"Use public opinion to defeat public opinion?"
Ying Zheng and Fu Su looked at a loss for this novel term.
Zhao Hao smiled and said: "Father and eldest brother, do you still remember the article "Lü Xiang Jue Qin" about Jin Ligong's attack on Qin?"
""Prime Minister Lu Jue Qin"?"
Ying Zheng and Fu Su frowned at the same time. They naturally knew this century-old famous article, which can be called the source of propaganda.
In 580 BC, Duke Li of Jin and Huan of Qin agreed to form an alliance in the land of Linghu. After the Qin and Jin siege of Zhengzhou in 630 BC, the Qin and Jin families parted ways, and their relationship changed from good friends to enemies. This happened nearly half a century later. The first time they showed kindness to each other.
Of course, in fact, both have their own thoughts.
Duke Li of Jin had just succeeded to the throne and hoped to ease the relationship between the two parties and gain time for development. Naturally, Duke Huan of Qin did not want to give up the opportunity to fight for hegemony, so he pretended to form an alliance, but actually paralyzed the Jin state and took the opportunity to make a sneak attack.
After the alliance ended, Qin and the Di people launched an attack on Jin.
Of course, the Di people were also half-hearted. In 601 BC, Jin also attacked Qin with the Di people.
The results were similar twice and neither succeeded.
The next year, the Jin army defeated the Di people.
The third year is 578 BC.
Duke Li of Jin believed that the time was ripe and decided to suppress Qin in one fell swoop, and united Qi, Lu, Song, Wei, Zheng, Cao, Zhu, Teng and other countries to attack Qin.
Judging from Qin's treacherous behavior alone, the Jin army already had sufficient reasons to provoke a war against Qin.
However, this article "Lü Xiang Jue Qin" can overwhelm the Qin state in public opinion to a greater extent, guide the Jin army and its coalition forces to be more indignant, and achieve a complete victory in the public opinion war.
The Jin State used the war of public opinion to package a battle for hegemony into a just war. The Qin army became a barbarian prince who bullied the weak, while the Jin army was always passively involved in the war.
It is worth noting that "Lü Xiang Jue Qin" even weakened the victory or defeat of the battle, making the world think that although the Qin army was defeated, it was an honor, but in fact the Jin army had more victories than defeats, in order to strengthen its image as a passive player.
In 578 BC, Duke Li of Jin personally commanded the four armies of the Jin state and the coalition of princes defeated the Qin army and returned victorious.
From the sufficient preparation in public opinion to personally leading the coalition of princes, he fought a well-prepared and victorious battle with remarkable results.
Two years later, Duke Huan of Qin died, and one year later, Duke Li of Jin defeated the Chu army in the Battle of Yanling, restarting Jin's path to hegemony.
Seeing Ying Zheng and Fu Su come to their senses, Zhao Hao continued: "Actually, what I want to do is similar to Jin Li Gong!"
"Those people use public opinion to try to undermine the imperial decree. We can also use public opinion to suppress it. It depends on who has the greater influence! Who is more credible!"
"The few fugitive doctors in the Doctor's Palace, as well as the various Confucian schools, are just a minority group, and the real key point lies in the common people and the aristocracy."
"They are the main body of public opinion!"
"If we want to use public opinion to defeat public opinion, we must guide their speech so that they can be used by us and not be used by people with malicious intentions!"
Ying Zheng: "......"
Fusu: "......"
The two of them were silent.
Zhao Hao couldn't help but ask: "Do you understand?"
"Brother Hao, go ahead and don't worry about us."
Fusu raised his hand in embarrassment.
Ying Zheng said angrily: "Stop talking nonsense and speak quickly!"
"Okay, let me give you an example. It should be easier to understand the power of public opinion!"
Zhao Hao scratched his head and said: "For example, in the southern expedition to Baiyue, our Great Qin needed soldiers from the six countries to build the Ling Canal, but how many people from the six countries knew the importance of building the Ling Canal?
Or, how many people know the harm Baiyue does to the land of China? "
Ying Zheng: "......"
Fusu: "......"
"To tell you what my father and elder brother don't like to hear, I'm afraid that the soldiers who were recruited from the Six Kingdoms didn't regard those Yue people as human beings at all, and they were probably no more than monkeys in the mountains;
They even think that our Great Qin army cannot even defeat a group of monkeys, and it wastes people and money, and is not as good as the soldiers of the Six Kingdoms! "
Ying Zheng: "......"
Fusu: "......"
"In this case, you say, who has the final say on whether the construction of Lingqu can be good or bad?"
"this....."
Fusu looked hesitant and looked at Ying Zheng subconsciously. He felt that it was his father who had the final say.
But Ying Zheng had no expression on his face and looked at Zhao Hao quietly.
He knew that this kid couldn't produce ivory from a dog's mouth, so there was no need for him to "humiliate himself."
Sure enough, when Zhao Hao saw that Ying Zheng and the others did not answer, he thought to himself and said: "Obviously, the nobles of the Six Kingdoms and the officials of the Six Kingdoms have the final say!"
"?"
Fusu and Ying Zheng frowned at the same time, and a question mark slowly appeared on their foreheads.
When they thought about it, what aristocratic families and officials from the six countries would dare to slander the imperial decree? Could it be that he is tired of living?
Does the State of Qin have special criminal laws to punish these people?
However, Zhao Hao ignored the doubts in their hearts and continued: "These people may be insignificant in front of Emperor Father, but their influence in the local area is much greater than Emperor Father;
If they say that repairing the Ling Canal is a waste of people and money, the slaves of the Six Kingdoms will believe them; if they say that the father is cruel and unkind, the slaves of the Six Kingdoms will believe them..."
At this point, he paused and said solemnly: "This is the power of public opinion!"
Ying Zheng: "......"
Fusu: "......"
The two fell into silence again.
Zhao Hao continued: "We can look down on them, but we must not underestimate them, because words make gold, but accumulation destroys bones!"
"They not only represent the local people of the Six Nations, but also interpret the imperial decrees on behalf of our Great Qin. After all, our Great Qin's decrees, even if they are based on the county system, do not go to the countryside!"
"With them obstructing us in the countryside, there will be too many variables. What's more, the remnants of the Six Nations are lurking among them!"
"If we do not guide public opinion in a timely manner, if this continues, I am afraid that Daqin will..."
"I'm afraid what will happen?"
Fusu interrupted eagerly.
Zhao Hao looked at him, then at Ying Zheng, and shook his head silently.
The death of the Second Emperor of Qin, in Zhao Hao's opinion, may also be due to public opinion getting out of control.
After the Qin State unified the six countries, it carried out various ideological and cultural controls, such as unifying writing, establishing virtues, forcing ethnic integration, burning books, etc.
Although the term public opinion had not been clearly mentioned at that time, the things Qin did were indeed related to controlling public opinion.
In order to maintain the autocratic monarchy, we strengthened the autocratic rule of thought and public opinion, combined the unity of the entire country with the unity of national culture, governed the country in an arbitrary and authoritative way, and established a new unified dynasty.
However, in the later development, as the First Emperor's arbitrary control of cultural and public opinion, the people's consciousness was buried in the shackles of the dynasty's autocracy, causing the entire country to become complacent.
His failure to listen to public opinion aggravated social conflicts, and eventually he died.
When Zhao Hao proposed guiding public opinion, he actually wanted to make reasonable use of public opinion, not blindly control and act arbitrarily.
After a moment of silence, Ying Zheng looked deeply at Zhao Hao, frowned and said, "So, guiding public opinion really benefits the country and the people?"
"It's natural."
Zhao Hao said solemnly and earnestly: "Although public opinion cannot directly kill people, it can kill more than a million soldiers!"
"good!"
Ying Zheng clapped his hands enthusiastically: "In this case, we, the Qin Dynasty, must control the power of public opinion!"
