Xian's death due to the "Battle of Hao" even dragged down the Xian clan. The Xian clan was a hero of the Jin Dynasty, who actually destroyed the entire clan because of a crime committed by one person, and disappeared into the political arena of the Jin State, which is very rare in the history of the Jin State.
How could this be! Even the two people who tried to assassinate Duke Wen of Jin, Hao Rui and Lü Province, and even Zhao Pu, who killed the Duke of Jinling, committed such a serious crime that they did not receive treatment like Xianjie!
"Eastern Zhou Kingdoms, Spring and Autumn Chapter" Stills of Jin Linggong
So, what kind of mistake did Xianyi commit that actually led to the tragic extermination of the Xian clan, which was a great clan of the Jin Dynasty?
On the surface, the defeat in the "Battle of Wu" of the Jin Dynasty was the reason for Xian's death, but in fact, this was actually just the "fuse" for the extermination of the Xian clan.
Let's first look at the background of the "Battle of Wu" - the Chu state sent troops to besiege Zheng.
We all know that the Jin state is the overlord of the Central Plains princely states, and the opponent is the old enemy Chu State, so the Jin state must send troops to rescue the Zheng state, which is naturally to avoid losing its prestige among the princes. Therefore, Father Xun Lin, who was then the "General of the Chinese Army", led the three armies and marched south in a mighty way. However, when the Jin state marched to the Yellow River, he heard the news that Zheng Guo and the Chu state had negotiated peace, so Xun Lin's father wanted to lead the army back to the Jin state.
This proposal was strongly opposed by the "Zhongjun Zuo" Xianyi. Xianyi is a descendant of Xianxun, and his ambition is quite exuberant and full of war. When Xun Lin's father and Shi Ji both believed that the Jin army's division had returned to the dynasty, Xianyi still tried to exclude the public opinion, and put forward the reason why the army should continue to advance.
"Eastern Zhou Kingdoms, Spring and Autumn Chapter" Jin Wengong stills
In Xian's view, there were two reasons for the Jin state's hegemony in the past: one was that the army was strong in force, and the other was that the courtiers were willing to serve. He elaborated on Zheng Guo as a "lesson from the past".
We all know that since the death of Zheng Zhuanggong, the state of Zheng Zhuang has declined day by day, and in fact, it has long been regarded as its own vassal state by the Jin state. Therefore, if Zheng Guo is not rescued at this time, then Zheng Guo will no longer be loyal to the Jin State in the future, and the "subject power" in xiankou's mouth will be lost; and after the rapid rise of the Chu State, it will immediately become the mortal enemy of the Jin State, and when it encounters a strong enemy, it will not chase after it, and the "Shi Wu" in Xian's mouth will also be lost.
Therefore, Xianyi's words are actually a reminder to everyone that if the Jin State hastily retreats, then the opportunity to restore the glory of the hegemon may suddenly disappear. In addition, XianYi was the first to take the lead in stating that he would rather die than let the hegemony of the Jin State end here and now. Other generals may have been afraid of the strength of the Chu state, which led to timidity and wanted to retreat, but it can be seen that Xianyi will never back down, and his attitude is quite tough.
This battle was the famous "Battle of Qi" during the Spring and Autumn Period of Jin and Chu.
"Eastern Zhou Dynasty, Spring and Autumn" Zheng Zhuanggong stills
To be sure, the performance of the generals of the Jin Dynasty in the "Battle of Wu" was indeed unbeatable in terms of bravery and ambition.
According to common sense, it is a blessing of the nation to have such a loyal courtier. Unfortunately, even though Xian Yi had such a performance, he still could not get the trust and reuse of Jin Jinggong and Xun Lin's father.
The reason for this is that XianYi could not wholeheartedly cooperate with Jin Jinggong's plan to restore hegemony. It is precisely because of this that he has attracted the disaster of killing himself.
When the Duke of Jin Jing ascended the throne, the State of Chu was during the reign of King Zhuang of Chu. As we all know, this is the time when the Chu Kingdom is at its peak, and no one can compete with it. As early as the last year of the Duke of Jinling, Chen Guo and Zheng Guo were repeatedly besieged by the King of Chuzhuang. Although the Jin state belongs to the great power, but the national situation is not as good as before has become a fact, they have been fighting in the south and the north for many years, and there is a threat from the Qin state and the Di tribe, so although the Jin Jinggong has the support of Xun Lin's father, if it really fights with the Chu state, it is too much risk for the Jin state. If the defeat of the war is small, if it leads to the great damage to the vitality of the Jin state and eventually unable to resist the invasion of the Qin state and the Di tribe, then the Jin Jinggong and Xun Lin father will definitely become the sinners of history. Therefore, for them, if they can avoid the battle, they must avoid it with all their might.
Moreover, most of the reasons why the princely states of the Central Plains had to rely on the Jin state in the first place, except for the strength of the Jin state itself, were due to the fact that the Chu state was strong and had invaded the countries for a long time. If the Jin state really clashed with the state of Chu, it would not only be seriously injured, but also "the clams would fight each other and the fishermen would profit" - the winner would be the State of Qi in the far east.
Therefore, after a comprehensive consideration, Jin Jinggong and Xun Lin's father came to the conclusion that going to war would do more harm than benefits and gain more than losses, so it was the best policy to retire and preserve strength.
"Eastern Zhou Kingdoms, Spring and Autumn Chapter" Stills of King Zhuang of Chu
In fact, in the mind of King Zhuang of Chu, he was not yet ready for an all-out war with the Jin State.
Since both sides were hiding and unwilling to fight, why did XianYi still come out to stir up trouble and insist on fighting with the Chu state?
The fundamental reason is that Xian Yi wants to restore the past glory of the Xian family.
In the early years, during the "Battle of Chengpu" in Jin and Chu, Xianxun served as the "General of the Middle Army" of the Jin State, and he led the Jin State to a great victory over the Chu State, and the prestige of the Xian clan was greatly enhanced, and the Xian family directly jumped to the most prominent family in the Jin State, and even the Marquis of Jin had to fear the three points. It was not until Zhao Dun rose and Xian Ke was killed that the Xian clan gradually declined.
It was not easy to wait until Xun Lin's father came to power, and xian yi returned to the ranks of the generals of the three armies. However, since Zhao Dun came to power in the Jin Dynasty, there have been few large-scale wars. Therefore, Xian Yu understood that only when the Jin State restored the previous atmosphere of sword tension with the Qin state and the Chu state, could he have the opportunity to be valued and the Xian clan could be revitalized. On the contrary, there is absolutely no possibility of returning to glory.
XianYi understood that this time was the perfect opportunity. In addition to openly opposing the proposals of "Chinese General" Xun Linfu and "Shangjun General" Shi Ji, he did not hesitate to disobey military orders and led his subordinate troops to forcibly cross the river. Its purpose was to trigger a war between the Jin and Chu dynasties, and the family would be able to profit from it. In fact, his motivation is understandable.