向古人学谋辩——《战国策》之“赵取周之祭地”
战国时期周王室衰微，诸侯国逐渐崛起。其中，赵国地处北方，与周王室相邻，两者之间的关系复杂而微妙。赵国在战国后期逐渐强盛，对周王室的领土和资源产生了强烈的觊觎之心。而周王室虽然名存实亡，但其祭祀之地仍然具有一定的象征意义和政治价值。因此，赵国和周王室之间围绕着祭地的争夺，展开了一场激烈的斗争。
赵国夺取了东周祭祀的地方后，东周君为此而感到忧虑，便把自己的心事告诉了大臣郑朝。郑朝说：“君王不必忧虑，请给我三十金，我可以把那祭祀的地方重新收回来。”于是东周君交给郑朝三十金，郑朝用这三十金收买了赵国负责算命的太卜，要太卜帮他周旋祭地的事。后来赵王生了病，让太卜算卦。太卜就说：“这是东周祭地的鬼怪在作祟。” 于是赵国便归还了东周的祭地。
故事很简单，郑朝解决问题的方式也很简单。一方面，祭地本身就处于鬼神之说的边界，郑朝为这事找太卜可谓专业对口；另一方面，东周的祭地对于赵国而言，并没有多少实际性的价值，因此为了鬼神之说把它放弃也未尝不可。权衡之下，赵王自然很快就愿意归还。不得不说，郑朝找的切入点很好，花了最少的钱办成了事。下一期，我们讲讲战国时期就已经存在的风险投资艺术——为处于低谷的能人雪中送碳。
Learn From the Ancients and Seek Debate: " Zhao Snatched the Sacrificial Land of The Eastern Zhou Dynasty" in the "Warring States Strategies"
During the Warring States period, the Zhou royal family declined while vassal states gradually emerged. Among them, the State of Zhao, located in the north, bordered the Zhou royal family, and their relationship was complex and delicate. In the later part of the Warring States period, the State of Zhao gradually grew strong and had a strong desire for the territories and resources of the Zhou royal family. Although the Zhou royal family existed nominally, its sacrificial grounds still had certain symbolic and political value. Therefore, a fierce struggle broke out between the State of Zhao and the Zhou royal family over the sacrificial grounds.
After the State of Zhao seized the sacrificial grounds of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, the King of Eastern Zhou was worried and told his minister Zheng Chao about his concerns. Zheng Chao said, "The king needn't worry. Please give me thirty pieces of gold, and I can reclaim the sacrificial grounds." So the King of Eastern Zhou gave Zheng Chao thirty pieces of gold. Zheng Chao used these thirty pieces of gold to bribe the Grand Diviner of the State of Zhao to help him with the matter of the sacrificial grounds. Later, when the King of Zhao fell ill, he asked the Grand Diviner to divine. The Grand Diviner said, "It is the ghost of the sacrificial grounds of Eastern Zhou that is causing trouble." So the State of Zhao returned the sacrificial grounds of Eastern Zhou.
The story is simple, and Zheng Chao's way of solving the problem is also simple. On one hand, the sacrificial grounds itself lies on the boundary of ghost and god theories, and Zheng Chao found the Grand Diviner for this matter, which was professionally aligned. On the other hand, the sacrificial grounds of Eastern Zhou had little practical value for the State of Zhao, so giving it up for the sake of ghost and god theories was not a bad idea. After weighing the pros and cons, the King of Zhao naturally agreed to return the sacrificial grounds quickly. It has to be said that Zheng Chao chose a good entry point and accomplished the task with the least amount of money. In the next issue, we will talk about the art of venture capital investment that already existed during the Warring States period - lending a helping hand to capable people in need.
