The ancestors of Gou Jian, the king of Yue, are descendants of Yu Xia, the son of Xia Shaokang. Emperor Shao Kang's son was sealed in Huiji, respectfully offering sacrifices and inheriting Yu Xia's sacrifices. They were tattooed, their hair was cut short, grass was removed and cities were built. After more than twenty generations, it spread to Yunchang. When Yun Chang was in power, he resented the king of Wu and attacked each other. After the death of Yun Chang, his son Gou Jian succeeded to the throne. This is the King of Yue.
In the first year of Gou Jian, the King of Yue (496 BC), the King of Wu heard that Yunshang had died and sent troops to crusade against Yue. Gou Jian, the King of Yue, sent warriors who dared to die to challenge Wu Jun. The warriors rushed into the Wu Jun position in three rows and committed suicide screaming. Wu Bing was dumbfounded. The Vietnamese army took the opportunity to attack Wu Jun, defeated Wu Jun in Lee and shot Prince He Lv. He Lv warned his son Fu Cha before he died: "Don't forget to cross the river."
Three years ago (496 BC), Gou Jian heard that Fu Cha, the king of Wu, was training day and night, and he wanted to retaliate against Yue, so he planned to attack Wu before sending his troops. Fan Li remonstrated: "No, I heard that weapons are killing weapons, and it is against morality to attack and fight first." Conspiracy to do immoral things, love to use weapons, and personally participate in inferior things will definitely be opposed by the Emperor of Heaven. This is definitely not good. King Yue said, "I have made my decision." So Banshi marched into Wu. After hearing the news, the king of Wu used the national elite troops to meet the Vietnamese army and defeated the Vietnamese army in Fujiao. The King of Yue only assembled 5,000 beaten troops to retreat to Huiji. The prince of Wu pursued the victory and surrounded Huiji.
The King of Yue said to Fan Li, "I don't listen to your advice. What should I do?" Fan Li replied: "those who can completely maintain their achievements will certainly follow the example of natural surplus without overflowing;" Those who can pacify the overthrow must know that human beings advocate humility; Those who can control their own affairs will follow the tunnel and adapt to local conditions. Now, you should be courteous to the king of Wu and send someone to send him a generous gift. If he doesn't agree, you can serve him personally and mortgage yourself to Wu. Gou Jian said, "All right! So he sent a doctor to make peace with Wu. He knelt on the ground and kowtowed and said, "Wang's courtier, Jian Jian, wants me to tell your staff boldly: Gou Jian asks you to let him be your slave and his wife be your concubine. "The prince will promise to plant. Zi Xu said to the king of Wu, "The Emperor of Heaven gave the state of Yue to Wu, so don't promise him." After returning to Vietnam, he told the sentence to build. The sword was sentenced to kill his wife and children, burn his jewels, and fight to death on the battlefield. There is a way to stop Jane from saying, "Wu Taizai is very greedy." We can lure him with a lot of money. Please allow me to go to Wu Tong to receive him in secret. "So Gou Jian asked the species to dedicate beautiful women's jewels and jade articles to Taizai. Hao readily accepted, so he introduced the doctor to the king of Wu. A kowtow said, "I hope your majesty will forgive me for the crime of sword. We will give you all the treasures handed down from ancient times. If you are unfortunately pardoned, Gou Jian will kill all his wife and children, burn all his jewels, and lead his 5,000 soldiers to fight you to the death, and you will also pay a considerable price. "Taizai Hao took the opportunity to persuade the King of Wu:" The King of Yue was a courtier, and pardoning him is beneficial to our country. " The king of Wu promised to replant. Zi Xu remonstrated, saying, "If you don't destroy Yue State today, you will regret it. Jane is a wise monarch, and Zhong He is a wise minister. If Zhu Jian can return to Yue, he will definitely make a mess. " The King of Wu did not listen to Zixu's advice, and finally pardoned the King of Yue and withdrew his troops to return home.
When Gou Jian was trapped in Huiji, Zeng Kui sighed, "Will I end my life here?" "Species" said: "Shang Tang was imprisoned in Xiapi, trapped in yǒu, Jin fled to Zhai, Qi fled to Ju, and finally became kings, dominating the world. From this point of view, why can't our situation today be a blessing? "
The King of Wu pardoned the King of Yue. After Gou Jian returned home, he thought carefully and painstakingly, hung his gallbladder on his seat, and then he could look up and taste it and eat it. He also said, "Have you forgotten Huiji's shame?" He farmed by himself, his wife wove by herself, and he never had meat for dinner. Never wear two layers of gorgeous clothes, be polite to sages, be considerate, treat guests warmly, help the poor, mourn the dead and work with the people. The King of Yue asked Fan Li to manage state affairs, and Fan Li replied, "I am not as good as you when it comes to fighting; Pacify the country and bring people close. I am not as good as planting. " So, he entrusted the state affairs to the doctor, asked Fan Li to make peace with the doctor Ji Zhe, and then went to the State of Wu as a hostage. Two years later, Wu Pai sent him back to China.
After returning to China from Huiji for seven years, Gou Jian always comforted his soldiers and people, hoping to avenge Wu. Feng Jian said, "The country has just migrated, and now it is rich. Rectify armaments, Wu will be afraid, afraid of the inevitable disaster arrival. In addition, when fierce big birds attack the target, they must hide first. Now, Wu Jun is on the border of Qi and Jin, and he hates Chu's guts. Although it is famous all over the world, it actually harms the Zhou royal family. Wu's lack of virtue is indispensable. He must be very arrogant. If you really think about Yue, it is better to make friends with Qi, get close to Chu, join Jin and be kind to Wu. Wu is very ambitious and must despise war. Let our country contact the forces of the three countries, let them attack Wu, and let Yue conquer it while being tired. " Gou Jian said, "Good."
Two years later, the prince of Wu will crusade against Qi. Zi Xu remonstrated: "No, I heard that Gou Jian never cooked two good dishes and shared joys and sorrows with the people. The immortality of this man must be a worry for our country. When Wu arrived in Yue, it was a worry, while Qi was like a scar to Wu. I hope that the king will give up attacking Qi and attack the country first. " The king of Wu refused to listen and sent troops to attack the State of Qi. He defeated the Qi army in Aileen and took Gao and Guo's whole family back to Wu. The king of Wu blamed Zixu, who said, "Don't be too happy!" " The prince of Wu was very angry and Zixu wanted to commit suicide. When the prince heard this, he stopped him. Doctor Yue said, "I observed that the King of Wu had too much power. Please allow me to sound him out and borrow food to find out the attitude of the prince of Wu towards Yue. " Kind of borrowed food from the prince of Wu. The prince of Wu wanted to lend it to him, but Zixu suggested not to. The king of Wu still lent it to him, and the king of Yue was secretly happy. Zi Xu said, "If the King of Qi doesn't listen to my advice, Wu will be in ruins in three years!" After hearing this, Taizai Hao argued with Zixu many times about his plan to deal with the state of Yue, and took the opportunity to slander Zixu, saying, "The State of Wu is honest on the surface, but in fact it is cruel. He doesn't even care about his father and brother. How can he care about the king? " The last time, the King of Qi tried to attack the State of Qi, and the soldiers strongly protested against him. Later you played well, but he hated you for it. If you don't guard against him, he will definitely make trouble. "He also conspired with Feng to slander Zixu again and again in front of Qi Weiwang. At first, the king of Qi did not listen to rumors and sent Zixu to Qi. When Qi Weiwang heard that Zixu entrusted his son to Bao, he was furious and said, "Wu Yuan really cheated me! After Zixu returned to China as an envoy, the King of Wu sent someone to give Zixu a "ornamental" sword to commit suicide. Zi Xu smiled and said, "I will help your father dominate and make you king. You wanted to share Wu with me at first, but I didn't accept it. Not long after, today you killed me because of a rumor. Alas, alas, you can never build a country alone! Zi Xu said to the emissary, "I must take out my eyes and hang them on the east gate of the capital of Wu, so that I can see the Vietnamese army enter the city with my own eyes." So the prince of Wu was in charge of state affairs.
Three years later, Gou Jian summoned him and said, "The king of Wu killed Xu, and there were many flatterers. Can you attack Wu? " Fan Li replied, "No."
The following spring, the king of Wu went to Huangchi in the north to see the princes. All the elite troops of Wu followed the king to the meeting, and the old and weak soldiers and the king stayed in Wudu. Gou Jian asked if he could attack Wu. Fan Li said, "All right". So he sent 2000 soldiers familiar with water warfare, 40000 well-trained soldiers, 6000 well-educated and high-ranking guards, 1000 management and technical officials to attack Wu. Wu Jun was defeated, and the Vietnamese army also killed the king of Wu. The emissary of the State of Wu rushed to the King of Wu, who was meeting the prince in the Imperial Pool. He was afraid that everyone in the world would hear the news of the fiasco and stick to it. The prince of Wu had an appointment with a vassal in Huangchi, so he sent someone to make peace with Yue with a generous gift. The King of Yue estimated that he could not destroy the State of Wu, so he made peace with the State of Wu.
Four years later, the State of Yue attacked the State of Wu. The soldiers and civilians of Wu were exhausted, and all the elite soldiers died in the war with Qi and Jin. So, the state of Yue defeated Wu Jun and surrounded Wudu for three years. Wu Jun failed, and the State of Yue besieged the prince of Wu on Gusu Mountain. The King of Wu sent Gong Sunxiong to take off his coat and kneel down to make peace with the King of Yue, saying, "Fu Cha, a helpless courtier, took the liberty to express his wishes. I once offended you in Huiji, but I dare not disobey your orders. If I can make peace with you, I will withdraw my troops and go home. Today, you come to punish this orphan. I'll do whatever you want me to do, but my personal intention is to forgive me for Fucha's sins like Kuaijishan did to you! " Gou Jian couldn't bear it anymore and wanted to promise the prince of Wu. Fan Li said, "What we should remember is that God gave Yue to Wu, but Wu didn't want it. Today, God gave the State of Wu to Yue. Can yue go against the sky? Besides, isn't it because of the state of Wu that the imperial court is in full swing? I have planned to attack Wu for 22 years. Once I give up, okay? God gave it to you but you didn't want it, so you will be punished instead. Use an axe to cut wood to make an axe handle. The shape of the axe handle is left and right. Have you forgotten Huiji's suffering? Gou Jian said, "I want to hear your advice, but I can't bear to part with his messenger." Fan Li beat the drum and said, "Your Majesty has entrusted me with the administration of state affairs. The emissary of Wu should leave quickly, or you will regret it. " The emissary of Wu left with tears. Gou Jian pitied him and sent someone to say to the king of Wu, "I will put you in Yongdong! Rule a hundred. " The king of Wu declined politely and said, "I am too old to serve you!" " "Then he committed suicide, burying his face in suicide and saying," I'm ashamed to see my son! " "The king buried the prince and killed Taizai Hao. Li Hongzhang
Speaking of Li Hongzhang, a powerful minister in the late Qing Dynasty, people always think of such comments as "traitor" and "sinner through the ages". However, when we think calmly and rationally about the embarrassing situation that Li Hongzhang's era building will collapse, we find that Li Hongzhang cannot and cannot bear the tragic consequences of the failure of foreign exchanges in the late Qing Dynasty.
The dilemma between ideal and reality
The conflict between China and the West is a conflict between two independently developed civilization systems. Such a conflict is not only a conflict in the situation, but also a conflict in the internal concepts of literati. Therefore, the dilemma of diplomacy in the late Qing Dynasty is essentially the dilemma of China's traditional culture. Evaluating Li Hongzhang in the world environment of contrast between China and the West is helpful to deeply understand the fate of Li Hongzhang and the late Qing Dynasty. In the historical tragedy of the disintegration of China's traditional diplomatic system, Li Hongzhang was a politician and diplomat who treated the "eternal change" soberly and rationally in the China bureaucratic group in the late Qing Dynasty. He tried to establish new clear principles and adaptation methods for China's foreign relations, but his thoughts were full of contradictions: he realized that the changes of the times required changes in China, but he could not take fundamental changes in the system or even culture; He realized the change of political values from worshipping imperial power to advocating state power, which proved that he was still a realistic diplomat in essence. However, his realism in diplomatic operation and the dilemma faced by diplomacy in the late Qing Dynasty: not only to maintain the traditional ideal of imperial diplomatic system, celestial ritual system or tribute system, but also to adapt to the reality of the completely opposite international relations system of modern nation-States, constitute irreconcilable contradictions.
In this predicament, we must pay full attention to Li Hongzhang's distinct sense of the times when evaluating his foreign negotiations. Objectively speaking, Li Hongzhang was the most insightful minister in the late Qing Dynasty. Li Hongzhang has a sober view of the current situation and put forward the famous proposition of "eternal unchanging". In his letters and memorials to friends 1865, 1872 and 1874, he repeatedly emphasized that the situation at home and abroad was "unprecedented for thousands of years" and deeply realized that China must open up and compete with the west. Westernization movement just rose.
Li Hongzhang's view of political reform faithfully reflected the characteristics of the times at that time. Without a strong sense of hardship, there would be no proposition of "Millennium change" and no calm thinking about the current situation.
Debate between fortress defense and coastal defense: Li Hongzhang's modern sea power consciousness
1875, there was a dispute between fortress defense and coastal defense in the Qing court. At that time, the Qing court faced a double crisis: Xinjiang in the west was almost completely lost, and Japan in the east was invading Taiwan Province Province. In fact, this also involves two issues, one is the financial budget, and the other is the modernization of national defense thinking. The former question is related to the personal power of Zuo Wenxiang (left) and Li Hongzhang. In addition to patriotism, both of them are somewhat selfish. The left is in charge of the northwest, while Xinjiang is the fortress of the northwest. It is natural to strive to recover Xinjiang. At that time, the national finance could not win two wars at the same time. Zuo Tang Zong later studied in Xinjiang, a considerable part of which was raised by himself. However, Zuo's theory seems to be more inflammatory than Li Hongzhang's, advocating equal emphasis on fortress defense and coastal defense. Whether it is feasible or not, he is better than Li Hongzhang, who advocates coastal defense construction, only from the political struggle. The court dominated by Prince Gong Yi neutralized the dispute between the two men, and Li Hongzhang was appointed Minister of Beiyang. The construction of Beiyang Navy and Nanyang Navy is the beginning of China's national defense modernization: on the one hand, it has changed the traditional strategy of focusing on inland defense; On the other hand, the construction of modern navy became an important opportunity to promote China's modernization (Westernization Movement), which was beyond the power of national defense theory. In addition, Li Hongzhang thought that Japan was China's biggest enemy at that time, which still has warning value for China people today. Of course, if the policy focuses entirely on coastal defense, it may not be able to defeat Japan. After all, Japan, which embarked on the road of a modern country after the Meiji Restoration, has been far from the Qing Dynasty in terms of system, economy, strategy and armament.
Facing the deepening national crisis, the first and urgent task of the Qing Dynasty is how to re-establish an effective national security defense system. After several large-scale foreign wars, where is the focus of the national defense strategy and where should the strategic focus be set? This issue caused a wide debate among many politicians in the Qing Dynasty. The result of this debate initially changed China's national defense strategic pattern which lasted for thousands of years, and had a far-reaching impact on the reconstruction of modern national defense in China. Taking this national defense discussion as an opportunity, China's modern national defense began to realize the strategic shift from coastal defense to national defense center of gravity. This is the historical value of the dispute between coastal defense and fortress defense.
The views of Zuo and Li Hongzhang were debated in a specific case at that time, but we can't think that they hold completely opposite views on the long-term national defense issue. As important figures of the Westernization School, Zuo and Li share the same view on the issue of military modernization. Zuo's vigorous establishment and support for Fuzhou Shipping Bureau proved his coastal defense consciousness. Moreover, Li Hongzhang is not only engaged in the navy.
Visiting Europe and America: Clear Modern Consciousness
After the signing of treaty of shimonoseki, Li Hongzhang was accused by many people and lost his position as governor of Zhili and minister of Beiyang. 1896 In February, Li Hongzhang visited Russia as the first-class plenipotentiary of an imperial envoy to congratulate Tsar Nicholas II on his coronation and celebrate "United Russia Day". Soon, he made a global visit to Europe and the United States. The signing of the Sino-Russian Secret Treaty convinced Li Hongzhang that "twenty years can do anything, but it actually opened the door for the great powers to open up China. However, for this experience, his fundamental conclusion is: "As for the fundamental plan, especially about strengthening ourselves through reform. "
He arrived in Berlin on June 1896. In order to discuss the strategy of strengthening the country, Li Hongzhang rushed to visit Bismarck who had stepped down near Hamburg. For the visit of "Oriental Bismarck", Bismarck provided the key to building a powerful country: building a strong army. Obviously, this is in line with Li Hongzhang's reform orientation. However, this is not the fundamental way for China to strengthen itself.
1On August 28th, 896, Li Hongzhang arrived in new york. American President Cleveland, who is on vacation by the sea, came to visit Li Hongzhang. The dragon flag of the Qing Empire hangs everywhere in new york Port, which is a roaring salute and an empty lane, and has received "unprecedented courtesy" (new york Times). When answering questions from American journalists, Li Hongzhang also showed an outstanding diplomat's keen sense of national sovereignty and modernity:
He attacked the American Chinese Exclusion Act. It coincides with the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act "Gail Act" by the US Congress. When Li attacked the bill, "his eyes shone with burning light." He said, "The Chinese Exclusion Act is the most unfair act in the world." "You are proud of your democracy and freedom, but is your Chinese Exclusion Act free for Chinese? This is not freedom! "
He realized the mutual benefit of the international economy. When asked about investment in China, Li Hongzhang believed that investment in China was mutually beneficial, and said that the Qing government welcomed any capital to invest in the establishment of modern industrial enterprises. At the same time, he said: "We should control railway, telecommunications and other affairs by ourselves. We must protect national sovereignty and not allow anyone to endanger our sacred rights. "
He expressed his openness to women's education. An American reporter asked, "Are you in favor of women's education?" At that time, he said: "In our Qing Dynasty, girls hired female teachers to provide education at home, and families with financial ability hired female tutors. At present, we have no public girls' schools or institutions of higher education. This is because our customs and habits are different from yours (including Europe and America). Maybe we should learn from your education system and introduce what suits our national conditions to China. This is really what we need. "
He realized that newspapers or news media should reveal the truth. He said: "The Qing State Office has newspapers. But unfortunately ... the editors of the Qing Dynasty were stingy when telling the truth ... because they couldn't tell the truth honestly, our newspaper lost the lofty value of the news itself and didn't become a way to spread civilization widely. "
This is Li Hongzhang, a man in the contradiction between tradition and modernity, a man in the crevice. Liang Qichao, the master of the Reform Movement of 1898, once commented on Li Hongzhang: "I ... respect and mourn Li's encounter." Li thinks he is just a poseur. In that decadent Qing dynasty from the inside out, it was acceptable for the "paperhanger" to decorate the broken house (Qing dynasty) completely. Occasionally, a small storm can survive, but in a big storm, the broken house is exposed. Can one and a half "paperhanger" make up for it?