Translation: When a hostile country is conquered and defeated, its advisers (those who have made suggestions for defeating the enemy country) will be killed.
Explanation:
This sentence very accurately summarizes the fact that too many kings or emperors in history are people who can endure hardships and enjoy glory. . In fact, there are many words like this, such as, "When all the birds are gone, the bow is hidden, and when the rabbit is dead, the dog is cooked", "When the birds are gone, the good bow is hidden; when the cunning rabbit is dead, the running dog is cooked" and so on.
In fact, the reason is very simple. Times have changed, and the problems and contradictions people face have changed. It turns out that as a king or emperor, his country and power are facing serious threats from powerful enemy countries. He will definitely need a large number of counselors and counselors to advise him. Only in this way can he defeat the enemy country and keep his own country and power. At this time, he must He reused those advisers and counselors who could help him preserve the world and power; however, when the powerful enemy was defeated and he finally preserved his country and power, the problems and contradictions he considered were how to maximize his power and interests at home. , so he will be wary of those capable advisers, especially those whose abilities far exceed his own, and worry that they will share their rights (power and interests). As the saying goes, great achievements will inevitably arouse the hatred of the king or emperor. A fearful heart.
There are many such examples in Chinese history. Taizu of the Song Dynasty "released his military power with a glass of wine", Taizu of the Ming Dynasty was the founding hero of the country and became scattered as birds and beasts within a few years, etc.
Therefore, smarter and wiser counselors will choose to "retire after success". For example, Fan Li (Tao Zhugong), together with Wen Zhong, assisted King Gou Jian of Yue in revenge, strengthened his army and restored the country, established hegemony, and then voluntarily retired from the world; Wen Zhong was not smart enough, and was killed by Gou Jian. Another example is Zhang Liang, who strategized and helped Liu Bang defeat Xiang Yu, the arrogant overlord of Western Chu, and established the Han Dynasty. Then he took the initiative to retire; while other founding heroes such as Han Xin were all killed. Another example is Liu Ji (Bo Wen), who assisted Zhu Yuanzhang to conquer the world and establish the Ming Dynasty, and then found a suitable reason to retire and return to his hometown, and he died a good death.
Qing Dynasty writer Zhou Rong once wrote an article "The Biography of Old Man Taro". There is a sentence in it that is very good. He talks about people's feelings about eating, but it can also be used in many other aspects: " Time and position change people.
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