After king Zhou Ping moved east, he no longer had the strength to maintain the feudal order, and the patriarchal system had begun to disintegrate, but the blood relationship between feudalism and patriarchy could not be immediately severed.
Subsequently, the Duke of Qi Huan's dingba, with the call of "honoring the king and the king", actually maintained the feudal system linked by patriarchy.
The so-called "honoring the king" is to respect the suzerainty of Zhou Tianzi in the feudal system, and "Zhiyi" lies in protecting the stability of the feudal princes and maintaining the feudal order instead of Zhou Tianzi.
Therefore, the significance of Qi Huan's hegemony is not only for the "first of the five hegemons in the Spring and Autumn Period", but also in the contribution of maintaining the culture of the Central Plains Zhou. Its hegemony can be roughly analyzed from four perspectives: An Min, Zun Wang, Kinship, and Yi Yi.
"Eastern Zhou Kingdoms, Spring and Autumn Chapter" Qi Huangong stills
Anmin
Duke Huan of Qi succeeded to the throne, listened to Bao Shuya's suggestion, appointed Guan Zhong as his prime minister, and promoted a series of reform measures. Guan Zhong's grand plan of "ruling the world by the Holy King" proposed to Duke Huan of Qi can be divided into two measures: "the matter of becoming a people" and "fixing the residence of the people".
What is "a matter of making the people happen"? Let the four peoples of the State of Qi, namely, the soldiers, farmers, workers, and merchants, each have their own places and do not live in harmony; the envoys will be in a clean place and stress The study of Taoism and art will be emphasized; the workers will be in the government and pay attention to professional technology; the merchants will be in the market and pay attention to trade and profit; and the peasants will be in the fields and engage in farming and harvesting.
With the help of the fixation of the place of residence, the children of the four people will inherit the cause of their fathers and brothers, and receive the effect that "the teachings of their fathers and brothers are not solemn, and the learning of their children can be done without work".
What is the "dwelling place of the people"? That is, the system of "participating in other countries and despising them" is implemented. Twenty-one townships are organized within the outskirts of the country - six townships for industry and commerce, and fifteen townships for shixiang; in the suburbs outside the country, administrative units at all levels of yi, pawn, township, county, and subordinate administrative units are organized into five subordinates, and five are set up to be under the management of doctors.
Guan Zhong stills of "Eastern Zhou Dynasty, Spring and Autumn Chapter"
The six townships of industry and commerce specialize in industrial and commercial activities; the five genera of the wilderness are specialized in agricultural production. The Fifteenth Shixiang, on the other hand, implemented the administrative combination of "sending military orders for internal affairs" and military establishment. The five townships were organized into one army, and the fifteen shixiang had three large armies, which was the basic force force force relied on by Qi Huan Gongjianba.
Honorable King
King Zun was the "great banner" that duke Huan of Qi was able to command the princes. Although the status of the Zhou royal family is not as good as in the past, the blood relationship between patriarchy and feudalism still exists, and the name of Tianzi still has traditional power and political influence.
In the fourteenth year of Duke Zhuang, Qi asked His teacher to attack the Song Dynasty in Zhou; in the seventeenth year of Duke Zhuang, Zheng Buchao, Qi arrested Zheng Zhan, the ruling master of Zheng; in the twenty-seventh year of Duke Zhuang, Duke Huan of Qi accepted the order of "Hou Bo" given by King Hui of Zhou.
In the fifth year of the Duke of Huan, Huan Gong led the princes to meet with Crown Prince Zheng at the first stop and stabilize the royal family; in the eighth year of the Duke of Huan, Huan Gong led the princes to meet in Taodi and stabilize the throne of Zhou Xiang; in the ninth year of the Duke of Huan, huan gong honored the royal family at the Kuiqiu assembly and announced the "ban on the son of tomorrow"; the king of Xiang sent Zai Kong to give Huan gong the title of "Duke of Nine Lives"; in the twelfth year of the Duke of Huan, Huan Gong sent Guan Zhong to make peace between the royal family and the Rong people.
"Eastern Zhou Kingdoms, Spring and Autumn" Qi Huangong and Guan Zhong stills
This series of acts of "honoring the king" enabled the Duke of Qi Huan to obtain the title of "Hou Bo", who could exercise the power of conquest on behalf of the Heavenly Son and become the "overlord" of the princes who were justified in their name.
Kiss your neighbor
Guan Zhong set up a conspiracy for Qi Huan: "If the king wants to engage in the princes of the world, he is close to his neighbors." "The neighbors mentioned by Guan Zhong are not only the neighboring countries of Qi, but the entire Central Plains Of China. Therefore, Guan Zhongcai said: "Rong Di Jackal, do not be bored; Zhu Xia is affectionate and must not be abandoned." ”
At that time, among the central Plains Xia countries, Yilu and Song were the most important and influential. During the Spring and Autumn Period, Qi and Lu had a vendetta, and even at the beginning of Huan Gong's ascension to the throne, they were also constrained by lu guo, and Qi Huan, in order to dominate the overall situation, resolutely abandoned his former suspicions, and in the thirteenth year of The Duke of Luzhuang, he personally allied with Lu Hou in Kedi and formed a good grudge.
Three years later, The Duke of Qi Huan again enlisted the State of Lu to join the Youdi Alliance, and at the same time returned the Lu lands that had been occupied in the past, such as Tang and Qian. He even married his daughter to Duke Lu Zhuang, and Lu and Qi remarried. Since then, the alliance between Qi and Lu has been consolidated.
"Eastern Zhou States, Spring and Autumn" Lu Zhuang Gong stills
In the autumn of the twelfth year of the Duke of Luzhuang, the Song Dynasty rebelled against the Song Dynasty; in the spring of the following year, the princes of the Qi Huan Guild in Northern Xingxing, quelling the Song rebellion; in the winter of that year, song backed the alliance of northern apricots, and Huan Gong led the princes to conquest, forcing Song to talk and ally with Qi. Later, Duke Huan of Qi successively fought against the two kingdoms of Xing and Zheng for the Song, consolidating the alliance, so "Song Zi is one with Qi, song is relatives and The Chinese princes are fixed!" ”
In addition to the two kingdoms of Lu and Song, Zheng Guo was close to Wang Qi, and the Song was a barrier to the Central Plains. When Qi Huan was hegemonic, the Chu forces in the south also extended to the north. The Hanyang Zhuji and Cai Guo successively fell into its control, and the three kingdoms of Zheng, Xu, and Chen were constantly threatened and harassed by it, especially Zheng Guo.
The Duke of Qi Huan continuously used troops against Zheng, Chu saved Buke, and Zheng Obeyed Qi. In the end of Qi Huan's life, Zheng never rebelled against Qi, ensuring the stability of the situation in the Central Plains.
In addition, the Duke of Qi Huan sent troops to rescue the three kingdoms of Yan, Wei, and Xing, which were invaded by Rong Di, so that "the princes of the world are called Ren Yan ... It is therefore the return of the princes. ”
Yi Yi
In the early Spring and Autumn Period, barbarians, Yi, Rong, and Di invaded China. The Ram Biography outlines the situation at that time as "The Southern Yi and the Northern Di intersected, and China was endlessly on the line."
Although the calamity of Rong Di in the north was smaller than that of Chu, and although the calamity of the Chu state in the south was slow and the harm was great, therefore, the strategy of Qi Huangong adopted the policy of first going north and then south, first small and then large, and there was war and peace. It is a wise move to judge the situation.
In the thirtieth year of the Duke of Luzhuang, Shanrong invaded Yan, and Qi Huangong led a large army to "northern expedition to Shanrong, attack the lingzhi, cut down the lonely bamboo and return to the south", and presented Rong Jie to the State of Lu.
In the year of Lu Min's reign, the Di people cut down Xing, and Huan Gong sent troops to rescue Xing, and moved Xing to Yiyi; the following year, The Di people attacked the guards in a big way, destroyed the guards, and killed the Wei Yi Gong, and the Duke of Qi Huan sent troops to rescue the guards and resealed the guards in Chuqiu.
When the situation in the north became increasingly stable, Qi Huangong immediately transferred his forces south to deal with Qiang Chu. In the autumn of the second year of the reign of Duke Lu, Duke Huan of Qi consistently allied himself with the allies of Chu, Jiang and Huang, and the following year, Duke Huan of Qi met jiang and Huang again at Yanggu, threatening the northeastern border of the State of Chu and isolating the State of Chu diplomatically.
Between the Huai River and Rushui, Cai Ju is a close neighbor of the Chu State. Qi Huan believed that "Chu must first have something to do with Cai", so he led the eight kingdoms of Qi, Lu, Song, Chen, Wei, Zheng, Xu, and Cao to invade Cai and then advance into the Chu state. King Cheng of Chu sent envoys to rebuke Duke Huan:
"Why don't you involve my land?"
Qi Yi chu did not pay tribute to the royal family Baomao and Zhou Zhaowang Nanzheng no longer questioned each other, Chu accepted the question of not paying tribute to Baomao and prevaricating that King Zhao's southern expedition was not resumed. The combined forces of the princes were stationed in Xindi, and the two sides of Qi and Chu formed a confrontation.
In view of the great difficulty of the Qi coalition forces, Chu did not dare to start a war lightly; Qi also used the excuse that the lone army was deep and it was difficult to win, and the two sides of Qi and Chu reached an agreement to conclude the "Alliance of Summoning Tombs".
Although the "Alliance of Summoning Tombs" did not achieve a military victory in the siege of the city, it received a political triumph of "a soldier who surrendered without a fight", and the State of Qi severely defeated the sharp edge of the State of Chu's northward advance, which was the peak of the political aura of Qi Huan's struggle for hegemony.
To sum up, the hegemony of the Duke of Qi Huan was rich in economic strength, politically respected the king's relatives and neighbors, united with the masses to strengthen the military, and consolidated the Zhuxia culturally, and opened a brand-new situation in the Spring and Autumn Period in which "liturgy and pleasure were conquered by the princes."