After the three kingdoms were divided into Jin, South Korea had the smallest territory, so South Korea turned its attention to Zheng State, which bordered its country. The State of Zheng was originally sandwiched between the State of Jin and the State of Chu. When the State of Jin became stronger, the State of Zheng followed the State of Jin, and when the State of Chu became stronger, the State of Zheng followed the State of Chu.
But in the past few decades, the Chu State was almost destroyed by the Huai State in a battle, and the Jin State was also divided into three in the blink of an eye. The two great powers declined almost simultaneously.
Zheng Guo also wanted to cheer up and revitalize national affairs, while South Korea also wanted to expand. The two sides were at odds with each other, and it didn't take long for South Korea to start fighting with Zheng Guo.
On the other side, Wei State can be said to have obtained most of the Jin State's territory, but almost all of these lands were the places of the Four War. It borders the State of Qin to the west, the State of Qi and Song Dynasty to the east, the State of Chu to the south, and the State of Zhao to the north. It is truly the land of the Four Wars.
The Qin State had always wanted to leave Hangu Pass in the east. After the Jin State was divided, it immediately felt that this was an opportunity. Therefore, in the next few years, Qin State was at odds with Wei State.
Qin's idea was right. After Wei was the only one left, it was indeed difficult for Wei to resist Qin. After seeing the disintegration of its old rival Jin, Qi also wanted to gain some benefits from Wei.
Wei State had been fighting for years, emptying the treasury and losing troops and generals, so it was eager to find a way to become stronger. At this time, reform came into his sight.
Huaiguo's reform brought about the peak of national power. When it comes to the power of Huaiguo's reform, many overlords in the state and Zhou Dynasty have a say.
In addition to the Huai State, even the Chu State also restored its strength through reforms. The Marquis of Wei immediately no longer hesitated and began to recruit wise men in an attempt to reform.
The Kingdom of Wei has reached a critical moment, and because the Kingdom of Wei was first established, there are not many nobles in the country. This made the opposition to Wei Hou's implementation of reforms much smaller.
In the Huaiguo Academy, various schools of thought formed many different schools after long-term debates. Although the Huai Kingdom also promoted Legalism, the Legalism it promoted was not the most hegemonic. The Legalist school promoted by the Huai Kingdom believed that the people's power should not be exhausted and should be used to ensure the livelihood of the people.
In the Academy's deduction, some Legalist disciples have pushed the Legalist technique of controlling the people to the extreme, using the technique of strengthening the country to the extreme, pursuing the exhaustion of the people's power and stimulating the national power to its peak.
This lineage of Legalist scholars was called the art of domineering and farming and warfare by Wang Jin. If this method is used, even a small country can be strong for a while. However, it is too domineering and rigid, and it cannot last long. It is easy to break after a short period of time. Once it reaches its peak, it will decline only for a moment, and its prosperity will be sudden and its demise will be sudden.
But the Legalist students who studied the art of hegemony did not think so. They believed that as long as the country was strong, all this was worth it.
After the hegemony technique of the Legalist school was created, it has been shelved by the Huai Kingdom. In order to strengthen the country, the Marquis of Wei implemented reforms, which attracted a large number of Legalist and Confucian students.
This lineage of Legalists was headed by Li Kui. After Li Kui came to Wei, he talked with the Marquis of Wei in detail for three days and nights, answering all the questions that the Marquis of Wei had. The Marquis of Wei was overjoyed and appointed Li Kui as prime minister to preside over the reform of Wei.
Li Kui was favored by the Marquis of Wei, and he was so grateful to the Marquis of Wei that he immediately summoned his disciples to carry out reforms. The first reform was to abolish the hereditary system of nobility. As soon as this system came out, it immediately caused an uproar in the Wei Kingdom.
All official positions in the Wei State were used to recruit talented people. The nobles objected one after another, but at this time, the Marquis of Wei showed his iron-blooded side. More than 40 noble families jointly submitted a letter to object. A large number of nobles in the Wei Kingdom shouted slogans to kill Li Kui. It seemed that the world was about to be in chaos.
At this time, the Marquis of Wei showed his decisiveness. Without waiting for the situation to continue to develop, the Marquis of Wei quickly cut through the mess. He sent troops to surround these officials and nobles that day, and then ordered the families of these people to be completely strangled.
For a time, there were cries and shouts everywhere in the entire Wei capital.
The army was dispatched, and the Marquis of Wei directly killed all the more than forty ministers and nobles. Such a harsh method instantly suppressed the nobles in the country, and then wiped them out and dismissed them all. Take out the wealth of these nobles and use it to recruit talents.
In order to recruit talented people from all over the world, the Wei State almost tried its best. Not only did they use the wealth of these nobles, but various official positions seemed to be free of charge. As long as you have talent, you can be reused in Wei State.
See
The Marquis of Wei was so determined that a large number of talented people came to Wei. .
The reforms implemented by Li Kui were simple and effective, but they were too seeking success.
After the abolition of the aristocratic system, national taxes were raised and a new tax system was prepared.
At this time, the well-field system was still implemented in the Zhou Dynasty, especially in the Wei State, which had just split from the Jin State.
In fact, the well-field system is now in name only. Among the countries, only the Huai Kingdom has abolished the well-field system. Li Kui's reform naturally aimed to abolish the backward well-field system, distribute land to the people, encourage people to reclaim wasteland, allow land trading, and vigorously promote cattle farming. and re-enact new tax laws.
After the people obtained land, their enthusiasm for farming increased greatly, and the state treasury collected more money and grain.
The third is legislation, which has complete regulations on national laws, official promotions, and military merit awards.
The fourth step is to strengthen the army. We will provide various policy preferences for the army, improve the treatment of soldiers, reward bravery in combat, and provide tax exemptions and exemptions for soldiers. A series of reforms were rapidly promoted in the Wei State, which rapidly increased the strength of the Wei State.
The Huai State is very concerned about the Wei State. After all, the Huai State is also very curious about the Legalist hegemony that the Wei State is promoting.
Sure enough, in the fourth year after the Wei State implemented the reform, the Wei State began to attack the Qin State, and defeated the Qin State in one battle, beheading 30,000 people, the world was shocked, and the Qin State was beaten into a state of embarrassment.
Wang Pu looked at the information compiled in his hand and couldn't help but sigh: "This method of strengthening the army is indeed powerful, not inferior to our Huaiguo Tengjia Army and Yulin Guards!"
"It's just that the State of Wei is not the State of Jin after all. It has a limited area. Although it can be strong for a while, it has little staying power." After circulating it, everyone quickly found the shortcomings of the State of Wei.
In order to encourage people to join the army, Wei State made its soldiers brave and good at fighting. Many benefits were given, such as exemption from corvee and tax reduction. These benefits can still be enjoyed even after retirement.
It seems good now, but decades later, after soldiers retire or die in battle, these tax benefits will still be enjoyed, so more and more people will receive preferential treatment, and the country's tax revenue will naturally decrease.
As long as there is a big defeat, the Wei army will suffer heavy losses and it will be almost impossible to continue. At the same time, Wei's financial resources will be greatly reduced.
If the land of the Wei State is large enough, just like the Jin State in the past, if this method is implemented, the Jin State can dominate the world. However, the Wei State is not the Jin State after all, and its potential is limited. How can it be exploited for a long time?
