Chapter 43 Hearts of the people who gather but never disperse
Chapter 43 The hearts of people who gather together and never break up
Author: An Jing l
Chapter 43 The hearts of people who gather together and never break up
[I’ve talked about martial arts, let’s talk about martial arts.]
[As the first king in history to unify the land of China, Qin Shihuang’s greatest contribution was actually what he did during the six years of unification.]
[In the past six years, he has done many things that are of great benefit to the present generation and will benefit the future!
But what we are talking about here is not about building dams and connecting bridges. Although building water conservancy is also a good thing that benefits all people, compared with his other contributions, it really pales into insignificance.】
[First of all, it was Qin Shihuang who single-handedly built the foundation and framework of China’s feudal rule for more than two thousand years! You must know that when he did these things, there was no one before him, and there was no place for reference.
What’s even more amazing and unbelievable is that in these six years, all the decisions he made were right!]
"Wow!!!"
"Your Majesty! You are worthy of being the emperor of eternity!"
"My father is far-sighted and far-sighted, and my sons and ministers are ashamed of themselves!"
[If any incident in these six years is cited and placed on any emperor in later generations, it will be a credit that can make him famous in history. However, these are all by the hands of Qin Shihuang!]
[But as we mentioned before, Qin only lasted for two generations and then fell.
In history textbooks, they only summarize the most brilliant achievements of Qin Shihuang, briefly comment on his achievements, and then start talking about what a cruel tyrant he was.
To be honest, this is somewhat unfair.】
[Later generations often compare Qin Emperor, Han Wu, Tang Zong, Song Zu, etc., but in fact they are not on the same level at all.]
[Emperor Su Shi should occupy the first slot, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty should occupy the second slot. As for Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin, maybe he was placed here just for the sake of rhyme.]
Zhao Kuangyin: "."
Zhao Kuangyin is paralyzed, who have I offended? Why do I have to be pulled out and whipped?
Zhao Kuangyin's military exploits were indeed very strong at the beginning, but the problem was that he abandoned his martial arts after establishing the Song Dynasty, which made the Song Dynasty a big coward, and there was also a group of weak emperors who lowered the lower limit of the entire Song Dynasty.
【Qin Shihuang caused great disasters, but he laid foundations for thousands of years.】
[He made a very great decision, which was to abolish the feudal system and adopt the county system. 】
[Before Qin, the never-ending wars in China were actually due to the existence of these marquises, princes, and even emperors!
Therefore, when Qin Shihuang unified the world, he decided that he could no longer follow the old path of enfeoffment, so he finally adopted the advice of Tingwei Li Si and adopted the county system!]
[It is precisely because of this decision that the Qin Dynasty was able to reclaim the rights of various places and temporarily stabilize them.]
[But this is the first time that the world has been blended together. The languages are different from place to place, the writing is different, and even the carriage track gauge is different.
Although Qin Shihuang temporarily brought them all under his rule, how could he ensure that the court's orders were implemented and that all places acted in accordance with the laws of the Qin Dynasty? This is actually a big problem.]
[Therefore, Qin Shihuang ordered the use of the same characters, the use of cars on the same track, and the unification of weights and measures, which laid the foundation for transportation and economic flows across the country. 】
[The new writing is based on the writing of the Qin State and combines the advantages of the writings of various countries, and uses it as a writing standard, and continues to simplify it.
Cars on the same track make horse-drawn carriages the same size, making transportation in various places more convenient. Cars on the same track are conducive to long-distance transportation of horse-drawn carriages.
Unifying weights and measures will allow the world to measure in the same way, making economic communication and exchange more convenient.
These measures of Qin Shihuang were very conducive to the unification of the country and economic and cultural exchanges, so these measures of his also had a profound impact on later emperors.]
[It is precisely because Qin Shihuang unified these things that the originally fragmented land of China began to slowly develop cohesion. 】
[Although Su Guo died in his second generation, the thoughts and concepts of the unification of China have been deeply penetrated into the bone marrow and heart of every Chinese person!
It is precisely because of this that China also started the feudal historical cycle that lasted for more than two thousand years in later generations, that kind of feudal historical cycle in which long-term unity must divide, and long-term division must unite!】
[In the past two thousand years, no matter it was the division of the Three Kingdoms, the Two Jins, the Northern and Southern Dynasties, or the dark moments such as the Five Husbands Chaos, the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, etc., no matter how long that split lasted. As long as the children of China still exist, they will
He will always try his best to unify the land of China!]
[Emperor Yang Jian of the Sui Dynasty did this, Emperor Taizong Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty also did this, and Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty brought the energy of ordinary Chinese people to the extreme!
The unification of China has become the aspiration of the people, and the divided land of China must be reunified no matter what!]
"Huh! It turns out that our Qin State and our Majesty are so great!"
"I, the old Qin man, am invincible!"
"Your Majesty is wise, we have misunderstood Your Majesty!"
"However, Qin's law is really strict, and the corvee is really too heavy."
"I hope your majesty can see the hardships of our people and give us a way to survive!"
[Qin Shihuang’s achievements were groundbreaking, but his faults were also very prominent.]
[Mistake 1: He imposed excessive taxes and extorted money, which led to the depletion of the people's power.]
[In order to maintain huge military expenditures and engineering construction, the Great Qin Empire was in a terrible situation of "exhausting all the world's wealth to serve its politics."
The result of this was that the people of the Qin State were in dire straits. The people "clothed themselves with the clothes of oxen and horses, and ate the food of dogs' mouths." The living conditions were extremely difficult.
And his mistakes in this aspect also paved the way for the collapse of the Qin Empire.】
[Mistake 2: The soldiers of the Qin Dynasty engaged in heavy labor and severe punishments.]
【Qin Shihuang carried out extensive construction projects in successive years, fought in various places, built Afang Palace near the capital, and built the Lishan Tomb, which consumed more than 700,000 civilians.
It is estimated that the number of people serving in the military at that time was well over two million, accounting for more than one-third of the prime-age men.
Such heavy military service also suppressed the common people to the extreme.
A great man once said: "Where there is oppression, there is resistance!"
Qin Shihuang's behavior of not caring about people's livelihood eventually forced the people in the Qin Dynasty to revolt, and the Qin Dynasty suddenly collapsed overnight!]
[Mistake Three: Suppressing Thoughts, Burning Books and Encouraging Confucianism]
[In order to prevent the people from resisting, Qin Shihuang also implemented strict ideological control.
For example, he promulgated a ban on books, confiscated and burned books on a large scale, and killed more than 400 Confucian scholars who criticized the government, which was known in history as "burning books and entrapping Confucianism".
The burning of books and the entrapment of Confucians not only reflected the cruelty of Qin Shihuang, but also greatly destroyed the culture of Chinese civilization. Many valuable works have not been handed down, which is a great loss to Chinese culture.
Although this was Qin Shihuang's effort to unify his thoughts, it must be said that his methods were a bit too simple and crude.】
[In summary: Qin Shihuang unified the six kingdoms, attacked the Xiongnu in the north, and conquered Baiyue in the south, laying the foundation for China's territory.
His institutional reforms established the unified management model of the feudal dynasty, established the administrative divisions of counties and counties, established the national transportation network, and also unified the writing, currency, and weights and measures necessary for economic and cultural development.
It can be said that he made the greatest contribution to the development of Chinese civilization.】
[On the other hand, Qin Shihuang, for his own selfish desires and his own rule, oppressed the people and burned books and humiliated Confucian scholars, which greatly harmed the development of the people and culture. 】
[But comparing the merits and demerits, Qin Shihuang still deserves the evaluation of "the one emperor throughout the ages"! 】