After king Youwang of Zhou played with the princes, Hojing was captured by Inuyasha, and Western Zhou perished. After that, king Ping of Zhou moved east, and China entered the Eastern Zhou period. The Eastern Zhou Dynasty was divided into two periods: the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. In the Spring and Autumn Period, although the liturgical music collapsed, everyone still obeyed the ritual law. They still all agree with Zhou Tianzi and jointly worship Zhou Tianzi. The first overlord of the Spring and Autumn Period, Duke Huan of Qi, put forward the slogan of Honoring the King, and most of the princes after that also used this slogan. However, there are also special ones, some princes are very powerful, and they were called kings in the Spring and Autumn Period. Let's look at the countries that dared to claim kings in the Spring and Autumn Period.
During the Spring and Autumn Period, there were three states that were kings, the State of Chu, the State of Wu, and the State of Yue. All three countries were kings during the Spring and Autumn period. Other countries did not dare to claim the throne until the Warring States. So, why did these three countries dare to claim the throne during the Spring and Autumn Period?
First, let's look at the Chu State. The Chu State can be said to be very difficult, and the ancestors of the Chu State really built the Chu State by opening up the mountains and forests with the blue wisps of the Chu State. As early as the Shang Dynasty, the Chu people were often attacked by the Shang Dynasty because they were not the clan of the Shang Dynasty. The Chu people had to migrate south. When the Zhou Dynasty opposed the Shang Dynasty, the State of Chu joined the Zhou Dynasty. I thought that after the fall of the Shang Dynasty, the Zhou Dynasty would be able to treat the Chu State well. As a result, the State of Chu was divided into viscounts at that time, which was the second-to-last of the fifth rank. Even the later Qin state was also a count, and it was higher than the Chu state. Therefore, the State of Chu has always hated the Zhou royal family, and the Zhou royal family has also attacked the State of Chu many times. At that time, the State of Chu was often facing disasters.
Since the Zhou royal family did not want to see itself, the Chu state no longer worshipped the Zhou royal family. In the 9th century BC, Xiongqu, the ruler of the Chu state, began to claim the title of king, not only as a king himself, but also as his own sons, with the title of king. He made his eldest son Xiong Wukang the King of Jurchen, his second son Xiong Zhihong the King of E, and the younger son Xiong Zhikang the King of Yuezhang. This was used against the Zhou royal family. However, after King Li of Zhou succeeded to the throne, he was very cruel, and in order to preserve his strength, the State of Chu removed the title of its own king.
After King Ping of Zhou moved east, the State of Chu immediately became king. Because at this time, the power of the Zhou royal family was on the sidelines, and no one continued to suppress the Chu state. After the state of Chu became king, the title of king remained until the fall of the state of Chu. Moreover, during the reign of King Zhuang of Chu, the State of Chu became one of the Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period, and its strength was very strong. During the Warring States period, the State of Chu was a great power at that time, and the area of the State of Chu was even larger than that of the other six countries combined, and it was the largest and richest country in the world, and its strength was very strong. In particular, during the reign of King Hui of Chu, the State of Yue was destroyed, and the State of Chu occupied the entire southern region. At that time, no country could compete with the Chu state. However, later, the monarchs of the Chu state were fainter than one, so they were destroyed by Qin. After the chu state was destroyed, there was still a slogan of the fallen Qin Bichu. Sure enough, the Qin Dynasty was indeed destroyed by the Chu people in the end.
The second king was the State of Wu. The founder of the State of Wu was Taibo, the uncle of King Wen of Zhou, and although he was a family member of the Zhou royal family, the relationship was too distant. It can be said that it is a side branch of the Zhou royal family, so it was divided into southern branches. The state of Wu was called king relatively late, in the 6th century BC.
In 586 BC, Shou Meng succeeded to the throne of the State of Wu. During his reign, he exerted great efforts to develop production and military vehicle forces, fight the Chu state, ally with the princes, and worship the Heavenly Son. For a time, he was mighty, so he began to claim the throne. During the reign of King Lu of Wu, the state of Wu, under the leadership of Wu Zixu and Sun Wu, directly occupied the capital of the State of Chu and defeated the State of Yue. When Fu Cha succeeded to the throne, Gou Jian could only serve as a slave in the State of Wu in order to survive the country. After the State of Wu defeated the State of Yue, it sent troops to chase after the Central Plains and began to dominate. Fu Cha also became one of the Five Champions of spring and autumn. However, the country was destroyed by the Viet Cong during the reign of Fu Cha. The time for domination is very short.
The third king was the Yue Kingdom. The ancestor of the Yue Kingdom was the Son of Shao Kang, the monarch of the Xia Dynasty, and was one of the direct descendants of the Ancestor Dayu of China. Since it is not a clan office, the place is not good when it is divided. At that time, the Yue Kingdom was divided in the lower Yangtze River region. The place was hot and humid and sparsely populated at the time. Moreover, since the establishment of the State of Yue, it has always had a sworn enemy, that is, the State of Wu. Wars often break out between the two countries.
In the 6th century BC, the Yue kingdom also began to claim the title of king. The time for Yue guo to become king was a little shorter than that of Wu guo. After succeeding to the throne, The King of the State of Yue, Yun Chang, accepted the advanced production technology of all parts of the Central Plains, developed agriculture, ceramics, textiles, shipbuilding, weaving, etc., especially the smelting industry, and once ordered Ou Yezi to cast swords, obtain bronze swords five, excellent craftsmanship, tough and sharp. As a result, the national strength was strong, expanding outward, and "expanding the land began to grow." In his later years, the Yue kingdom was powerful, so Yun Chang also began to claim the title of king.
Later, the Kingdom of Yue had a very famous monarch, that is, Gou Jian. Gou Jian defeated the State of Wu twice, and the second time he destroyed the State of Wu. After destroying the State of Wu, Gou Jian studied like Fu Cha and began to chase after the Central Plains, and finally dominated for a while. Gou Jian became the last overlord in the Spring and Autumn Period. After the Gou Jian, the strength of the Yue state was still very strong, enough to compete with the Chu state. However, there was infighting later, so it was destroyed by the Chu state.
In general, in the Spring and Autumn Period, there were only three countries that dared to usurp the throne. After all, at that time, the liturgical system collapsed, and no one obeyed it. Zhou Tianzi didn't even have the ability to protect himself at that time, let alone go on a crusade against the princes. Compared with the State of Yue and the State of Wu, the history of the State of Chu as king is still very powerful, and it dares to be the first.