By the 7th century BC, the Eastern Zhou Dynasty had lost its former power.
An army from the north began to covet the world.
This army, first of all, opened the way south, will step into the territory of the Central Plains as a conqueror, a powerful princely state, ready to come out.
Advocating martial arts and bravery, the military strength is strong, but why did it suddenly slip into the ground and become a mysterious mystery that has been sleeping for a thousand years?
With small profits and insufficient greed, who will pay for their actions? What kind of mysteries are hidden in the prophecies of the cold lips?
Along the Yellow River, in the hinterland of the Central Plains, a war changed more than the fate of the three princes.
Under a blood-colored sky, the frenzy of spring and autumn hegemony is quietly coming.
In the early years of the Western Zhou Dynasty, King Wen of Zhou divided two plots of land near the capital into two younger brothers, one called Dong Yu and the other called Xi Yu. The Eastern Kingdom gradually disappeared in the historical wars, leaving no more records in the history books. In the Western Zhou Dynasty, during the reign of King You of Zhou, the monarch of the Western Zhou Dynasty, Yu Shi's father, served as a secretary in the Zhou Dynasty, with a status equivalent to that of the future chancellor, who held the power of the imperial court.
At the beginning of the 8th century BC, the monarch of the Western Kingdom used his power to destroy the Jiao State around Sanmenxia and moved the center of his rule here, and later generations often referred to this kingdom as the Kingdom of Yu.
The Kingdom of Yu ruled the Sanmenxia area for more than a hundred years, but its traces on this land spanned more than 20 centuries, and it was not gradually discovered until 1956.
The excavated tombs seem to freeze the moments of history. In an era when death was as important as life, everything here reflects and reproduces the politics, economy, and culture of the time.
Seven Ding, Six Gui, Six Mane, a large number of bronze ceremonial vessels marked the status of the nobility, according to the Zhou ceremonial system, these extravagant funerary goods undoubtedly belonged to a princely state of extremely high status.
▼
Sanmenxia is located at the junction of Shanxi, Shaanxi and Henan provinces. Two hundred kilometers to the west, is the capital of the Western Zhou Dynasty, Hojing (present-day Xi'an, Shaanxi); To the east was the capital of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, Luoyi (present-day Luoyang, Henan). To the west of Sanmenxia is the famous ancient pass, Hangu Pass. Although this area is not large, thousands of years ago, it was the main transportation route and important battlefield of ancient China.
As a fief of the Zhou royal family's immediate family, the State of Yu naturally became the gateway guard of the Zhou Dynasty. Just like its name, this princely state has always been like a mighty tiger, guarding the safety of the Zhou royal family.
"At the beginning of the Kingdom of Yu, in the early years of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, he was still the most trusted prince of zhou Tianzi. During the Western Zhou Dynasty, the State of Yu was a very large vassal state, and in the early years of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, it also served as the secretary of the Zhou Tianzi. ”
Although the State of Yu was not a first-class power of that period, it was one of the providers of force that the Zhou royal family had always relied on.
The bones of the horse, the majestic chariots, and the carriage and horse pits of the cemetery of the State of Yu still show people the glory and strength of the country of Yu.
The chema pit excavated in the Sanmenxia Yuguo Cemetery is the largest group of chema pits found on the mainland at present, and the remains of the mud construction still retain the image of the chariots of thousands of years ago, allowing us to imagine the strong military strength of the Yuguo at that time. In these huge pits, no one has been able to give a definitive answer as to how many cars and horses there are. What is certain, however, is that the military strength of the state of Yu continued until the war-torn Eastern Zhou Dynasty.
In 771 BC, the capital of the Zhou Dynasty, Hojing, was breached by Inuyasha from the west. The overthrow of the royal capital also announces the end of a world of liturgy.
King Ping of Zhou moved the capital of Zhou from Hojing to Luoyi, known historically as Eastern Zhou. The prestige of Hehe Zongzhou was also extinguished with the eastward movement of the capital. The various princely states began to rise, Zhou Tianzi only became a noble title, no longer able to have the power of the past, the ancient Central Plains land, began to usher in a long period of turmoil.
The area around Sanmenxia, where the State of Yu is located, is the choke point connecting the Weihe Plain, the Luoyang Basin and the Shanxi Plateau. However, at this time, the arrival of the situation of the princes competing for dominance made the state of Yu, which was originally in a prominent position in the hinterland of the Central Plains, become a double-edged sword.
In an era of relying on territorial population and strength, the kingdom could only stick to its own small territory, and the chances of expansion were so slim.
"Generally speaking, the border area is easy to develop, it (the state of Yu) is next to Zhou Tianzi, it cannot destroy the royal family, so it cannot develop in this situation. The Jin state is in the northwest, it can destroy many ethnic minorities, like the State of Qi in the east, Linhai, it can destroy the country in that area, like the State of Chu in the south, like the State of Qin in the west, the four princely states on this border have developed. ”
At this time, although the strength of the State of Yu was not as strong as before, it was still the escort chariot of the Zhou Dynasty royal family, maintaining the stormy Zhou Tianzi regime in the Eastern Expedition to the West.
However, in the north of the State of Yu, the Jin State, which is entrenched in the area of present-day Shanxi Province, has already quietly embarked on the pace of expansion in line with the trend of the times, and it has already looked at the location of this hinterland of the Central Plains.
▼
To the north of Sanmenxia, across the borders of present-day Henan Province, between the Fenhe River and Xunshui in the middle reaches of the Yellow River, that is, around Shanxi Province, this vast area was once the territory of the Jin Dynasty.
However, when the Jin people look back on their own history, they must also find it a little funny. Because in the historical records, the emergence of this princely state is entirely the product of a game.
In the early years of the Western Zhou Dynasty, at this time, King Chengwang of Zhou was still just a child, and he and his younger brother Uncle Yu had not yet shed their childish spirit.
King Cheng plays with Shu Yu, cuts the leaves of the tong to jue to play with Shu Yu, and says: "Seal ruo with this." ——" History of the Jin Dynasty
After a game, King Zhou Cheng picked up a piece of tung leaf on the ground, cut it into the shape of a jade, handed it to Shu Yu, and jokingly said, "I use this as a keepsake to seal you." ”
However, Jun did not joke, and under the serious questioning of Shi Guan, King Zhou Cheng divided his younger brother Yu to Tang Province, and in the area east of the yellow and fenhe rivers today, the square circle was not more than a hundred miles. In the 11th century BC, the Jin kingdom was thus spawned by a small sycamore leaf.
The State of Jin became a marquis of the Zhou Dynasty. In the hierarchy of the Zhou royal family, its status was much lower than that of the Duke OfFinan. Of course, neither King Cheng of Zhou nor Shu Yu could have imagined that this small Jin state would become a world-renowned princely power.
▼
During the reign of several generations of monarchs after Shuyu, the history of the Jin State was almost a blank for modern people.
Fast forward to 745 BC. In this year, the Jin emperor Marquis Zhaohou of Jin gave quwo city (quwo city) (present-day Wenxi County, Shanxi) to his uncle, known as Quwo Huan. Marquis Zhaohou of Jin did not expect that this letter would be exchanged for more than sixty years of turmoil and fighting.
In 739 BC, a coup d'état broke out in the Jin dynasty, and the Marquis of Jinzhao was killed by the chancellor, and Qu Wohuan immediately rebelled.
The civil war in the Jin Dynasty began. The continuous growth of Qu wo's power ignited the enthusiasm of the Jin people for fighting. After that, the Jin people only did two things, one was to fight a war, and the other was to prepare for war.
After the death of Uncle Qu Wohuan, his successor continued the fight against the Jin regime and killed four successive Marquises of Jin.
Perennial war, for the people of the Jin Dynasty, is tantamount to living in hell. The people of the Jin Dynasty are looking forward to the day when the war will end and peace will come, but the sky of the Jin Kingdom seems to be only a bloody patch, and this bloody war does not know how long it will last.
In order to restore the authority of Tianzi, King Huan of Zhou, the Son of Zhou, finally decided to intervene in the internecine killing within the Jin state. He twice sent Father Lin of the Duke of Yu to the Jin state to fight against the Quwo regime, and established a new monarch for the Jin state that had lost the Marquis of Jin.
Naturally, the State of Yu was happy to deal with this strong opponent of the State of Jin for Zhou Tianzi, and it immediately actively intervened in the civil war of the State of Jin.
Due to the intervention of the Zhou royal family, the Jin dynasty of The Marquis of Yidu (義都, in modern Linfen, Shanxi) survived under the protection of the Zhou royal family.
A year after the State of Yu replaced Zhou Tianzi in his crusade against Quwo, the history of the Jin civil war entered a period of twenty-five years of silence. By the time the history books re-recorded Jin's information, Jin's civil war had come to an end.
In 679 BC, Qu Wo Huan's grandson Duke Wu of Qu wo once again invaded Yidu, and the last monarch of the Yidu regime, Marquis Jin, became the fifth monarch to be killed in the Jin civil unrest.
At this point, the Yidu Jin regime collapsed, and all the land of Jin fell into the hands of the Quwo regime. The Jin state, which had been divided for sixty-seven years, finally moved towards unification.
After three generations of unremitting efforts, the Quwo forces finally killed the descendants of the Jin state and became the new lord of the Jin state.
In order to get the recognition of the Zhou royal family as soon as possible, The Duke of Quwowu provided the Zhou royal family with a large number of bribes and treasures. At this time, King Zhou tianzi of Zhou sent Gong ugly, who was then the king of the state of Yu, to the State of Jin to declare the king's order.
As a chariot of the Zhou royal family, the State of Yu intervened in the civil wars of the State of Jin many times, not only supporting the Marquis of Jin and the Marquis of Jin in the civil war, but even the legal status of the victorious Duke Wu of Jin was also handed over to the Monarch of the State of Jin to establish the State of Jin.
This is the glory that Zhou Tianzi has bestowed on the kingdom of Yu. Under the reading of Duke Yu, Duke Wu of Quwo was finally able to use the army of a small country with an army of one army, officially known as the Marquis of Jin, who was also known as the Duke of Jinwu in later generations.
However, the etiquette system of the Zhou Dynasty was almost at the time of collapse. For the Jin state, which did not have a high status in the etiquette ranking of the Zhou royal family, this small territory and love to point fingers and feet, and intervene in battles everywhere, is not only the spokesperson of Zhou Tianzi, but also the thorn in its eye that it desperately wants to get rid of.
The Jin kingdom and the Yu kingdom, whether strong or weak, they will decide the final winner many years later.
The year after Zhou Tianzi recognized the legal status of the Duke of Jinwu, the Duke of Jinwu, who had won the civil war, died of illness. The position of Zhou Tianzi was inherited by King Hui of Zhou, and the position of Marquis of Jin was inherited by Duke Xian of Jin.
In 676 BC, Duke Xian of Jin and Gong Ug of the State of Yu met with the newly succeeded Zhou Tianzi.
At the dinner, Zhou Tianzi announced that he would give the two princes of Yu and Jin a generous reward, and both the Jin and Yu kingdoms would receive five pairs of white jade and three horses. In this regard, Zuo Qiuming, the author of "Zuo Biao", believes that it is "indecent". He believes that the Son of Heaven comforts the princes and should be treated differently according to the level of status.
Wang Biaoli, destiny. All give jade five?, three horses. Incivility also. The princes of the king's order, different names and positions, different ceremonies, and no ceremonial dummies - "Zuo Chuan Zhuang Gong Eighteen Years"
The Kingdom of Yu was a duke, the State of Jin was a marquis, the duke was higher than the marquis, and according to the ceremonial system, the Son of Heaven should give the Duke of Yu a more generous gift.
In this regard, Duke Yu naturally had quite an opinion, and he simply could not tolerate that the low-status Jin State could sit on an equal footing with himself.
However, he did not see that Zhou Tianzi was already jealous of the newly unified Jin State.
The State of Jin was once an important barrier for the Zhou royal family to prevent the northern nomads from moving south, and the perennial guard war with ethnic minorities made the martial spirit in the blood of the Jin people much higher than that of the Central Plains. Not only that, although the Jin state had only one army structure, these soldiers were the steel divisions that won in the long civil war.
The amazing fighting power possessed by this young prince was the taboo of the old Zhou Dynasty.
▼
The constraints of the Zhou Dynasty have gradually lost their effectiveness in the world, and the princely states are experiencing turmoil and fighting. The world is in chaos, and there are endless crimes committed by countries below. The State of Song, the State of Qi, the State of Zheng, etc., among these countries that underwent drastic changes, the State of Jin had the greatest shock.
The Jin dynasty finally ended a huge civil war, but Jin Xiangong spent the most stressful winter of his life.
The distribution of benefits after the victory in the civil war became a top problem, and at this moment, jin xian gong had to face a group of cousins, uncles or uncles who coveted the throne like hungry wolves. This made Jin Xiangong shudder, he didn't know how to control this group of powerful gong clans. The smoke of war has just dissipated, is it necessary to start again?
He had to look around, wary of any conspiracy.
In 669 BC, Duke Xian of Jin built a new palace in the settlement of the Jin state (southeast of present-day DaiXian County, Shanxi Province).
When the project was completed, the Duke xian of Jin moved the sons of the collateral clans of the Quwo regime of the Jin dynasty to here. When these princes and brothers happily rushed to the new house in Jucheng, Jin Xiangong sent an army to surround Jucheng and wipe out the princes in these jucheng.
The "Zuo Biography" records this story like this: In winter, the Marquis of Jin gathered and killed all the princes.
"The Branch of the Duke of Jin replaced the authentic branch with the Shu Branch, and his influence on the Jin State was very great, such as his internal annihilation of the Gong clan, the annihilation of the Qun Gongzi, and from then on there was no Gong clan in the Jin State. Except for his own son, all the uncles and brothers with the same surname were killed. In this way, the Jin state became a princely state enabled by Ren Xian. ”
Such a purge of the Gong clan's collateral lineage as the Jin Dynasty was unique in the early Spring and Autumn Period. Duke Xian of Jin took this step, and after not having the bondage of the Wang Qing clan, he now became the most concentrated of all the princes.
However, during this killing, some members of the pang tribe escaped by chance, and they fled to the state of Yu, which was not at peace with the Jin state, and wanted to seek help.
The State of Yu and the State of Jin had long since become tacit nemesis. At this time, the will of Yu Gong ugly was, of course, to hope that the Jin state would always be in a state of division.
In 668 BC, in order to support the exiled princes of the Jin state, the state of Yu launched two wars against the state of Jin in autumn and winter, and the southern border of the state of Jin was once again shrouded in war.
The capital of the Jin Dynasty, the shadow of the civil war has just receded, and everything is in ruins to be rebuilt; The royal family was hunted down and killed, and the blood was shrouded.
How will The Duke of Jin, who bears the name of terror, respond to the challenges launched by the State of Yu?
Unfinished, to be continued...
This article has been selected as the content of the documentary "General History of the Chinese War" in iQIYI's exclusive column
[This article is authorized to reprint the public account of self-reliance on modern history, please do not reprint without permission]