Chapter 14 Chapter Thirteen

When Zheng Zhuanggong was in full swing, there was a staunch ally who always stood by his side, and that was Qi Xigong.To some extent, Zheng Zhuanggong's achievement relies on external forces, one is the title of Emperor Zhou, and the other is the support of Qi Xigong.In the early Spring and Autumn Period, in terms of influence, Zheng Guo was well-deserved number one.But if you look at the country's strength, it is Qi's number one. The strength of Qi State has historical origins.Jiang Taigong, the ancestor of the Qi State, is a legendary figure.According to the legend, Jiang Taigong was very frustrated when he was young, and he came to Zhou State when he was old. He fished with straight hooks by the Wei River to attract attention. Later, he was discovered by King Wen of Zhou and entrusted him with a heavy responsibility.Jiang Taigong assisted Wen and Wu as emperors, and finally replaced the rule of the Shang Dynasty.

However, looking at Jiang Taigong's life trajectory, I am afraid that he is not as old as in the legend, at least not until he was discovered by King Wen at the age of 72. "Historical Records" records that Jiang Taigong is "a native of the East China Sea", but his hometown is in the west.The two oldest surnames in our country are probably Ji and Jiang, which represent the tribes of Huangdi and Yandi respectively. This can be found in the "Historical Records".Then Taigong Jiang was probably born in the ancient Jiang surnamed tribe in the west. Although there is no such record in the history books, such an inference is tenable.Before he was entrusted to the state of Qi, he hadn't been to the east much.The Ji and Jiang surnames in the West have always intermarried with each other, and they are two closely related tribes.Therefore, Jiang Taigong was appointed as the auxiliary minister by King Wen, which represented the union between the two ancient tribes in the West.

We will not discuss this issue further.Jiang Taigong was named Qihou because of his meritorious service in destroying business.At that time, Zhou Gongdan's fief was the State of Lu, which was adjacent to the State of Qi.Because Zhou Gongdan wanted to preside over the government in the royal family, he asked his son Boqin to preside over the government affairs in the fiefdom, which is called "juguo". Jiang Taigong and Bo Qin went to the country at the same time, and after 5 months, Jiang Taigong came to the court to report to Zhou Gongdan.Zhou Gongdan asked, "Why did you come to report to work so soon?" Jiang Taigong said, "The people in the east are very backward, they don't know any etiquette, and their quality is too poor. I think it will be very difficult to teach them etiquette. , so I simplified the etiquette between the monarch and his ministers, and governed according to their local customs. This will quickly achieve small results, so come here and report to the emperor." Zhou Gong said: "That's right."

Three years later, Boqin from the state of Lu also came to report his work.The Duke of Zhou asked, "Why did you come so late? Do you know that the neighboring state of Qi has already come to report on the work?" Boqin said, "Hey, don't mention it. The people in the east are very backward, and they don't have any etiquette. I don’t understand, the quality is too poor. In order to change their customs, teach them etiquette, and implement the three-year mourning system, I have spent a lot of effort. Now I have taught them, so I have come to report to the emperor.” After hearing about Boqin's administration, the Duke of Zhou said helplessly: "It seems that the state of Lu will submit to the state of Qi in the future. How can one be so stubborn in governing the country? The policy is simple and easy to implement, and the people can be close to each other. This is called 'approachable'." Later, Qi State and Lu State really became competitors, and Lu State was indeed suppressed by Qi State for a long time.

Qi State developed well and became a local power.Not long after King Wu defeated Zhou, the survivors of the Shang Dynasty colluded with some princes and launched a rebellion, and some tribal countries in the east also rebelled against the Zhou Dynasty.The Duke of Zhou sent Zhao Kanggong (that is, Zhao Gongshi) to order Jiang Taigong to send troops to quell the rebellion in the east, telling him: "The east is to the sea, the west is to the Yellow River, the south is to Muling (north of Ma County, Hubei), and the north is to the north. Wudi (now in the west of Liaoning), the princes of the fifth rank, and Fang Guo within the Kyushu, whoever is disobedient, you can go to conquer." From then on, Qi State had the power to conquer the princes in place of the Zhou royal family.

During the reign of King Zhou Yi, because Ji Hou slandered the emperor, Qi Aigong was thrown into a pot by the emperor and boiled, so there was a festival between Qi and the emperor.When it was Duke Xi of Qi, relying on the relationship with Duke Zhuang Zheng, Qi Guo regained the relationship with the royal family of Zhou. Since the Shimen talks, Zheng Zhuanggong and Qi Xigong have become hard-core allies.Zheng Zhuanggong made full use of the strong national power of Qi State to strengthen his own momentum.And the mighty Qi State followed Zheng Guo's footsteps in everything, and became Zheng Guo's little brother.In many people's eyes, Qi Xigong is just a role of being taken advantage of by making wedding clothes for others.

In fact, it cannot be said that Qi Xigong suffered a disadvantage.Qi State also used Zheng State's prestige to increase its influence.Qi Xigong once tried to mediate the conflict between Zheng and Song, so that the two countries signed a treaty of friendship.Although the effectiveness of this covenant did not last long, it did increase Qi Xigong's prestige among the princes a lot.Moreover, in the many alliances and joint military operations initiated by Zheng Guo, although Qi Guo recognized Zheng Guo's leadership, Zheng Guo also showed enough respect for Qi Guo.Zheng and Qi can be said to borrow from each other and get what they need.Therefore, some historians also believe that Qi Xigong is also worthy of the title of "Xiaoba", and he can be ranked with Zheng Zhuanggong as the first-class figure at that time.

Qi State expanded its influence during the time of Duke Xi of Qi, but in essence, it started to expand its sphere of influence from the time of Duke Xiang of Qi.Qi Xianggong is far inferior to his father Qi Xigong in terms of kindness.In terms of cruelty, it is far beyond.Of course, the other side of cruelty is decisiveness and courage.Zheng Guojun's son Dan and doctor Gao Qumi died at his hands.We will talk about it later, Duke Lu Huan, the king of Lu, also died at the hands of Duke Xiang of Qi.Qi Xianggong dared to kill the monarchs and ministers of other countries at will, which shows his courage and ruthlessness.

Qi State and Lu State were also intermarried from generation to generation, and the relationship was not bad. In Zheng Zhuanggong's era, Qi Lu and Zheng State were all allies and got along relatively well.But when Qi Xianggong, the situation changed.Qi Xianggong may have realized that the expansion of Qi's power will inevitably conflict with Lu.The territory of Shandong is really not enough for the peaceful coexistence of the two great powers of Qilu.Therefore, from the time of Duke Xiang of Qi, the contradiction between Qi State and Lu State began to appear. In order to expand his power, Duke Xiang of Qi conquered Ji State, a vassal state of Lu State, and forced the monarch of State Ji to relocate. This also avenged his ancestor Qi Ai Gong by the way.Qi State occupied the territory of Ji State, which became the beginning of Qi State's annexation of small countries in the Spring and Autumn Period.At the same time, this is also the beginning of Qi State's pressure on Lu State.

Qi State is close to the sea, so it has the advantage of fishing and drying salt.Far away from the Central Plains where there are many countries, there is plenty of room for development.Its main competitor is only the state of Lu, and the state of Lu is relatively weak.Since the time of the Taigong, the Qi State has set a simple, practical and flexible political tone, while the Lu State is very rigid, sticking to the Zhou ritual tradition, and the whole is a elm-headed one. In the early Spring and Autumn Period, although there was a short-lived state of Zheng in the Central Plains, this place was still unable to get rid of the troubles of war, and there was no room for countries to hide their strengths and develop their strengths.The Chu State in the south has shown a strong momentum of development, but its power has just moved northward.The state of Jin in the north is still splitting, and has no time to take care of foreign countries.The Qin State in the west was only listed as a vassal when King Zhou Ping was king, and the west was poor and backward, so its influence was limited for the time being.Only Qi State has unique advantages.This made this coastal vassal state the first substantial overlord in the Spring and Autumn Period.

The state of Qi followed behind the state of Zheng, and things went smoothly.And what are the three great powers of Jin, Chu, and Qin doing?