Chapter 26 Second, the emperor is gone

It is King Zhou Weilie who stamped the official seal for the new era. In 403 BC, King Wei Lie signed an order to confer the feudal titles of Zhao Ji, Wei Si, and Han Qian of Jin.The original kings of Jin also retained their titles, but only Jiang and Quwo.Other territories belong to Zhao, Wei, and Han. The number one hegemonic power in the Spring and Autumn Period just disappeared. Three new countries were born in the split. No one knew what King Zhou Weilie thought at that time.Perhaps, in such an apocalyptic end of the world, the emperor should still be able to exercise the power of feuding the state and establishing the country, so he should be delighted.But at the same time, he should also be clear that the feudalism this time is completely different from the feudalism that was enshrined in Qi and Lu, and later enshrined in Zheng and Qin.At that time, whoever the emperor wanted to be sealed, he could be sealed.Now, if you are asked to seal it, you have to seal it.It is the same?

In fact, not only Zhao, Wei, and Han are brand new, but the whole world is not what it used to be.We know that there are two kinds of countries in the world.One is a city plus surrounding countryside, which is called an "urban state"; the other is a central city (capital) plus many cities and vast countryside, called a "territorial state."Spring and Autumn are two kinds of countries coexisting.Those hegemonies were territorial states, and many of the annexed smaller states were city states. Did such a small country exist during the Warring States Period? No.The Seven Heroes of the Warring States Period are all territorial states.When they ran rampant in the world, not to mention those small city-states, even many medium-sized territorial countries were annexed or annexed in disguise.Zheng, wouldn't he be wiped out by South Korea?Didn't Wei become a small vassal country?

More importantly, sovereignty. The states of the Western Zhou Dynasty did not have independent sovereignty, and all rituals, music and conquests had to come from the emperor.The states in the Spring and Autumn period had "semi-independent sovereignty". The princes were free to levy taxes, expand their armies, declare war, negotiate peace, form alliances, and even annex small countries, invade the emperor, and oppress the central government, without paying attention to the royal family at all.Similarly, those powerful clans, such as Sanhuan of Lu and Liuqing of Jin, also blatantly ignored the existence of the clans, levying taxes, expanding the army, declaring war, negotiating peace, forming alliances, and annexing other clans.Where is this still home?Obviously it is a country.

Are the monarchs of Lu, Jin, and Qi really useless? At this time, the Son of Heaven also has his name in vain. Of course, the name is still important.Even if the couple divorces and the real estate is transferred, they still have to go through the formalities.Therefore, the division of the three families into Jin, Tian Chen and Dai Qi still needs the approval of the King of Zhou.This nominal co-owner of the world is equivalent to the civil affairs department and the housing management department.However, this is not so much a matter of law as it is a matter of habit. Habits can be changed, and it's not that difficult to change.The easiest way is to turn yourself into a king.The people of Chu tried this in the Western Zhou Dynasty, and they officially became kings in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty.Later, there were Wu and Yue.Of course, they are all southern barbarians, so they don't count.

After entering the Warring States period, the northern countries also saw the virtuous and thought of the same, and became kings one after another.Even the dying Song was unwilling to be lonely, and Qin and Qi even proclaimed themselves emperors (but soon recovered as kings).In short, about one-third of the Warring States period passed, all principalities became kingdoms. The transformation of a principality into a kingdom is of great significance. The meaning is not in rank and face.The name reflects the nature of the country.From Xia to Qin, the name and nature have been constantly changing.Generally speaking, Xiafang Kingdom, Shangbo Kingdom, Western Zhou Hou Kingdom, Spring and Autumn Principality, Warring Kingdom, and Qin and Han Empires.Fang Guo is a tribal country, and Bo Guo is a member of the Tribal Nations Alliance.At this time, the national form was immature, and there was no such thing as sovereignty.In the Western Zhou Dynasty, a special national alliance was established, and the member states were vassal states.But the vassal states were granted by the king of Zhou, so they are also called feudal states or state states.Hou Guo has no independent sovereignty.If it becomes a principality, it will have semi-independent sovereignty; if it becomes a kingdom, it will have complete independent sovereignty.

That's right, an independent kingdom. A world composed of independent kingdoms does not need any co-lords.Zhou, which was declining in the west, was later split into two city-states, namely the Eastern Zhou State and the Western Zhou State.Their kings did not dare to call themselves kings anymore, but called themselves kings.At this time, not only the princes had become kings, but even Su Qin was dead. Looking at it this way, when King Wei Lie conferred the titles of the Three Jins and King Zhou An conferred the titles on Tian He, they actually signed the death sentence for themselves.This death sentence was given to the feudal system, it was also given to the Bangguo era, and it was given to the Emperor Zhou.

Yes, the emperor is gone. However, the emperor seems to be indispensable.Everyone is a king, which means that there is no king.Therefore, the kings can only frequently wage wars, and finally fight an emperor. This new emperor is Qin Shihuang. What Qin Shihuang built was an empire. The empire must be established, and it will definitely be established, but it may not necessarily be established by Qin.For example, Chu and Qi are both eligible.Therefore, when Qin took over the world, Chu was the most dissatisfied; and although Chu had three households, the death of Qin must be Chu.But in our opinion, it is not Chu, let alone Qi, but Wei who should regret the most.

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