warring states careerist

Chapter 768 Zheng Guoce
This old event originated from Mozi many years ago.

At that time, Duke Luyang was preparing to attack the State of Zheng, so he asked Mozi, who was traveling, for his opinion, that is, the time when Gong Zaoye won the battle with Duke Luyang Bi Ge and became famous all over the world.

At that time, Lord Wen of Luyang was about to attack Zheng, and Zimozi stopped when he heard about it. What about cattle and horses, dogs, hogs, cloth, silk, millet, and goods?" Lord Wen of Lu Yang said: "In the four territories of Lu, all are ministers of widows. Now most of them attack their small capitals, and everyone attacks their small homes. If the goods are stolen, the widow will punish them generously." Zi Mozi said: "The heaven has both the world and the world, just like the king has the four realms. Now raise troops to attack Zheng, and heaven will punish him. Not so much?" Lu Yang Wenjun said: "Sir, why don't I attack Zheng? I attack Zheng and obey the will of heaven. Zheng Ren III killed his father, and heaven punished him. If three years are incomplete, I will help heaven Punishment." Zi Mozi said: "Three generations of Zhengren killed his father, and Heaven punished Yan, so that three years would be incomplete, and Heaven's punishment is enough. Now raise troops again, and will attack Zheng, saying that I will attack Zhengye, and follow along." It is based on the will of heaven. For example, there is a person here whose son is strong and weak, so his father whips him, and the father of the neighbor's family lifts up a tree and strikes him, saying: "I will strike it in accordance with his father's will." Not against it!"

These words were just righteousness, and at that time many disciples of the Mohist school who were good at defending the city gathered near the state of Zheng, which was a pros and cons, which eventually led to the abort of Duke Lu Yang's plan to attack Zheng.

The reason why the public opinion in Sishang misinterpreted this passage four or five years ago after the turn of the public opinion was because it changed from "non-offensive" to "a world without attack is great gain".

The meaning of what Mo Zi and Duke Lu Yang said was actually very simple. Duke Lu Yang said Zheng Guo was guilty, and I was going to interfere with Zheng Guo.Mozi said it was like someone else's son didn't study hard, his father beat him with a stick, and you beat that child with a stick, saying that I obeyed his father's wishes, isn't that nonsense?
In other words, if the Mohist ideology had not been revised, a Heze version of the Westphalian system would have been possible at the time of the Heze League four years ago, in which all countries were equal regardless of their size, and no country could interfere in the internal affairs of other countries.

Putting Mozi's words on the earth thousands of years later, the truth is still there: I don't need other people to take care of my family.

The problem is that when Sishang became strong, Shi began to revise the thinking of the Mohists, because what the Sishang Mohism is doing now is that other people's children are not up to date, and they go up and beat them with a stick, and then they talk about it as the will of heaven. , which is a universally applicable truth in the world.

If you are poor, you will not interfere in internal affairs, if you are rich, you will obey the will of heaven to punish injustice.

To mention this story again at this time will inevitably require another explanation.

At this time, the monarchs and ministers of Zheng State talked about this sentence with the Mohist envoy in public, but it was actually a bit embarrassing to the Mohist envoy...

For example, in small countries such as Zong, Xue, Fei, etc., the Mohist not only "followed the will of heaven", but also directly changed the systems of the small countries.

The internal struggle of the Mohists has ended, and the appropriate revisionists have gained the upper hand. There are revised interpretations of Mozi's theories, just like non-attacks. Non-attacks can only treat the symptoms but not the root cause. Non-aggression is the most reliable way to solve non-aggression...

Of course, the Mohists also have their own explanations for this conversation.

Zheng Guo knew the meaning of the Mo family's coming to Zheng Guo at this time, and obviously wanted to use Zheng Guo to divert South Korea's attention.

The Mohists also knew that they were coming to Zheng Guo at this time, and it was easy for Zheng Guojun and his ministers to think of the Mohist's intentions.

But this is not important, the important thing is that Zheng Guo wants to be used, and the Mohist can just use it.

Whether Zheng Guo is guilty or not does not depend on Zheng, but on Han.

Zheng Guo didn't get close to the Mohist back then, but Wei and Han carve up the land. After experiencing the tragedy of losing half of the land in just 20 years, Zheng Guojun and his ministers have already figured it out.

It's just that the words of stopping Chu from attacking Zheng back then were actually a little embarrassing for the Mohist's envoy to say it at this time.

After a little embarrassment, the Mohist envoy hurriedly said: "At that time, Luyang Wenjun was only out of self-interest, and could not truly obey the will of heaven that the people are gods and solve the three problems of the people. Therefore, Zheng was ruled by Ji Zheng, It is no different from being ruled by Chu Mi, so it is unrighteous for him to fight for self-interest, so Zi Mozi stopped it."

The revised interpretation within the Mohist school is to strictly distinguish the difference between the Zheng people and the Zheng Gong clan, and use this as a logical and reasonable internal explanation for their future determination of the world.

Zheng Guojun and ministers don't care about these things. They mentioned this matter mainly to trigger the issue of Sishang's aid to Zheng this time. Hearing what the Mohist envoy said, a Ziyang Yudang said: "Decades have passed, the world is still the same, and the great country Most of the emperors do unrighteousness for self-interest, and there are too few people who can truly fight for righteousness like Sishang."

"Now South Korea is bent on annexing the State of Song, all out of Han Zong's self-interest. Although the State of Zheng is small, it also participated in the Heze Alliance in the past, and signed its own country's name on the Zhuxia War Law."

"The ruler and ministers of the state of Zheng know that they can't know the will of heaven, and they can't solve the three problems of the people. However, South Korea's entry into Zheng can't solve the people's misery. On the contrary, it makes the people suffer more from the war."

"Han has Yang Zhai and Negative Millet, stationed troops in Yingshui, only a hundred miles away from Zhengdu. If Han wants to, he can come there in a few days. The people of Zheng State hate Han. I also ask the Mohists to give a way to protect Zheng due to the suffering of the people in the war. "

The state of Zheng is really in crisis now. It doesn't mean that South Korea will give up its ambition to annex the state of Zheng if it does not participate in the affairs of the state of Song at this time and deliberately keeps a distance from the Mohists.

If you want to add a crime, is there no excuse?
If Wei and Han jointly intervene in Song State, Wei State will definitely use Zheng State's land to reward South Korea again, because Wei State at this time is no longer the Wei State when Wenhou was back then. Chu Duoyu Pass is also the time when allies are most needed.

Zheng Guojun and his ministers thought clearly, and the experience of the previous 20 years also told them that if they were guilty, a small country could not appeal.

Originally, Zheng Guo was full of expectations for the Heze meeting four years ago. He hoped that the Mohists would continue to uphold the non-aggressive ambition of that meeting, replace the collapsed Zhou ritual system with new international law, and maintain the countries with Sishang's military power. Peace.

However, four years ago, the Heze League brought despair to Zheng Guo. The Mohists never mentioned the equality of all countries, but vigorously advocated that the world will be unified as an irreversible trend, and it is a real solution to the pain of war.

This time the Mohist envoy came to Zheng Guo, which made Zheng Guojun and his ministers see a turning point.

The Mohist envoy thought for a while and said: "In the past when Qi attacked Lu, the Marquis of Lu asked Zi Mozi about his strategy to retreat from Qi. Zi Mozi said that three things must be done well."

"Earlier, the battle between Qilu and Cao GUI, surely you all know what you asked before the battle?"

Zheng Guojun and ministers naturally knew these two things.

In fact, these two things are not the same thing, but they are all analyzed according to specific circumstances.

There are three questions in Cao GUI's discussion.

Food and clothing, if you dare to specialize, you must divide people.Confrontation: "Xiaohui is not everywhere, and the people are not obedient."The Duke said: "If you sacrifice jade and silk, don't dare to add it, you must believe it."Confrontation: "Small faith is not fulfilled, and the gods are blessed."The duke said: Small and big prisons, although you can't detect them, you must use emotions.Confrontation: "Loyalty belongs to you, you can fight."Please follow the battle.

There are also three questions in Mozi's discussion.

I wish that the ruler above respects the heaven and the ghosts, and the below loves the common people, treats them generously, humbles orders, pays homage to all neighboring princes, drives the country and puts things in order, and the troubles can be saved.Otherwise, there is nothing to do.

Both Cao GUI and Mozi were facing the state of Lu, and they were also facing the battle between Qi and Lu, but the backgrounds of the three treatises mentioned by the two were different.

At the time of Cao GUI, it was not yet the Spring and Autumn Period, the country and the country were different, the battle of chariots was the main force, and the two armies were at war. As long as the people of the country were willing to fight, then it might not be impossible to win more with less, and at that time the gap between Qi and Lu was not too big. Qi State was defeated.

At the time of Mozi, the Spring and Autumn Period was over, there was no country, and tens of thousands of cities were besieged at every turn.

Mozi knew very well whether it was too late to obey the ghosts and gods or to benefit the people, so the suggestion he gave was to use diplomatic means to take advantage of the contradictions between countries to force Qi to retreat.

In the end, Cao GUI won the battle of Changshao, and Mozi also mobilized his disciples to lobby other countries to make Qi retreat, and all achieved the desired results.

What is happening in the state of Zheng now requires a specific analysis of the specific situation.

But the Mohist envoy had already said something, and asked: "Zi Mozi said that the superiors respect the heavens and ghosts, and the inferiors love the common people. This is actually the same thing."

"The Emperor of Heaven gave birth to human beings, so he hopes that the people will be healthy and prosperous. The people are gods, and the people will follow what the people want. Therefore, respecting heaven and ghosts is manifested in governing the country, which is to love the people."

"But I don't know whether the people in the state of Zheng have benefited? Have they ever gained love? If they gain love, they can fight. In the past, there was only Peiyi in Sishang, a land of hundreds of miles. The people gained love and benefit, and they could defeat Wei and Chu. , what about the country of five hundred li?"

After some words, Zheng Guojun and his ministers all bowed their heads and remained silent.

The Mohists have been talking about benefiting the people and loving the people, so how can it be considered as benefiting the people and loving the people?
Regardless of whether it is the Gong clan, Qi Mu, or the remaining party of Si Ziyang, what is the purpose of everything that Zheng Guo does?Isn't it for your own power and wealth?
Fortunately, Zheng Gongyi said: "It's not that I don't have the heart to love and benefit the people. It's just that South Korea has besieged Zhengdi and has been fighting every day since 30 years ago. If you want to fight, you need money, food, and military gifts, and the people will suffer."

"But if there is no war, then it will encourage the unrighteousness of the big countries, making the big and small, swallowing the weak and acting on the world, this is the way to make the world more painful. How can the widow encourage the growth of these unjust ambitions? ?”

"Besides, when Ziyang was in power in the past, he had a lot of heart for change, and the Mohists also appreciated it. However, with powerful enemies around, how dare he change?"

Although this is a scene, it is not without reason.

To change the law, it will inevitably touch the interests of the nobles. The struggle between the seven mus, even if Siziyang's party unites with the public to defeat the remaining six mus, and eat meat and drink soup for the common people, it will also make the people effectively die.

However, in the end, Si Ziyang was killed, Zheng's civil strife, Qi Mu defected, and went to Wei Han to become a doctor.

In response to such scenes, the Mohist envoy did not use the usual tone of the Xuanyi Department to criticize first, but said: "This is not an unreasonable rhetoric."

"Since it is too late to obey the ghosts and gods and benefit the people at this time, and to protect Zheng Guosheji so that Han Zong's ambition of fighting for self-interest cannot be achieved, this can only be considered diplomatic matters. This is what it means to urgently pay respects to the neighboring princes."

"However, South Korea's negative millet and Yang Zhai are both close to the capital of Zheng. Before the diplomatic affairs can be completed, the state of Zheng needs to do one thing. At the very least, it must have the ability to defend the capital, and at least be able to prepare for the Han army to besiege the capital for half a year. , other countries can support it. Otherwise, how can the city be destroyed in a few days, even if it is diplomatic to other countries?"

"It's because the matter itself is an internal matter of Zheng State. Internal matters cannot be resolved, and no amount of external support will be effective."

(End of this chapter)