Shortly after Duke Xiao appointed Wei Yang, he planned to change the laws, but he was afraid that the world would talk about him. Wei Yang said: "If you hesitate in action, you will not be famous; if you hesitate in doing things, you will not succeed. Moreover, behavior that goes beyond ordinary people is often criticized by the world; people with unique opinions will definitely be criticized by ordinary people. Ridicule. Foolish people can't figure it out after they succeed, but smart people can foresee what will happen in advance. People who can't plan the creation of new things with them can not discuss the highest morality with them. Those who conform to the world and achieve great things do not conspire with ordinary people. Therefore, as long as the saint can make the country strong, there is no need to follow the old rules; as long as it can benefit the people, there is no need to follow the old rituals. "Xiao Gong said: "That's good." Qianlong said, "That's not the case. A sage teaches without changing the folk customs, and a wise man governs the country without changing the laws. If you teach according to the folk customs, you will succeed without any effort; if you follow the rules, you will succeed. The country is governed by law, and the officials are accustomed to it and the people are stable." Wei Yang said: "What Qianlong said is a secular saying. Most people are content with old customs, while scholars are stuck with what they know in books. It's okay to obey the law, but you can't talk to them about reforms other than the legal system. The three generations of rituals have different systems, but they can all unite the world. The five uncles have different legal systems, but they can all dominate. The wise people make laws, and the stupid people are restricted by the laws. The virtuous people change the etiquette, and the ordinary people are bound by the etiquette. "Du Zhi said: "If you don't have a hundredfold benefit, you can't change the old one; if you don't have tenfold effect, you can't replace the old one. There is no fault. There will be no deviations from following the old rituals." Wei Yang said: "There is no fixed way to govern a country. It is beneficial to the country not to imitate the old laws. Therefore, Tang and Wu were able to rule the world without following the old laws, and Xia and Yin did not change the old rituals. Those who oppose the old law cannot be criticized, but those who follow the old rituals are not worthy of praise. "Xiao Gong said: "That's good." So he appointed Wei Yang as the chief of Zuo Shu, and finally made the order to change the law.
He ordered ten families to be organized into one, and five families to be organized into a team to monitor and report each other. If one family breaks the law, the ten families will be jointly punished. Those who do not report evil will be punished by being cut off from the waist; those who report evil will be rewarded the same as beheading the enemy; those who hide evil will be punished the same as those who surrender to the enemy. If a family has two or more able-bodied men living together, the tax will be doubled. Those with military merit will be promoted and rewarded according to the standards; those who fight over private affairs will be sentenced to different punishments according to the severity of the case. Those who are committed to agricultural production and have a good harvest of grain and increased production of cloth are exempted from labor or taxes. Those who were poor due to being engaged in industry, commerce or laziness had all their wives confiscated as official slaves. Those in the royal family who have no military merit cannot be included in the family roster. The hierarchy of titles and titles was clarified, and each family occupied land and real estate according to their grade. The clothes and clothing of retainers and servants were determined according to the title and grade of each family. Those who have military merit are distinguished and glorious, but those who do not have military merit cannot show glory even if they are very rich.
After the new law was ready, but before it was announced, fearing that the people would not believe it, a three-foot-long log was erected at the south gate of the market behind the capital, and people who could move the log to the north gate were recruited. He was rewarded with ten gold coins. The people thought this was strange and no one dared to touch it. He also announced that "whoever can move the wood to the north gate will be rewarded fifty gold." A man moved it away and immediately gave him fifty gold to show that he would do what he ordered and would never cheat. New laws were enacted afterwards.
The new law was implemented among the people for a whole year. Thousands of people from Qin State came to the country and said that the new law was inconvenient. At this time, the prince violated the new law. Wei Yang said: "The new law cannot be implemented smoothly because the upper class violated it." The prince will be punished according to the new law. The prince was the heir to the monarch and could not impose punishment, so he punished Gongzi Qian, the teacher who supervised his behavior, and Gongsun Jia, the teacher who imparted knowledge to him, with ink punishment. The next day, all the people of Qin implemented the new law. Ten years after the new law was implemented, the people of Qin were very happy. No one picked up other people's lost things on the road, there were no thieves in the mountains and forests, and every family was rich and sufficient. The people have the courage to fight for the country and dare not fight for private interests, and social order in villages and towns is stable.
If you don't object to King Wu's actions, then please allow me to speak out all day long without being blamed, okay? Shang Jun said: "As the saying goes, words that appear pleasant are like flowers, words that are true and sincere are like fruits, words that are bitter and unpleasant to the ears are good medicine for curing diseases, and words that are flattering are diseases." If you are really willing to speak out righteously all day long, that will be the best medicine for my illness. I will worship you as my teacher, why do you refuse to make friends with me? Zhao Liang said: "That Doctor Wuxi is a remote countryman from Chu State." I heard that Duke Mu of Qin was a virtuous man, so he wanted to see him in person. But he didn't have the money to go, so he sold himself to the people of Qin and wore a coarse short coat to feed their cattle. A full year later, Duke Mu of Qin found out about this and promoted him from the cow's mouth to the top of ten thousand people. No one in Qin was dissatisfied. He served as the Prime Minister of Qin for sixty-seven years. He went east to conquer Zheng, supported the king of Jin three times, and sent troops to rescue Chu once. Implement morality within the territory. The country of Pakistan came to pay tribute; it treated the princes virtuously, and ethnic minorities from all over the world came to pay homage. When Yu Yu heard about this situation, he came to knock on the door and seek refuge. When Doctor Wuxi was appointed as the Prime Minister of the Qin Dynasty, he did not ride in a car when tired, did not hold an umbrella in the scorching heat, and traveled all over the country without accompanying vehicles or armed defense. His merits are recorded in the annals of history and hidden in the treasury, and his virtues are taught in Descendants. When Wu Xianfu died, both men and women in the Qin State cried bitterly. Even the children did not sing ballads, and the people who were pounding rice did not make corresponding calls because of their sorrow. This is the virtue of Doctor Wuxi. Now that you are able to meet the King of Qin, you rely on the recommendation of the King of Qin's favorite minister Jing Jian. This is not a reputation at all. As the Prime Minister of the Qin State, if you build palaces on a large scale without benefiting the people, this cannot be said to have contributed to the country. Punishing the prince's master and using cruel methods to harm the people is accumulating resentment and accumulating disaster. Educating the people is more deeply rooted in the people's hearts than ordering them, and it is faster for the people to imitate the behavior of the superiors than ordering them. Now you are unreasonably establishing authoritative change procedures. This is not to educate the people. You proclaimed yourself king in the south of Shangyu fiefdom, and used new laws to persecute the nobles of Qin every day. "The Book of Songs" says: "The rat still knows how to be polite, but people have no manners. Since people have lost their manners, why don't they die quickly?" ’ According to this poem, it really cannot be flattering to you. Gongzi Qian has been in seclusion for eight years. You killed Zhu Huan and punished Gongsun Jia with ink. "The Book of Songs" says: "Getting the heart of the people is revitalizing, losing the heart of the people is ruining." ’ None of these things are popular. As soon as you go out, dozens of vehicles are following behind you. The vehicles are full of armored guards. Strong people serve as personal guards. People with spears and halberds run close to your vehicle. If you lack any of these defenses, you will definitely not dare to go out. "Shangshu" says: "Prosperity relies on charity, and destruction relies on force." ’ Your situation is as dangerous as the morning dew that will soon disappear. Do you still plan to prolong your life? Then why not return Shang's fiefdom of fifteen cities to the State of Qin, and go to remote and desolate places to water gardens and cultivate their own land, and persuade the King of Qin to reuse those talents who live in seclusion in the mountains and forests to support the elderly and raise orphans, so that father and brother can respect each other and rank according to their merits. , Respect virtuous people, so as to maintain a little peace. You will also covet Shang Yu's wealth, take monopolizing the political and religious affairs of Qin as your honor and favor, and arouse the resentment of the people. Once the king of Qin abandons his guests and cannot be in power, how many people will Qin want to arrest you? The day of your death will come as quickly as you lift your feet. "But Shang Jun did not listen to Zhao Liang's advice.
Five months later, Qin Xiaogong died and the prince ascended the throne. Gongzi Qian and his group reported that Shang Jun wanted to rebel and sent people to arrest Shang Jun. Shang Jun He fled to the border gate and wanted to stay in a hotel. The owner of the hotel did not know that he was Shang Jun, and said: "Shang Jun has an order, and the owner of the hotel will jointly and jointly punish the people who stay in the hotel without documents." Shang Jun sighed longly and said, "Oh!" The legacy of enacting new laws has reached such an extent! " He left Qin and fled to Wei. The people of Wei resented him for cheating Prince Ang and defeating the Wei army, and refused to take him in. Lord Shang planned to go to another country. The people of Wei said: " Lord Shang is a fugitive from Qin. If you come to the Wei State and don't return it, you won't be able to do it. "So he sent Lord Shang back to Qin. After Lord Shang returned to Qin, he fled to his fiefdom.