Chapter 15 Chapter 14 Great Powers Prefer Sports

Jin, the great northern country, is the fiefdom of Tang Shuyu, the younger brother of King Cheng of Zhou.As mentioned earlier, King Zhou Cheng was still a child when he succeeded to the throne, and the government was presided over by Zhou Gongdan, the younger brother of King Wu.Although Zhou Chengwang bears the title of emperor, he doesn't have to worry about government affairs before he becomes an adult.As a child, I usually have to play games and play house. King Cheng of Zhou was still a child, and his younger brother Shuyu was even younger.The two brothers were playing games together. King Cheng took a tung tree leaf and cut it into the shape of the upper circle and the lower part, just like the jade jade held in the hands of the princes when holding ceremonies.King Cheng handed the leaves to his younger brother and said, "I have made you a prince." The next day, a minister asked King Cheng to issue a formal decree to confer Shuyu the title.Cheng Wang said that the two of us brothers were joking around, are you too neurotic?But the minister said no, the emperor has no jokes, you have to count what you say, or you will not count what you say in the future.In this way, Shuyu was named a prince in a daze, and the country was named Tang.This is the story of the famous "Tong Ye Feng Di" in history.

Later, when Tang Shuyu's son was in power, the country name was changed to Jin.The location of Jin is probably in the south of Shanxi Province today, and its early capital was Yicheng (in the southeast of Yicheng County, Shanxi today).The state of Jin was not considered to be an influential big country.It is located in the north, and has been harassed by tribes such as Rongdi in the north, and life has not been very easy. However, being in the land of Rong and Di also brought a very important benefit to the state of Jin, that is, it can expand its territory without any scruples and annex small insignificant countries without worrying about being punished by the emperor of Zhou and condemned by the public opinion all over the world. .

In the Spring and Autumn Period, casually annexing the vassal states entrusted by the Zhou royal family would face great pressure from public opinion, but according to historical records, there are still many small states that are eaten like meat.What kind of meat can be eaten and what kind of meat can't be eaten? For this issue, we have not yet developed a clear standard.But one thing that is certain is that Zhou Tianzi and the public opinion of the world were too lazy to sympathize with the so-called "barbarian land" at that time.These places, at best, are called "small countries", but at worst, they are just a bunch of countless primitive tribes. Many so-called "countries" have not established formal state institutions at all.Although such a small country also recognizes the status of the "co-lord of the world" by the emperor of Zhou (they have no reason or strength not to recognize it), but they are often conferred by the emperor to certain meritorious ministers.Therefore, such a small country is an excellent resource for Qi, Jin, Qin, Chu and other big countries to expand their strength.The state of Jin is among such a bunch of small countries, and the rate of expansion of the territory is naturally astonishing.

In the era of King Xuan of Zhou, the state of Jin began to continuously attack the nearby small states.In 805 BC, the seventh year of Jin Muhou, the Jin State attacked Tiao (it seems to be the name of the country, but it is actually a minority tribe). At the same time, the first son of Jin Muhou was born, named It's called "Chou".It is estimated that the battle of cutting the bar did not go so smoothly, so Jin Muhou came up with such a name on a whim.Since this was the first son of Jin Muhou, he made Qiu the prince.In 802 B.C., Muhou of Jin took over Qianmu again. In this year, his second son was born and named Chengshi.

Annexing a small country and having a son again, this kind of good thing of "marrying a daughter-in-law and celebrating the new year" naturally made Jin Muhou very happy.But the minister under him seemed to be a little bit wrong.A doctor named Shifu said in private: "What name did the king give to the child? The eldest son is called Qiu, and he can't see it at first glance; As for the successor, if the second child is stronger than the eldest, will the country not be in chaos?" I really don't want to believe in such predictions that have no scientific basis, nor do I want to promote these things, but this is clearly recorded in the history books.And later facts proved that this prophecy was quite accurate.I think, if such a prophecy is not because a blind cat ran into a dead mouse, or if it was deliberately made by later generations (for example, the descendants of a teacher in order to find a basis for their own usurping behavior), then it can only be that the person concerned made a decision about the future of the country. There were dozens of predictions, one of which was predicted by him, so he was shocked by the historian and recorded it.Also, if the prediction is wrong, then what's the point of recording it?

It is estimated that Prince Qiu will be very helpless after knowing this prophecy: Isn't it just a name?The big deal is just to change it, and can you predict a person's life, or even the fate of his descendants?This is even more unreliable than the so-called "seven years old look old". Later, Prince Qiu became the king of the country, and he was the Marquis of Jin Wen.After Jin Wenhou died, his son Jin Zhaohou took over.In 745 BC, Jin Zhaohou enshrined his uncle, the younger brother of Jin Wenhou, as a teacher in Quwo (Where Quwo is today is still controversial, many people think it is Wenxi County, Shanxi , but the author is more inclined to think that it is Quwo, Shanxi today), known as Uncle Huan of Quwo.

We don't know what hidden secrets Jin Zhaohou had at the time, so he had to entrust his uncle, but this enfeoffment was obviously a bad move.Quwo was larger than Yicheng, the capital of Jin State at that time.Moreover, Uncle Qu Wohuan was already 58 years old when he was granted the title, and he was a highly respected veteran in the Jin government.Uncle Huan is very good at winning people's hearts, and his prestige in the hearts of Jin people is very high.A character like this kind of old tortoise, who is very kind on the surface, is easy to win the favor of the public in China, which advocates respecting the elderly.Many people think that Uncle Huan should be the king of Jin.At this time, the state of Jin can be said to have split into two different regimes.

That's how the chaos happened.In 739 BC, that is, the seventh year of Jin Zhaohou, Pan Fu, the minister of Jin State, killed Jin Zhaohou and sent people to Quwo to meet Quwo Uncle Huan, hoping to make Uncle Huan the king.However, most people in Yicheng still can't recognize Uncle Huan, after all, Zhaohou's branch is orthodox.So on Uncle Huan's way to Yicheng, Yicheng sent troops to intercept him.Uncle Huan was happy to go to pick the fruit, but he didn't make any preparations. He was defeated and had to return to his old lair, Quwo.The people of Jin supported Zhaohou's son as the king, and it was Xiaohou.The first thing Xiaohou did after he took office was to slaughter the minister Pan's father.

Jin Xiaohou can take care of Pan's father, but he can't do anything about Quwo's ​​Uncle Huan.Quwo's ​​power is already too great for the central government of Jin to deal with.The two sides had no choice but to enter a state of cold war. In 731 BC, Uncle Quwohuan passed away, and his son Eel (named the child Eel, does it mean that Uncle Quwohuan likes to eat eel?) succeeded him and was called Zhuangbo Quwo.Zhuang Bo continued his father's great cause of fighting against the central government, and intensified it.In 724 BC, Zhuangbo Quwo simply led his troops to kill Yicheng, killed Jin Xiaohou, and wanted to be the king himself.But before his butt was hot, the resistance of the Jin people forced him to withdraw to Quwo.It seems that the time is still not ripe!

In Yicheng, the son of Jin Xiaohou was established as the king, and he was Jin Ehou.After so many twists and turns, the strength comparison between Yicheng and Quwo has become seriously asymmetrical.The younger brother has the tendency to surpass the boss, and the tendency to replace him is becoming more and more obvious. There is a problem here, that is, there are contradictions in the records of "Historical Records" and "Zuo Zhuan".According to "Zuo Zhuan", Jin Ehou should be the younger brother of Jin Xiaohou, not his son.According to the age of history books, Zuo Zhuan, which was written earlier, should be more reliable.There are quite a lot of inconsistencies between "Historical Records" and "Zuo Zhuan" regarding the record of the civil strife in Jin.

According to the "Zuo Zhuan" records, in 718 BC, Zhuangbo Quwo attacked Yicheng again, and this time he also attracted the troops of Zheng Guo and Xing Guo.Probably due to Zheng Zhuanggong's reason, Zhou Tianzi also expressed support for this action.Due to the unknown historical records, we cannot speculate where the Jin Ehou in Yicheng offended Zhou Tianzi or Zheng Zhuanggong.Why does the emperor support the rebellious forces?Although Zhou Tianzi often does some mindless things, he can still grasp the basic general direction. In any case, this attack drove Jin Ehou to any place.Not long after, for the same unknown reason, King Huan of Zhou withdrew his assistance to Zhuangbo Quwo again.It is estimated that some people in Yicheng put a certain amount of pressure on the emperor with their righteous names. Of course, it is also possible that the emperor Zhou himself has recollected it, so he not only cut off assistance to Zhuangbo Quwo, but also severely condemned him.In order to express punishment for rebellion, King Huan of Zhou also sent Duke Guo to lead an army to fight Zhuangbo Quwo. After all, Zhuangbo Quwo is still weak, and now he can't even deal with Yicheng, how can he dare to fight against the emperor of Zhou and offend the public opinion of the world?Had to withdraw troops again.This incident also made Zhuang Bo very embarrassed, and he was so depressed that he passed away after two years. The Yicheng people continued to support the descendants of Jin Wenhou's line unrelentingly, and made the son of Jin Ehou the king, that is, Jin Aihou. Looking at this posthumous title, the end of Jin Aihou will not be better.On Quwo's ​​side, Zhuangbo's successor is his son, known as Quwo Wugong.Duke Quwo is also always ready to complete the unfinished business of his predecessors. In 710 BC, Marquis Ai of Jin in Yicheng took the initiative to attack the border between Yicheng and Quwo.Dianting originally belonged to Yi, but it may have been because the situation was favorable and the people of Diating tended to Quwo, so they were attacked by Yicheng. Dongting asked Quwo for help, and promised to lead Quwo's ​​army to attack Yicheng as a guide.For Duke Wu of Quwo, this was a rare opportunity.In the spring of 709 BC, Quwo's ​​army aggressively attacked Yicheng.Counting it, this should be the fourth large-scale war between Quwo and Yicheng.The result this time was the same as the previous few times. The orthodox forces of the Jin Kingdom in Yicheng lost another monarch.Marquis Ai of Jin was captured by Duke Wu of Quwo and was later killed.Yicheng fully implemented the spirit of "Wild fires are endless, spring breeze blows and regenerates", and the son of Aihou of Jin Dynasty was appointed as the king.The monarch didn't even have a name left, so he was called "Xiao Zihou". During the confrontation between Quwo Wugong and Xiaozihou, Quwo's ​​territory was further expanded, and even went abroad.The unlucky neighbor, Xun State, was seized by Quwo Wugong, and the monarch became a polished commander. In 705 B.C., Duke Wu of Quwo lured Jin boy Hou to Quwo and killed him.Anyway, during this civil strife, several Marquis Jin had already died, so he didn't care about this one.In the next year, Quwo's ​​army entered Yicheng and wiped out the orthodox regime of Jin. But this time Quwo Wugong encountered an unexpected backlash from the international community.King Zhou Huan had just experienced a disastrous defeat in the battle of Ge not long ago, and his prestige had dropped to freezing point.However, the emaciated camel was bigger than a horse, and Quwowu Gong was punished enough for his blatant defiance of international law.Zhou royal army marched to Yicheng, Duke Wu of Quwo weighed his weight and decided to avoid the edge for the time being and return to Quwo. In 703 BC, the Zhou royal family sent Duke Guo to attack Quwo with the troops of Rui, Liang, Xun, and Jia.Looking at the composition of this coalition army, we can know how powerful this army is.Among the pitiful four small countries, there is also a nameless one (the land of Xun State has been taken by Quwo).So this attack came back in vain. The tenacious vitality of the orthodox forces of the Jin Kingdom in Yicheng is really admirable.Since Xiao Zihou was too young when he died and had no son, the people of Yicheng supported Jin Aihou's younger brother, Min, as the king. Since then, the Jin State has been peaceful for more than 20 years. Until 679 BC, Duke Wu of Quwo felt that the time was right and attacked Yicheng again.This time, Duke Wu of Quwo won as usual and killed Jin Houmin.Jin Wenhou and Ji Qiu's lineage can be regarded as extinct.Since then, Yicheng has been merged into Quwo, and a new state of Jin was born. So this time, what is Zhou Tianzi's attitude, and how does the international public opinion view it? In the second year after Quwo Wugong destroyed Yicheng, he sent a lot of gold and silver treasures to Zhou Tianzi.At this time, Zhou Tianzi was already Zhou Li, the grandson of King Zhou Huan.King Zhou Li was very face-saving, so he sent Duke Guo to Quwo, announced that Duke Wu of Quwo was canonized as the king of Jin, and allowed him to establish a military force with an army. What about the international community?Judging from the records in "Zuo Zhuan", it seems that this incident did not have much influence among the princes. No one mentioned the "annexation of Zhengsu by side branches" and adopted the ostrich policy one by one.The official historian, who is always upright and dignified, did not comment on this incident, but simply recorded it.Perhaps it is because Quwo's ​​forces are living more and more nourishingly amid repeated condemnations. This result has already caused the "gentlemen" to have the embarrassing thought of "talking is useless, and they are tired of talking"; or it is the state of Jin. The civil strife in China has lasted for too long, and the "gentlemen" have lost their patience.On the other hand, it is no surprise that there are more and more similar things. In short, after decades of civil strife in Jin, the final result is that the offspring of the younger brother Chengshi wiped out the offspring of the eldest brother.The fact that the younger brother ate the boss was finally recognized by Zhou Tianzi. It was undoubtedly a big joke with Zhou Li, and it also reduced Zhou Tianzi's already limited prestige.The new state of Jin with Quwo as the center and Quwo Wugong (he should be called Jin Wugong at this time) as the head of state has been established.Compared with the old Jin country, this new Jin country has a larger territory and stronger strength.Most importantly, it is a young vassal state full of desire for expansion, and has begun to vigorously participate in the struggle for hegemony among the countries in the Central Plains. The neighboring country of Jin is the famous Qin.During the rise of Jin, Qin gradually grew into a big country.How did Qin go from a small border country to a big country step by step?