In 659 BC, Duke Mu of Qin succeeded to the throne, appointed Baili Xi and Uncle Jian as his courtiers, destroyed dozens of Xirong states, opened up thousands of miles of land, and was appointed by King Xiang of Zhou as the "Uncle of the Western Princes", so he dominated Xirong and thus became one of the five hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period. From the perspective of the history of the Qin State, Qin Mugong was a landmark monarch who laid the foundation for the status of the Qin State as a great power.
However, when looking back at the history of Qin Mugong, we will see a strange place: Qin Degong had three sons, the eldest son was Qin Xuangong (who had nine sons), the second son was Qin Chenggong (who had seven sons), and the third son was Qin Mugong. The Shang Dynasty practiced a limited degree of "brother and brother", and the Zhou Dynasty implemented the "primogeniture inheritance system", so why did the three sons of Qin Degong successively become monarchs, why did the two brothers of Qin Mugong not pass on the throne to their sons, and what is the little-known history behind the inheritance of "brothers and brothers"? If you want to understand this period of history, you must first talk about Qin Xiangong.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="8" > Qin Xian Gong: Puppet Monarch</h1>
After the Beacon Fire Drama Princes, Ho Jing was attacked by Inuyasha, and King Zhou You was killed. After King Zhou Ping succeeded to the throne, he saw the ho jing full of cangyi and the inuyasha that was looking at the tiger, so he moved east to Luoyang. Due to the escort of Qin Xianggong, King Ping of Zhou made him a prince for his merits, and also gave the qin state the land west of qishan that the royal family could not control, and the qin state officially became a princely state of Western Zhou.
After the death of Duke Xiang of Qin, his son Duke Wen of Qin succeeded to the throne, and Duke Wen of Qin reigned for fifty years, killing his son alive (posthumously awarded the title of Duke Jing of Qin), so Duke Wen of Qin made his grandson Yingli the Crown Prince, later duke Xian of Qin.
The problem was that when Qin Wengong died, Qin Xiangong was only nine years old and could not handle state affairs at all. Moreover, at that time, Rong Di was arrogant, the Qin state was fighting fiercely with Rong Di, Qin Xianggong's grandfather and Qin Xianggong both died in the war against Xirong, and Qin Wengong often fought with Xirong during the Qin Wengong period, so it was naturally difficult for the young Qin Xianggong to deal with these military affairs. As a result, the power of the Qin state was gradually controlled by the great chancellor Fu Ji, Wei Lei, and the third father, and Qin Xiangong became a puppet monarch.
Qin Xian duke ruled for twelve years, and had a total of three sons, the eldest son was called Yin, the second son was called Yin Jia, and the youngest son was called Yin Man. Qin Xian gong registered the eldest son Yin as the heir, but after the death of Qin Xian Gong, the eldest son Fu Ji, Wei Lei, and the third father deposed the throne of Yin Shu, and established the 5-year-old young son Yin Man as the monarch, known in history as "Qin Out of the Son". The "History of Qin Benji" records: "Ning Gong 卒, The Great Shu ChangFu Ji, Wei Lei, and the Three Fathers abolished the prince and established a son (Qin Outzi) as a king. ”
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="35" > Qin Wugong: Control of Destiny</h1>
Qin Chuzi was only 5 years old when he succeeded to the throne, it was impossible to handle state affairs, and the major affairs of the state were naturally handled by the great chancellor Fu Ji, Wei Lei, and the three fathers, but I don't know what the reason was, after six years, the three colluded with thieves to murder Qin Chuzi, and then restored the Yin saying, known in history as "Duke Wu of Qin".
From the author's point of view, it is estimated that Qin Chuzi showed dissatisfaction with Fu Ji, Wei Lei, and the three fathers, which made the three people feel threatened, so they got rid of them. Thinking about it carefully, qin Xiangong died at the age of 21, will it also be the handiwork of these three people? When Qin Xiangong became an adult, he was bound to aspire to power and pose a threat to the three people, so Qin Xiangong may also have been secretly eliminated by the three people.
Duke Wu of Qin understood the thoughts of Fu Ji, Wei Lei, and the Third Father very well, so "in the year of wu yuan, the Peng Xi clan, as for the Huashanxia, ju pingyang fenggong", immediately left the capital after succeeding to the throne, under the pretext of attacking the Peng Xi clan, he led the troops to the foot of Mount Hua, while training to accumulate strength, while looking for opportunities. Three years later (695 BC), Duke Wu of Qin returned to the dynasty and killed the three fathers and others on the pretext of assassinating Qin's son, and destroyed their three tribes, so that after a gap of twenty years, the power returned to the hands of Qin Jun.
Duke Wu of Qin reigned for twenty years, and had a son named "Bai", but did not choose "Bai" as Qin Jun, but chose his half-brother Ying Jia as Jun, known in history as "Duke de of Qin". The "History of Qin Benji" records: "(Duke Wu of Qin) had a son, whose name was Bai, Bai Buli, and Feng Pingyang. Established his brother Degong. The reason why Duke Wu of Qin passed on his brother and did not pass on his son was very simple, that is, he was worried that his son "Bai" was young or unable to control the situation, so he was overtaken by the powerful courtiers, so he passed the throne to the older second brother.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="58" > Qin Xuangong: The Grand Duke is selfless</h1>
Qin Degong succeeded to the throne at the age of 33 and died after two years on the throne, but a tradition he left behind is still there. In the second year of succession, Qin Degong ordered the establishment of a Fu Ri in the calendar, and ordered the construction of a Fu Temple sacrificed in Fu Ri, which is the beginning of the setting of Fu Ri, the so-called "Fu" is the meaning of hiding to avoid the summer, and the three Fu Tian originated from Qin Degong.
After Qin Xuangong succeeded to the throne, the State of Qin was in a critical period, when a palace coup broke out in the Zhou Dynasty, and King Hui of Zhou occupied the garden of the Wei State to raise wild animals, causing dissatisfaction in the State of Wei, so the State of Wei and the State of Southern Yan attacked the Zhou royal family, drove King Hui of Zhou out of the imperial court, and supported the prince as king, which is known in history as the "Rebellion of the Decadence". After the prince usurped the throne, some ministers of the State of Qin suggested that Qin Xuangong send troops to serve the king, but Qin Xuangong believed that King Hui of Zhou's behavior of occupying the garden of his courtiers was unjust, and this coup was again a matter for the Zhou royal family, coupled with the poor strength of the Qin state, so Qin Xuangong chose Taoguang to raise obscurity. Two years later, Zheng Bo and Uncle Yu killed Prince Hui and sent King Hui of Zhou back to the dynasty. In the early period of Qin Xuangong, the princes of the Central Plains were in turmoil, but the Qin state received a relatively peaceful period of development.
However, the State of Qin soon broke out in conflict with the State of Jin, when duke Xian of Jin reigned, the State of Jin invaded the east and west, destroying many princes, and duke Xian of Jin set his sights on the state of Qin and invaded the state of Qin many times. As a result, Qin Xuangong could not bear to declare war on the Jin State, which should be the first war between Qin and Jin, and the result was that the Qin State defeated the powerful Jin State, but since then the two countries have been at war.
In short, during the period of Qin Xuangong, the eastern part of the Qin state faced the invasion of the Jin state, the west had Rong Di, the internal situation of the Zhou royal family was unstable, and the princes of the Central Plains were chaotic, and the whole situation was very complicated. Therefore, although Duke Xuan of Qin had a total of nine sons, because he was not too old, in the end, for the sake of the inheritance of the Qin State, Qin Xuangong passed on the throne to the second brother Yingzai, known in history as "Duke Cheng of Qin".
Qin Chenggong died after four years on the throne, and his choice was the same as that of his elder brother Qin Xuangong, although he had a total of seven sons, he finally chose to pass on the throne to his third brother Ying Renhao, known in history as "Duke Mu of Qin".
In the half century since the birth of Qin, the second generation of the Qin state has produced six monarchs, which is the only case in history. The reason for this is that the interference of the powerful ministers in the inheritance of the throne is the first reason, and then the Duke of Qin Wu and others are worried about the re-emergence of the power of the powerful ministers, and the young monarch cannot handle the situation under the complicated situation, so the "grand duke is selfless" and repeatedly passes on the brothers and sons.
However, it is precisely because of this "grand duke selfless" inheritance method that the Qin state will usher in the two male lords of Qin Xuangong and Qin Mugong, which have inserted wings for the Qin state to take off and laid the foundation for the rise of the Qin state. If it were not for this period of "brother and brother" history, it is difficult to say whether the Qin state could rise.
It is a pity that there was no emperor for four hundred years and no powerful subjects for four hundred years, allowing the Qin state to dominate the nations, but four hundred years later, Qin Shi Huang, while letting the Qin state reach its peak, ignored the tragic lesson of Qin's son and created a super powerful minister, Zhao Gao, so that the efforts of the successive monarchs of the Qin state were destroyed. Therefore, for the Ancestors of the Qin Dynasty, Qin Shi Huang may have been too much to do.
References: "History", "Zuo Biao", etc