When it comes to the reform of the law in history, we often think of the Shang Yang reform, Wang Anshi's reform, Wuxu reform, and so on. No matter which dynasty or generation changes the law, it will almost offend N vested interest groups.
Even if the law change is successful, the executors of the law change will often be liquidated by vested interest groups, and the outcome will be miserable. Of course, there are exceptions, such as the Spring and Autumn Period, the change of Guan Zhong, the prime minister of Qi, was smooth, invincible, and smoothly landed.
Why can Guan Zhong be this "exception"?
1. The Qi State before Guan Zhong's reform was a mess
Before Xiaobai, the son of Qi Huan, succeeded to the throne, the national politics of Qi can be summed up in seven words: chaotic, very chaotic, very chaotic.
First of all, Qi Huangong's elder brother Qi Xianggong was unscrupulous during his reign, and he had an unspeakable relationship with his sister Wen Jiang, and he also sent someone to kill his brother-in-law Lu Huangong, and the politics of the court were also chaotic.
After 12 years in power, Qi Xianggong was killed by his cousin Gongsun Wuzhi, who then established himself as king, known as Qi Qian's deposed duke. A year later, Gongsun Wuzhi was killed by the assassins, and for a time the country of Qi was left without an owner, and everyone was in danger.
After Gongzi Jiao and Gongzi Xiaobai, who had taken refuge in another country, learned the news, they immediately decided to rush back to Qi at the speed of a 100-meter race, after all, whoever arrived first would be the new monarch.
On the way, Gongzi Xiaobai was shot by Gongzi's strategist Guan Zhong, and almost died, but fortunately, Gongzi Xiaobai was clever and knew that he vomited blood and pretended to be dead, so he was lucky enough to pick up a life, rushed back to Qi in advance, inherited the throne of the monarch, and became the Duke of Qi Huan.
Although he became the monarch, the challenges faced by Duke Qi Huan were not small. Due to the perverse actions of Qi Xianggong and Gongsun Ignorance for many years, the ministers of Qi have long been frightened, the economy is backward, the social structure is chaotic, and the government management is a mess.
In this case, no matter who Qi Huan Gong reuses or what kind of instructions he issues with the desire to change the law and innovate, as long as the ministers of Qi do not put their lives in danger, everyone will basically raise their hands to support it.
2. The pragmatism of Guan Zhong
almost shot his son Xiaobai to death, and formed a deep hatred, but as a result, not only did he not die, but he also became the monarch. For Guan Zhong, who was on the wrong side, there seemed to be no other choice but to flee the Qi country. But fortunately, the son Xiaobai that Guan Zhong met was an open-minded monarch who had not been met in a hundred years - Duke Qi Huan.
Under the persuasion of Uncle Bao, Qi Huan Gong almost did not hesitate, and forgave Guan Zhong as much as possible, and also worshiped Guan Zhong as the prime minister, hoping that Guan Zhong could lead Qi to change the law and become strong and achieve hegemony.
Guan Zhong's ability is really not small, and he quickly found several core problems that Qi State urgently needed to solve, that is, rectifying the rule of officials, developing the economy, and enriching the country and strengthening the army.
After some planning, Guan Zhong implemented the following major reforms:
First, it is necessary to make a big effort to rectify the rule of officials. The chaos in the government of Qi is nothing more than because the monarch does not care about things, and the ministers in the court and the central government do not perform their duties. Now that the monarch is in charge, it is only necessary to appoint competent officials to each department, re-establish the rules, and make each department function normally.
In this world, there may be nothing more than a hundred wastes waiting to be rejuvenated to stimulate everyone's fighting spirit, with the management of the finances of Ning Qi, the management of the army of the prince Cheng Father, the management of the judiciary Bin Xu Wu and others have been on the throne one after another, the internal affairs of the Qi State have been basically smoothed out, and the rules have basically been established.
Guan Zhong's employment rules are also very simple, I don't care what your background is, I only look at ability, and those who are capable are mediocre. In this way, the concubines of the poor family will support Guan Zhong, because Guan Zhong gave them the opportunity to counterattack. The nobles will also support Guan Zhong, although I was a nobleman before, I didn't have a chance to perform, and I was always in danger of my life, but now that you have given me a place to use, will I still have trouble with you?
Second, we should make every effort to develop the economy. The country of Qi on the coast of the East China Sea, which is today's Dashan Shandong, is blessed with unique natural resources. First of all, the sea eats the sea, and the sea is the greatest resource. The fish caught by the fishermen and the salt from the sun are all products of people's livelihood, and they can be exported to various vassal states in exchange for some foreign exchange. Second, the state has land and mines, and the development of agriculture and iron smelting can also fill the stomach, revitalize the economy, and also make weapons and enhance national strength.
No one will have trouble with money, and through Guan Zhong's reforms, the people will be able to eat enough, the officials will be able to get their salaries smoothly, and of course there will be more people who support him than those who oppose him.
Third, increase state revenue. This point is very similar to the second point, isn't it true that developing economic countries will have money, but Guan Zhong still has a backhand, he is worried that if he only develops the private economy and allows the country to live solely on taxes, it will be difficult to gather huge wealth and become a strong country. Therefore, he deliberately set aside key industries and let them be monopolized by the state. For example, the salt industry and the iron smelting industry are not allowed to interfere with the common people.
Through the direct operation of national capital, these well-paid industries became stronger and stronger, and Qi soon became a powerful and rich country in the Spring and Autumn Period, and Qi Huan Gong also became the head of the Spring and Autumn Five Hegemons.
Relying on multiple pragmatic measures, Guan Zhong, who has achieved the triple benefit of making the monarch, officials, and people happy, become the public enemy of the whole people because of the reform of the old law?
3. Qi Huangong's health, longevity and life pattern
In other changes in history, if vested interests are too powerful, reformers can easily become the target of public criticism. And Qi does not have any vested interest groups, or the power of these vested interest groups is simply not enough to compete with Guan Zhong, so the resistance faced by Guan Zhong is not great.
At the same time, the relationship between the reformers and the bigwigs behind them, and whether the bigwigs behind them live long, are the key to whether the reformers can land smoothly. Qi Huan Gong has always trusted and respected Guan Zhong, so even if there is a villain who wants to harm Guan Zhong, he has no chance to take advantage of it.
In terms of life expectancy, Guan Zhong lived to be 74 years old, implemented reforms for 41 years, and was known as the "first phase of China". Qi Huan lived to be 72 years old and reigned for 43 years, and was the leader who was the most skilled in employing people in history and most completely inherited the spirit of "respecting the virtuous and meritorious".
When Guan Zhong died, Qi Huan Gong was still alive and well, and Guan Zhong was able to land smoothly, of course, it was reasonable.
Therefore, compared with other reforms in history, Guan Zhong can be said to occupy the right time and place. He has the trust of a wise monarch, the support of a wide range of public opinion, and is still at the historical node of the collapse of the old order and the urgent need to establish a new order.
What do you think?