At Zhao Fan's suggestion, not only Handan City, but also other cities in Zhao State are also carrying out this kind of good deed, because of the leadership of King Huiwen, Zhao Fan of Wuchengjun and Zhao Sheng, the king of Pingyuan, the guards of other cities naturally learn this kind of behavior and promote this kind of action throughout the country.

Seeing that the living conditions of poor peasants had improved a lot in all parts of Zhao State, Zhao Fan also temporarily put aside this matter and thought of his own feudal lord and fiefdom.

During the Warring States Period, some of them were fictitious, but more were real. The units that are counted as "households", or "yi", or "capital", "city", or "county", "county", or region.

Regarding the size of the fiefdom, there seems to be no customization. The small ones are only ten miles, and the general ones are between thousands and thousands of households, so "ten thousand households" has become a habitual expression. 10,000 households is roughly the same as a county. As for the big one, it crosses counties and counties, please see: Lü Buwei's fief alone occupies 12 counties in Lantian, 100,000 households in Luoyang, Henan, and 15 cities in Hejian. The state of Chu sealed the twelve counties of Chunshen Junhuai in the north, and later changed the title to Wu. "Warring States Policy" records that Chunshenjun has a "hundred miles of seal", and Xue Cheng, the fief of Qi Guotian Ying, is also a hundred miles away. When Qi sealed Tianying, the king of Chu had expressed his opposition, and Gongsun Yan advised the king not to stop it, on the grounds that "Qi cut the land and sealed Tianying, so it is so weak". Feudal kings lead to weak states, the scale of which can be imagined. Comrade Yang Kuan said in the "History of the Warring States Period": "The feudal lord's fiefdoms are all in the border land, and they generally occupy a small area. This statement is clearly not in line with the actual situation. How much land the feudal monarch occupies has already been mentioned above. As for the location of the fief, during the Warring States period, some people talked about the seizure of the Qin State Shang Ying and Wei Ran, which was the reason why the fief was too close to the capital. It can be seen that the fiefs of some feudal lords during the Warring States period were quite large, and the fiefs were not all in the border areas.

The feudal monarchs of the Warring States period had relatively reading power in their respective fiefdoms, as Yan Shigu said, "Those who are high and have a country are self-rulers". This situation also applies to the feudal lords of the Warring States. There was a complete administrative structure within the fiefdom, and the feudal lord was the supreme ruler.

Officials are appointed by the feudal lord in the fief. Zhao Feng Meng tasted Jun in Wucheng, and Meng Yanjun chose to give up people to think that Wucheng officials. It is also recorded in the history that Meng Weijun is Qi, and his housekeeper Wei Zi collects the city for Meng Weijun. The sheer is completely subordinate to the master. The Emperor of Yangcheng ordered him to guard the land and issued a letter of encouragement, stipulating that he was directly responsible to the feudal monarch, indicating that the feudal monarch had the right to appoint officials. Zhao Pingyuanjun's family has a "user" who manages the city. There were "apprentices" in the fiefdom of Qin Shang, and their status was the same as that of "sheren" and "user".

The feudal monarch built a city and a capital in the feudal city, which further shows the reading power of the feudal monarch. Han Feizi. There is a record of Jingguo Juntian Yingcheng Xue in the "Saying Forest" chapter. Chunshenjun asked to seal in Jiangdong, and the city was thought to be the capital of Wuxu. Taishi Gongshi is suitable for the Chu site, "now (see) the palace room of the former city of Chunshenjun, prosperous"!

Cities were built to establish security, and according to convention, only the orders of the princes could build the capital. The feudal kings built the city on their own initiative in the fiefdom, indicating that they owned the land and divided the territory.

The feudal lord had soldiers as an armed force to protect the fiefdom. After the death of Qin Xiaogong, Shang Ying was degraded, "went to Shangyi, and attacked Zheng with his subordinates in the north". Meng Weijun can come out of Qi State**, "neutral princes", it is unimaginable if there is no armed force. Han Feizi's proposal that ministers are not allowed to "pawn ministers" just proves the fact that there were ministers "pawns" at that time. It should be said that in the Warring States, the feudal monarch was the most qualified "courtier". The aforementioned Yangcheng Jun of the Chu State ordered the Mo Shi Juzi to win and defend the city, indicating that the Yangcheng Jun had armed forces.

In order to maintain and consolidate their position, some prominent feudal lords also had a large number of diners who could help their own death, and at extraordinary times, they could form battle teams, and they were actually armed special forces under the direct command of the feudal monarch. For example, "Qin is in a hurry to surround Handan, Handan is in a hurry, and it is surrendered", Li Tong said that Pingyuan Jun "has 3,000 people who dare to die" from his disciples. Qin attacked Zhao, and Wei Xinlingjun "invited guests, made an appointment to ride more than 100 cars, and wanted to go to the Qin army as a guest." During the Warring States Period, there were more than 3,000 diners in Chunshenjun, 3,000 diners in Qin Lü Buwei, and more than 1,000 diners in Qin. A large number of these diners are brave men, and this is an armed force that cannot be ignored.

The feudal lord can make weapons, and it can also be used as evidence that the feudal monarch has armed forces. "Shanzhai Jijinlu" is the author of a catalogue of Lübwego. Taiyuan, Shanxi Province discovered the Ge cast by Lü Buwei's "Shaofu" in the fifth year of Qin Shi Huang. In 1978, it was discovered in Baoji that Lü Buwei had made Ge, and Ge remembered the words "Lü Buwei made by Lü Buwei in eight years", which can be interpreted as being supervised by Lü Buwei, but it seems that the right of private use cannot be ruled out.

We believe that the Warring States feudal monarch had an armed force, but it was very different from the armed force of the Qing Dafu in the Spring and Autumn Period, and the armed forces of the feudal monarch did not belong to the country's military establishment, and were generally only used for self-defense.

Whether the feudal monarch was sealed during the Warring States Period, there are two situations from the historical data: one is that he is entitled but not in the city. For example, Jiang Yi once accused King Chu Xuan in front of "the state marquis, Chu Gui, and the lord (dictatory)." is both a prime minister and a judge, proving that he is not in the fiefdom but in Chu Duying. Qin Bai was crowned Wu'an Jun from the 30th year of King Zhao to the end of the 50th year of King Zhao, and led the army to fight for many years, so it was obviously impossible to be crowned. The main reason why the feudal monarch did not accept the feudal title was that he held a real position in the imperial court, and the feudal lord was managed by the private officials appointed by him.

Another situation is that the king is feudal. Due to various reasons, the situation of the closure is different. Some of them were sealed after being dismissed. Meng Yanjun's "free phase" was in Xue, and there is a record in the literature that Meng Yanjun told the old man to be sealed. Qin State, "Fan Juyan Xuan Empress Dowager **, the Marquis of Xuan is in power over the princes, the genus of Jingyang Jun and Gaoling Jun is too extravagant, rich in the royal family, so Qin Zhao Wang Wu is exempt from the country, so that the subordinates of Jingyang are all out of the customs, and they will be feuded." In this case, the feudal monarch means that they are no longer involved in political affairs. There is also a situation where it is normal to seal. Zhao Xiangzi made people kill the acting king, and the soldiers were leveled, "so he became the king on behalf of Boluzi Zhou". For three years, King Zhao Huiwen was crowned as the eldest son of Anyangjun. On behalf of the area that has just been pacified, and it is the border defense area of Zhao with Anyang, it is obvious that this kind of feudal monarch has the meaning of garrisoning.

In the final analysis, the feudal monarch actually has a special impact on a country, and this impact can be large or small, mainly depending on how to seal the monarch, whether there is a fief, and how to deal with the fief.

Fiefdoms will lead to weak countries, this Zhao Fan knows, so he doesn't want to accept the fiefs of those five cities now.

Immediately, Zhao Fan also found Lin Xiangru and Zhao Sheng, discussed the matter, and said: "Lord Fake Appearance, Brother Sheng, I have been thinking about it for a long time, and I feel that the fief given to me by Brother Wang is unacceptable. ”

Hearing this, the two of them were suddenly taken aback, and they both looked puzzled.

"Fiefdom will lead to a weak country, when the first king wanted to divide Da Zhao into two because he favored Gongzi Zhang, and gave Zhongshan and Dai Di to the former, this kind of behavior, everyone knows that it is not advisable, and today's feudal monarch and fiefdom are actually similar to this meaning, all of them mean the same thing, but it is not so serious."

The two nodded, they also knew about this matter, because King Zhao Wuling had discussed this matter with his ministers back then, but he didn't get everyone's approval.

"As the son of Zhao Guo, Wu Chengjun, I should take the lead in setting an example, so Wu Chengjun's title and title are acceptable, but the fief cannot be wanted." Zhao Fan continued.

This is something he has been thinking about for a long time, and after thinking about it, he still feels that the fiefdom is unacceptable, this bad system should be uprooted, and he is now preparing a new law, so he must take the lead in setting an example.

The power of the feudal monarch was too great, and Zhang Yi traveled west to Qin and met with Zhaowenjun in his fiefdom. Mencius. The chapter also describes that the son of the king of Qi received Mencius in Fandi, and Fandi was a feudal province for the son of the king of Qi. Wei Gongzi Wuji once told the King of Wei that the Anling clan offended the king's envoy in his fiefdom, which also shows that An Lingjun was entitled.

Can the feudal lord be hereditary? There are two issues in this, one is whether the fief can be hereditary, and the other is whether the title can be hereditary. These two issues are both closely related and distinct.

In terms of tradition and custom, in addition to being deprived for political reasons, the recipient can not only receive the fief for life, but also pass it on to future generations. Take a look at the following materials:

Cai Ze persuaded Ying Hou that if he could retire successfully, he could "grow up as Ying Hou and be lonely for the rest of the world". Lu Lian persuaded Yan to descend to Qi, so that he could "split the land and seal it, Fubi Tao (Hou Hou), Wei (Shang Jun), the world is called a lonely widow, and Qi has survived for a long time". Feng Ting wanted to surrender Zhao with the Han Shang Party, and Zhao Xiaocheng made Zhao Sheng tell Feng Ting: "Ten thousand households are three seals, and thousands of households are three county orders, and all are marquis." The sayings of "the world is called lonely" and "the world is the marquis" reflect that the fief can be passed on to future generations.

It proves that the fief can be possessed for a long time or passed down from generation to generation, and there is also the popular saying of "fixed seal" at that time. The so-called fixed seal refers to the fact that when the feudal monarch is successful or old, he chooses a good place for his lifelong livelihood as his fief. A lobbyist said to Zhao Fengyangjun: "The spring and autumn of the monarch is high, and the fief is uncertain, so you must be familiar with the map." The Marquis of Qin also had the option of "fixing the seal".

The hereditary phenomenon can also be seen from the discussion of the Empress Dowager Zhao who touched the dragon. Touching the dragon asked the Empress Dowager Zhao: "Before the third generation, as for Zhao Zhi as Zhao, the son and grandson of the Lord of Zhao, who is his successor?"

He said, "Nothing." ”

He said: "Wei Duzhao, do the princes care?"

He said, "The old woman doesn't hear it." ”

This dialogue should be understood in two ways. On the one hand, it shows that the feudal monarch (Hou) has not been passed on to more than three generations; On the other hand, it shows that the phenomenon of feudal kings still exists, but it can't last long. Judging from the historical materials preserved so far, there are very few records about the hand-to-hand history, but there are a few. Wei Zhi'an Lingjun was named King Xiang of Wei, and it was passed on until Qin destroyed Wei. After the death of Zhao Pingyuanjun, "the descendants of the descendants died with Zhao" in Qin. Le Yang is Wei Wenhou's general, meritorious in Lingshou, Le Yang died, buried in Lingshou, and its "descendants are because of the family". Chu Xiang's family is a Chu general, sealed in Xiang, so the surname is Xiang. It seems that fiefdoms can also be hereditary.

Summing up the above materials, it can be said that from the institutional and traditional point of view, the fief can be passed down from generation to generation. As for whether it can be passed on, there are many political factors. At least there is no non-hereditary rule in the system.

It is not clear whether the feudal monarch can transfer the land on his own, but there is one case that is noteworthy. Chu Zhaoyang once proposed to "change Xue with several times the land". Although Meng Yanjun did not agree to Zhaoyang's request for other reasons, this matter revealed a little news, Meng Yanjun had the right to exchange, otherwise Zhaoyang would not have such a proposal.

As for the question of whether the title can be inherited, there is no other evidence except for the evidence that Wei Guoan Lingjun is hereditary. However, you can change the title to a clan name, such as Guozi said: "Qin Po Ma serves the king's division, and surrounds Handan." "The Ma Fujun mentioned by Guozi does not refer to Zhao Hao, but Zhao Kuo, the son of Zhao Hao. Zhao Yuan named Zhao Hao as Ma Fujun, and the country thought it was his clan, so Zhao Kuo could also be called Ma Fujun.

The feudal lord has the relative reading power of the line and the right to possess the land, and thus also has the corresponding economic right.

The feudal lord had the right to collect taxes from the fiefdom. The taxes collected by the feudal monarchs have different names in the history books. For example, "Meng Weijun is Qi, and his housekeeper Wei Zi collects the city for Meng Weijun". This kind of "Yi in" is explained by Suo Yin in the "Historical Records" as: "Collect the tax of the country." "The taxes of the fiefs are collected by the feudal lord or the officials appointed by the feudal king, and are not collected by the state officials and then passed on to the feudal king.

In addition to the payment of grain, there are also cases of collecting money. Zhuangzi. There is a passage from the Marquis of Jianhe, which says: "I will get Yi Jin", and the "Yi Jin" here is obviously a collection of currency.

When the feudal lord occupied the city, he also had the privilege of collecting the industrial and commercial taxes in the city. Han Fei said: "Although the minister's Lu is big, he is not allowed to borrow (nationality) cities; Although the party and the people, they are not allowed to be ministered. "Nationality" means taxation, and "nationality city" refers to the collection of handicraft and commercial taxes in the city. The fact that the Marquis of Qin, the Emperor of Jingyang, the Emperor of Gaoling, and the Emperor of Huayang would "be more wealthy than the royal family" was directly related to their acquisition of large commercial cities such as Tao, Wan, and Deng as fiefdoms.

The exploitation of feudal households by feudal lords was also manifested in the unpaid conscription of labor, such as building cities, defending cities, and performing military service. On the whole, however, the levies and taxes in the fiefdom may be lighter than those of the state. Han Fei once pointed out: "Knowing the tax and focusing on the people, it is difficult to fill the warehouse, and the soldiers are hiding in the escape, and they are attached to the gate of authority to avoid levies, and there are tens of thousands of people who can't go up." "If the state's taxes and levies are lighter than those of the feudal lords, these people will not defect to the feudal king.

The feudal lords also put usury and did business in their fiefs to loot money.

It seems that the feudal lord also has the power to mint coins. During the Warring States period, most of the copper coins were cast with place names, and from the large number of ancient coins found in archaeology, there were Shanyang cloth of Wei State, Wu'an and Anping cloth of Zhao State, etc., we cannot rule out that these currencies were made by feudal lords in these regions.

The fiefdoms of some feudal monarchs are by no means just a kind of surname for feudal monarchs. The feudal monarch had a relatively stable command over the feudal estate, and the administrative, economic, and financial affairs in the feudal domain were all under the control of the feudal monarch. The feudal lord's fiefdom is not under the jurisdiction of the local county, it runs parallel to the county and belongs to the monarch. Therefore, it can be said that there were two systems of local administration in the Warring States: one was the county system; The first is the feudal monarch food system. Historical Records. The Biography of the Marquis records that the Marquis died in Tao, and Qin recovered Tao as a county, which is a clear proof that the feudal and the county are two systems. Based on this, it can be said that it is incomplete to talk only about the county system in some works on the history of the Warring States period.

The power of the feudal monarch can be big or small, Zhao Fan only wants to seek welfare for Da Zhao, and he doesn't care about these private things, so he immediately thinks about it.

However, the feudal monarch must also obey the decrees issued by the monarch. When the Marquis of Wei was entitled, he was "edicted to the king of Xiang to guard this place, and he received the constitution of the mansion." The first chapter of the constitution says: 'The son kills the father, and the minister kills the king, and there is always no forgiveness. Although the country is amnesty, the son who surrenders to the city cannot be reconciled. The constitution is a decree. That is to say, the political axe grants the feudal lord a fief certificate, but it also requires the feudal monarch to follow the decree of national unity, and if these regulations are violated, the feudal monarch must be punished and the fief recovered.

In order to strengthen his control over the feudal monarch, the monarch appointed the minister or shou to supervise the fiefdom. The prince of Qin was sealed in Shu, with Chen Zhuang as the phase. King Zhao Wuling sealed his eldest son Zhang Yudai, called Anyang Jun, and sent Tian Buli as the prime minister. "Warring States Policy. Han Ce III records that there is a royal history in the Korean fiefdom. When the imperial historian dies, the feudal monarch must report to the state and be appointed separately by the central government. The duty of the imperial history is the same. He is responsible for the monarch and obeys the king's instructions. For example, King Wuling of Zhao once sent Zhao Gu, the acting minister, to Yan State to greet Gongziji and send him back to Qin State as King Zhao; He also sent Zhao Gu, the acting minister, to control the military power of the surrendered Hu people.

Whether or not each fiefdom sent officials does not seem to be true. For example, Meng Weijun's fiefdom does not seem to have sent a commissioner. In the fiefs where the monarch sent officials, a dualistic political situation was formed, and the feudal monarch often struggled with each other. For example, after King Qin Hui destroyed Shu, the son of the descendant of the original King of Shu was named the Marquis of Shu, Chen Zhuang was sent as the prime minister, and Zhang Ruo was sent to guard the Shu country. Later, there were many rebellions in Shu and the title of Marquis of Shu was changed twice. In this struggle, Zhang Ruo has always firmly supported the Qin court, and Chen Zhuang, the prime minister of Shu, once rebelled with Gongzitong.

Under normal circumstances, the feudal monarch was protected by the state, and the feudal lord played the role of a vassal for the royal family. Chu attacked Meng Weijun's fiefdom Xue, and the king of Qi "raised troops to save him, and Xue Suiquan" was borne.

The feudal lord had to pay a certain amount of tax to the state. The fact that Zhao Shou, an official of Zhao Guotian's ministry, collected taxes from Pingyuanjun shows that there is a legal requirement for feudal monarchs to pay rent and taxes to the state.

However, there was a conflict of interest between the feudal monarch and the monarch. The struggle between the feudal monarch and the state for population and territory is the main line of contradiction between the two.

The size of the feudal lord is directly related to the wealth of the feudal lord, so the feudal monarch always tries to get as many reliable sources of tax as possible. The so-called many refers to the expansion of fiefdoms as much as possible; The so-called reliability refers to the safe surname of fighting for fertile land and fiefdoms. Pingyuan Jun retreated from the Qin soldiers, and Yu Qing asked for a place for him. Wei Ran, the Marquis of Qin, was one of the insatiable representatives of the feudal monarchs. In the sixteenth year of King Qin Zhao, he was sealed in the Xuan, and he was still not satisfied, and even did not hesitate to use the country's manpower and material resources and the difficulties of sending troops over the Three Jin Dynasty to attack the land of Qi and Shou to expand its pottery. Han Fei rebuked him for "attacking the land for five years and Qin is not good for the size, which is the seal of the city's Taoyi". Ying Hou Fan Sui was dissatisfied with Wei Ran's behavior, but after he himself worshiped the prime minister and became the king, he also attacked Korea for eight years and "became the seal of Runan".

The feudal monarch also used methods that were lighter than the state taxes to compete with the state for population. Han Feizi. The "Bei Nei Chapter" says: "There is a lot of hardship in conscription, and the power of the people is rising, and the power is restored, and the nobles are rich." The privilege of "remanipulation" (exemption from state servitude) was used to induce the poor peasants to join them and become objects of their enslavement. The so-called "nobleman" should be the head of the feudal monarch. For example, Meng Weijun of Qi State once "caused the world to annihilate more than 60,000 people in Xue Zhonggai". (To be continued.) )