Chapter 15 Foreign Relatives Interfering in Politics: Grandfather Politics

In 608 BC, after experiencing a bloody storm, Duke Wen's son Wo finally ascended to the throne of the monarch of Lu and became Duke Xuan of Lu in history. In the Spring and Autumn Period, the son was more expensive than the mother.The son's status depends on the mother's status, and the mother's status depends on two points: one is the status of her natal family, and the other is how favored she is in the husband's family.The former often determines the latter, that is to say, if a woman's natal family has a high status, she will naturally be respected and favored by her husband's family, which is determined by the nature of political marriage.

The mother's natal family, also known as the grandfather's family.We may say that whether a person can stand out among a large group of half-brothers and become the successor of the family business depends to a large extent on the status and strength of the grandfather.And grandpas (sometimes uncles) are also keen to care about and interfere in the internal affairs of the son-in-law’s family, support their grandsons, and help them fight for power and profit, which leads to a unique political phenomenon in the Spring and Autumn Period—grandfather politics. Back then, Zheng Zhuanggong's son Shizi suddenly refused to marry the princess of Qi because he repeatedly rejected Qi Xigong's kindness. As a result, he lost a powerful foreign aid.And the reason why Gong Zitu snatched Shi Zihu's throne was more because of the leadership and planning of Gong Zitu's grandfather, the Song Dynasty's power minister Yong's family.The story of Shizihu and Gongzitu's brothers fighting against the wall fully reflects the reality of grandfather's politics.

In 614 BC, Duke Wen of Zhu died.When Duke Wen of Zhu was alive, he married Qi Jiang, the princess of Qi, as his wife, and Jin Ji, the princess of Jin, as his concubine.Qi Jiang gave birth to the eldest son, Jue, and Jin Ji gave birth to the second son, Jie.After the death of Duke Wen of Zhu, the people of Zhu Guo followed the principle of the primogeniture inheritance system and established themselves as the king.Unconvinced, Jie Su ran to the state of Jin to ask for help, asking the state of Jin to help him fight for the throne.For this reason, Zhao Dun mobilized 800 chariots to crusade against the state of Lu, and sought justice for Jiesu—this is another typical case of grandfather politics.

Prince Wo had no right to inherit the throne, and his mother, Jingying, was only the concubine of Duke Wen of Lu, and she did not have a strong natal family as the backing.Moreover, Lu Wengong's first wife, Jiang Shi, is the princess of Qi State, and her son, Gongzi E, has long been established as the eldest son.From the grandfather's political point of view, the young master Wo competed with the young master viciously, and there was no chance of winning.However, Jingying is a scheming woman, she has dealt with the powerful minister of Lu State, Prince Sui, early on, and won the support of Prince Sui.The young master then ran to the state of Qi and reached a deal with the newly appointed Duke Hui of Qi, which actually made the state of Qi abandon the grandson of the young master, and instead supported the unrelated young master Wo, so that the young master could safely and boldly kill the young master. , Helping son Wo to the throne is also considered a small probability event in grandfather politics.

According to the deal reached between Prince Sui and Duke Hui of Qi, in the first month of 608 BC, the month when Duke Xuan of Lu officially ascended the throne, he sent Prince Sui as the minister of marriage to the state of Qi to marry the princess of Qi as his wife. Before the bones of Duke Lu Wen were cold, he rushed to have a happy event for himself. Duke Lu Xuan's move was undoubtedly condemned by public opinion at the time, and later generations also took a mocking attitude towards it.However, if one considers that this is an actual move by Lu Xuangong eager to please Qi Huigong in exchange for greater support from the Qi State, it is understandable.After all, for the sake of political stability and national security, it is inevitable to do some extraordinary things.

"Spring and Autumn" records: "The son is like a Qi Ni daughter." Ni is to welcome, and the daughter is of course the princess of Qi.Then it is recorded: "In March, I called my wife Jiang Zhiziqi." Zhiziqi was the customary word order at that time. In modern language, it means Ziqizhi, coming back from Qi. Why is it called "Gongzi Sui" when you go, and "Sui" when you come back? "Zuo Zhuan" explained that it was to show respect for Qi Guolai's new wife.Young Master was the usual honorific title for nobles at that time, and the title of Young Master was dropped to show respect for a more dignified person.

Starting from this, Qilu and Lu quickly entered a new honeymoon period.Of course, this honeymoon relationship is not reciprocal, just like the relationship between big brother and little brother during the Cold War.There are a lot of historical facts to prove it. In the summer of the same year, Jisun Xingfu, a doctor of the State of Lu, visited Qi State with a large amount of money, and requested to arrange a meeting between the heads of state of Qi and Lu. He hoped that through the meeting, Qi State would formally confirm the legitimacy of Lu Xuangong’s regime—after all, through the " Regicide" came to power, always thinking about seeking diplomatic recognition.

Duke Hui of Qi accepted bribes from Lu people, but he was not ambiguous. He soon met Duke Xuan of Lu in Pingzhou and recognized Duke Xuan of Lu as a prince.After the flattered Duke Xuan of Lu returned home, he immediately arranged for his son to visit Qi State again, and made a special trip to express his gratitude to Duke Hui of Qi.However, thank you is not just a word, you have to come up with something practical.In June of the same year, the people of Qi State formally took over the Jixi land of Lu State.To make a digression, exchanging land for recognition has been a common method used by rulers who have no confidence in their own legitimacy since ancient times.

In 605 BC, there was a diplomatic dispute between Tan State and Ju State, two small states in present-day Shandong Province.Lu Xuangong, who thinks he has been recognized internationally, cooperates with Qi Huigong to quell the disputes of small countries as a big country, and asks Tan and Ju to hold negotiations to resolve the disputes peacefully.Unexpectedly, the Ju people refused to mediate.Duke Xuan of Lu was furious and sent troops to attack Ju and captured Xiangcheng.In this regard, "Zuo Zhuan" commented coldly: "It's inappropriate!" The reason is that the mediation of conflicts between princes should be done with courtesy, not chaos.The use of force is to curb chaos with chaos, and it is impossible to achieve the goal of resolving conflicts and sharing peace.In fact, it is not that Lu Xuangong is ignorant of these principles, but in order to do a dog's work in front of Qi Huigong, he must be indecent.

In the spring of 604 BC, Duke Xuan of Lu took the initiative to go to Qi State to pay homage to Duke Hui of Qi.He stayed there for several months and didn't return to Lu until Xia Tian.The reason why they stayed for so long was not because Qi Huigong was hospitable, but because Gao Gu, a hereditary aristocrat of Qi State, took a fancy to the princess uncle of Lu State, and asked Qi Huigong to force Lu Xuangong to stay to discuss Gao Gu's marriage to his uncle concubine. As mentioned earlier, Guo and Gao Ershi have been the Shangqing of Qi State for generations. They were first nobles sent by Zhou Tianzi to Qi State to supervise the Marquis of Qi.However, no matter how noble Gao Gu was, he was only a Qing-level figure, and he could not sit on an equal footing with the princes.During the Spring and Autumn Period, when the concept of hierarchy was quite strong, it would be quite embarrassing for the daughter of a prince to marry a senior official of a neighboring country.It was difficult for Duke Xuan of Lu to agree to this rude request from the people of Qi.It doesn't matter, then stay in Qi country obediently, don't beat you or scold you, as long as you sit on the bench.In the summer, Duke Xuan of Lu finally surrendered and accepted Gao Gu's marriage proposal. He was released from house arrest and returned to the State of Lu.

In the autumn of the same year, Gao Gu happily came to the state of Lu and married his new daughter-in-law, Shu Ji.What Gao Gu did was in line with the wedding customs at the time: when princes marry their wives, they send their ministers out of the country to greet them;Three months later, Gao Gu, who had embraced the beauty back home, took his wife back to his natal home to perform the ceremony of "anti-horse". The so-called anti-horse is also called returning to the horse.During the Spring and Autumn Period, when Doctor Qing married his wife, the woman came to her husband's house in her natal family's carriage.Three months after marriage, the husband's family leaves the car and sends the horse back to his mother's family, which is anti-horse.According to reports, staying in the car means that the new daughter-in-law expresses her humility and does not dare to think that she will be able to live with her husband's family for a long time. In the event of divorce, she will take this car back to her natal family; As for the divorce of his wife. In 602 BC, Duke Xuan of Lu followed Duke Hui of Qi and led troops to attack Lai Kingdom in Shandong.Lai State is a small country. From a geographical point of view, Lai State is located to the east of Qi State, while Lu State is to the west of Qi State. The two countries have no border at all, and there has been no diplomatic unhappiness.Therefore, Lu's crusade against Lai was entirely for the sake of Qi. "Spring and Autumn" records: "(Lu) Guild Qihou Falai." "Zuo Zhuan" explained that the reason for using the word "hui" is that Qi and Lu have no common interests in this matter.When sending troops, if there is common interest, the word "ji" should be used, and if there is no common interest, "hui" should be used. It can be seen from this that despite the humiliation of his uncle marrying Gao Gu, Lu Xuangong is still very active in serving Qi Huigong, and dare not slack off in the slightest.Lu Xuangong's humiliation has indeed played a positive role in strengthening the good-neighborly and friendly relations between Qi and Lu and ensuring the security of Lu.However, he ignores a major issue: The overlord of the world is not Qi, but Jin. Since Duke Xuan of Lu came to the throne, he only cared about shining shoes for the people of Qi, but he completely left Jin aside.When Jin Chenggong came to power, he did not go to congratulate him, nor did he send a doctor to congratulate him on his behalf.This was very disrespectful at the time.The Jin people didn't say anything, but there was a big lump in their hearts. Although the current state of Jin is not as powerful as it used to be compared with the period of Jin Wengong and Jin Xianggong, it is still a behemoth that cannot be underestimated. After Jin Chenggong ascended the throne, the struggle for hegemony between Jin and Chu entered a period of tug-of-war, and the focus of the competition between the two sides was still the heart of the Central Plains——Zheng Guo.In the winter of 605 BC, King Zhuang of Chu had just resolved the Douyuejiao Rebellion in the country, so he sent troops to attack Zheng State in an attempt to bring Zheng State into his sphere of influence.In the winter of 604 BC, the Chu army invaded Zheng State again, and signed an alliance with Chen State by the way.The state of Jin sent Xun Linfu as a general to lead troops to rescue the state of Zheng, and at the same time crusade against the state of Chen.In the winter of 603 BC, the Chu army attacked the State of Zheng for the third consecutive year, and finally forced the State of Zheng to surrender and signed a peace agreement with the State of Chu.In 602 B.C., under the auspices of Song, a senior official, Zheng State secretly negotiated with Jin State, abandoned Chu State and fell into the embrace of Jin State.Therefore, in the winter of the same year, the state of Jin held a meeting of princes in Heitan (place name) to relive the old dream of the overlord. Duke Xuan of Lu, who had always ignored the state of Jin, recklessly ran to the black soil this time, preparing to show his face in front of the princes of the Central Plains.Unexpectedly, the hot face was put on the cold butt. As soon as Lu Xuangong arrived in Heiyang, he was imprisoned by the Jin people, and he was not even allowed to participate in the alliance ceremony.It was not until the Lu people handed over a bribe that Jin released him. For this matter, the official historian of Lu State felt very ashamed, so in "Spring and Autumn", it was recorded that Lu Xuangong participated in the Black Soil Meeting, but did not write about the Black Soil Alliance.After all, it would be too useless for the majestic king of a country to be imprisoned. In the spring of 601 BC, Duke Xuan of Lu returned to the State of Lu in disgrace. In terms of area, the State of Lu is not a small country; in terms of comprehensive strength, the State of Lu can at least rank among the top eight among the nations; moreover, the State of Lu also has a special political identity, being a descendant of Duke Zhou, and has a high status among the nations.According to the regulations of Zhou Rites, the ancestral temple of the Son of Heaven is called the Great Temple, the ancestral temple of the princes is called the Grand Palace, and the ancestral temple of the State of Lu is also called the Great Temple, enjoying the same treatment as the Son of Heaven; For the dance of eight or sixty-four people, the feudal lords can only use the dance of six or thirty-six people, and Luhou can also use the dance of sixty-four people.All these, and so on, all reflect the superior status of the Lu State.However, since entering the Spring and Autumn Period, the Lu State, which should be respected, has been bullied many times, and always dared to be angry but dared not speak up, and forbeared. For example: In 694 BC, Duke Huan of Lu and his wife went to visit Qi State. Not only was Duke Xiang of Qi wearing a green hat, but they were also murdered in the car by the people of Qi State, becoming the protagonist of a bizarre death incident.The Lu people's attitude towards this matter is more bizarre than the murder itself.They sent a vague diplomatic note to Qi Xianggong, saying that the head of state of our country is afraid of your majesty and dare not sit at home. Responsibility has made our country very embarrassing in front of other countries. Please kill the son Peng Sheng, so that we can have an explanation to other countries.This note was stammered, the preface was inconsistent, and he wanted to seek justice, but he was afraid that the other party would show his power. He wanted to point fingers and scold Huai, but he wanted to stop talking. It can be called a strange article in the history of diplomacy in the Spring and Autumn Period.At the same time, in the records of "Spring and Autumn" that year, it was only mentioned in one stroke with the words "Gongxu Yuqi". No one is better at opening one eye and closing one eye to understand oneself than the Lu people.In 613 BC, Duke Xi of Lu sent troops to annex the small country of Xiangguo. Duke Huan of Qi, the overlord of the world at that time, was furious and detained Duke Xi of Lu in the Huaidi Huimeng.Mrs. Lu Xi claimed that Jiang Yuan was the princess of Qi, and went to Qi Huan to intercede in person, and then released Lu Xi. "Spring and Autumn" doesn't even write about Lu Xigong's detention, but only writes "Madame Jiang will meet Qi Hou in Bian".The ostrich buries its head in the sand, thinking that it can avoid being hunted by not being able to see the enemy; the Lu people always inadvertently forget some unhappy things in the historical records.It can be seen that as early as two thousand years before Lu Xun, Ah Q's ancestors already had the spirit of Ah Q. In 625 BC, Duke Wen of Lu went to the Kingdom of Jin to make a pilgrimage to Duke Xiang of Jin, but he did not even see Duke Xiang of Jin.In order to humiliate Lu Wengong, the Jin people only sent Chufu Yang to see him. "Spring and Autumn" recorded this matter, only using five words "Jin Chufu League", without a head and an end-it is understandable, the head is buried in the sand. More recently, as mentioned earlier, Gao Gu, Shangqing of the State of Qi, asked Duke Hui of Qi to keep Duke Xuan of Lu, who came to visit, for a few months in order to marry the princess of the State of Lu. With these historical records, it is conceivable that in 601 BC, when Lu Xuangong returned to Qufu, the residents of Qufu did not show much anger at their monarch being insulted by foreign countries, and no one took to the streets to parade. No one went to the embassy area to demonstrate, and no one announced a boycott of Shanxi goods.Lu Xuangong quietly returned to the palace and continued to be his king. In June of the same year, the son who had been supporting Duke Xuan of Lu died of illness while visiting Qi.Because of his contribution to Lu Xuangong, and perhaps also because of his special relationship with Lu Xuangong's mother, Jingying, the funeral of Prince Sui was held in a grand manner, using the "Yi" method. The so-called "Xi" simply means that there are two consecutive days of sacrifice, and the second day's sacrifice does not use the first day's sacrifice, but kills a new animal for sacrifice.According to the regulations of the Zhou rituals, Yi is the funeral of the emperor and the princes, and the funeral of the high officials can only be sacrificed for one day.Confucius criticized this: "It's inappropriate, and the soldiers don't say it." Of course, Duke Xuan of Lu also knew that this was an indecent behavior, so in the process of sacrifice, "everything enters and goes away (yue)". Wan, that is, Wanwu, is a dance used for sacrifices in the Spring and Autumn Period; 籥 is a bamboo musical instrument used for playing.Wanwu can be divided into Wenwu and Wuwu.The dancers are gentle and gentle, with the dancers holding the bowl in their left hand and the feather in their right. The number of dancers is strictly limited, which is what I said earlier: the emperor uses sixty-four people, called "eight yi (yi)"; the princes use thirty-six people, called "Six 佾"; the Qing doctor uses "four 佾"; the scholar uses "two 佾".Martial dance shows strength, the dancers hold weapons and move wildly.At that time, Prince Yuan of Chu State wanted to seduce Mrs. Wen, a widow, and sent people to dance Wanwu next to Mrs. Wen's residence, which is Wuwu. Lu Xuangong wanted to hold a grand funeral for his son Sui, but he didn't want too many people to criticize him, so he deliberately made people not use 籥 when dancing Wanwu.This way it won't make too much noise and attract attention. Maybe it was the death of the rabbit and the fox's grief, so on the seventh day after the son Sui died, Jingying also passed away.Jingying's identity is the wife of a prince. According to the rule that princes are buried in May after death, her funeral was not held until winter.According to "Zuo Zhuan", on the day of Jingying's burial, heavy rain suddenly fell in the long-drought state of Lu, so the funeral had to be postponed.Jingying and the son then conspired to bring Lu Xuangong to power, and killed Ai Jiang's two sons for this.If Homer or Shakespeare were to write the story, they would say it was the tears of the victim.However, the ancients in China did not have this sentiment, they thought of something else. "Zuo Zhuan" dryly stated that Lu Xuangong's delay of Ai Jiang's funeral was in line with etiquette.According to the requirements of the ceremony, when the son chooses the date of burial for his parents, he must perform divination to show grandeur.Moreover, for the alternative date, try to postpone it as much as possible.This is because after the parents are buried, the sorrow of the children will gradually decrease, so there is no rush to bury them, and a little filial piety is shown. Although these things happened, in the second year, that is, in the first month of 600 BC, Duke Xuan of Lu still worked tirelessly to come to Qi State to pay New Year greetings to Duke Hui of Qi.Lu Xuangong's filial piety to his mother is commendable, and Qi Huigong's filial piety is no less. In the spring of 599 BC, Duke Xuan of Lu came to visit Qi State early again.This is his fourth visit to Qi since he came to power.Lu Xuangong's tireless greetings moved Qi Huigong, and the reward was that Qi returned the Jixi land ceded by Lu back then. Of course, Qi Huigong's move may be related to his physical condition.A person is always more generous when he is about to die.In the summer, Duke Hui of Qi died. Duke Xuan of Lu received the news and came to Qi State again to attend the memorial service of Duke Hui of Qi.This is another extra-ordinary kindness.According to tradition, the princes do not go to the funeral of the princes.Lu Xuangong was able to do this, objectively speaking, for the sake of national security, he did spare no effort. In the summer of the same year, Qi Huigong's funeral was held in Linzi.The state of Lu sent Gongsun Guifu, the son of son Sui, as a special envoy to the state of Qi to attend the funeral. In the autumn of the same year, Ji Sun Xingfu visited Qi State to attend the enthronement ceremony of Qi Qinggong, the new king of Qi State. In the winter of the same year, Gongsun Guifu came to Qi State again and gave a special report on the incident that Lu State sent troops to crusade against Lu State and captured Yicheng in Lu State not long ago.Later generations explained that the state of Lu used the big to bully the small, and was afraid of being blamed by the state of Qi, so it took the initiative to report.In fact, before this, the State of Lu had conquered the State of Lu many times, and it was not the first time to capture the territory of the State of Lu, but it was indeed the first time that it was so eager to report to the State of Qi. In 598 BC, Duke Qing of Qi sent troops to crusade against the state of Ju.Although this matter has nothing to do with the State of Lu, the State of Lu was still a guest guest and sent Gongsun Guifu to lead troops to participate in the crusade.It is not too much to describe the relationship between Qilu and Shandong in these years as gluey. Knowing the male and guarding the female, the Lu people do this is also the wisdom of survival in troubled times. Compared with Qi Guo's hospitality, Lu State's attitude towards the royal family is not only indifferent.According to the "Spring and Autumn Annals", in 600 BC, Zhongsun Mie, a senior official of the State of Lu, went to Luoyi to visit the then emperor of Zhou, also known as King Ding of Zhou. "Zuo Zhuan" explained ironically that Zhong Sunmi's trip was not initiated by the state of Lu, but that Emperor Zhou sent an envoy to the state of Lu and asked the state of Lu to send an envoy to visit the royal family, so he was "invited" to go. Zhongsun Mie was Meng Xianzi, the grandson of Father Qing and the son of Uncle Wen.As mentioned earlier, Ji You, Qingfu, and Shu Ya are all the sons of Duke Huan of Lu. Their descendants are flourishing, with Ji, Meng, and Shusun as their surnames, and they are called "Three Huans" in history.In many cases, they are also called Jisun, Mengsun and Shusun, because "Sun" is the honorific title of the nobles of Lu State, and the patriarchs of "Three Huan" are all honored as "Sun", so they can get Name ①. In the autumn of 599 BC, King Ding of Zhou sent his official Liu Kanggong to visit the State of Lu.At the same time, Duke Liu Kang, on behalf of King Ding of Zhou, paid a visit to several powerful officials of the State of Lu.It turned out that the families of Jisun Xingfu and Meng Xianzi were relatively frugal, while the families of uncle Sun Qiaoru and Gongsun Guifu lived quite luxuriously. When Duke Liu Kang returned to Luoyi, King Ding of Zhou asked, "Of the great officials of the State of Lu, who is more capable?" Liu Kanggong replied that Ji and Meng's family can last for a long time, even if Shusun's and Dongmen's family survives, their current parents may not escape disaster. Dongmen's family is Gongsun Guifu's family.Gongsun Guifu was the son of Gongzi Sui, and Gongzi Sui lived in Dongmen for a long time, so he took Dongmen as his family. Liu Kanggong explained that ministers have the way of ministers, and the king has the way of the king.Generosity, seriousness, thoughtfulness, and benevolence are the ways of being a king, and loyalty, prudence, modesty, and thrift are the ways of being a minister.Now, although the Ji and Meng families pay attention to frugality, they are enough to guarantee daily expenses and expenses, and allow the clansmen to be sheltered; while the Shusun and Dongmen families live in luxury, and they don't care about the poverty of the clansmen, and their relatives can't get it. Give alms, and troubles will come soon.Families like Shusun and Dongmen only care about themselves and must not care about the monarch. Moreover, they are so extravagant that the state finances cannot bear it. This is self-destruction. King Zhou Ding asked with interest: "In your opinion, how long can the Shusun and Dongmen families last?" "Two or three generations." Liu Kanggong said, "The status of Dongmen is not as good as that of uncles and grandchildren, but the degree of luxury is even worse. It is difficult to serve two generations of monarchs; , it is impossible to serve three generations of monarchs. It would be fine if these two died early, but if they live too long and do not restrain themselves, the clan will surely perish." Judging from what happened later, Liu Kanggong's prediction was quite accurate, so accurate that people doubted its authenticity.However, specific historical events may be fabricated. It is a truth that has remained unchanged since ancient times.