Notes on "History" and "Warring States Policy" (147)

"I dare to speak of the past. In the past, we defeated Jing in the south, defeated Song in the middle, conquered Qin in the west, and defeated Yan in the north. We envoyed the kings of Han and Wei in the middle. With a vast territory and strong troops, we defeated and conquered, and issued orders to the world. The Qing Dynasty and the turbid rivers are enough to limit it, and the Great Wall and Jufang are enough to prevent Qi. A country that has fought five wars cannot win a battle without Qi. Therefore, from this point of view, the survival of thousands of warriors.

Now I dare to tell you about the past deeds. In the past, Qi defeated Chu in the south, defeated Song in the Central Plains, united with Qin in the west, defeated Yan in the north, and drove Han Wei in the Central Plains. The king of the country has a vast land and powerful weapons and equipment. He has conquered it through war and commanded the princes of the world. The clear water of the Yellow River and the muddy water are enough to be used as a moat, the Great Wall, and huge towers, which are enough to guard the country's borders. A powerful country facing enemies on five sides can lose its advantage as long as it is defeated in a war. Therefore, it can be seen from its history that being good at war is the basis for the survival of a great country with thousands of tanks.

Here Zhang Yi emphasized that the strength of a country lies in its powerful weapons and equipment.

When the minister heard this, he said: "If you cut off the roots and dig out the roots, there will be no harm to your neighbors." Qin and Jing people will not survive. In the battle, he defeated Jing, attacked Ying, and captured Dongting, Wudu, and Jiangnan. The king of Jing fled and fell in the east. , the land is advantageous. In the east, Qi and Yan can be strong, and the three Jin Dynasties can be achieved in one fell swoop, and the neighboring princes can go to court. Now the people of Jing have taken over the subjugated country, gathered and dispersed the people, established community leaders, built ancestral temples, and commanded the empire to the west to make things difficult for Qin. This is no longer the way of an uncle king. , the army reaches Liang Guo, and the Liang can be pulled out. If the Liang is pulled out, Wei can be lifted up, and the ambitions of Jing and Zhao will be defeated, and Zhao will be in danger and Jing Gu will be strong. , Yan, Zhongling and the Three Jin Dynasties, but in one fell swoop, the title of Bo Wang could be achieved, and the neighboring princes could go to court. However, the ministers did not act, and they retreated with the Wei family, causing the Wei family to subjugate the country and disperse the people. Establishing a society leader and setting up an ancestral temple is no longer the way of the Bowang. The former Ranghou ruled Qin and used the soldiers of one country to achieve the success of two countries. , the name of Bo Wang is not achieved, this is no longer the way of Bo Wang.

And I heard that "'Cut the grass and roots, don't leave the disaster, and the disaster will not appear. ’ The State of Qin fought with the State of Chu, completely defeated the State of Chu, attacked the capital of Ying, and captured Dongting, the Five Capitals, and the area south of the Yangtze River. The king of Chu was forced to flee and fled eastward to the state of Chen. In this favorable situation, as long as we strengthen the use of troops against the Chu State, the entire Chu State will be captured. If the state of Chu is captured, then its people will meet Qin's population needs, and the products on the land will be able to increase Qin's economy. In this way, Qin can overwhelm Qi and Yan in the east, and can control the three Jins (Han, Zhao, and Wei) at will in the Central Plains. In this way, as long as it fights against Chu, Qin will be able to establish its position as the leader of the vassal states, and other vassal states will have no choice but to come to Qin to worship and surrender. However, it was precisely because of the inaction of the ministers in charge of the war that they retreated despite the good situation and signed a peace agreement with the Chu State. As a result, the people of Chu have regained their lost territory, gathered the people who fled, re-erected shrines, built ancestral temples, and then led and ordered the princes of the world to deal with Qin from the southwest. This is the first time that Qin has not been able to dominate the princes of the world. Wrong route. Later, all the princes in the world formed an alliance to attack Qin in Huaxia. Your Majesty used deception to break their alliance and surrounded Daliang City with troops. For a month, if Daliang City was taken down in one go, once Daliang City was taken, the Wei State could be wiped out. Destroying Wei will cut off the alliance between Zhao and Chu. If Chu and Zhao cannot form an alliance, then Zhao will be in a dangerous situation. Zhao State was in a difficult situation, and Chu State was isolated and helpless. Then Qin State developed eastward and oppressed the powerful Qi State and Yan State. By being superior to the Three Jins in the Central Plains, he can achieve the international status of dominating the world in one fell swoop. The surrounding countries can only come to Qin to worship and express their submission. But this time the minister who made the decision did nothing and led the army back. A peace treaty was signed with the Wei State, which gave the Wei State another chance to breathe and repair. It recovered the lost land, gathered the fleeing people, built social shrines, and rebuilt the ancestral temples. At this time, the Qin State lost its power for the second time. opportunity to dominate the world. In the past, when Marquis Rang was in charge of the Qin State, he tried to use the strength of one country to resist the pressure of two countries at the same time. As a result, the soldiers died on the battlefield and the people were exhausted. How could the princes dominate the world? This was the third time that Qin lost its opportunity to dominate the world. ”

In this paragraph, Zhang Yi listed the three foreign wars that King Qin Hui had fought before. In the end, Qin could not realize its ideal of dominating the princes of the world because he listened to the advice of those ministers with selfish motives. This paragraph is the most convincing. King Qin Hui. When Su Qin talked about King Qin, many of King Qin Hui's own ideas had not yet been implemented. How could he believe in Su Qin's theoretical deduction? It was not that Zhang Yi was more powerful than Su Qin, but that he was too ahead of the world. He deduced it at that time, and Zhang Yi once again combined the actual situation with King Qin, and King Qin Hui did not accept the facts. He was really stupid.

Well, let’s take a look at the history of Herodotus!

(92) Babylon and other parts of Assyria were to give to Darius five hundred young eunuchs and a thousand talents of silver. This is for the ninth region. Agbatana and other areas of Medea, including the Palikanioi and the Ortocolypantioi, paid 450 talents, which was the tenth district. The eleventh district consists of the Caspias, the Pausikai, the Pantimatoi, and the Dalaiitai, who together pay two hundred talents. From the region of the Bactolans to the region of the Aegloys was the twelfth region, and they had to pay three hundred and sixty talents.

Wow! There is also District 12!

(93) The thirteenth region is Paktuica, Armenia and the bordering areas up to the Black Sea. They have to pay four hundred pelants. The fourteenth region includes the Sagartioui, Sarangai, Tamanaioui, Utioui, Mikoi people and the residents of the Red Sea islands settled by the king's so-called "forced immigrants". Six hundred talents were paid. The fifteenth district consists of the Sakai and Caspians, who are required to pay two hundred and fifty talents. The sixteenth district consists of the Parthians, the Khwarizmioi, the Sugdoys and the Areioi, who are required to pay three hundred talents.

Sixteen districts!

(94) The seventeenth region includes the Palicanioi and the Ethiopians of Asia, who are required to pay four hundred talents. The Martyenes, the Zasperes, and the Alarodians were the eighteenth district, and they were appointed to surrender two hundred talents. The Moskoi, Tibarenoi, Macrones, Moshynoikoi, and Mares were designated to pay three hundred talents, which was the nineteenth district. The Indians are the twentieth district, and they are more numerous than any other people that I know of, and they therefore pay more tribute than any other district, namely, three hundred and sixty talents of placer gold.

It turns out that the twentieth district of the ancient Persian Empire was India.

(95) From this point of view, if Babylonian talents are converted into Euboean talents, then the above silver should be 9,880 talents of silver. ; If gold is counted as thirteen times silver, the placer gold is equivalent to 4,680 Euboean talents. It can be seen from this that if we add them all together, and let us omit the numbers below ten for the time being, Darius will receive an annual tribute of 14,560 Euboean talents. .

Such taxes made Darius extremely wealthy. What does he do with all this wealth?

(96) Such was the income that Darius received from Asia and some parts of Libya. But after a while, he also imposed taxes on the inhabitants of the islands and Europe as far as Thessaly. This part of the revenue was deposited for the king in this way: he melted the silver and poured it into earthen urns, and when the earthen urns were full, he broke the shell. Whenever he needed money, he would mint the parts he needed into coins from above.

In such a huge empire, currency circulation is a problem.