When the Duke of Jin took the throne, the status of the Jin State Office was far inferior to that of the past, and at this time, the actual ruler of the Jin State was the "General of the Chinese Army" Han Jue. Overall, Han Yue's performance in governance was relatively stable, and because of this, the Jin state was still able to barely maintain its hegemonic position.
"Eastern Zhou Kingdoms, Spring and Autumn Chapter" Jin mourning gong stills
"Zuo Chuan" Yun: "Qiu, Duke Huan came to the dynasty, Lao Gong, and asked Jin Gu. Gong is in the language of Jinjun. Qi Bo then suddenly went to Yu Jin and asked for marriage. ”
Duke Huan huan came here for two purposes, one was to go to the state of Lu to meet and comfort Lu Chenggong; the other was to ask Duke Lu Chenggong about the latest situation in the Jin state. Duke Lu Cheng informed Duke Huan of the situation after Duke Huan of Jin's succession. Duke Huan listened to Lu Chenggong's account and immediately went on a pilgrimage to the Jin state and asked for intermarriage to the Jin state. In fact, this is a typical example of a princely alliance that is not firm in will and holds a wait-and-see attitude.
In the author's eyes, Qiguo can be regarded as one of the loyal allies of the Jin Dynasty. After the Duke of Jin succeeded to the throne, according to the provisions of the "ceremony", the Duke of Qihuan should take the initiative to go to the Jin Dynasty to meet. However, Duke Huan huan did not do this, and he first went to the State of Lu to meet with Lu Chenggong, the purpose of which was to use Lu Chenggong's mouth to understand the internal situation and national strength of the Jin State after the series of events of "killing the Three Emperors" and "The Murder of the Duke of Jin", and thus decide whether to continue to ally with the State of Jin.
Duke Lu Chenggong told duke Qi huan about the situation of the jin dynasty's subordinates, and the duke of Qihuan was shocked when he heard it, and in order to avoid the Jin state from discovering that he had two hearts, he quickly rushed to the Jin state to meet him, and even asked to marry the Jin mourning duke.
This case can also prove that when Han Que served as a "Chinese general", the Jin state still had the strength of hegemony.
"The Orphan of Zhao" Han Yue stills
In the author's opinion, although the Jin state is still strong, its national strength is still much inferior compared with the past, which can be indirectly understood by the attitude of the state of Qi. After the defeat of the State of Qi in the Battle of the Saddle, it submitted to the leadership of the State of Jin. On the surface, it seems to be obedience, but in fact, the covenant between the State of Qi and the State of Jin is not stable.
"Zuo Biao" Yun: "Qi people will not Pengcheng, Jin people think it is pleasing." In February, Qi Daziguang was the quality of Jin. ”
The background of this incident was that, on the one hand, the State of Chu and the State of Zheng joined forces to attack the State of Song; on the other hand, the State of Jin united with the princely states to discuss the rescue of Pengcheng.
At that time, the State of Qi sent the grand master Cui Zhu to participate in the alliance, however, when it came time to send troops, only the State of Qi did not participate, so the State of Jin planned to take revenge on the State of Qi. As a result, the State of Qi not only still needed to participate in the joint army of the princes to rescue them, but also had to send Gongzi Guang to the State of Jin as a hostage, which dispelled the idea of using troops against the State of Qi.
Stills of Cui Zhu in "The Kingdoms of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty and the Spring and Autumn Chapter"
It is conceivable that the changing position of the State of Qi will also directly affect the loyalty of other small countries to the State of Jin. As Xun Yan said, "Teng, Xue, and Xiao Yi are all in unison." ”
We all know that the three countries of "Teng, Xue, and Xiao Yi" are all subordinate states of the State of Qi. According to Xun Yan, once the State of Qi did not participate in the alliance convened by the State of Jin, then these three small states would follow the State of Qi. In this case, in addition to affecting the scale of the combined forces of the princes, the most important thing is that the tribute that the Jin state can collect in the future will be greatly reduced. And this is the main reason why the Jin State took the "State of Qi not participating in the Alliance Incident" so seriously.
In fact, not only the Lu and Qi states, which were allies, would test the Jin state, but the hostile princely states would naturally take the opportunity to test the situation of the Jin state.
"Zuo Biao" Yun: "In The summer of June, Zheng Bo invaded the Song Dynasty, and Cao Menwai." Then Chu Zi cut down the Song Dynasty and took the Chao Yu. ”
Taking advantage of the great opportunity that the Duke of Jin had just succeeded to the throne and the State of Jin had no time to take care of him, the State of Chu joined forces with the State of Zheng to send troops to attack the State of Song, and the State of Song found that it could not withstand the offensive of the combined forces of Chu and Zheng, so it sent Hua Yuan to ask the State of Jin for help.
The Jin garrison at Taigu encountered the Chu army in the "Valley of Jingjiao". Surprisingly, the Chu army did not engage the Jin state and withdrew on its own.
Judging from the reluctance of the State of Chu to fight a decisive battle with the Jin army, it seems that the State of Chu attacked the State of Song as a fake, and the action of the State of Jin was true. In fact, after the "Battle of Yanling", the Chu state was seriously injured and could not compete with the Jin state at this time for hegemony. However, in the face of the jin state's own internal strife, the king of chu resolutely decided to test the current strength of the Jin state with a small war.
Because of this, the State of Chu sent zheng guo to invade the Song state as "bait" - if the Jin state could not interfere in the affairs of other countries, the chu state would take this opportunity to cannibalize it and further strengthen its own strength.
Schematic diagram of the Battle of Yanling
The State of Jin naturally knew what the State of Chu thought, and it was conceivable that they could not show weakness in military and diplomatic aspects, so the State of Jin repeatedly summoned the princely states to discuss countermeasures. However, the harassment of the State of Chu was too frequent, and the various princely states were overwhelmed, and because of this, during the "Alliance of Qi", the State of Lu Mengxianzi proposed to build a city in Tiger Prison.
"Zuo Biao" Yun: "Meng Xianzi said: 'Please chenghu prison to force Zheng.' Zhi Wuzi said: 'Goodness'... Suicheng Tiger Prison, Zheng Ren Naicheng. ”
We all know that Tiger Prison is a dangerous place on the northwest border of Zheng Guo. The fundamental reason why Meng Xianzi built a city in Tiger Prison to Xun Yan was that this place was an important road for Zheng Guo and the Jin State to communicate, and if the city could be successfully built and the army stationed for a long time, it would be able to avoid the future travel of the armies of the various princely states.
Xun Yan agreed with Meng Xianzi's suggestion and ordered the combined forces of the princes to build a city at Tiger Prison. Zheng Guo had no choice but to be forced to make peace with the State of Jin, and the State of Chu saw that there was no opportunity to take advantage of at this time, so he abandoned his plan to test the State of Jin with military action.