Read the Wei Family in "Historical Records" - the unpredictable sage behind Wei Wenhou

When it comes to Wei, you may think of Wei Wuji, Lord Xinling, one of the four princes, Shang Yang, who was unsuccessful in Wei but was very successful in Qin, and the founder of Wei's military tactics. Wu Qi, many familiar and auspicious characters will constantly appear in front of my eyes and in my mind.

The State of Wei seems to have become a training base or cradle for military talents, political talents, and thinkers during the Warring States Period. Everyone is like a wage earner, working hard in the small company of the State of Wei. After achieving some results, he will jump to some large international companies, while Wei Guo continues his small business.

Many characters are familiar to everyone, and their stories can be recounted, so here, I would like to mention a few characters that I didn’t know much about before, but their actions shocked me. In my heart, history should not be the stage that my talents and wisdom have given them, so let me describe that magnificent history through clumsy brushstrokes. Later, everyone will get to know the interesting people in this magnificent history. , interesting things.

The first person mentioned is Wei Wenhou, who is one of the few wise monarchs in the history of Wei. Whether a monarch has accomplished something can be judged by the ministers around him. During the reign of Wei Wenhou, a large number of capable people with lofty ideals emerged in the Wei Kingdom, and any one of them was a genius in the world.

It is said that once the Qin State wanted to attack the Wei State, but some people said that Wei Wenhou respected the wise people very much. He had a large number of capable people and lofty ideals around him. The country was united and the political situation was stable, so it would not be possible to attack the Wei State. If it is of any benefit to our Qin State, it will only bring infamy.

Wei Wenhou had many teachers, three of whom were more famous, namely Zixia, Tian Zifang and Duan Qianmu.

Zixia, a disciple of Confucius, was one of the ten philosophers of Confucius and one of the seventy-two sages. However, this Confucian disciple did not admire Zhou rituals, but emphasized advancing with the times and taking advantage of the situation. . His thoughts influenced Marquis Wen of Wei to a great extent and played an ideological enlightenment role in Marquis Wen.

Tian Zifang, a disciple of Zixia, and Wei Wenhou were both teachers and friends. After leaving Wei, he also served as the prime minister of Qi. Under his governance, Qi became rich and powerful, and through this dear friend Coming to see Wei Wenhou is not much different.

Among the three wise ministers behind Wei Wenhou, Duan Qianmu is the most famous. Duan Qianmu, also known as Li Ke, has been by Wei Wenhou's side to assist Wenhou in achieving hegemony. His role is like Fei Yi of Zhao State, Zhao Shui of Jin State, Shang Yang of Qin State, and Guan Zhong of Qi State. This can be seen when Wei Wenhou selects the prime minister. Wei Wenhou had two candidates, but he was always wavering between the two, so he asked Duan Qianmu for advice. At the beginning, Duan Qianmu repeatedly refused on the grounds that he was an outsider and it was not convenient for him to participate, but Wei Wenhou insisted again and again, and Duan Qianmu finally expressed his thoughts.

Duan Qianmu provided five principles to Wei Wenhou, which are still very useful today. To put it simply, it is a comprehensive consideration from three aspects and five perspectives. Judging a person's ability can be done from the following five aspects:

1. Look at the people he is close to, and you can judge his character and pursuit of morality. show his influence.

2. When you are rich, you should look at the people he associates with. He will not change his standards for making friends because of the increase in wealth. In the same way, he will not affect his judgment and look at the control of wealth. This is the real The choice of a virtuous and talented prime minister.

3. When you are a dignitary, you can see which people he recommends. You can see his ability to recognize people. At the same time, you can also see whether his criteria for selecting people are based on wealth or real ability, and whether they can do it. Meritocracy.

4. Look at what he doesn’t do when he is frustrated, and look at his bottom line as a person. As the saying goes, a gentleman does something and something he doesn’t do. People who have no bottom line and no principles are very scary, and they are not worthy of entrusting them with important responsibilities.

5. When he was poor, what did he not want? What was his most valuable quality? The things he never wants to throw away are the things he cares about most. This can also test a person's character.

After hearing this, Marquis Wei Wen already knew who to choose. Duan Qianmu was not idle. He immediately went to visit Zhai Huang at his home.

Zhai Huang was very direct and said: "Today I heard that the monarch summoned Mr. to choose the prime minister. Who will be the prime minister?" Li Ke asked back: "Are you recommending me to Wei Wenhou to form a clique for personal gain?" Zhai Huang said of course not, It's just that I think I'm no worse than others, that I have the talent and ability of a prime minister. Duan Qianmu said that the people you recommend can only be the monarch's ministers, but the people Wei Chengzi recommended to Wei Wenhou are all people who can be Wenhou's teachers. This shows that you are inferior to others in terms of understanding people. In addition, Wei Chengzi spent 90% of his wealth on finding good ministers for the country, while only keeping 10% for himself. This magnanimity is unmatched by you.

After listening to Duan Ganmu's words, Zhai Huang was sincerely convinced. Not only did he not have any wrong thoughts, he also expressed that he would be Duan Ganmu's disciple for life so that he could listen to his teachings.

Duan Qianmu does not seek fame, but only pursues practical results. Although he has no actual power or official position, he is the person who can really influence the overall situation of Wei.

A person’s history, a family’s story.