Guan Zhong proposed to Duke Huan of Qi a series of measures to enrich the country and strengthen the army, involving many aspects such as administration, military, and economy. Duke Huan of Qi agreed to them one by one and gave his full support.
Several of Guan Zhong's strategies had only one guiding ideology, which was to shift his focus from the battlefield to developing the domestic economy.
To this end, Guan Zhong first reformed the administrative system of the state of Qi: dividing the country into several "Tuxiangs" and "Industrial and Commercial Townships." The "Tuxiangs" were mainly responsible for agricultural production and sent people during wartime to provide soldiers for the country. "
"Gongshang Township" is mainly engaged in handicraft production and is exempt from military service.
In terms of the administrative system, a three-official system was formulated. There are three prime ministers for officials, three tribes for handicrafts, three townships for industry and commerce, three Yu for Sichuan Ze industry, and three levels for mountain forestry, to manage related industries respectively.
Thirty families constitute one town, and each town has one chief officer. Ten towns constitute one pawn, and each town has one pawn division. Ten pawns constitute one township, and each township has one township division. Three townships constitute one county, and each county has one pawn division.
County magistrate. Ten counties are divided into one tributary, and each tributary has a chief official. The country is divided into five genus, and five chief officials are appointed to manage it.
At the beginning of each year, the top chief executive of the three officials and five subordinates would come to Linzi to report their work to Duke Huan of Qi. This move improved the political system of Qi, made the administrative levels of the country closely linked, and greatly improved efficiency.
In terms of economy, Guan Zhong reformed the original land tax policy and proposed a tax policy of "according to the land", that is, assessing the quality of the land and levying corresponding taxes according to different levels of the land. This policy has been
The support of the people has increased the enthusiasm for production among the people.
Set up "nine prefectures of light and heavy" throughout the country to collect bulk grain and goods from the people according to the good and bad times.
Encourage the mining of iron ore and use iron instead of bronze. Iron wares are easier to make than bronze wares and their cost is cheaper than bronze. Excellent iron farm tools promoted the improvement of agricultural technology and led to the increase in grain production in Qi. In ancient times, grain production
It can determine the strength of a country to a large extent. As a result, Qi State gradually became stronger and stronger.
In addition to finding ways to produce more grain, Guan Zhong also thought of ways to generate income. Qi State is east of the sea and is rich in sea salt resources. In the past, people in Qi State were drying salt privately, which was small in scale, had little income, and did not contribute to national tax revenue. Guan Zhong focused on it
Here, he set up salt officials, encouraged people to boil salt, dry salt, and organized caravans to traffic sea salt to other countries for sale. This greatly increased the revenue of the treasury. At the same time, he also encouraged coastal fishermen to go fishing in the sea. This is called
Eat by the sea.
Guan Zhong used to be a businessman and had great business acumen. He encouraged trade and supported private caravans that trafficked sea salt, ironware, mountain goods, etc. He stipulated that all traffickers must pay taxes to the state.
At that time, it was popular to commit crimes. If one person committed a crime, the whole family would suffer. In the past, the family members of the guilty persons were either imprisoned or used as official slaves. In order to maximize the financial revenue, Guan Zhong came up with a crooked idea. He confiscated the criminals.
The female family members gathered together, selected some young and beautiful ones, and opened a government-run brothel in Linzi City. This was another huge income. Some people have verified that Guan Zhong was the first person to open a brothel in China.
Leisure scholars have done research on this point. The conclusion is: scholars worship Confucius; businessmen must be honest, so they worship Guan Gong; the hope of stealing things comes and goes without a trace, so they worship Shi Qian.
; Those who opened brothels worshiped Guan Zhong. It is said that in the old days, there was often a portrait of Guan Zhong hanging in the brothels. Madams and prostitutes would often burn incense and worship Guan Zhong in front of the portrait, hoping that their business would prosper.
However, some righteous people pointed out that this conclusion has never been officially recognized. Therefore, the author can only treat it as folklore and record it for the enjoyment of readers.
Closer to home. In terms of military affairs, Guan Zhong made a militarized reform of the company system: five families are one track, with a track length. Ten tracks are one mile, with divisions in them. Four miles are one company, with company commanders. Ten companies are one.
Townships are established with good people. During war, one person from each household is selected to form an army.
During the battle: there are five people in a team, led by the track commander. There are fifty people in one li, led by Li Yousi. There are two hundred people in one pawn, led by the company commander. There are two thousand people in one township, one brigade, led by Xiang Liang.
There are 10,000 people in the Five Townships, and there is one marshal. Ten thousand people make up an army, and they are led by the marshal in the Five Townships.
Guan Zhong also stipulated that people in the country were not allowed to move at will, and must live in villages as a unit. He required each village to fight at night and be able to distinguish between ourselves and the enemy by hearing their sounds; to fight during the day, look at their appearance and know their people.
of belonging.
After several years of development, the state of Qi has become prosperous. The people live and work in peace and contentment, and the country has become rich and powerful. In particular, its military strength has been greatly improved. Among other countries, the strength of the state of Qi has become unique.
The princes of other countries were shocked and panicked when they saw Qi becoming stronger and stronger day by day.
In 681 B.C., the fifth year of Duke Huan of Qi, Duke Huan of Qi said to Guan Zhong: "Now that the state of Qi has sufficient soldiers and supplies, can we ally with the princes in order to seek hegemony?"
Guan Zhong said: "Why should we ally with the princes? Although the king of Zhou is not strong, he is still the master of the princes. If the lord can obey the order of the king, he can unite the princes of the world. Let us discuss together to defend the Central Plains and resist foreigners. Then.
From now on, we will help whoever is in trouble, and we will take care of whoever is unreasonable. At that time, even if my lord does not seek hegemony, others will elect you as their overlord."
Duke Huan of Qi laughed and said, "Guan Xiangguo is right. So, how should we do this now?"
Guan Zhong said: "There is one name. Some time ago, I heard that two things happened in the world. One is that the emperor (King Zhouzhuang) passed away. His son has just ascended the throne (King Zhou Xi). The other is,
The monarch of the Song Dynasty was killed by Nangong Changwan. The lord can send people to Luoyi to congratulate the new king on the throne, and on the other hand, ask the emperor to issue an order to determine the throne of the Song Dynasty. The lord can gather the princes and stipulate the Song Dynasty.
I will take over the matter of becoming the king. If we get the emperor's edict, we can summon the princes."
Duke Huan of Qi said: "Why send someone to go there? Wouldn't it be better for me to go there myself?"
Guan Zhong smiled and said: "My lord is wise, if you are willing to go in person, that would be better than anything else."
A few days later, Qi Huangong prepared a batch of food, money and other gifts, and went to Luoyi with his guards.
In the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, after Zhu Dan, a general of Duke Zheng Zhuang, shot King Huan of Zhou in the shoulder, Duke Xiang of Qi fought another battle with King Zhouzhuang, and King Zhouzhuang was defeated. From then on, the prestige of the royal family plummeted, and princes from all over the world stopped paying homage to him.
The main source of income for the Zhou royal family was the regular tribute from the princes. No one paid tribute, so there was no income. The Zhou royal family became poor and weak, and its power declined day by day.
It was against this background that Duke Huan of Qi came to pay homage to the emperor. For King Zhou Xi who had just ascended the throne, this not only provided him with an income, but more importantly, brought glory to his face. King Zhou Xi's Longyan Dayue, high profile
received Duke Huan of Qi.
Duke Huan of Qi bowed three times and bowed nine times to King Zhou Xi, and then respectfully presented tributes. King Zhou Xi was overjoyed. Seeing that the fire was almost done, Duke Huan of Qi reported to King Zhou Xi what had happened recently in the Song Dynasty.
After reporting the matter, he specifically asked for instructions: "The determination of the throne of the Song Dynasty was originally a matter of a word from the king of heaven. But now that the world is in dispute, Xiaobai wants to use the matter of the Song Dynasty to convene a meeting of princes to call on the world
The princes respect the royal family, help the weak, and defend against foreign enemies. Although Xiaobai is a prince from one side, he hopes that all princes in the world will abide by the rules, live in harmony, and prosper together. But Xiaobai also knows that he does not have such great appeal.
So Xiaobai wants to ask the King of Heaven to grant Xiaobai permission to do this."
King Zhou Xi said: "The Marquis of Qi is commendable for his loyalty in sharing my worries. Your proposal is a good thing that will benefit the world. Let's do this. I will give you an edict. You can handle it."
Duke Huan of Qi immediately kowtowed and shouted: "My king is wise and the world is very lucky!"
In fact, what he wanted was the emperor's edict, which was also the purpose of his trip to Luoyi. King Zhou Xi was eager for someone to carry him out to show that the royal family still had authority.
Duke Huan of Qi received the emperor's edict, and what he wanted to do became justifiable. As soon as he returned to Qi, he sent people to inform the princes of Song, Lu, Chen, Cai, Zheng, Wei, Cao, Zhu, etc., and made an appointment with them the next year
On the first day of March, I went to Beixing (north of A County, Shandong Province) of the State of Qi to hold a meeting to decide the affairs of the State of Song together.