秦穆公,春秋五霸的杰出代表。秦穆公(前682年—前621年),别称秦缪公,是嬴姓赵氏的成员,名任好。他是秦德公少子,也是秦宣公、秦成公的弟弟。在《史记》中,他被誉为春秋时期最杰出的君主之一,并且作为缪氏家族的祖宗。
继位后,秦穆公委用了百里奚、蹇叔和由余等一批智谋家来辅佐他。他不仅击败了晋国,将晋惠公俘虏,还灭掉了梁和芮两国。同时,他还支持晋文公建立联盟,但在晋文公开死后,这个联盟瓦解,对抗加剧。
在其统治期间,秦穆 公非常重视人才,他得到了百里奚、蹇叔、由余、孟明视、西乞术和白乙丛等众多贤臣良将的大力支持。此外,他还曾协助晋文公开疆夺回晋国君位。在周襄王时代,他发动了一系列军事行动,对蜀国以及函谷关以西的一些国家进行攻击,使得他的领土扩展到千里之远,因此被周襄王封为西方诸侯之伯,最终成为一个霸主,为日后的中国统一铺平了道路。
最后,在前621年,秦穆 公去世,被谥号为“穆”,并葬于雍(今陕西省宝鸡市凤翔区东南)。他殉葬的人数达到了177人,《左传》中记载:“ Qin Mu Gong, the great leader of the Spring and Autumn period. He was known as Qin Mu Gong or Qin Miu Gong, born in 682 BC and died in 621 BC. His family name was Ying, his surname was Zhao, and his given name was Renhao. He was a younger brother of Duke Xuan of Qin and Duke Cheng of Qin.
After ascending to the throne, he employed many talented advisors such as Bai Li Xi, Quan Shu, Yu Ru, Meng Ming Shi, Xi Qi Shu, and Bai Yi Chong to help him govern the state. He not only defeated Jin (the State of Jin) and captured its king Huizhuang but also conquered two other states called Liang (the State of Liang)