The death of Shang Ying, human desolation or political cruelty
A millennium later, there are still disagreements about the evaluation of Shang Ying. This historical figure is too extreme and often plunges people into a love-hate emotional spiral. His most significant contribution was the implementation of the Shang Dynasty Reform in the Qin State, which catapulted the Qin State from an unknown vassal state to the hegemon of the world.
However, he ended up dying at the hands of the Qin people, under the criminal law he had personally formulated. It's hard to accept calmly. Is there an unsolved historical mystery and human logic behind Shang Ying's death?
Was his death accidental or inevitable?Was he wronged?These questions have always haunted our understanding of this great man who has been controversial for a long time. When reading the content of history, what we can do is to explore the inner logic through the superficial uncertainty, that is, to see the essence through the phenomenon, and carefully sort out the causal logic of history and the entanglement of human nature.
So, why did King Qin Hui want to kill Shang Ying so resolutely?This is because Shang Ying has the grace of reinvention in the Qin State, and his merits are high, which makes King Qin Hui feel that he can't control him.
In addition, Shang Ying had completed the task of changing the law, and it was no longer useful for him to unload the mill and kill the donkey. Moreover, Shang Ying did offend *** people in the process of changing the law, which made him the target of retribution.
However, if we think about it from a deeper perspective and level, we may find more unusual places. For example, why did King Qin Hui rush to kill Shang Ying as soon as he ascended the throne?
When his position is more stable, won't it be more stable?For another example, why did King Qin Hui want Shang Ying in the whole country, and recruited him to the capital to catch turtles in an urn, wouldn't it be more convenient?
Also, according to the power system designed by Shang Ying's reform, Shang Ying did not have much substantive power, and King Qin Hui actually couldn't kill him, because he was not a threat!
There are all kinds of indications that Shang's death was not as simple as it seemed.
Why did King Qin Hui, the decision-maker of Shang Ying's reform, kill Shang Ying?From Shang Ying's person and his changes, we can see that Shang Ying's character determines his fate.
When he was in Wei, the prime minister's uncle Acne suggested that King Wei Hui use or kill Shang Ying, but King Wei Hui did not accept it. Shang Ying didn't care about this, and laughed that King Hui would not kill him.
However, this is only a manifestation of Shang Ying's political immaturity. In the game of thrones, the logic and principles of "employing people" and "killing people" are very different. Leaders need to be thorough in employing people, while leaders kill people based on suspicion, jealousy, fear, dislike, and even only need to give an explanation to others.
Therefore, the final fate of Shang Ying was not unexpected.
Shang Ying, do you think King Wei Hui will let you go if you don't need you? Maybe he thinks that Uncle Gong has worked hard for Wei all his life, and agreeing to kill you can be regarded as a kind of compensation for him. Maybe Uncle Gong firmly believes that if you don't die, you will definitely bring disaster to the Wei State, and you must take precautions.
Maybe Wei Hui was in a bad mood one day and wanted to kill someone who didn't like him, including you. This small incident reveals that Shang Ying, although intelligent, lacks political experience, and his views on interests and risks are too absolute, simply believing that the two will not hurt each other if they do not love each other.
However, in a game of thrones, there would be so many to be taken for granted? A real master of the game of thrones always puts risk prevention and control in the first place, and only *** himself will always be invincible in order to ensure that he has the last laugh.
Shang Ying's self-confident personality has unique misunderstandings such as "quick success", "self-righteousness" and "domineering and strong". These misconceptions manifest themselves in the eagerness for quick success, stubbornness and reluctance to accept the opinions of others, and an extreme emphasis on enforcement, authority, and prohibition.
This kind of character is vividly reflected in Shang Ying's Qin State reforms, which are prone to extremes, and if others do not obey or do not understand, they will use persecution and killing to solve the problem.
Second, when communicating with Qin Xiaogong about the direction of the reform, Shang Ying began the discussion with the "Holy Dao", then the "Royal Dao", and finally the "Domineering", and finally determined the reform plan with Legalist thought as the main driver.
One might think that Shang Ying was thoughtful and logical, but is that really the case? Many people have been involved in large projects, and the boss does like to repeatedly discuss various details of project implementation with the project manager, the more detailed the better, the more comprehensive the better.
But how many big project bosses are willing to discuss the plan with you repeatedly? If plan 1 doesn't work, plan 2, plan 2 if plan 2 doesn't work, plan 3, as if you have to do this thing!
The details reveal that Shang Yang lacks a stable belief system in his heart, and his actions are more based on changes in the actual situation than a consistent philosophy. This kind of flexible person, on the surface, seems to have no major problems, but is not suitable for handling major affairs.
Imagine what would happen if the general manager of a company was a person who could do anything as long as the boss was happy? Either the company's performance declined, or the general manager was incompetent.
People are not trustworthy, and they are not worthy of being entrusted with heavy responsibilities! Shang Ying won Qin Xiaogong's trust and appreciation through repeated temptations, which actually limited his horizons, causing him to focus only on Qin Xiaogong and ignore the needs and opinions of others.
3. When Shang Ying led his troops to attack Wei, he made full use of his old friendship with Gongzi, the commander of Wei. As a friend, he invited Gongzi Wei to the Qin army camp to catch up on the old days, and promised that he would only talk about the old days and would not involve anything else.
However, he reversed his word and kidnapped Gongzi Wei and pushed him to the front of the battle to make a meat shield, thereby defeating the Wei army. This kind of behavior, although it can be regarded as a military deceit in a military war, is in a hand"Faithfulness"In an era when he saw that it was more important than life, Shang Ying chose to overdraft his character and reputation.
This kind of unscrupulous behavior makes people wonder how difficult it is for those who take off their clothes to put them back on in order to succeed and become famous.
In order to achieve his goals, Shang Ying did not hesitate to deceive and take advantage of the trust of his friends. His methods are despicable, kidnapping others, backsliding, and chilling. His credibility has collapsed, and no one dares to be friends with him, let alone trust him.
Every time he moves, he will be guarded, feared, and may even become the target of being killed. King Qin Hui's cognition of Shang Ying was not based on the understanding of getting along with each other day and night and common experiences, but was collected and analyzed through various channels.
Will Shang Ying's actions make King Qin Hui feel uneasy? Throughout the ages, how many people have done all kinds of unscrupulous things for the sake of leadership, but how many people are truly trusted by leaders?
People are empathetic. When we see Shang Ying treating others like this, we also think, will he treat us like this?
Shang Ying's high-pressure policy and coercive measures in the reform of the law ensured the smooth progress of the reform, but his practice also buried hidden dangers. His draconian measures have left many people resentful and frightened, and they are too rigid and easy to break.
Although Shang Ying was protected by Qin Xiaogong, after Qin Xiaogong's death, the people of Qin completely abandoned him. Shang's contribution to the Qin state is undeniable, but his actions are also painful and frightening.
A person's life is not only about work, but also about life and emotions. Although Shang Ying made the Qin State stronger, his actions made almost all the Qin people live in dire straits.
Shang Ying held a knife on other people's necks every day, and if he was not satisfied, he would punish others, and he would die sooner or later.
The impetus for Shang Ying's reform made Shang Ying's death no longer just a personal grudge, but a manifestation of the feelings and attitudes of the entire Qin people towards him. When Shang Ying was wanted by the whole country, no one was willing to help him, take him in, and even had to divide his body to relieve his hatred and anger.
This shows that Shang Ying's death reflects people's disgust and incomprehension of him to a certain extent. Shang Ying was a hero of the Qin State, and it stands to reason that someone should be grateful to him.
However, he undermined the interests of the old aristocratic class by changing the law, and although the peasants and the proletariat should have supported him, after the Shang Dynasty changed the law, he became the public enemy of the whole people.
This is not because there is a problem with Shang Ying's reform itself, but because some people do whatever they want to Shang Yang in the name of "for your good". Shang Ying is such a person, he is good for his boss, for his own good, not even for your good.
In this world, there will always be such people, who will do whatever they want to you in the name of "for your good". Are you okay with that? Thus, Shang's death reflects a deeper problem: in the midst of social change, sometimes reformers may be targeted because they touch the interests of those with vested interests.
The original intention of Shang Ying's reform was to improve the productivity and combat effectiveness of the peasants and soldiers, and his slogan and logic were: "Peasant friends, in the past, you worked hard for a year, but you had little harvest, you did not have enough food and clothing, all to help the landlords and nobles to work, and you were deceived and robbed of your hard-earned money."
This is because you do not have your own land. Now that the state has given you the land, you can take charge of your own affairs and work for your own future. Soldiers, you used to shed blood and sweat on the battlefield and fight to the death, but in the end you got the benefits of the nobles, you couldn't even drink the soup, and even had to pay the price of your life for the defeat.
Now, we will implement the military merit system, and your military exploits will be rewarded, and you are fighting for yourself and dying for your honor. To prove our resolve, let's start with the Migration of Trees; In order to leave everyone with no other choice, we will exclude other opponents; So that everyone does not hesitate anymore, we will show bloody fear. ”
However, this was not the case, and the fate of the peasants and soldiers did not change. They are still leeks to be slaughtered, only this leek is bigger, greener, and spread all over the country.
There are many people who call the Shang Yang Transformation a great initiative, but in fact, standing and talking does not hurt the back. If they are thrown into the corporations that exploit labor to survive, they will know what that "greatness" tastes like.
Shang Ying's reform caused the people of Qin to gradually lose their freedom, and they could not go out casually, and their feet would be cut off; If you can't talk casually, your tongue will be cut out; If you can't have your own ideas and don't feel at ease farming, you will be forced to have nowhere to stay; If you can't engage in handicrafts, do business, and travel to see the world, it will lead to bankruptcy, and you have no love; You don't have personal space, you're surrounded by eyeliner; Not only do you need to take care of yourself, but you also need to take care of your family, neighbors, relatives, friends, and once something happens, none of them can escape; You don't have private property, everything belongs to the state, and once you find out what you have to do, don't even think about turning over; You can't have anything to enjoy, all the supplies ** are standard, want to wear good clothes and eat good meals?
It depends on whether the ruler is willing or not, and under normal circumstances, he has to exchange his life.
The battlefield "is an opportunity for soldiers to make a contribution, and you can't refuse." Military service is for the purpose of defending the family and the country, and it is lifelong and ready to be called. On the battlefield, you can't just care about your own life and death, if your comrades or leaders are in danger, you may have to pay with your life.
Even if you are strong and have a good life, don't be complacent, because the title you have received cannot be inherited and is not for life. If you unfortunately pass away, your family must start from scratch and use your military exploits to atone for your crimes.
In general, the soldiers of the Qin State must be ready to be cleared at any time, either to lose their own lives, or to be cleared by the rules of the game. Although the Shang Dynasty changed the law and made the Qin state quickly strong, the Qin people suffered a lot.
The world has been suffering for a long time, and the Qin people are no exception.
Shang Ying's Reform: Innovation or Disaster? Some people think that the Shang Dynasty reform is a great innovation, but from the bottom perspective, it may be because our vision is too narrow.
So, from the perspective of the Qin State? Indeed, the state of Qin became more powerful through the Shang Dynasty reform. But is this strength really the overall development of the Qin state? Suppose the village chief squeezes out all the property of the villagers, and the village chief seems to be rich, but can this village really withstand the wind and rain?
This is already illustrated by the fact that Qin Dynasty II died. As a result, none of the later dynasties emulated the Shang Dynasty reform. If the stall is too big, it will become an explosive barrel, and the tipping point will increase, and it is easy to get out of control.
The chaos in the world at the end of Qin was really because of the hundreds of unarmed people led by Chen Sheng and Wu Guang? In just half a year, the world is full of smoke; In just over a year, the mighty Great Qin Empire collapsed, have you figured out the reasons behind this?
Shang Yang Reform: A Well-Intentioned Innovation or a Potential Disaster?
As soon as King Qin Hui came to power, he was anxious to kill Shang Ying, for a simple reason, that is, to ease the tense atmosphere within the Qin State, calm the inner turmoil of the Qin people, and reduce the pressure on the stability of the political situation in the Qin State.
What King Qin Hui needs is a large-scale decompression action, so that everyone will no longer be worried and live with peace of mind. That's why he chose to be wanted by the whole country, rather than arresting him through other means.
After Shang Ying**, King Qin Hui sentenced him to death, because he wanted to use Shang Ying's death to release the resentment in everyone's hearts, so that everyone could vent their grievances on him, so as to make the political situation of Qin more stable.
Therefore, Shang Ying's death was not a simple ending, but an action carefully designed by King Qin Hui.
Although the Shang Dynasty changed the law and made the Qin state stronger, the price it paid was enormous. In the end, the children of the Three Qin paid a heavy price for Shang Ying's radical ideas.
The Qin Dynasty came to an end only two generations after the Shang Dynasty reformed, and the Guanzhong region was also bloodied. This tragedy was the ultimate price of Shang Ying's reform. When discussing complex histories and long lives, we should not focus only on a certain event or node, but should have a broader perspective so that we can get closer to the truth.
Shang Ying's death was not due to his excessive power, but due to grievances and conflicts of interest in human nature. From the perspective of behavior, Shang Ying can be said to be to blame; Politically speaking, people who can't be bosses are often a tool to be used by others.
Through Shang Ying's death, I hope everyone understands that the cloak of success cannot hide the coldness of human nature. We don't need to blindly cheer for the "winners", but we should see the human tragedy behind them, which helps us clear our minds.