Yan State.
This is one of the oldest states in the Xia Dynasty. It was entrusted by King Su more than 800 years ago. Jicheng, the current capital of Yan State, was formerly the capital of Ji State. It was also an ancient state more than 800 years ago. .
The old marks on this city and the moss growing in the dark corners of the walls all bear witness to this vast history. If you look closely, you will see that there are many small holes on the city wall, which were made by blunt and sharp weapons. Traces of this city protected the Yan people under the blades of Congrong Hu in the ancient years.
Among the Xia kingdoms, Yan has always been an outsider.
Almost all the major events among the Xia kingdoms have nothing to do with the Yan state. Even the Ji Jiang alliance and the Yan state are just a plus.
For more than 800 years, the most glorious thing of the Yan State was to attack the Rong and Hu in the north and expand the territory thousands of miles, but those thousands of miles were directly given to him by the Qi State.
Because the land was not fertile enough and the population was sparse, other countries had already wiped out the surrounding barbarians and began to compete for world hegemony. The Yan State was still in the process of clearing out the Rong and Hu tribes.
In order to repel the Rong and Hu, the nobles of Yan State chose to kill the monarch who insisted on going to war with Qi. The reason was naturally not the so-called friendly relations, but because the Hu people were a serious concern.
So many years have passed, with the help of a gradually increasing population and continuous natural disasters.
The Yan State finally temporarily wiped out the Shanrong, Donghu, Linhu and other northern nomadic tribes that posed a huge threat to the security of the northern border.
The State of Yan finally had the energy to look beyond the Xia and participate in the chessboard of world domination.
In the palace, the contemporary Marquis of Yan was nearly forty years old, with a rugged appearance unique to the North. After conquering Donghu, the Marquis of Yan issued his own aspirational words to the entire Yan Kingdom.
"My lords.
More than five hundred years have passed since Duke Huan of Qi became the first to take over. The Yan State has been clearing out the Rong and Hu tribes for the Xia Dynasty, living like savages in the north.
Look at our clothes, the skins of wild beasts, look at our crowns, the bones of beasts taken from the barbarians.
Look further south at all the countries in the world. Qi, Jin, Qin, Chu and Luo are wearing gorgeous clothes and wearing crowns awarded by the emperor.
Even if the Jin Kingdom is divided into three parts, the three kingdoms of Zhao, Wei and Han are still powerful countries in the Central Plains. This is a kind of naked discrimination against the Yan Kingdom.
Even the Wu State, located in the south of the Yangtze River and a barbarian land, once defeated the capital of the Chu State and shocked the Xia, but the Yan State was ignored for five hundred years.
My lords, can the State of Yan tolerate this kind of neglect?
Will the Yan Kingdom live in the ice and snow in the north forever, watching the Central Plains countries sing and I will appear?
The Yan State is a noble family with the surname Ji! "
When these righteous and awe-inspiring words were spoken, the officials of Yan State naturally shouted in unison, "No!"
Marquis Yan had a cheerful smile on his face, "Now all the Xia countries are strong and prosperous because of the reform.
Yan State is located in a remote area and has a small population. If it wants to become strong, it also needs to recruit talents and implement reforms.
Promulgating laws and recruiting talented scholars from all over the world can only propose strategies to strengthen the country, and they will not hesitate to reward them. "
The Marquis of Yan wanted to reform, not only to strengthen the Yan Kingdom, but also to strengthen the monarch's power.
Among other countries, Qi's political system is inherently weird. In addition, Qi's Legal family is a weird one among Legalists, so it has little reference value.
Zhao, Wei, Han, Qin and Chu all followed the Legalist approach of the Three Jin Dynasties. Without exception, the power of the monarch was greatly improved. This was the result that Marquis Yan most wanted to achieve.
However, the eyes of many nobles were full of coldness. Of course, the conservative nobles knew that the reform would profoundly affect their interests.
When the Wei State just reformed, everything was still being explored, and the nobles of the Wei State were eventually taken away from their power step by step.
But now all the countries are undergoing reforms. Although the emphases of each country are different, they all reach the same goal. The system of Shiqing Shilu has been abolished in all countries except Chu.
For the old aristocrats, this is simply digging out their roots. The most important thing is to feel aggrieved.
The old aristocracy did not recognize the Legalist idea of the supremacy of the monarch. For thousands of years, all countries have been governed by aristocrats. As a result, suddenly a group of people said that the country only needs a monarch, not incompetent aristocrats.
If it is really all about allowing talented people at the bottom to have an upward path, then why can’t the position of king be chosen from talented people at the bottom?
Why is the bloodline inheritance of the king's position reasonable, but the bloodline inheritance of the ministers' position is a moth that hinders the prosperity of the country?
God gave orders to the emperor, and the emperor gave orders to the princes, and the princes gave orders to ministers and officials. Now the princes want to take back their orders. This is the answer given by Legalism.
King Su said that the emperor was appointed, which is indeed correct.
But when the princes receive orders from the emperor, they really don't have any shame. When you slap the emperor in the face, you don't show any mercy.
On a dark and windy night, the Marquis of Yan was sleeping soundly in the palace. In his dream, he dreamed that the Yan State would become stronger and stronger after the reform, and that the Yan State's army would move south.
Suddenly there was a loud noise that woke him up from his sleep. He sat up angrily and roared: "Who is making noise in the palace?"
"Bang!"
The door of the dormitory was kicked open heavily, and then a corpse covered with blood fell directly in. At this time, Yan Hou finally heard clearly the noisy sounds, the sound of swords clashing, and countless screams.
After decades, the officials of the Yan Kingdom staged another coup!
Marquis Yan's face instantly turned pale, his whole body was limp, and he could not muster any strength. His teeth were chattering and trembling. Fear filled his heart. As for his ambitions, he had long forgotten them.
He could only keep mumbling, "If the guards in the palace are not so fragile, how could they..."
A large number of torches outside the dormitory illuminated the entire palace as if it were daytime. The person in charge of the coup finally came in front of the Marquis of Yan. It was the Prime Minister of the Yan State!
After Yan Hou saw Prime Minister Yan, he immediately shouted loudly: "Prime Minister, are you going to kill Gu Gu?
Aren't you worried about leaving a reputation for regicide in history? "
There was no joy of victory on Xiang Yan's face. After all, he really needed to bear the crime of regicide.
He didn't dare to kill the historian, so he was naturally in a bad mood.
So he said in a cold voice: "Your Majesty, the reason why today's swordfight is happening is because you want to change the law. Isn't it your fault?"
Marquis Yan was about to say something to delay time, but he did not expect that the Prime Minister knew that too much nonsense would lead to misfortune, so he just waved his hand and left here.
Marquis Yan's pupils were wide open, and he watched helplessly as two broad-shouldered soldiers came over with swords dripping with blood. He wanted to ask for help, but was stabbed to the core by the two men.
In the end, he fell into a pool of blood with a face full of reluctance. The dream of wanting to reform and prosper really became a dream, dissipated in the night wind full of blood.
A large number of old nobles who followed Prime Minister Yan cheered, "Prime Minister, I really didn't expect to be able to kill the king so smoothly. After establishing a new king, and then kill those nobles who agree with the reform, no one will dare to propose reform again." ”
Horrible killings are indeed effective under certain circumstances. The old nobles are trying to scare those in the Yan Kingdom who want to reform through killings.
But their thinking is too simple. Reform is never about wanting to change or not wanting to change, but the development of productivity drives the need for change!
To remain unchanged is to die, even the Luo Kingdom is changing.
Although there is no large-scale reform on the surface, that is because the Luo State Office has always kept abreast of the situation among the people of Luo State.
Over the past eight hundred years, the country's policies have been adjusted little by little to adapt to the new national conditions.
The Luo Kingdom's reform lasted for eight hundred years before it achieved the stability it has now.
The conservative aristocrats of the Yan Kingdom thought that they could stop the reform through just one killing. That was really too fanciful.
Noisy sounds suddenly came from outside the palace, and Prime Minister Yan and others were shocked. What happened?
Then a clear voice came, "The thief plans to kill the king. Follow me into the palace immediately and rescue the king."
Prince Ping!
Everyone was shocked, why did he appear here?
The conservative nobles were unwilling to give up their own interests, but the prince, who had the desire to strengthen the country in his heart, refused to agree.
Tai Ziping had been waiting for this opportunity to wipe out the old nobles in one fell swoop. When he learned of the changes in the old nobles, he immediately began to mobilize his troops and prepare to have a hand of oriole behind him.
The crime of regicide!
This was enough for Tai Ziping to uproot the entire old aristocratic system. In the past, the Chu State only shot arrows at the monarch's corpse, and the new Chu princes used this to kill so many nobles.
The benefits that this man could bring from regicide made Prince Ping's body tremble with excitement.
"Father, it is your wish to make the Yan Kingdom strong and prosperous. Your son and minister will definitely realize it for you. You must protect your son and minister from the nine heavens and protect the prosperity of the Yan Kingdom."
Those emerging nobles who hoped to abolish the Shiqing Shilu system and gain more political power followed Tai Ziping and brazenly launched a war against the conservative nobles of Yan State.
This is a struggle for power. Students of legalists, military strategists, and political strategists have seized power in all countries, and now it is the turn of Yan.
Yan Xiang soon realized that his people seemed to be taken advantage of by the prince, and his face instantly turned pale and he felt a little embarrassed.
Tai Ziping came with the real elite of the palace, and naturally he could not be stopped by the private soldiers of Marquis Yan and others. As the army pressed forward, the old nobles saw that the situation was over, and they all thought of escaping.
Prince Ping rushed into the dormitory and saw his father lying in a pool of blood. He rubbed his eyes and burst into tears. He threw himself on Yan Hou and cried: "Father!"
He cried bitterly several times, and his voice became hoarse. His ministers cried in unison: "Prince, the king was harmed by thieves, and now we still need you to take charge of the overall situation.
If something unexpected happens to you, will Yan still have a future? "
The prince wiped away his tears and said harshly: "Kill all those rebellious thieves, throw their flesh and blood into the wilderness, and let wild beasts trample them!"
…
The success of Yan's reform was due to the killing of a large number of old nobles in the coup. This form of killing all the opponents before the reform had a profound impact on later generations.
After the reform of Yan State, an unprecedented power appeared in the north of Qi State, which caused immeasurable changes to the situation of the world. ——"Collection of the Warring States Reform"
(End of chapter)
