known as a general who doesn't know how to praise others, so he decides to stay in Qin and do his best to make suggestions for the great cause of Qin's unification.
Among all Wei Liao's achievements, the most significant is in the military field, especially his "Wei Liao Zi", which has a profound influence on ancient Chinese military thought.
"Wei Liao Zi" inherits and develops the military thoughts of "Sun Tzu" and "Wu Zi" and other military books, and at the same time has certain innovations in many ideological concepts. First of all, Wei Liao believes that in order to achieve final victory in a war, the economic foundation is the most important. Secondly, Wei Liao was unique in some strategic and tactical thoughts. For example, he advocated concentrating superior forces and waiting for the opportunity to annihilate the enemy. Another example is Wei Liao's insistence on Sun Tzu's idea of the balance between oddity and rightness in the Art of War, advocating that "the right troops should be the first, the strange ones should be the last, either first or last." Thirdly, Wei Liao formulated a set of military reward and punishment regulations with the characteristics of the times, especially advocating heavy punishment for those who were defeated, surrendered, and escaped from battle. In addition, Wei Liao also formulated a series of military regulations in the Art of War, such as the "Separation Order", "Jingzu Order", "Restraining Order", "General Order", "Heel Military Order", etc., which involved the military. Formations, the relationship between the army and the king, military orders, the deployment of follow-up troops, etc.
Wei Liao also formed a unique view of war in his military writings and practical actions of marching and fighting. For example, he put forward the progressive view that "the time of heaven's officials is not as important as human affairs". It can be seen that using the idealistic view of destiny to guide war is something that Wei Liao despises. Another example is Wei Liao's classification of wars into just and unjust wars. He firmly opposed unjust wars and supported just wars. He advocated that wars in which "the king fights rebellion" should be based on "benevolence and righteousness", while the war in which the Qin king unified the world It is to save the world from continuous wars and the war that makes the people miserable. But from the past to the present and into the future, all wars are rarely based on benevolence and justice. Another example is Wei Liao's belief that "war is a dangerous weapon, and fighting is contrary to morality." He warned the king not to start a war rashly, nor to store swords and guns in the treasury, and to let the horse go to the south. Abandoning the war will lead to disaster.
Since the Han Dynasty, the book "Wei Liao Zi" has been compiled and recorded many times, but the number of volumes and chapters are different. The number of volumes is divided into 5 and 6 volumes, and the number of chapters is 24, 29, The difference between 31 and 32 chapters. Historical research has proven that there are two main reasons for this situation: either it is lost in circulation, or the standard of dividing it into chapters is different.
Spread to this day, there are still 24 chapters in "Wei Liao Zi", which are: Tianguan Chapter, Military Talk Chapter, Zhitan Chapter, Zhanwei Chapter, Attack Quan Chapter, Shouyi Chapter, Twelve Tombs Chapter, and Wuyi Chapter. Chapter, General Chapter, Original Official Chapter, Zhiben Chapter, War Power Chapter, Severe Punishment Order Chapter, Wu Zhi Order Chapter, Separation Order Chapter, Shu Wu Order Chapter, Jingzu Order Chapter, Lezu Order Chapter, General Order Chapter, Heel Military Order, Part 1 of Military Education, Part 2 of Military Education, Part 1 of Military Order, Part 2 of Military Order. "Wei Liao Zi" is a valuable material for studying pre-Qin military strategies, doctrines, systems, etc. It still has certain guiding significance in modern warfare.
