Around 1046 BC, King Wu of Zhou, together with the princes, defeated the main force of Yin Shang at Muye, and the last monarch of the Shang Dynasty, King Huan, set himself on fire, declaring the end of the Shang Dynasty.
After King Wu of Zhou destroyed Shang, he did not think that the world had been pacified. At that time, there were still many remnants of the Shang Dynasty, and even if they were already surrendered, there was still no guarantee that they would launch a rebellion.
How to deal with the remnants of the Shang Dynasty was an urgent problem that needed to be faced at the beginning of the establishment of the Zhou Dynasty.
According to the Shang Shu Biography, King Wu of Zhou sought advice from Taigong, who was Jiang Ziya (Lü Shang), who said: "The subject hears of him: "He who loves others, who is also on his house; those who do not love, and those who do not love, and xu Yu." How? ”
Here appears an idiom "love the house and the crow", which means to love a person and love the crow in his house, and to be more simple is to love all of a person, good or bad.
But in the context of the time, loving a person can naturally fall in love with a crow by the way, but if you don't love a person, nature is also all. This means that in the face of the old department of Yin Shang, it is best not to leave one. King Wu of Zhou thought it was too cruel, so he consulted another minister to summon the prince.
Zhao Gong was a member of the Western Zhou Dynasty, a contemporary of King Wu of Zhou, and according to the "Chronicle of History", when King Wu of Zhou destroyed the Shang Dynasty and entered Chaoge (the capital of the Shang Dynasty, present-day Qi County, Henan), Zhou Gongdan held a large cymbal, Ji Yi (Zhao Gong) held a small qi, and assisted King Wu of Zhou to hold a ceremony...
The cymbal is an important ceremonial instrument, symbolizing military power and the trust of the Son of Heaven, and the summoning prince can hold a small pendant to stay by the side of the King of Wu, representing the unusual identity.
As for how to deal with the remnants of the Shang Dynasty, Zhao Gong said: "I have heard: kill the guilty; let go of the innocent. Those who are guilty should be killed, and they should not be left with remnants of strength. What do you think of the Great King? ”
King Wu of Zhou felt that it was still not comprehensive enough after hearing this, so he summoned the Duke of Zhou again. The Duke of Zhou suggested that the king should use benevolence to impress the people of the world, and after the war, let everyone go back to their respective homes...
The words of the Duke of Zhou spoke to the heart of King Wu, so he appointed Wu Geng, the son of King Huan, to manage the remnants of Yin Shang, thinking that the world was at peace. However, King Wu died shortly after, and the young King Cheng succeeded to the throne, and the Zhou Dynasty was in turmoil.
First of all, the other brothers of King Wu, Uncle Guan, Uncle Cai, and Uncle Huo were dissatisfied with the Auxiliary Government of Zhou, after all, they were all brothers of King Wu, why did you bite so much?
So they joined forces with Wu Geng to launch a rebellion, and Uncle Guan, Uncle Cai, and Uncle Huo were originally responsible for monitoring the old land of Yin Shang, but such a thing happened. Zhou Gong spent a lot of energy to put down the rebellion...
If at that time, King Wu listened to the advice of Jiang Taigong or Zhao Gong and executed all the guilty, even if Guan Shu and others rebelled later, at least there was no trouble for Wu Geng.
Of course, from the perspective of the world, the Zhou Dynasty needed a peaceful and stable environment at the beginning of its establishment, and although the killing was once and for all, it was easy to cause panic. Even if the power of the remnants of the Merchants is to be weakened, proper reasons are needed.
The three prisons joined forces with Wu Geng to launch a rebellion, which gave Zhou Gong an excuse to act. After quelling the Rebellion of Wu Geng (the Rebellion of the Three Prisons), the power of the remnants of Yin Shang was greatly weakened, and the Duke of Zhou also appointed Wei Ziqi, the brother of the King of Yin, to establish the State of Song in the old land of Yin Shang, and continue to be ruled by Yin people. After this time, there has been no rebellion!