For more than 500 years of the Spring and Autumn Warring States, various princely states, with the help of capable people and heroes, have tried to dominate. During the Spring and Autumn Period, there was a grand situation of "Spring and Autumn Five Hegemons", and by the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, the small border country of Wu Yue could also dominate for a while. Finally, after repeated shuffling, a situation of "Seven Heroes of the Warring States" was formed.
Then, as the boss of the Zhou royal family, why didn't it do anything to try to compete for hegemony? Why don't those able people help the Zhou royal family to dominate? In any case, the conditions for the Zhou royal family to dominate are much better than those of other countries in any case, and the success seems to be higher, but why don't they do it?
(Spring and Autumn Domination)
I think that there are three main reasons why there are no able people who have come to help the Zhou royal family to dominate, and the Zhou royal family has not been able to dominate in the end.
First, there is no reason for the Zhou royal family.
Let's take a look at the situation of the "Spring and Autumn Five Hegemons" dominating. The earliest hegemonic Duke Huan of Qi fought the slogan of "Honoring the King". The "honorable king" here is to honor the Zhou royal family, that is, to ask everyone to pay tribute to the Zhou royal family. Etiquette should be done according to the weekly etiquette. Of course, we know that although Duke Huan of Qi played such a slogan, "Honoring the King" was not his goal, his purpose was to dominate, to seize more land, and to subdue some princes such as the State of Chu who did not listen to greetings.
But this slogan, the Zhou royal family can not use. The Zhou royal family can never say that you must respect me and pay tribute to me. If you don't respect me and don't pay tribute to me, I'm going to bring everyone to beat you up. This argument is morally untenable. Of course, no capable person would help him do this.
In addition to the slogan of "Honoring the King", when the princes were hegemonic, they also fought against other weak and bullied princely states.
Logically, the Zhou royal family is the most suitable to do such a thing, because it is the nominal boss. However, anyone who comes out to uphold justice is backed by strength. The strength is not good, you say you are the boss, is the boss? Besides, the purpose of those princes who went to mediate for other princely states was not mediation at all, but to gain more benefits. Without the strength to make a guarantee, can it be done?
If the able people want to help the Zhou royal family to dominate, they must find excuses. There is no word, and the able people do not know how to start.
(Emperor Zunwang)
Second, the territory of the Zhou royal family is too small.
The Zhou Dynasty adopted a system of sub-sealing. At the beginning, the King of Zhou constantly divided the land among the princes. As a result, the land under the personal jurisdiction of the Zhou royal family became less and less. However, even if it is less and less, there is no problem. In the eyes of the King of Zhou, the land under the whole world belonged to him, and the princes only helped him take care of the land. The production of the land will be offered to him on time.
However, since the Western Zhou Dynasty, several generations of Zhou kings have been in turmoil. Then, after King Ping of Zhou moved east, most of the lands to the west of the Zhou royal family were annexed by the State of Qin. Even if they lived in the east, Zheng Guo and Chu Guo took turns to compete with the Zhou royal family. In fact, the princes and kings at that time basically did not listen to the greetings of the King of Zhou. The land that the King of Zhou divided up was completely sent out, and many princes even canceled the tribute.
In such a situation, the Zhou royal family was actually a very weak princely state. Such a weak princely state, not to mention that it has no reason to fight for hegemony, just wants to fight for hegemony, and it does not have that ability.
Since it didn't have that ability, those able people who wanted to make meritorious achievements would naturally not waste their efforts on the Zhou royal family.
(Pingwang moves east)
Third, the Zhou royal family has no space.
All the princes competing for hegemony is actually a territorial issue. Expand your own territory through the struggle for hegemony. The Jin state could annex the small surrounding states, the Qin state could develop to the west, and the Chu state could develop south to east. Although the State of Wu was originally a small country, because it was in a place where it did not care, it also expanded its territory step by step, so it was able to develop and grow and become a country with a relatively large territory.
However, the Zhou royal family was between the three great powers of the Jin State, the Qin State, and the Chu State, and even if he wanted to develop, where would he develop? Of these three great powers, whose land can account for a share? Therefore, the Zhou royal family has no room for development at all.
Without room for development, there is no possibility of growth. Those able people are not fools, it is an unsolvable equation, why should they answer it?
(Reference: Chronicle of History)