original text
Six-state theory
Song Dynasty: Su Xun
The downfall of the six countries was not bad for soldiers, but bad for war and Qin. If you are guilty of Qin, you will lose your vitality, and you will be defeated. Or: the six countries mourn each other and lead the way to Qin Ye? People who don't take bribes will lose their lives, and they will lose their strong support, so they can't do it alone. Therefore, the disadvantage lies in the bribery of Qin.
In addition to capturing Qin, the small ones captured the city and the big ones captured the city. Compared with the income of the Qin dynasty, it is actually one hundred times more than the people who won the battle; In fact, the death of princes is a hundred times that of the defeated. Then the great desire of the Qin dynasty, the great misfortune of the princes, is not in war. Think of my grandfather, dew cream dew, cut thorns to make room. Children and grandchildren don't cherish it very much, and giving it to others is like throwing away dirt. Cut five cities today, ten cities tomorrow, and then sleep for one night. Looking around, the pool is coming again. However, the vassal's land is limited, and the desire to storm Qin is insatiable. The more complicated it is, the more urgent it is. Therefore, the victory or defeat of the enemy without fighting has already decided the outcome. As for subversion, what is reasonable is reasonable. The ancients said: "Serving Qin with the earth is more like carrying firewood to put out the fire. The salary is endless and the fire will not go out." This statement is correct.
Qi people didn't blame Qin, and finally the five countries moved out. What a pity! And won without helping the five countries. Since the five countries fell, they must be together. The prince, from the beginning, was far away, but he could keep his land and was not loyal to Qin. Therefore, although Yan was a small country and then died, it was also effective to use troops. For Dan, with Jing Qing as the plan, the disaster started soon. Zhao tasted five battles in Qin, two defeats and three wins. After the Qin Dynasty, Zhao was attacked again, but Li Mulian did it. Mu Mu was slandered and punished, Handan was the county, but there was no end to fighting, which was regrettable. When Zhao Yan's Qin Dynasty was completely destroyed, it could be said that it was a desperate situation, and it was a last resort to die in defeat. In order to make the Three Kingdoms love their places, Qi people should not be attached to Qin, assassins should not, and good generals should still be there, so the number of victories and defeats and the principle of survival are not easy to measure compared with Qin.
Oh! To bribe the land of Qin, seal the world's advisers, serve the heart of Qin, treat the world's wizards, and strive to go west, then I am afraid that the Qin people will not be able to swallow their meals. Sad husband! With this trend, it was robbed by the power accumulated by the Qin people, and the moon was lacking day by day, in order to tend to extinction. People who serve the country are robbed by accumulated power!
Husband and Qin were vassals, weaker than Qin, but there was still a tendency to win without taking bribes. The story that the world is big and the six countries are broken is that it is under the six countries again.
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The six countries perished not because their weapons were not sharp and the battles were not well fought, but because they bribed Qin with land. Bribing Qin with land lost its own strength, which is the reason for its demise. Someone asked, "Did the six countries perish one after another because of bribing Qin?" A: "Countries that don't bribe Qin will perish, because there are countries that bribe Qin. The reason is that the country that did not bribe Qin lost its powerful foreign aid and could not save it by itself. So the drawback lies in bribing Qin. "
In addition to seizing land by war, the state of Qin also received bribes from governors. Small towns, big cities. Compared with the land obtained by taking bribes and defeating other countries, (the former) is actually a hundred times more. Compared with the land lost in the defeat, the six governors (bribing Qin) actually lost a hundred times more land. Therefore, what Qin wants most and the governors of the six countries are most worried about is not war at all. Think about their ancestors and fathers, braved the cold, frost and rain, and cut through thorns to own a little land. Children and grandchildren don't cherish the land very much and give it to others, just like throwing grass. You can have a good sleep only if you break five cities today and ten cities tomorrow. Get up tomorrow and go to the border. Qin's army is coming again. In this case, the vassal's land is limited, and Qin's desire for violence can never be satisfied. The more he was given, the more anxious he was to invade. So there is no need for war. Who is strong and who is weak, who wins and who loses, has already been decided. To the point of destruction, that's the truth. The ancients said, "Taking Qin with the ground is like holding firewood to put out a fire. When the firewood is burned out, the fire will be extinguished. " That's true.
Qi never bribed Qin, but in the end it perished with the five countries. Why? Make friends with Qin instead of helping the other five countries. The five countries have long since perished, and so has Qi. At first, the monarchs of Yan and Zhao both had long-term strategies, which could defend their country, uphold justice and not bribe Qin. Therefore, although Yan was a small country, it later perished. This is the effect of playing Qin. It was not until later that Yan Taizi Dan sent Jing Ke to assassinate the king of Qin as a tactic to deal with the state of Qin that disaster was caused. Zhao and Qin fought five times, lost twice and won three times. Later, Qin attacked Zhao twice. (General Zhao) Li Mu beat back the attack of Qin one after another. When Li Mu was framed and killed, Handan (the capital of Zhao) became a county (a county of Qin). Unfortunately, Zhao resisted Qin with military force and failed to persist. Moreover, the two countries are at a time when Qin is about to destroy other countries. It can be said that they have exhausted their intelligence, and the situation in the country is isolated and critical. Death after defeat is really a last resort. If Han, Wei and Chu cherish their land, Qi will not be attached to Qin. The assassin (of Yan State) did not stab the King of Qin (of Zhao State). Li Mu (of Zhao) is still alive, so the fate of victory and defeat and the logic of survival may not be well measured if compared with Qin.
Alas! If (the princes of the six countries) bribe the land of Qin to be sealed to the world's counselors, treat the world's wizards with the heart of Qin, and join Qi Xin in the west (against Qin), then I'm afraid the Qin people can't swallow any more food. How pathetic! There was such a favorable situation, but it was coerced by the long-term power of Qin, and it cut land every day and every month, so that it went to extinction. People who govern the country should not be intimidated by long-standing power!
The six countries and the state of Qin are vassal States. Their strength is weaker than that of Qin, but they still have the advantage of defeating Qin without bribing it. If we rely on such a big country, but follow the precedent of the demise of the six countries, it will not be as good as the six countries.
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The lesson of Qin's destruction of six countries is a topic of concern to many literary historians. Only the "Three Soviets" each wrote an article about the six countries. Su Shi's On the Six Kingdoms, aimed at the comparative analysis of the six countries with a long history and the rapidly dying Qin Dynasty, highlighted the role of "scholar". Su Shi believes that it has existed for a long time because the governors and ministers of the six countries are trying to train scholars. As long as those "scholars" are raised, the people can't find a leader if they want to rebel, and the country can be stable. On the other hand, Su Zhe's On the Six Kingdoms pointed out that the reason why the six countries were doomed was that they could not unite and fight together, and it was their own fault to destroy the country.
Su Xun's Six Kingdoms is different from the above two books. Su Xun didn't talk about things, but used the topic. The purpose of Su Xun's writing is not to summarize the lessons of the Six Kingdoms' demise, but to warn the rulers of the Song Dynasty not to repeat the same mistakes. Talking about history by comparing the past with the present is a reference for today's rulers, which is where Su Xun is superior to his second son. Judging from the historical situation, the reason for the demise of the six countries was not "bribing Qin". The six countries failed mainly because they were politically conservative, conformist, did not attach importance to reform, did not adhere to the policy of "integration" to deal with Qin's "Lian Heng" policy, and were defeated by Qin's far-reaching and near-attacking means. On the other hand, Qin Xiaogong appointed Shang Yang to reform, which greatly enhanced the national strength of Qin State and enabled it to unify China. Coupled with the long-term war in the Warring States period, the people lived in poverty, and it was in line with people's wishes to move from division to reunification. The unification of China by Qin Dynasty is an inevitable trend of historical development. Su Xun is not ignorant of this. He also admitted this in his article: "To bribe the Qin land and seal the world's counselors; Serve Qin Xin, serve the world's wizards, and strive to advance westward. I am afraid that the Qin people can't eat. " However, the author's intention is not here. His intention was to point out that bribing Qin was the reason for the demise of the six countries, so as to warn the rulers of the Song Dynasty to treat Qidan and Xixia not by bribery, but by force and resistance. He Zhongmo in the Ming Dynasty said: "The theory of bribing Qin by the six countries is actually based on the premise of bribing Qidan by the Song Dynasty, and it is far-sighted to die."
After the establishment of People's Republic of China (PRC) in Song Dynasty, Song Taizu unilaterally accepted the lessons of the separatist regime in Tang Dynasty, which was too big to fail or even perish. He adopted the policy of "virtual outside and real inside", weakened the strength of the border and mobilized heavy troops to garrison the capital. As a result, the boundary is empty. Liao took advantage of the situation and repeatedly invaded the frontier. After Song Taizong acceded to the throne, he sent troops to attack Liao twice, but both ended in failure. Since then, Song Taizong has twice attacked Youzhou in an attempt to recapture sixteen states of Youzhou, and failed again. In the first year of Jingdezhen, Zhenzong (1004), surrounded by Liao soldiers, pushed Zhuozhou City (now Puyang, Henan) and threatened Kaifeng, Bianjing. Therefore, Song and Liao signed the Yuan Dynasty Alliance, promising to lose 102,000 silver and 200,000 silks to Liao. In the second year of Injong (1042), Liao threatened again, and Song had to add 102,000 gold and silver and 100,000 silks. The following year (1043), Xixia also asked for it, and gave another 102,000 pieces of silver, 100,000 pieces of silk and 30,000 Jin of tea. The blood and sweat of the people are wasted in this gift. Su Xun was saddened by this. He used the past as a metaphor for the present, boasted freely about the pros and cons, and tried to persuade those in power to change course, enhance national strength and fight against the enemy. Although Su Xun's statement is not beyond discussion, it is generally correct. Unfortunately, it is exactly what Su Xun said: Just 60 years after Su Xun's death, the "Jingkang Change" finally happened (1 126), and the Northern Song Dynasty repeated the mistakes of the six countries and was destroyed by the late Jin Dynasty. Huidi and Qin Emperor were captured and died in a foreign country.
The Theory of Six Kingdoms not only has the characteristics of using the past as a mirror, but also can be regarded as a model in the rigor of argument and the vividness of language. The logic of the first paragraph is very strict. At the beginning, the author showed his own point of view: "The collapse of the six countries is not bad for soldiers, but bad for war." The beginning is clear and straightforward, so that readers can grasp the center of the arguer at a glance. Then, the author explains the argument: "If you are guilty, you will lose your vitality and the way to ruin it." This points out the harm of bribery, and is concise and too lazy to say it. Later, the author asked: "The six countries mourned each other. Did anyone pay tribute to Master Qin?" A: "Those who don't pay bribes will be lost. Gai lost his strong support and could not do it alone. " This makes the article logical and impeccable. The last sentence summed up the whole paragraph: "So, the disadvantage lies in bribing Qin." This paragraph plays the role of "outline", and the next two or three paragraphs are actually around the first paragraph.
The language of this article is vivid and powerful. Argumentative sentences are concise and powerful, and narrative sentences are vivid and touching. For example, "I miss my grandfather, dew and frost, and cut the thorns." Children and grandchildren don't cherish it very much, and giving it to others is like throwing away dirt. Cut five cities today, ten cities tomorrow, and then sleep for one night. Looking around, Qin Jun came again. "These narrative languages have subjective feelings and descriptive characteristics. The author also uses quotation, comparison and metaphor to make the language flexible and diverse and enhance the expression effect. The sentence patterns in this paper are also moderate in the arrangement order, especially the four sentences, which account for a certain proportion. They read forcefully, landed soundly and had a sense of rhythm. The historical materials of the article are typical and fully supported, and the arguments such as analysis, comparison and metaphor are logical and persuasive, and the sentence patterns are changeable, full of emotion and appeal. Although this article is a historical theory, the author's original intention is not to demonstrate the reasons for the demise of the six countries, but to draw lessons from history, satirize the policy of giving up compromise and seeking peace in the Northern Song Dynasty, and be wary of repeating the mistakes of the demise of the six countries.
Commenting on Su Xun's article, Ouyang Xiu said, "I have read many scribes, but I only like Yin Shilu and Shi Shoudao. However, my meaning is still not enough. Now that I have read Su Xun's article, my meaning is enough. " Indeed, Su Xun's articles, surging up and down, come in and out, like a river burst its banks. He is far-sighted, sharp-eyed and incisive, which is a warning to the world. No wonder this article has been popular for nearly a thousand years!