Chinanews Client Beijing, July 24th (Song Yusheng) Starting from the 23rd, all parts of the country will gradually enter the time when the college entrance examination is "released".

　　Looking back at this year’s college entrance examination questions, the essay questions of the national I volume have caused a lot of attention and discussion.

　　The question is to ask the examinee to write a speech about the book club on three historical figures, Qi Huangong, Guan Zhong, and Bao Shuya, and talk about which one they "felt the most".

Can't kill Guan Zhong

　　The story of these three people starts with the internal chaos of Qi in 686 BC.

　　At that time, Qi was in the vacancy of the monarch, and the two younger brothers of Qi Xianggong, Gongzi Jiao and Gongzi Xiaobai, were able to inherit the position of the monarch. But at this time, the two princes are not in Qi, one is in Ju and the other is in Lu.

Drawing: Ni Wenbing

　　Obviously, in this case, whoever reaches the capital of Qi State first is more likely to inherit the throne of Qi State. Conversely, the party who arrives late may be in danger of life. This is a game of life as a bet, and the reward for winning is the position of the monarch.

　　To ensure that his side could win, Guan Zhong, who assisted the young master, led his troops to block Xiao Bai, and shot an arrow, Xiao Bai fell down. However, it happened that this arrow hit the clothes belt hook, so Xiao Bai was able to fool Guan Zhong by pretending to be dead, and then reached the capital of Qi State as quickly as possible and became the monarch of Qi State. This is Qi Huan Gong.

Drawing: Ni Wenbing

　　After Qi Huan came to the throne, he threatened to invade the country of Lu, where he had sheltered his son. In order to prevent the two countries from confronting each other in battle, Lu State executed Gongzi Jie, and Guan Zhong was taken back to Qi State as a prisoner.

　　From Qi Huangong's point of view, Guan Zhong, who had almost killed himself, would not be able to stay. "Historical Records" contained that Qi Huangong "wanted to kill Guan Zhong". But Bao Shuya, who assisted Qi Huangong, was also Guan Zhong's good friend. He told Qi Huangong that his talents could only assist in the governance of Qi, but if Qi was to dominate in troubled times, he had to use Guan Zhong as the minister.

　　Therefore, Qi Huangong obeyed Bao Shuya's suggestion and worshipped Guan Zhong as the prime minister of the country.

Drawing: Ni Wenbing

"Jiuhe princes, not military vehicles"

　　Many people might think that Qi Huangong has Guan Zhong, Bao Shuya and others' assistance, and Qi will become the overlord by conquering the Quartet.

　　In fact, the opposite is true. Qi State took a path of "peaceful rise", and even failed in the initial foreign war.

　　In the second year of Huan Gong (684 BC), the Qi army attacked Lu and fought at Changshao. The Lu State was resisted by Lu Zhuang with his troops, and Cao Gui was the one who made plans. This is the classic battle described in the "Cao Ku Lun" in the Chinese textbook.

Drawing: Ni Wenbing

　　The Qi army beat the drum three times in succession, and the Lu army stayed still, and then beat the drum by surprise to defeat the Qi army. This war is believed to indirectly contributed to the peace of Qi and Lu after a few years. In the same year, the Qi army sent troops to destroy Tan Guo.

　　However, since then, Qi Huangong has gradually established Qi's hegemony in the form of alliance or deterrence, and war has not been the first choice.

　　In the fifth year of Huan Gong (681 BC), the State of Qi invited Song, Chen, Cai, Chu and other countries to join the North Xinghui League and quell the internal disturbances in the Song Dynasty. In the same year, Qi and Lu were "allied in Ke".

　　In the sixth year of Huangong (680 BC), Qi Huangong invited Chen and Cao to gather together, and asked the emperor Zhou to send the king to jointly attack the Song Dynasty, but the Song state was forced to give in. This winter, Qi State made an alliance with Song, Wei, and Zheng. In the seventh year of Huan Gong (679 BC), the five nations of Qi, Song, Chen, Wei and Zheng once again joined the alliance. "Zuo Zhuan" said, "Qi Shiba also."

　　Since then, Qi Huangong basically continued to deal with disputes between vassals in a similar way. The records of the few military dispatches of the Qi state recorded in historical materials are mostly to conquer Shan Rong and Di people to maintain the order of China.

　　Therefore, Confucius said, "Huan Gong and the nine princes, don't use the military chariot, but also Guan Zhong's power."

The "Iron Triangle" of Qi State

　　Of course, the reason why Qi Huangong was able to "nine princes, not a military chariot" was because Qi Huangong, Guan Zhong, Bao Shuya and others worked together to make the country powerful.

　　Some articles refer to Qi Huangong, Guan Zhong, and Bao Shuya as the "iron triangle" of Qi state politics.

　　From the perspective of later generations, these three historical figures are very personal.

　　Qi Huan's father is very general and he doesn't care about his birthplace. Even for Guan Zhong, who was once his enemy, he did not hesitate to worship.

　　However, in his later years, Qi Huangong did not follow Guan Zhong's advice before his death, and instead reused Ningchen. After Qi Huan's death, his five sons led their party members to fight for the seat, and Qi Guo fell into civil strife again. According to "Records of the History", a few months after Qi Huan's death, no one collected his body, so that all the corpses crawled out of the window.

　　Although Guan Zhong was good at ruling the country, he carried out some reforms to make the country stronger, but later generations also had different opinions on him.

　　Even, Guan Zhong himself used a self-deprecating tone to talk about his youth experience: Guan Zhong and Bao Shuya, who were living down at the time, were doing business together, and often gave themselves more money; he also went to battle, but became a deserter; After being killed, Guan Zhong defected to his former political enemy Qi Huangong and slurred his back...

Drawing: Ni Wenbing

　　In "The Analects", Zilu once asked Confucius, can Guan Zhong be considered a person of benevolence? Confucius gave the answer that Guan Zhong gave Qi Huangong the prime minister, and Qi ruled the princes, and the people are still enjoying the happiness he created.

　　And Bao Shuya, can understand friends when their talents are not displayed. Although Bao Shuya is not as capable as Guan Zhong, she is not jealous, and instead recommends her to a position higher than herself.

　　But it is these three imperfect people who came together for the same goal and finally created the hegemony of Qi.

　　After reading this history, look back at the college entrance examination questions. Who do you have "the deepest feeling" for? (Finish)

　　Reference materials: "Historical Records", "The Analects", "Qi Huangong, Guan Zhong, Bao Shu, who do you choose" "Qi Huangong Hegemony", "Confucius's Evaluation of Guan Zhong"