In 628 BC, Zheng Wengong died, and the crown prince Zilan succeeded to the throne for Zheng Mugong, during the Zheng Mugong period, Zheng Guo fell into strife, and the relationship between the princes was complicated, so why is this?
In 627 BC, the three generals sent by the State of Qin to guard the North Gate of the State of Zheng, Qizi, Feng Sun, and Yang Sun, believing that the time had come for the State of Qin to sneak attack the State of Zheng, reported to MuGong of Qin to urge them to secretly send troops to the State of Zheng. There is a question here, why did the Qin State send people to help Zheng Guo guard the North Gate? It turned out that when the Qin-Jin alliance attacked zheng guo in the past, Zheng guo sent candles to give benefits and persuade the Qin division to retreat, and after the Qin state withdrew, it arranged for three generals such as Qi Zi to stay in zheng guo to ensure its safety. Therefore, QiZi and others knew very well about The interior of the Zheng State, so Qin Mugong disregarded the ministers' objections and secretly sent troops, and the Zheng merchant Xiangao went to Luoyi to do business, passing through the Slippery State (Henan Yanshi) and saw the Qin army marching towards the Zheng State. Xiang Gao made a clever move, claiming that he was an emissary of Zheng Guo and treating the Qin army with twelve cattle, secretly spreading the news of the Qin army's attack back to Zheng Guo. Qin Mugong believed that Zheng Guo had taken precautions, so he destroyed the state of Shui and withdrew his army. At this time, not long after the death of Duke Wen of Jin, his son Duke Xiang of Jin listened to the advice of the chancellor Xianxun and defeated the Qin army near Mount Kun while the Qin army was tired. In 625 BC, Zheng Guo sent troops to attack the State of Qin together with the State of Jin, defeating the Qin army at Wangdi.
Since then, Zheng Guo has been close to the Jin State until 608 BC, when Zheng Mugong believed that the Jin State was treacherous, so he turned to the Chu State, why did Zheng Mugong think that the Jin State was treacherous? Because bao, the prince of the State of Song, killed The Duke of Song Zhao, himself, and became the Duke of Song Wen, which was a great rebellion at that time, and the Jin State, as the overlord, had to go on a crusade against the Song Kingdom, of course, he also had to take his younger brothers with him, including the Zheng Kingdom. In the process of the crusade, Hua Yuan of the State of Song explained to the State of Jin that Song Zhaogong was an incompetent prince, that Song Wengong had benevolence, and then gave benefits to the State of Jin, and the State of Jin withdrew, in the process Zheng Mugong was always opposed, so Zheng Mugong believed that the State of Jin was treacherous and unreliable. In 607 BC, because the Song fell to the Jin state, the Zheng state obeyed the Chu state and defeated the Song state.
The above is the major event associated with Zheng Guo during the Zheng Mugong period, it can be said that the princely states are intricate, but as long as we grasp a main line, we will suddenly be enlightened, that is, the Jin State and the Chu State are competing for hegemony, and the Zheng State is sandwiched in the middle, which is the norm in the next 100 years. From this main line, we analyze the reasons for Zheng Guo's behavior during the Zheng Mugong period.
1. From 627 BC to 608 BC, Zheng Guo was basically attached to the Jin State. During this period, although Duke Wen of Jin was dead, the hegemonic position of the Jin state was still very strong, and the State of Chu in the south, although also powerful, did not pose a threat to the northern Central Plains as a whole.
2. After 608 BC, the State of Zheng allied with the State of Chu. Although the Jin state was still very powerful during this period, the State of Chu had risen and subjugated the countries near the south, and even the Song and Wei states near the Jin state had also been included in their sphere of influence, not to mention the Zheng state close to the Chu state.