Chapter 7 Chapter Six

Wei Guo was instigated by Gongsun Hua and challenged Zheng Guo, but in the end he gave in to Zheng Guo, which made him very embarrassing.As a monarch of the Wei state, he is still submissive to the emperor Zhou in name, and it is not shameful to say it.But in the eyes of militant Zhou Yu, bowing his head and pleading guilty to Zheng Guo, who is also a prince, is really intolerable.What's more, from the point of view of title, Wei Guo was a marquis when the country was first established, and was later promoted by the royal family to become a duke.Whether it is a duke or a marquis, they all have a higher status than the Earl of Zheng Guo.Zhou Yu felt that his elder brother, the monarch, was really useless.

Under the eldest son succession system established by the Duke of Zhou, the sons of concubines like Zhou Yu (whose sons are born to regular wives are called "concubines", and those born to non-legal wives are called "concubines") have no succession to the throne from birth. right.From our current point of view, this is certainly unfair.The principle of selecting talents is merit-based admission and competitive employment. How can one's life destiny be determined by one's birth? But today is today, and Chunqiu is Chunqiu.An era has its own concept, and we cannot force the ancients to use the views of today's people.If you are not the eldest son, it will be very difficult to succeed to the throne. This is tantamount to challenging the moral values ​​of the people of the world.We emphasize equality today, but ancient times just emphasized that people should be divided into ranks, and ranks represent social order.Once the hierarchy is chaotic, the social order will also be chaotic. For example, Zhou Tianzi and Zheng Zhuanggong exchanged their sons as hostages. In the eyes of the historian, it was worse than the sky falling.In the same way, it is not difficult for us to understand why Gong Shuduan has worked so hard for so many years, but still can't beat Zheng Zhuanggong.The status of hierarchical order in people's minds is very important, enough to determine the success or failure of a political figure, which is the characteristic of that era.

Zhou Yu was spoiled and spoiled since he was a child, and he has always been dissatisfied with his elder brother who is the king.In Zhou Yu's eyes, the feeling of being superior to others is so beautiful and so aspirational.However, ambition also needs the soil to germinate.Although Duke Huan of Wei was relatively weak, he was an orthodox monarch after all. If there were no special events, it would be difficult for Zhou Xu to realize his ambitions. There are always opportunities.In 720 BC, King Ping of Zhou died and King Huan of Zhou succeeded to the throne. The death of the emperor and the ascension of the new emperor is a major event in the world.As a prince, you should express yourself as much as possible.At the beginning of 719 BC, Duke Huan of Wei planned to go to Luoyi in person, firstly to mourn for King Ping of Zhou, and secondly to congratulate King Huan of Zhou.Weddings and weddings are done together.

Shi Hou hurriedly found Zhou Yu and said: "The opportunity has come. The monarch is traveling. It is time for us to do great things. We can lend the monarch a gift, send people to ambush the banquet, and kill the monarch. You can't do it." Have you succeeded?" Zhou Yu thought it was a good idea, so he acted according to plan. We don't need to say more about the process. There are many descriptions similar to Hongmen Banquet in classical novels, and we can use our imagination as much as possible.It's nothing more than three rounds of drinking, throwing cups as a sign, exhausting soldiers, and stabbing Duke Huan to death.There are always similarities in history, and we can see many of the same scenes.

In fact, Zhou Yu's trick is exactly the same as that of Zheng Guogong's uncle Duan, who took advantage of the opportunity to make trouble when the monarch was out.It's just that Zheng Zhuanggong is a tiger and Wei Huan is a sheep, so the result is naturally different.Unfortunately, Zheng Zhuanggong's warning to Wei Huan came true. Zhou Xu killed his elder brother and had his body transported back to the capital for burial. He said that he died of a sudden illness.It's nothing special to die from a sudden illness. Didn't Prince Fox also die from a sudden illness before the dignified Zhou Dynasty?

Then under Shi Hou's arrangement, Zhou Yu successfully ascended the throne and became the new leader of the Wei State. But after becoming the king, Zhou Yu felt uncomfortable again.He always felt that people were a little dissatisfied with his new king, as if they were talking about Zhou Yu killing the king or something, and the chirping made Zhou Xu very uncomfortable.The word "kill" means to kill. It generally refers to the killing of the low-status. For example, the courtier killed the monarch, the son killed the father, the disciple killed the teacher, etc., can all use this word.

Zhou Yu asked Shi Hou: "I have become the king, but everyone refuses to accept me, what should I do?" Shi Hou thought for a while, and said: "Then the only thing to do is to make some achievements to show to the people in the country. Zhou Yu said: "Then let's go to war and expand the territory, what a credit. Who do you think we should fight?" Shi Hou said: "The first king, that is, your brother, is too good at life Neighboring countries didn’t make trouble with us, so it’s really hard to deal with. Speaking of it, it’s a shame that Zheng Guo came to our border a few years ago because of Gongsun Hua’s incident.” Zhou Yuyi Pat on the thigh: "That's it. If he sent troops to fight us, won't we be allowed to fight there?" So, such a big thing as war was settled in the middle of this nonsense dialogue between the monarch and his ministers.

However, Shi Hou's mind is not too confused. He suggested that Zhou Yu should not attack Zheng State with the power of one country, but should draw several countries as allies.In Shi Hou's view, among the princes with different surnames, the Song State had the highest title, and among the princes with the same surname, the Lu State had the most noble status.If you get the help of these two countries, the momentum will be great. We have already introduced the situation of Lu State, so what kind of vassal state is Song State?The State of Song is a descendant of the Shang Dynasty, and its founder was Wei Ziqi, the elder brother of King Shang Zhou.The kings of the Shang Dynasty were all surnamed "Zi" (it is normal to find it strange and normal when we look at some ancient surnames today), so of course the king of the Song Dynasty also had the surname "Zi".After King Wu of Zhou destroyed the Shang Dynasty, in order to appease the old and young of the Shang Dynasty, he asked Wei Ziqi to lead these people to live in Suiyang (today's Shangqiu, Henan Province) and become a prince, called the State of Song.Its ruling area is today's eastern Henan, and a small part of Jiangsu and Shandong provinces.Among the many vassal states, the legal status of Song State is the most noble, and the title is the highest level of duke.Because for Zhou Tianzi and the vassal states, it is equivalent to a guest.The host should treat the guests with respect, of course.

It just so happened that there were some small conflicts between Song Shanggong, the monarch of Song State, and Zheng State.Song Shanggong's name was Yu Yi, and his father was Song Xuangong.When Song Xuangong was dying, he did not pass the position of monarch to his son Yuyi, but to his younger brother Song Mugong.Song Mugong was very grateful for the kindness of his elder brother Song Xuangong, so after his death, he passed the throne back to Song Xuangong's son Yu Yi, so that Song Shanggong became the king.As we said earlier, the Song State was a descendant of the Shang Dynasty, and the Shang Dynasty's throne succession system was a combination of sibling succession and father death.Although the Song Dynasty basically adopted the eldest son succession system of the Zhou Dynasty, until the Spring and Autumn Period, the old tradition still broke out from time to time.

In this way, a problem arises. Song Mugong returned the throne to his elder brother's son with high integrity, but Song Mugong's own son, son Feng Ke, had long dreamed of being the king.And Song Shanggong was also worried about his cousin.Young Master Feng knew that there was no good fruit to eat under the eyes of his cousin, so he fled to Zheng State. Zhouxu of the State of Wei took advantage of this, and sent people to confuse Song Shanggong to send troops: "Attack Zheng Guo, kill the son Feng, and your status will be safe." When Song Shanggong heard that he could keep his power, his mind became hot , and agreed to Zhou Xu's request.

Zhou Yu sent people to the state of Lu to stir up trouble again. Lu Yingong asked Zhongzhong, the doctor, "Do you think Zhou Yu can succeed?" Zhong Zhong said: "Zhou Yu killed the monarch to stand on his own feet, and the country didn't accept him. He didn't talk about appeasing the country, but wanted to consolidate his position through war. Isn't that nonsense?" Lier didn't agree with Zhouxu. Zhou Yu then joined the two small states of Chen and Cai (these two states are in the south-central part of Henan Province today), and formed an allied force with Song State to attack Zheng State. In the spring of 719 BC, they surrounded the east gate of the capital of Zheng State. .Zheng Guo had been prepared for a long time, and he did not go out to fight. He just held on to the city, so the coalition forces retreated temporarily.This is the so-called Battle of the East Gate. In the autumn of this year, the armies of the four countries attacked the state of Zheng again, and Zhou Xu strongly invited Duke Yin of Lu to send troops.Lu Yingong still refused, but the people under his command couldn't sit still.Father Yu, the prince of the state of Lu, refused to obey Duke Yin's order and forcibly sent troops.The armies of the Five Kingdoms were mighty and aggressive all the way, rushing towards Zheng State. Zheng Zhuanggong saw that Zhouxu had come again, and the Allied Forces of Four Nations had become the Allied Forces of Five Nations. The momentum was really not small.The officials of the state of Zheng were gearing up one by one, and they all challenged Zheng Zhuanggong.It was also spring, and the armies of these countries came to fight once, and they ignored them that time. Unexpectedly, within a year, these guys came again. But Zheng Zhuanggong is not a militant, his mind is very clear.The so-called Allied Forces of the Five Nations, in fact, the army of Lu State sent troops privately without the order of the king, so as long as they coordinate well with the king of Lu State, this is not difficult to deal with.Song Guo came for Young Master Feng, so it would be fine if he took care of Young Master Feng.The two small countries, Chen and Cai, were originally there to join in the fun. Without the support of the big country, they themselves would have no energy. So Zheng Zhuanggong sent someone to send his son Feng to Changge (probably north of Wanling County, Henan today), and then wrote to Song Shanggong, saying: "Young master Feng has been sent to Changge by us. If you want to Capture him and go over there." Song Shanggong came here for this matter, so he immediately led his troops to Changge.The five-nation coalition became the four-nation coalition. Lu's army was led by Gong Ziyu's father, and they came out in violation of the monarch's order. Now that Song is gone, they dare not act rashly.The two small countries, Chen and Cai, followed the big country to pick up bargains. Once Song Guo left, they naturally had no intention of fighting. Zhou Yu saw that this was not going to work, he lost his mind, and it was difficult to lead the team.Shi Hou said: "There is no way, we must fight a war, or we will have to disband." So Shi Hou led the army of Wei Guo to challenge Zheng Guo. Zheng Zhuanggong said to his son Lu: "Take the infantry out to meet Shi Hou, don't bring the chariot, go out and meet him and come back." The son Lu was very strange: "Fight with him and teach them a lesson, isn't it? Is it better? Are we afraid of Zhouyu's son?" Zheng Zhuanggong said: "It's not that we are afraid of him, but to give him a step down. Zhouyu's position as king is not right, and he wants to use this battle to suppress the people of the country. In this case, we will fulfill him. He has won the battle, so why don’t he go back obediently?” Young Master Lu led a team of infantry to attack, and met Shi Hou's chariot troops. After a few ping-pong-pong fights, Young Master Lu retreated.But Shi Hou didn't chase after him, and returned to the camp with the army. Zhou Xu asked: "We won the battle, why don't we take advantage of the victory and pursue it?" Shi Hou said: "Let's close it when we see it. The domestic situation is unstable, so we have to go back quickly. If we win the battle, we have an account." Xu suddenly realized, so he announced a big victory over Zheng Jun, and the whole army triumphed.In order to show their glorious results, when the guards withdrew, they took some spoils: they harvested all the crops on the border of Zheng State.When Zheng Zhuanggong heard the news, he just laughed it off. His son Lu, Jizu and others knew that this was actually a repetition of Zheng Zhuanggong's method against his younger brother: I'm used to him. After Zhou Xu returned to China, he thought he had done a lot.But what makes him depressed is that the common people in the country don't seem to buy his account, and the public opinion is still talking about him killing the former monarch.Zhou Yu was very troubled, so he asked Shi Hou: "I defeated the mighty Zheng Guo, but the people of the country are still not convinced, what should I do?" Shi Hou had no idea, so he could only say: "Maybe it would be better to invite a respected and respected old minister to preside over the situation?" Zhou Yu said, "If you have a respected and respected minister, then your father, Shi Que, will be counted. Can you invite him out?" Shi Hou felt troubled when he heard it: "Our old man has never liked the two of us. It may be difficult to let him go out of the mountain. Otherwise, I will try." Shi Hou went home with an uneasy heart, and mentioned this matter to his father. Unexpectedly, the old man was not angry at all, and gave them advice with concern: "If you want to be recognized by the people of the country, you must first be recognized by the Emperor Zhou. If The emperor has recognized Zhouxu's status as a monarch, do others dare to say anything?" Shi Hou hurriedly asked: "How did he get the emperor's approval?" Shi Que said: "Recently, Duke Huan of Chen Guo is very favored by the emperor. , and the relationship between Chen Guo and us is also good, why not ask Chen Huan Gong to introduce him, that will definitely get the attention of Zhou Tianzi." Shi Hou and Zhou Xu thought together and felt that what Shi Que said was reasonable.Anyway, Chen Guo is not too far away, so let's try it out. How could Shi Que really help these two young masters?When Zhouxu Shihou was about to go to Chen State, Shi Que's messenger had already arrived in Chen State and brought a letter to Chen Huangong: "Unfortunately, there is a disaster in Wei State, and I, the old man, can't stop it. These two guys killed I have killed our monarch, and now I have lured them to your country, I hope you can help deal with these two rebellious officials and thieves." Originally, Shi Que was a highly respected veteran of Weiguo, and he was also very influential in neighboring countries.What's more, Chen Guo followed Zhou Yu to fight Zheng Guo, and spent a lot of food and money, but got nothing. Chen Huan was just dissatisfied with Zhou Yu.So he got ready to arrest Zhou Yu and Shi Hou as soon as they arrived in Chen Guo.At this time, Zhou Yu and Shi Que realized that they had been raped by the old man, and Jiang was still old and spicy! Although Chen Guo arrested Zhou Xu and Shi Hou, this was Wei Guo's own internal affairs after all, so he asked Wei Guo to send someone to deal with it.Shi Que sent You Zai Chou (the name should be Ji Chou, You Zai is the official name) to the state of Chen to deal with Zhou Yu, and at the same time sent his housekeeper Yan Yangjian to deal with Shi Hou.This also shows that Shi Que has a clear distinction between public and private affairs.Both Zhou Yu and Shi Hou were killed in Chen Guo. The Zhouxu Rebellion in the State of Wei has subsided so far.Shi Que made the decision again, from Xing to welcome Duke Huan of Wei's other younger brother, Prince Jin, who came back to succeed him, Duke Wei Xuan. For the righteousness of the country, Shi Que did not hesitate to kill his son who made trouble, and was regarded as a heroic model of righteousness and family killing.However, how to understand this "righteousness" is really a headache.Zhou Xu is the younger brother of Duke Huan of Wei, and Prince Jin is also the younger brother of Duke Huan of Wei. It is illegal for the former younger brother to be the king of the country, but is it legal for the latter brother to be the king of the country? Of course, this is mainly to blame Zhou Yu for obtaining the throne by illegal means. Since he killed the monarch, he must bear the corresponding guilt, so he deserves to die.As for Prince Jin, who is also Duke Huan's younger brother, ascending the throne, that is an unavoidable choice.Perhaps Huan Gong died too early and had no sons yet, and the country cannot live without a king, so he could only establish a son Jin.This incident also shows that the ancients in China were very particular about the separation of powers and responsibilities, and you must bear the responsibility for what you do yourself.This can be said to be a primitive contract spirit! In fact, if Shi Que could predict what his new monarch would do in the future, he would definitely feel that it would be better for Zhou Yu to continue working.This Wei Xuangong is notoriously licentious and shameless. When he was young, he had an affair with his father's concubine. After he became a king, he robbed his son's wife and even killed his son, etc.However, as the strength of the Wei State became weaker and weaker, we will not go into details about these things that have nothing to do with the general situation of the Spring and Autumn Period.The matter of Wei State has come to an end for the time being, and our eyes continue to return to Zheng State. After all, the protagonist of this stage is still Zheng Zhuanggong.