In 743 BC, the 14-year-old Zheng Zhuanggong encountered the first problem in his life.
The root of the problem came from his mother and brother.
His mother, Wu Jiang, was frightened because she had a difficult birth (controversial) when she gave birth to him, so she gave him a super ugly name when she saw how unpleasant he was, "寤生", which means to be born backwards, and hates him very much.
Three years later, his mother gave birth to his second son, Shu Duan, and because he was born to Uncle Duan, Wu Jiang liked Shu Duan very much and repeatedly asked Zheng Wugong to make Shu Duan crown prince, but Zheng Wugong did not agree.
In 744 BC, his father fell ill, and Wu Jiang asked his father to make duan the crown prince, but his father did not agree.
Instead of agreeing, he also deliberately explained that the position was the eldest son's, and no one could grab it.
In the same year, his father died of illness, and he succeeded to the throne, known in history as "Duke Zhengzhuang".
Supposedly, things end here, whatever they want, but history tells you that if you act like this, it doesn't make any sense at all.
Not only is it not interesting, but it is also a bit boring.
To add drama.
It has to have a follow-up.
The follow-up to this matter came quickly.
Because his mother Wu Jiang liked her younger brother, she asked Duke Zhengzhuang to seal his uncle Duan to Zhiyi (荥邑; present-day Shuishui Town, Xingyang, Henan).
This is a very dangerous place, out of love for his brother, he did not agree, the answer given is: "Zhiyi, is a dangerous place, Uncle Yu died there, it is not appropriate to seal to his brother, other places, listen to the mother's arrangement." ”
Smart people know that this is just a pretext, and no one likes to place a young man under their own eyes, even if this person is their own brother.
However, her mother, Wu Jiang, did not have this realization.
In order to quickly find a suitable job for her younger son, she paid no attention to the dissatisfaction in the heart of the eldest son, and made a more excessive request the next morning: "Seal Jingyi (more than twenty miles southeast of present-day Xingyang City, Henan) to your brother, and let your brother live in Jingyi." (Shu duan calls himself "Uncle Tai", and the people in Jingyi call him "Uncle Jingcheng".) ）
This request immediately exploded in Zheng Guo, and for a while the voices of opposition were endless.
The first person to jump out to oppose was Dafu Jizhong, who pulled on the sleeve of Zheng Zhuanggong's coat and said bitterly: "If the city walls of the capital city exceed the size of Baiyi, it will be harmful to the country." According to the system, the walls of large cities and towns cannot exceed one-third of the capital, the medium cannot exceed one-fifth, and the small ones cannot exceed one-quarter. Jingyi is larger than the capital city and should not be your brother's fief. Nowadays, the walls of Gyeongeup are not legal, and the illegal system allows it, which is probably not good for you. ”
After saying that, don't forget to disgust the boss's mother; Jiang Shi he is tired of it! It is better to do it early, there is no way to make the vine, and the vine is difficult to figure out. The vines are still incorrigible, and the favor of the king is brother! (Your mother is obviously eccentric, you don't make a decision earlier, maybe your mother will give birth to some moths, weeds are difficult to eradicate, not to mention your baby brother.) ）
Everyone can see that this is advice.
Not only did it not go against the ear, but also saved his life.
At this time, Zheng Zhuanggong had just succeeded to the throne, and he did not directly express his position on this news incident that was making a lot of noise in Zheng Guo.
This default attitude gave GongShu Duan greater ambitions.
Because this child, who was favored by his mother, disregarded the pressure of public opinion, directly intervened in government affairs, and ordered the western and northern border cities of Zheng Guo to obey the orders of the capital of the country and also obey their own jurisdiction and become the lands of the two subordinates.
At this point, it is said that the average person is going to have a seizure.
Let you live under the eyelids, even if you, but also kick the nose on the face, typical to the face do not face, I am a brother is not fake, but I am also the chairman of Zheng Guo, you do this, my chairman is still not doing it?
But Zheng Zhuanggong is really not an ordinary person.
In the face of his brother's further pursuit of status, he chose to turn a blind eye and not hear it.
Seeing the boss like this, the minister Gongzi Lu expressed his dissatisfaction, he pulled Zheng Zhuanggong and said, a good enterprise can not have two bosses, this will be chaotic, if you really do not want to be this boss, then we will go to assist your brother, but if you want to do it, then you should get rid of your brother, can not let the people below us do not do things well? ”
When it comes to this, it is clear and clear.
Any bloody boss knows how to choose, but Zheng Zhuanggong still did not move, to be precise, in the face of his brother's further actions, he just said a very classic sentence lightly: "Many acts of injustice will kill themselves, you can see it slowly."
The answer to life's first conundrum was finalized.
The stage below doesn't have much glamorous, but a kid who doesn't know how to converge desperately expands his influence to gain his legitimate reputation.
This farce continued until the year 722 BC, when Gongshu Duan, who had swelled to madness, began to repair the city outline, gather people, build armor and weapons, prepare chariots, and was about to sneak into the capital of the Zheng kingdom, while his mother Wu Jiang planned to open the city gates for him in the city.
In their view, everything will become their own.
However, history tells him.
Any difficult problem has its standard answer, but the complexity of the process is different.
Zheng Zhuanggong, who received the news, finally spoke: it was time to move. ”
The result of this fight between the brothers was obvious, and Shu Duan escaped back to Jingyi. Zheng Zhuang ordered Gongzi Lü to lead two hundred chariots to attack Jingyi, because the people of Jingyi opposed Shuduan, so Shuduan fled to Yanyi (in present-day northern Yanling County, Xuchang, Henan), and his brother still did not spare him, and there is no record of his brother in history.
The conundrum seems to have been solved once and for all, as the answer has been settled.
History is not so refreshing.
The conundrum perpetuates its aftermath.
After quelling Shu Duan's rebellion, Zheng Zhuanggong placed his mother Wu Jiang in Chengying (城颍, in present-day northwestern Linying County, Henan) and vowed: "If you don't go to Huangquan, you won't see each other again!" As soon as he finished speaking, Zheng Zhuanggong regretted it. But the words have been spoken, and it is not easy to take them back.
Finally, he had a bunch of reliable ministers, and at the critical moment, the minister Ying Shukao stood up to help him solve this problem.
After Uncle Ying heard about this, he specially offered tribute to Zheng Zhuanggong. Zheng Zhuang gave Uncle Yingkao food. When Uncle Yingkao was eating, he left the meat behind and did not eat it.
Zheng Zhuanggong asked him why, and Uncle Yingkao replied: "I have a mother, and I have tasted all the food I honor her, but I have not tasted your broth, and I ask that I bring it to her." ”
Zheng Zhuanggong said: "You have a mother who can be filial piety, but I am the only one who does not!" ”
Uncle Yingkao said, "Why do you say that?" ”
Zheng Zhuanggong told Uncle Yingkao the reason, and told Uncle Yingkao that he regretted it, but he was afraid of breaking his oath and did not know how to do it.
Uncle Ying listened and said, "What's so difficult about this, you dig a tunnel, as long as you see the groundwater, can't you meet the Yellow Spring?" ”
After the matter is simple, Zheng Zhuanggong sent people to dig a tunnel, and then took Wu Jiang out of the tunnel, and also wrote a poem saying, "What a happy thing to meet in the tunnel," Wu Jiang walked out of the tunnel, and also responded: "How comfortable to meet outside the tunnel!" ”
So Wu Jiang and Zheng Zhuanggong resumed normal mother-son relationship, and all the problems seemed to be solved.
"Wanting to capture the old and indulging", he thwarted the rebellion of his younger brother Duan; "digging the ground to see his mother" resolved the grudge with his mother. The position he wanted was also consolidated.
The endings all seemed to be satisfactory.
But is that the case?
Apparently not?
For Zheng Zhuanggong's two eye-catching performances, the answer given by posterity is different.
Good people say good, bad people simply break their mouths and scold.
The "Biography of Gu Liang" says that Zheng Zhuanggong was "deliberate", and Lu Zuqian, the author of the Spring and Autumn Zuo Clan Legend, said that Zheng Zhuanggong was "a great evil in ancient and modern times".
It is also said that Zheng Zhuanggong was a cunning old fox who never educated his brother's deviant behavior (such as "receiving the second"). He deliberately cultivated the viciousness of the gongshu duan. Uncle Duan is arrogant, greedy and stupid. He was doted on by his mother and acted arbitrarily. After obtaining the capital, he wantonly expanded his sphere of influence and developed to raise an army and want to seize the entire Zheng state. His stupidity is manifested in the fact that he only knows "greed" and has no "plot" at all. He did not understand at all that Zhuang Gong had laid a net of heaven and earth for him, allowing him to "reach himself", and as a result, he only ended up "running out of the communists". Not only that, as a son of man, Zheng Zhuanggong also took the opportunity to disgust his mother.
Even the author of the book did not give a good look, saying in the book: "Zheng Boke Duan Yu Yan." "Duan is not a brother, so he does not speak of a brother; such as Erjun, so he is known as Ke; he is called Zheng Bo, and he is ridiculed for being unteached: he is called Zheng Zhi. It is difficult to run without saying. —— (Left Transmission Yin AD Year).
There may be many kinds of answers, but for Zheng Zhuanggong, there is only one answer left for him - Xia May, Zheng Boke Duan YuYan.