China knows everything for 5000 years

Chapter 11

Su Qin went north to return to King Zhao. When he passed Luoyang, the capital of Zhou, the accompanying vehicles were full of luggage, and the princes of various countries sent many envoys to see him off.When King Zhou Xian heard the news, he quickly ordered people to clear the road that Su Qin was about to pass, and sent envoys to the suburbs to greet him.Su Qin's brother-in-law and wife also became very respectful when they saw him.

After Su Qin returned to Zhao State, Zhao Suhou named him Lord Wu'an, and he sent the covenant of alliance to Qin State. Qin State dared not send troops to invade the six countries for a long time.

●Zhang Yi's deceitful tricks
Zhang Yi and Su Qin are brothers, and they both worshiped Guiguzi as their teacher.After learning the skills, Zhang Yi also went to other countries to lobby. He heard that Yin Zhaoyang, the magistrate of the state of Chu, was recruiting wise men from all over the world to be his disciples, so he went to Zhaoyang and became his disciples.

The king of Chu once rewarded Zhaoyang with a piece of jade. He cherished it very much and often took it with him to enjoy.One day, after a big banquet in Zhaoyang, Zhaoyang took out jade biscuits and passed them on to everyone.After the banquet was over, the jade bi was found missing.At this time, someone said that Zhang Yi had stolen the jade bi.Zhaoyang asked someone to tie up Zhang Yi and beat him hard, making him admit to having stolen the jade bi, but he refused.Seeing that Zhang Yi was about to die from the beating, Zhaoyang told him to stop.Someone sent Zhang Yi home, and his wife wept distressedly and said, "I farm the land honestly at home, how can I suffer this kind of punishment?" Zhang Yi said weakly, "Don't be sad, you see, my tongue is still there. Is it?" His wife said angrily and amusedly: "You are still joking when you are hit so hard, can you still knock out your tongue?" Zhang Yi comforted his wife and said, "It's good if the tongue is not knocked out. As long as the tongue is still there I'm not afraid of anything."

Later, Zhang Yi couldn't get along in the state of Chu, so he went to the state of Qin, and told King Qin Hui of his "Lian Heng" pro-Qin strategy.The central meaning of "Lian Heng" advocated by Zhang Yi is: Qin State is too powerful, no matter which country, it can only win if it relies on Qin State, alliances with Qin State, and deals with other countries.

At this time, Chu State planned to form an alliance with Qi State to deal with Qin State together.Qi and Chu are both big countries. If they form an alliance, it will be a serious threat to Qin.Therefore, Zhang Yi asked King Qin to go to Chu to break up the alliance between Qi and Chu, and King Qin agreed.

In 313 BC, after Zhang Yi came to Chu State, he bought Jin Shang and other favorites of the King of Chu, and then went to see King Huai of Chu.After the two met, Zhang Yi used Qin's willingness to return the 600 miles of Shangyu (in today's Shaanxi and Henan) to Chu State as a bait to lure Chu and Qi to sever diplomatic relations.Fainted by Li Lingzhi, King Huai of Chu sent someone to break off diplomatic relations with Qi State, and at the same time sent envoys to follow Zhang Yi to Qin State to handle the land transfer procedures.

When he arrived in Qin State, Zhang Yi said that he only agreed to give Chu Liuli land.At this time, Qi State sent envoys to Qin State because of Chu State's betrayal of the alliance, and agreed to fight against Chu State together.When the king of Chu learned that Zhang Yi had deceived him, he was furious and ordered to send 10 troops to attack Qin.But Qin State had already made preparations, and Qi State also sent troops to help Qin State in fighting. As a result, the Chu army was defeated, and Qin State took all the land in Hanzhong of Chu State.Later, Zhang Yi used the same method to defraud the six countries, and as a result destroyed the plan of other countries to "joint vertical" resistance.

●Lin Xiangru returns to Zhao
In 283 B.C., King Huiwen of Zhao got a very precious piece of jade. According to legend, it was picked by Bian He, a native of Chu State, so it was also called "Heshibi".When the king of Qin heard that the state of Zhao had obtained Heshibi, he wanted to trick him into taking it as his own.So, the king of Qin sent an envoy to see King Zhao Huiwen, saying that the state of Qin was willing to exchange fifteen cities for the piece of Heshibi.

King Zhao Huiwen and his ministers all thought: If you give the jade to Qin, Qin may not keep its promise. If you get the jade, you will not give it to Zhao;After discussing for a long time, there was no good solution. King Zhao asked who would dare to go to Qin to complete the mission of changing the city to protect the wall. An eunuch named Miao Xian recommended his retainer Lin Xiangru.

King Zhao Huiwen asked people to invite Lin Xiangru to hear his opinion.Lin Xiangru said: "If the king trusts me, I am willing to go. If Qin Guo really gave us fifteen cities, I will leave the jade bi to them; Bring it back intact." In this way, Lin Xiangru brought the jade bi to the state of Qin.When the King of Qin heard that Zhao Guo had sent the jade bi, he hurriedly summoned the ministers of the court to meet Lin Xiangru in the palace.

Lin Xiangru presented the jade bi to the King of Qin, and the King of Qin played with it for a long time, but he didn't mention changing the city.Lin Xiangru stood aside, saw the scene in front of him, and thought: The king of Qin really has bad intentions, and he has no intention of giving us the city at all.So he stepped forward and said to King Qin: "Your Majesty, you may not have noticed that there is something wrong with Heshibi, please let me point it out to you."

After hearing what Lin Xiangru said, King Qin gave the jade bi to him.Lin Xiangru took the jade and stepped back a few steps, leaned against the pillar behind, stared round and angry, and said to King Qin: "My king knows that He's Bi is a rare treasure, because you like it, and you are willing to take ten pieces of it." Five cities in exchange, so you sent me here. But today, it seems that you are arrogant and insincere, wanting our jade, but don't want to give us the city. Now the jade is in my hand, if you You must force me, and I will smash the jade bi on the pillar together." As he said, he was about to smash the jade bi against the pillar.

Afraid that Lin Xiangru was going to smash the jade bi, the King of Qin hurriedly said, "Sir, please don't do this. How can I not count what I said?" Then he asked the left and right to fetch the map and put the [-] cities that he planned to give to the State of Zhao. Point it out to Lin Xiangru.Lin Xiangru saw through that the king of Qin was going to cheat him of the jade bi, so he said: "The king of our country fasted for five days in order to send this treasure, and when I was leaving, they held a grand farewell ceremony. If you are also Sincerely, you should fast in the same way before you can accept this jade bi." Qin Wang thought: You can't escape Xianyang anyway, so he agreed.

After returning to the post office in Qin State, Lin Xiangru asked his attendants to pretend to be poor people, hide the jade in his bosom, sneak out of Qin, and return the jade to Zhao intact.

After five days, King Qin's fast was over, and he summoned his ministers and foreign envoys to hold the ceremony of accepting the jade.Lin Xiangru walked to the palace calmly, and said to King Qin: "Since Duke Mu, there have been more than [-] monarchs in your country, but none of them can keep their promises. I am afraid that you will also deceive me, so that my Zhao country has lost its treasure. And you can’t get the cities of your Qin State, so I have already sent someone to bring the jade back to the country. If the King of Qin is sincere, you will first cede fifteen cities to our Zhao State. Your Qin State is a powerful country today, and our Zhao State How dare the country not hand over the jade bi?"

When the King of Qin heard this, he was so ashamed that he wanted to kill Lin Xiangru, but he was afraid of being ridiculed, so he let Lin Xiangru go back to Zhao.In fact, Qin State had no intention of exchanging the city for jade, but just wanted to use this to test Zhao State's attitude and strength.

After Lin Xiangru returned to Zhao State, he was warmly welcomed by the people of the country; Zhao Wang also named him a senior doctor because of his great contribution to return to Zhao Li.

●Mianchi will be tit for tat
In 279 BC, King Qin Zhaoxiang sent an envoy to meet King Zhao Huiwen in Mianchi (now Mianchi, Henan).King Zhao couldn't make up his mind, so he called a group of ministers to discuss. Lian Po and Lin Xiangru both thought that if they didn't go, they would be passive and looked down upon by King Qin.Therefore, King Zhao Huiwen asked Lin Xiangru to go to the meeting with him. General Li Mu led 5000 elite soldiers to follow, and Lord Pingyuan led hundreds of thousands of troops to meet him.Lian Po assisted the prince in the country. King Zhao Huiwen said to Lian Po: "If I am robbed and stay in Qin, you must assist the prince and let him avenge me."

At the meeting in Mianchi, King Zhao and King Qin talked about world affairs while drinking.When the wine was hot, King Qin used wine to cover his face and jokingly said to King Zhao: "I heard that King Zhao is proficient in music, please play the zither for me." King Zhao couldn't refuse, so he had to play a song.After King Zhao finished playing, King Qin immediately ordered the censor of the State of Qin to record: In the 28th year of King Zhaoxiang of Qin, King Zhao played the harp for King Qin.Zhao Wang was embarrassed.

At this time, I saw Lin Xiangru walking up to King Qin with a clay pot in his hand, and said, "I heard that the king is good at playing fou, please hit fou once for King Zhao." Can you easily beat fou for others?" Lin Xiangru took two steps forward with a clay pot in his hand, and said angrily, "Although your army is large, it is useless here. I am fighting with you now. Only five steps away, I can die with the king." Seeing this state, the king of Qin was afraid that his life would be threatened if he didn't agree, so he had to knock on the earthen pot.Lin Xiangru turned around and ordered Zhao Guo's censor to record: In the 20th year of King Zhao Huiwen, King Qin attacked for King Zhao.

A minister of the state of Qin said: "King Qin is about to celebrate his birthday, please ask the state of Zhao to cut 15 cities to celebrate the birthday of King Qin." King Zhao, congratulate King Zhao on his birthday." When King Qin heard this, he had no choice but to say: "Everyone, don't give birthday gifts to anyone."

At the banquet, the two sides launched a tit-for-tat diplomatic struggle. Although Qin State attacked from time to time, Lin Xiangru responded with fire, wit and dexterity, and never backed down. Qin State did not take advantage of it.At the same time, Qin State received a secret report that Zhao State had assembled a large army on the border, and all aspects were ready, so Qin State did not dare to act rashly.Lin Xiangru spared his life and once again preserved the dignity of Zhao State in a major diplomatic struggle.

●Reconcile with each other by pleading guilty
Lin Xiangru preserved the state of Zhao from being humiliated. King Zhao Huiwen admired Lin Xiangru very much and worshiped him as Shangqing, above the general Lian Po.Lian Po was very dissatisfied, and said privately to his followers: "I am a general of the Zhao State, and I have made many contributions. What's so great about Lin Xiangru? It's on my head. When I see Lin Xiangru, I must give him a look. When these words reached Lin Xiangru's ears, Lin Xiangru pretended to be sick and refused to go to court.

One day, when Lin Xiangru went out with his guests in a car, he saw Lian Po's chariot and horses approaching from afar, so he asked the driver to retreat to an alley to hide.Lin Xiangru's disciples blamed Lin Xiangru for being so timid. Lin Xiangru asked: "Compared with General Lian and King Qin, which one is more powerful?" The disciples said: "Of course the King Qin is more powerful." Lin Xiangru said: "Yes! All the feudal lords are afraid of King Qin, so I dare to blame him face to face. Why am I afraid when I see General Lian? Because the powerful Qin State dare not invade Zhao State, it is because of General Lian and I. If we both If the people are not friendly, the state of Qin will take the opportunity to invade the state of Zhao when they know about it.” Someone told Lian Po about this, and Lian Po felt ashamed, so he ran to Lin Xiangru’s house naked to the waist and carrying thorns on his back. plead guilty.

When Lian Po met Lin Xiangru, he said, "I'm a rude person with little knowledge and a narrow mind. I don't know that you tolerate me so much. I really have no face to see you. Please beat me up." Lin Xiangru quickly helped Lian Po and said He said: "Both of us are ministers of Zhao State. I am very grateful for the general's understanding of me. Why do you come to make an apology for me?" Since then, the two have become close friends. The story of He He has also become a good story in the world.

●Chu Long persuaded the Empress Dowager Zhao
In 265 BC, King Zhao Xiaocheng had just ascended the throne, and King Xiaocheng's mother, the Queen Mother Zhao, was in power.The State of Qin attacked the State of Zhao and captured two cities. The State of Zhao was not strong enough to resist, so it sent people to the State of Qi for help.But Qi State put forward a condition that Zhao State would send Lord Chang'an as a hostage before Qi State would send troops.But Mr. Chang'an was the youngest son of the Empress Dowager Zhao, and the Empress Dowager loved him very much and was unwilling to let him go.

Seeing that the situation was critical, Zhao's ministers all went to persuade Queen Mother Zhao to agree to Qi's request.But the Queen Mother Zhao didn't listen, and the ministers were helpless.

At this time, Zuo Shi (official name) Chu Long asked the Queen Mother to summon him.When Chu Long saw the Queen Mother Zhao, he apologized and said, "Old Minister, I have a foot problem, and I haven't seen you for a long time. I'm afraid that you may feel unwell, Queen Mother, so I want to come in and see you." The Queen Mother Zhao saw that Chu Long didn't mention Chang'an. Regarding the matter of the king, the anger subsided a little, so he asked Chu Long, "Do you eat less than before?" Chu Long said, "I only drink a little porridge every day." The Queen Mother's face became a little calmer.Chu Long said: "The old minister has a son named Shu Qi, who is the youngest of the old minister's children and has no future. And the minister is old, and he likes him very much in his heart. Please promise to let him join the king's guard to protect the palace." Queen Mother Zhao said: "Do men also love their youngest sons?" Chu Long said: "More than women." Said: "The old minister secretly thought that you loved the queen of Yan (referring to the daughter of the queen mother who married the king of Yan) more than you loved Lord Chang'an." Queen Mother Zhao said: "You are wrong! It is not as good as loving Lord Chang'an." Chu Long said : "Parents who love their children should think deeply and plan carefully for their children. When you sent Empress Yan to marry Yan, you hugged her feet and cried, pity that she married so far away from you, and feel sad for this. After the Queen of Yan left, you wished during the sacrifice: 'Don't let her come back!' Isn't this foresight for her, praying that her descendants will be the King of Yan one after another?" The Queen Mother said: "That's right." Chu Long said: "Three generations from now on, until the descendants of King Zhao are named Marquis, do they have any heirs?" The Queen Mother said: "No." Chu Long said: "This is a recent disaster. On him, Yuan harmed his descendants. Is this because the sons of kings will have bad luck once they are enshrined as marquises? This is because they have a high status but no merit, and a good salary but have not done anything for the country , but enjoy such a high treatment. Now, you let Chang'an Lord have a high status, but you don't let him make contributions to the country in time. Once you pass away, how will Chang'an Lord stay in Zhao Guo?" The Queen Mother Zhao heard Chu Long After some words, he suddenly came to his senses, and hurriedly said, "Okay! Just listen to what you say."

Therefore, Queen Mother Zhao asked Chang'an Jun to go to Qi State as a hostage, and Qi State immediately sent troops to support Zhao State.When the Qin army saw the arrival of Qi's army, it withdrew, and the danger of Zhao was also relieved.

Lord Xinling Steals Talismans to Save Zhao
During the Warring States period, many heroes fought for hegemony and separatism. Due to the needs of political struggle, many politicians cultivated their political power by "supporting scholars".Wei Wuji, Lord Xinling of the State of Wei, also had many outstanding talents in his family, which made the princes of all countries look at him differently. For more than ten years, he dared not act rashly or attack the State of Wei.One of Lord Xinling's followers was Hou Ying, who was very talented and courageous; Hou Ying also recommended to Lord Xinling his friend Zhu Hai who was a butcher, and Zhu Hai was also a talented and virtuous man.Lord Xinling is the youngest son of King Wei Zhao, the half-brother of King Wei Anao (that is, King Anxi), and his sister is the wife of Zhao Sheng, the younger brother of King Zhao Huiwen.

When the Qin army besieged Handan, the capital of the state of Zhao, the state of Zhao was in danger. Lord Pingyuan sent a letter to King Wei and Lord Xinling, asking Wei to send troops to rescue Zhao.After receiving the urgent request letter from Zhao Guo, King Wei immediately dispatched General Jin Bi to lead 10 soldiers and horses to rescue Zhao Guo.After the king of Qin heard the news, he immediately went to Handan to supervise the battle in person, and sent envoys to warn the king of Wei, saying: "Our army of Qin State attacked Handan, the capital of Zhao State, and we will take this city sooner or later; if anyone among the princes dares to send troops to rescue Zhao Guo, then after I take Zhao Guo, I will definitely defeat it first!" Wei Wang was afraid, and quickly sent an order to Wei Guo's 10 troops led by Jin Bi: Stop advancing immediately and station in Ye standby.

Lord Xinling was very worried because he could not lift the siege of Handan. He asked King Wei many times to order the rescue of Zhao State, but King Wei never accepted his opinion.Lord Xinling had nothing to do, so he resolutely decided to take his retainers and prepare to go to Handan to fight with the Qin army.Hou Ying dissuaded Lord Xinling and offered him a plan.Lord Xinling immediately adopted Hou Ying's strategy, and sent people to ask Wei Wang's favorite concubine Ruji to steal and dispatch Jin Bi's military talisman for help.In the middle of the night, Ruji took advantage of King Wei's deep sleep and stole half of the soldier's talisman stored by King Wei's dispatched troops, and handed it to Lord Xinling.

Lord Xinling brought Zhu Hai and his party to Yecheng, saw Jin Bi, and pretended that King Wei had ordered him to replace Jin Bi.Although Jin Bi matched the two soldiers, he still had doubts about the matter and planned to refuse to hand over the military power.Seeing this, Zhu Hai yelled, and immediately took out a 40-jin hammer hidden in his sleeve, and threw it at Jin Bi, beating him to death with one blow.Later, Lord Xinling led Jin Bi's army to attack the Qin army that besieged Handan, and dealt a sudden blow to the Qin army.Under the internal and external attack of Wei Jun and Zhao Jun, Qin Jun was forced to break through and fled in a hurry.

King Wei was very annoyed that Lord Xinling had killed General Jin Bi, and Lord Xinling knew that he had offended King Wei.Therefore, Lord Xinling sent other generals to lead the Wei army back to the country, while he stayed in Handan.

●Li Bing majored in Dujiangyan
At the time of King Qin Huiwen, the State of Qin annihilated the State of Shu located in what is now Chengdu, Sichuan, and changed it to Shu County, which was governed by officials.

In 256 BC, Li Bing was appointed as the prefect of Shu County.At that time, the Minjiang River under the rule of Shu County was often flooded, and it was difficult for people to live and work in peace.Therefore, Li Bing and his son traveled hundreds of miles together, upstream along the Minjiang River, and personally surveyed the water regime and terrain of the Minjiang River.On the basis of on-the-spot investigations, Li Bing determined a thorough plan for harnessing the Minjiang River.Finally, after untold hardships, Li Bing led everyone to build Dujiangyan.For the maintenance and long-term use of the project, Li Bing also formulated a series of maintenance and monitoring methods, some of which are still used by people today.

The Dujiangyan built by Li Bing has a high level of science and technology, and also occupies a place in the history of water conservancy in the world.Many water conservancy projects have been built in the history of our country, but the Dujiangyan built by Li Bing has been enduring for more than 2000 years. It has been playing various functions such as flood control, irrigation, and shipping, and has become an engineering miracle.

In addition to Dujiangyan, Li Bing also presided over the establishment of other water conservancy projects in Shu County, and dredged Moshui, Guanjiang, Wenjing River and Luoshui.These water conservancy projects have prevented floods and droughts in the Chengdu Plain, made significant contributions to the development of agricultural production, and laid a solid material foundation for the strength of the Qin State.

##The seventh series of the axis age and the contention of a hundred schools of thought
●A hundred schools of thought contend

During the Warring States period, various schools of thought emerged one after another, expressing their views and arguing with each other.It is known in history as "a hundred schools of thought contend".

(End of this chapter)