During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Qin Shangyang presided over the political reform with the support of Qin Xiaogong.
At that time, at a time of frequent wars and panic, in order to establish prestige and promote reform, Shang Yang ordered a 30-foot-long wood to be erected outside the south gate of the capital, and made a promise in public: whoever can move this wood to the north gate will be rewarded with twelve taels of silver.
None of the onlookers believe that such an easy thing can get such a high reward, so no one is willing to try.
So Shang Yang raised the reward to 50 gold.
Under the four rewards, there must be brave people. Finally someone stepped forward and carried the wood to the north gate.
Shang Yang immediately rewarded him with fifty gold.
Shang Yang's move established prestige in the hearts of the people, and Shang Yang's next reform was quickly popularized in Qin State.
The new law made the State of Qin stronger and eventually unified China.
It was also in the place where Shang Yang "established a tree as a letter" that a ridiculous farce of "playing a vassal in a bonfire" was staged 400 years ago.
There is a favorite princess in Zhou Youwang, whose name is Bos. In order to win her smile, Zhou Youwang ordered more than 20 beacon towers near the capital to light bonfires-bonfires are a signal of border warning, which can only be lit when foreign enemies invade and need to call the princes for help.
As a result, as soon as the princes saw the bonfire, they led the soldiers to arrive in a hurry, realized that it was a trick set by the king to smile at his wife, and then left angrily.
I finally smiled happily when I saw the usually prestigious princes at a loss.
Five years later, another large-scale attack on Zhou, the bonfire of Youwang was rekindled, but the ministers were late-no one wanted to be fooled again.
As a result, you Wang was forced to commit suicide and was praised and captured.
A "stand up and win the trust" promises 1000 yuan; An emperor didn't believe it and played the game of "wolf coming".
As a result, the former succeeded in political reform and the country was strong; The latter, who brought shame on himself, died.
It can be seen that "belief" plays a very important role in the rise and fall of a country.
Li Yu Ian recorded a story about losing his life because he broke his promise.
A businessman in Jiyang sank while crossing the river. He grabbed a hemp pole and shouted for help.
A fisherman heard the sound.
The businessman quickly shouted: "I am the richest man in Jiyang. If you can save me, I will give you 100 two gold. " .
After being rescued ashore, the businessman turned his face and refused to admit it.
He only gave the fisherman 10 two gold.
The fisherman accused him of breaking his word and going back on his word.
The rich man said, "You are a fisherman. I can't make much money in my life. Is it not enough to suddenly get twelve taels of gold? " My husband must be very unhappy.
Unexpectedly, the rich man capsized in the same place again.
Someone tried to save him, and the person he cheated said, "He is a man of his word!" " "So the merchant drowned.
It is accidental that the businessman capsized twice and met the same husband, but it is expected that the businessman will not be rewarded.
Because if a person does not keep his word, he will lose the trust of others.
So, once he is in trouble, no one wants to rescue him.
Those who break their promises to others, once in trouble, have to sit still.
Lu Bu's promise saved him from disaster.
At the end of the Qin Dynasty, there was a man named Ji Bu. He kept his word and had a very high reputation. Many people have established a strong friendship with him.
At that time, there was even a proverb: "It is better to get a hundred pounds of gold than to keep a promise." (This is the origin of the idiom "A promise is as good as a gold") Later, he offended Liu Bang, the Emperor Gaozu, and was offered a reward for his capture.
As a result, his old friends not only were not confused by the heavy money, but also risked the extinction of Jiuzu to protect him from disaster.
A person who is honest and trustworthy will naturally get a lot of help and gain everyone's respect and friendship.
On the other hand, if you covet temporary comfort or petty advantages and lose trust in your friends, you will get "benefits" on the surface.
But for this benefit, he ruined his reputation, which is much more important than material things.
Therefore, breaking a promise to a friend is tantamount to losing a watermelon and picking up sesame seeds, which is not worth the loss.
Li Mian buried silver.
Li Mian, a native of the Tang Dynasty, liked reading books since he was a child. Pay attention to the requirements in the books.
After a long time, it becomes a habit and cultivates an honest and elegant gentleman's demeanor.
Although he was born in poverty, he never took ill-gotten gains.
On one occasion, he went out to study and stayed in a hotel.
I happened to meet a scholar who was going to Beijing to take an exam and lived there.
As soon as they met, they often talked about the past and the present, discussed knowledge and became good friends.
One day, the scholar suddenly fell ill and was bedridden.
Li Mian quickly invited a doctor for him, and helped him decoct medicine according to the doctor's advice, taking care of him to take medicine on time.
For several days in a row, Li Mian took good care of patients' daily life such as daily life and diet.
However, the scholar's condition has not improved, but has deteriorated day by day.
Looking at his weak friend, Li Mian was very anxious. He often goes to nearby families to find remedies, and often goes to the mountains alone to dig herbs that pharmacies can't buy.
One evening, when Li Mian came back from digging medicine, he went to his friend's room first, and it seemed that the bookish color was better.
His heart was full of joy. He approached the bed with concern and asked, "Brother, are you feeling better?"
The scholar said, "I don't think I have much time left." This may be a dead turn, and my brother has one more thing to ask before he dies. "
Li Mian quickly comforted: "Brother, don't be paranoid. Don't you look much better today? " As long as you rest quietly, you will be all right soon.
You're welcome, brother. Go ahead. "
The scholar said, "Take out the small wooden box under my bed and help me open it."
Li Mian did as he said.
The scholar pointed to a bag inside and said, "Thanks to your meticulous care these days.
This is one hundred and twenty pieces of silver, which was originally for the examination, but it is not needed now.
After I die, please use some money to prepare a coffin for me, bury me, and give the rest to you as a token of my gratitude. Please accept it, otherwise, my brother, I will have no peace under the grave. "
In order to reassure the scholar, Li Mian had to promise to accept the money.
The next morning, the scholar really passed away.
Li Mian obeyed his last wish, bought a coffin and carefully arranged his funeral.
There is still a lot of money left. Li Mian was useless at all, but wrapped it carefully and laid it quietly under the coffin.
Soon, the scholar's family took Li Mian's letter and rushed to the inn.
After they moved out of the coffin, they found the silverware buried with them.
Everyone was surprised.
After learning the origin of silver, everyone was moved by Li Mian's noble character of being honest and trustworthy and not greedy for money.
Later, Li Mian became an official of the imperial court. He is still honest and self-disciplined, honest and self-controlled, deeply loved by the people and respected among civil and military officials.
Liang Guozhi Loongson
Liang Guozhi was born in Qianlong period of Qing Dynasty. He has been smart and studious since he was a child.
But his family is poor, and his father wants him to give up his studies and do some small business to support his family.
Liang Guozhi begged his father to study for a few more years.
Neighbors saw it and thought it was a pity that Liang Guozhi didn't study, so they interceded, and some were willing to help him pay his tuition.
The father is also looking forward to his son's future success and better family life.
So he promised to let him continue his studies.
The villagers in the village are honest people with good hearts; Although they are not rich, they often help the poor Liang family.
The whole village hopes that Liang Guozhi will succeed in the future and win glory for their village.
Little Zhuo Zhi knew that he must not live up to the expectations of the villagers, and he would study harder.
Because Liang Guozhi grew up in such a harmonious and friendly environment, he developed a kind, honest and upright character from an early age.
In 65438, Liang Guozhi won a grand prize at the age of seventeen. At the age of 24, he won the highest award again.
After Liang Guozhi became an official in the imperial court, he never forgot his hometown elders and often used his own money to do things for the villagers.
No matter where he goes to court, he thinks of the people and is very popular with them.
Liang Guozhi is not only knowledgeable and good in character, but also good at painting and calligraphy. Anyone who gets paintings and calligraphy works will collect them as treasures.
Influenced by him, his son was interested in painting and calligraphy at an early age, clamoring for Liang Guozhi to teach him to paint.
One day, my son came to his father with a brush, and his face was covered with ink.
Liang Guozhi wanted to laugh after seeing it, wiped his son's face, and then said to his son seriously, "Before you learn to draw, you must learn to be a man. Without personality, you will never be a good painter. "
The son raised his childish face and asked his father doubtfully, "What is the relationship between painting and being a man?"
Liang Guozhi said, "A real painter paints with his heart, not with a pen.
If you are an upright gentleman, your paintings will be full of righteousness, and people will feel full of aura at first glance. "
The son blinked, as if he didn't quite understand, so Liang Guozhi told an example of Qin Gui, a traitor in the Song Dynasty.
He said: "Qin Gui is actually a very talented person. His handwriting is quite good, but he is a famous traitor in history with bad conduct.
After his death, people gnashed their teeth at him as soon as they heard his name. No one wanted to collect his calligraphy works at that time. They all think that obeying his words will bring disaster. His works were either torn to pieces and thrown into the cesspit, or burned by people.
There are few words left by him now, and people hate him because they hate him. "
The son nodded as if he understood.
Liang Guozhi added: "Honesty is the first step in life. Only if you don't tell lies, people who keep their promises will stand up and be aboveboard. "
Hearing this, the son kept in mind his father's teachings and adhered to the character of honesty all his life. Later, he really became a well-respected and famous painter at that time.