Great Song Dynasty Writer

Chapter 102 Lu Beigu's "On the Six States" [Seeking monthly votes!]

"On the Six States"

“Luzhou Hejiang County, Lubei Gu”

"When the six states were destroyed, the world blamed them for bribing Qin. But Qin gained the world and lost it even faster. What was the reason for this? It was because of its system."

In the past, Qin was a remote kingdom in the west, and the six states discarded Wei Yang like worn-out shoes. Yet Duke Xiao of Qin implemented his system, dividing the fields and establishing military merit. A commoner who beheaded a single enemy would be honored with a noble title; a convict who rallied the troops in battle would be removed from the register. The people of Qin saw war as merchants in a marketplace, heard the drums as farmers longing for autumn harvest. Thus, Han and Wei offered land with broken backs, and Zhao and Chu tore their clothes to sue for peace. The advantage of this system was that it united the ruler and the people in battle.

The ministers and officials of those six states still guarded the well-field system as if it were their ancestral tombs, and viewed reform as a devastating disaster. Thus, Su Qin wore his six seals in vain, and Wu Qi died far from home. Were the six states lacking capable generals? Their strength was simply restrained.

However, laws have no lasting benefits, and systems change with the times. When Bai Qi buried Zhao soldiers alive, people only called him tyrannical; but when Wang Jian asked for land and houses, people criticized him for being greedy. Did Wang Jian not know that destroying a state was a meritorious deed that would last forever? It is because the system of military merit is like a turbulent current, which can carry a boat on treacherous waters, but will inevitably capsize it on flat land.

While the six states remained, their heads could be retrieved from outside; once the world was at peace, calamities arose from within. When Chen Sheng raised his banner in rebellion, Zhang Han released the convicts of Lishan to fight; when Xiang Liang raised his army, Wang Li was still besieged by the soldiers stationed at the Great Wall who had not yet returned. Jia Yi said, "The strategies for attack and defense differ," and judging from this, is it not an empty statement?
Alas! When people discuss feudalism, many yearn for the old ways of the Three Dynasties. In the past, the Zhou Dynasty enfeoffed feudal lords, but as it declined, the feudal lords became powerful while the royal house weakened; the Qin Dynasty abolished feudalism, and as it perished, the garrison soldiers rebelled and the prefectures and counties were scattered. Therefore, there is no absolute system; only the most suitable one survives.

Breaking with the old system leads to strength, while adhering to the old rules leads to stagnation; uniting the people's strength leads to power, while exhausting the people's strength leads to ruin.

Should future reformers not be cautious?

In the very first sentence of Lu Beigu's essay "On the Six States," he presents a conclusion that is completely different from the mainstream view.

While everyone was discussing "bribing Qin" or "resisting Qin," he chose a rarely mentioned angle—the system!
One of the older scholars spoke first, saying, "This article takes 'system' as its focus. The opening is like a dragon, and the metaphor of 'the people of Qin seeing war as merchants encountering the market' is quite apt, fully demonstrating the key to Shang Yang's legal system. As for the middle section, the most wonderful part is the discussion of 'turbulent currents capsizing boats,' which strings together events such as Wang Jian's pursuit of land and Bai Qi's burying of his soldiers into a string of pearls, revealing the inevitability of the collapse of the Qin military system."

"Then, when we look at the chapter 'The garrison soldiers rebelled and the prefectures and counties scattered,' and recall the opening chapter's description of the benefits of military merit, it is as if we have just seen the Qin soldiers rushing to the battlefield, but suddenly we hear the news of the scorched earth of Epang. It really makes us realize that 'breaking the old system is sharp, while sticking to the old rules is rigid.' Such an ending can be described as a great and resounding bell!"

"Although Lu Beigu's article is well-written, its tone is extreme."

A gentleman said with a frown.

In fact, even if he disliked it, he couldn't say that Lu Beigu's article was poorly written.

Because sentences with excellent literary quality and extremely powerful momentum, such as "It can carry a boat on treacherous waters, but it will surely capsize on flat land" and "If the six states are still around, their heads can be retrieved from outside; if the world is at peace, disasters will arise from within," are clearly presented before us.

No matter how shameless a person is, they can't lie through their teeth.

Therefore, the only way to attack is through rhetoric.

"The destruction of the six states was due to their bribery of Qin. This has been a common opinion since Jia Yi's 'On the Faults of Qin' in the Western Han Dynasty. However, he took a different approach, talking about the flaws of the system and even vaguely praising the Qin system. This is inevitably suspected of being a publicity stunt."

Someone immediately retorted, "That's incorrect!"

"The value of an article lies in its appropriate originality. If everyone talks about the drawbacks of bribing Qin like in 'On the Faults of Qin,' wouldn't it be a cliché? Moreover, this article does not praise the Qin system. Lu Sheng only starts from the system to analyze why the six states could not reform and become stronger, and why the Qin state perished because it could not adjust its system again. What he said hits the nail on the head, and the reasoning is very complete."

At this point, their argument was no longer about Lu Beigu's "On the Six States".

"To be honest, that's absurd!" a gentleman in an indigo robe said indignantly. "The defeat of the six states was clearly a failure of the alliance, what does it have to do with the system?"

"If the system doesn't matter, then why?"

The gentlemen all looked northeast—that's where Kaifeng is located.

The Qingli Reforms twelve years ago, though short-lived, left deep rifts among the scholar-official class. Some supported the reforms, while others opposed them.

The phrase "viewing reform as if witnessing a flood" in the text is surely a veiled criticism of the present situation.

With Fan Zhongyan's passing, the attempt by some enlightened scholars of the Song Dynasty to save the crisis became a lasting regret or pain in the hearts of many.

This is why the question of whether or not institutional reforms should be carried out according to the needs of the times has sparked such a great controversy.

It's hard to say about other places, but in most prefectural or county schools in the Song Dynasty, the number of school officials who supported the Qingli New Policies definitely outnumbered those who opposed them.

—Because Fan Zhongyan really gave them jobs that they could use to make a living!
"Gentlemen, today we will only discuss literature, not politics."

Seeing that their argument was getting out of hand, Li Tian coughed lightly to remind them. Now that Mr. Baisha had spoken, they all calmed down and began to discuss the matter at hand.

Some people say: "Su Zhe's writing is steady and profound, Fang Wei's writing is ornate, while Lu Beigu's arguments, though unconventional, form a unique school of thought. If we were to choose the best, we would probably have to choose between Su and Lu."

"I think Fang Wei wrote it well. Since everyone has their own opinion, let's vote."

Because each person could only cast one vote, the eight people other than Jiang Zicheng cast their votes very quickly.

Fang Wei received 2 votes, Su Zhe received 3 votes, and Lu Beigu received 3 votes.

The teachers at the state school all looked at Jiang Zicheng.

Jiang Zicheng pondered for a moment and said, "Su Zhe's argument is like an experienced official judging a case, seeking victory through stability; Lu Beigu's argument is like a sharp sword being drawn from its sheath, revealing its full sharpness. However, the essence of historical commentary lies in provoking deep thought. Although Lu's article is not perfect, it is enough to make people think deeply, and after deep thought, one cannot help but feel some emotion. So I cast my vote for Lu Beigu."

The meaning is obvious: everyone has different opinions and preferences. Some people think that Su Zhe's writing style is steady and his arguments are solid, so he deserves to take first place. Others think that Lu Beigu's views are unique and his writing is sharp, so he also deserves to take first place.

However, Jiang Zicheng was a professor at Luzhou Prefectural School, and under the same conditions, he would definitely want his own freshman to be number one. On the other hand, he was truly grateful to Fan Zhongyan and supported the Qingli Reforms in his heart. Therefore, after weighing the options, he was more inclined to choose Lu Beigu.

Seeing that they had all finished discussing it, Li Tian had no objections.

With the results already decided, Jiang Zicheng directly announced the rankings.

"At this year's New Year's gathering, Lu Beigu ranked first, Su Zhe second, Fang Wei third, and Dong Hongyi and Yu Duo tied for fourth."

When Fang Wei heard that he was ranked third, his smile froze. He was clearly unwilling to be ranked after Su Zhe. What surprised him even more was that Lu Beigu, who was previously unknown, was able to take first place.

Jiang Zicheng knew that many freshmen were both curious and unconvinced, so he simply had several copies of the top five papers made and circulated among the freshmen present.

After reading Lu Beigu's "On the Six States", Su Zhe couldn't help but come over and bow, saying, "Brother Lu's theory has truly enlightened me. I had only considered the geographical situation of the six states, but I had not considered the importance of their systems."

"Brother Su, you flatter me." Lu Beigu quickly returned the greeting: "The theory of strategic geographical location and alliance against Qin is the correct one. On the contrary, my theory is a bit unorthodox."

Both of them knew in their hearts that Su Zhe's failure to win first place this time was not because Su Zhe's writing was not good enough, but because Lu Beigu's use of historical arguments to express his support for the new policies was more in line with the wishes of most state school teachers.

However, both of them were magnanimous and did not hold a grudge over who came in first place. Instead, they admired each other because of each other's outstanding literary skills.

"Brother Lu seems to be older than me. My birthday is February 20th of the second year of Baoyuan. May I ask when your birthday is?"

"January 19th of the second year of Baoyuan".

“Then please call me brother,” Su Zhe asked sincerely. “There are still many questions I would like to discuss with Brother Lu. Do you have time in the next few days? We will be staying in Luzhou for three days.”

"Of course, I'd love to."

Lu Beigu nodded solemnly. He had already discovered that Su Zhe was steady and refined, very mature for his age, and a person worth getting to know better.

Sitting not far away, Li Tian watched the two young men deferring to each other, a hint of satisfaction flashing in his eyes, and said to Jiang Zicheng.

"The essence of scholarship lies in exchange and discussion. It is a great pleasure to see two brilliant minds discussing history today."

"Yes, looking at them reminds me of my school days."

With the article now circulated, this year's New Year's gathering has come to an end.

After Jiang Zicheng announced the disbandment, the freshmen left in twos and threes.

Lu Beigu was about to leave with the others when Li Tian suddenly called him back.

"Young man, accompany this old man for a walk."

(End of this chapter)