Ying Zheng was the first emperor in the history of China. He conquered all directions, unified Liuhe, and established the first feudal dynasty in the history of China. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Ying Zheng felt that the title of the King of Qin did not conform to his own merits, and he was dissatisfied with the titles proposed by ministers, so he called himself the first emperor among the Three Emperors and Five Emperors. He is known as Qin Shihuang in history.
Behind the brilliant carols and magnificent buildings, Qin Shihuang tried his best to hide his inferiority, paranoia and desire for control as a depressed patient. His life is full of too many questions: what is his origin? What's his relationship with Lv Buwei? What kind of environment did he spend his childhood in? As a foreign grandson, how did his turbulent, imprisoned and fugitive childhood affect him?
Many mysteries of Qin Shihuang's life were mainly solved by a wealthy businessman named Lv Buwei.
Lv Buwei was born in Puyang, Weiguo, and his date of birth is unknown. He is a businessman, lobbyist, social activist, politician, editor and publisher. In 235 BC, he became the prime minister of Qin State and committed suicide. Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals is regarded as a masterpiece of sage thought.
At the end of the Warring States Period, Guo Wei, as a place of four wars, has been reduced to a third-rate for many years. Puyang, the capital of Wei, is also declining and lifeless. In such a big environment, we gave birth to a boy named Lv Buwei. Lujia is neither rich nor poor in the city. Because when Lv Buwei grew up, he did not enter the court of Weiguo because of the love of his family, nor did he make a living by running around all day, but became a businessman.
Lv Buwei and his father had a wonderful talk about why he chose such a career. I would like to describe the content of this dialogue in detail here, because it is instructive not only to enter the classroom of contemporary advanced economics research, but also to observe the classic population of ancient China society.
Young Lv Buwei is dead and has nothing to do, which is a taboo for children in small families. Luf kept urging and scolding his son, so he started a father-son dialogue about career choice.
Lv Buwei first asked his father: What are the benefits of farming?
Ralph replied: Ten times.
Lv Buwei asked again: What is the profit from selling jewelry?
Ralph replied, a hundred times.
Lv Buwei asked again: How many times are the profits from lobbying ministers and establishing monarchs?
Ruff thought for a long time, and then he spit out a few words: countless times.
Lv Buwei smiled and said to his father word for word: In today's world, farming is very hard and work is very hard. In the end, I can only mix well and dress warmly. Making friends with the prince and making a decision not only enjoyed the endless glory of life, but also benefited future generations. Father, I want to do this business.
I don't know how Lv Fu, with low status and mediocre ability, will feel after hearing his son's confession. Who is more harmful than an idle and ambitious civilian child?
In the ancient traditional society of China, people like Lv Buwei appeared again and again, and they all devoted their energy, painstaking efforts and even their lives to politics. This is determined by the characteristics of the whole traditional society. There is no clear division in this society, and its economy, culture and social life are not divorced from politics. Politics covers everything in society, including personal future development, and a young man's career choices are very limited. Politics restricted all people, whether they inherited their father's business or other people's business, and the dynasty government did not allow vagrants who traveled around the world to appear. Only in the Warring States period, when the ceremony collapsed and the music broke down, would there be a large-scale merchant group. Even so, this period was only once in China's traditional society. This social stratum is also squeezed, restricted and controlled by the government. It's amazing that young Lv Buwei can find this, which also laid the foundation for his development.
According to historical records, Lv Buwei soon became the owner of Yang Zhai, and he hated his family for buying and selling. To sum up the secret of commercial success in Shandong, there are two main points: first, strong liquidity; Second, he has a keen sense of looking for business opportunities.
When Lv Buwei was doing business, he left Weiguo to sell goods in various countries. Around 265 BC, he came to Handan, the capital of Zhao. Handan was a prosperous commercial center at that time. Due to this situation, Qin and the Eastern countries continued to merge horizontally and vertically. In the long-term political struggle, Handan is the geographical and political center of Qi, Yan, Han, Zhao and Wei. The envoy of the state of Chu wants to contact the five countries and come to Handan; These six countries regard Qin and Wei as imaginary enemies and have some communication agreements. Naturally, contact in Handan is the most appropriate; Qin wanted to break the six-nation alliance and sent people to Handan. So is business. Nobles from all over the world, envoys from the North and the South, lobbyists from the East and the West, spies from all directions, unemployed politicians, commercial vendors and visiting medical artists all gathered in Handan. Handan is extremely prosperous and has become a huge adventure paradise, intellectual market and commercial center.
Lv Buwei still lingers in the bustling city of Handan. On the one hand, he has money and spends his time in halls and dance halls. One of the biggest characteristics of Handan's prosperity is that women who advocate Excellence are famous all over the world. It is said that Bian Que, a famous doctor in China, travels around the world to practice medicine. As a famous doctor, he was listed in the clinic. Bian Que hung an old Chinese doctor in Luoyang, because Luoyang was the capital of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, and the local people respected the old and loved the young. When Bian Que arrived in Handan, he was called a doctor, because there were many ladies in Handan, and the so-called ladies were actually synonymous with prostitutes. They are full of make-up, and they are known as the princes who swam in the harem in the past, so they are called wives. A lady is rich, but she suffers from unclean diseases. Bian Que specializes in leucorrhea for business.
Such a record seems strange now, but the records in Historical Records reveal Zhao's customs. Legend of Bian Que: Bian Que is famous all over the world. Handan, Mrs Wen, is a doctor; After Luoyang, I heard that Zhou people love the elderly, that is, doctors with eyes and ears; When I came to Xianyang, I heard that Qin people love children, which is pediatrics. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Biography of Huo Zhi describes Zhao's folkway: There are still many people in Zhongshan, and there are some in the sand dunes ... Women are playing drums and squatting, traveling to rich people, harem people and princes. It can be seen that "lady" was a remarkable social atmosphere in Zhao society at that time.
I had close contact with one or several such women in Handan and married a woman named Zhao.
On the other hand, Lv Buwei is also one of many speculators active in Handan. Businessmen all over the world are looking for business opportunities in Handan to get more and more wealth. The biggest speculators not only sell cheaply, but also buy/sell/sell/sell/earn. Lv Buwei pays close attention to the rise and fall of luxury goods such as materials, pearls and jade related to the national economy, and also pays close attention to the political climate, especially the market conditions of politicians around him. Many politicians gathered in Handan, which provided speculators like Lv Buwei with the opportunity to make huge profits. Lv Buwei never forgot to make money, and he soon discovered such a profitable business opportunity.