續論晉國中軍帥

A Sequel Comment on Chin's Marshal Selection

本文首先討論清原之蒐，以為晉文公前時雖遭架空，然並未放棄努力，趁此機會安排人事，挽回若干頹勢。貴族則等待機會，伺機反撲。文公卒，晉襄公與中軍帥屢見衝突，救江之役是一例。幸有趙衰為緩衝，事態未有擴大。待趙衰死，三易中軍帥。貴族全勝，襄公大敗。其原因是襄公欲速不達，反遭不測。最後，趙盾以奸佞之質，竟獲忠字稱譽。歷史文獻若非審慎檢視，其不可盡信者有若此。

This article starts with a remark upon the event of Ching-yuan Zhi Sou, since which Duke Wen（晉文公） had been deprived of power in Chin's court politics. The failure ignited Wen's flame of revenge. Succumbing to no further usurpation, he tried to turn the tables by implanting several confidants back to the court. To counteract Wen's efforts, his rival aristocrats deploy to stage a real coup d'etat. A civil war was at hand. Wen did not live long enough to witness his own wish fulfilled. Nor did other aristocrats triumph. Soon after Wen's death, his successor Duke Shiang（晉襄公） began to wrangle with Chin's marshals over tactics. Such disputes undermined Chin's dukedomal security. The battle at Jiou-jiang （救江） was a case in point. Thanks to Chao-shuai （趙衰）, a courtier who acted as a successful go-between, both camps hid behind the facade of peace, which was not tom into pieces till Chao-shuai5s death. Shiang refused to hark to the old motto ''More haste, less speed'', so he dismissed three marshals. Little wonder he met his Waterloo in the civil war. The aristocrats laughed with full complacency after the easy victory. Their Machiavellianism of hiding light under a bushel worked perfectly. As Chin's court politics thickened, a irony insinuated into history. Chao-duen（趙盾） the double-dealer gained prestige of loyalty. Documents may dupe well-trained historians with such a topsy-turvydom, let alone common readers. To trust or not to trust them, that is a question.