The matter of the beacon play princes happened in the Western New Year. King Ji Gong of Zhou You smiled and lit a beacon fire, so that the soldiers and horses of the princes rushed to the rescue, but because of the accident, they did not arrive in time. Inu Rong attacked Hojing, killed King You, and Western Zhou perished.
This history is from the "Shiji Qin Benji": "(King of Zhou) abolished Empress Shen and the crown prince Yiusu, abolished Jiao as a commoner, and destroyed his family." He doesn't like to laugh, so he does not like to be evil. ”
However, many historians later found that the truth of the "beacon drama princes" was completely distorted. Because the beacon fire in the "History" records that it will not be lit, if it is really lit, there will not be such a big movement. As for the well-known story of "beacon drama princes" behind, it was completely invented by later generations, and there was no such person in history.
First, the beacon is lit, but it does not happen
It is recorded in the "Records of History": "(King of Zhouyou) abolished Empress Shen and the crown prince Yiusu, abolished the concubine, and punished the palace, with the daughter of the princes as the queen and prince." The ghost king has abolished himself in the West Palace, and all the princes have gone."
King Zhou You did not depose Empress Shen and did not kill her. Instead, he sent Shen Hou to his mother's family Shen Guo. King Zhou You's relationship with Shen Guo was very good, so he gave Zhao Yi to Shen Guo as queen. However, because Queen Shen was not favored, Empress Shen was abolished by the King of Ghosts.
In the New Year of the Western New Year, King Zhou You was killed by Inu Rong because he pampered Zhao Yi Xiao. And this story of the "beacon drama princes" was invented by later generations, and it is a completely fictional story. The reason he made it up was because there was no beacon at that time, and the princes did not know that the beacon had been lit.
Before the Spring and Autumn period without the beacon system, many things relied on oral transmission. For example, in the event of an emergency in war, both sides will light a fire in front of the camp gate as a warning, and at this time other places will see the fire, hear the shouts and come to the rescue.
The lighting of the beacon by King You of Zhou occurred in 771 BC (the year after King Ping of Zhou moved east). At that time, the princes of various places had not yet come to the Qi state, the Jin state, the Chu state and other countries to rescue the Western Zhou.
King Zhou You did not personally light the beacon. However, according to the records in the "History", it seems that he personally lit the beacon: "The ghost king has no way, the princes are violent, the countrymen dare not go out, and the princes leave the country."
It can be seen that the princes everywhere were very disappointed with the Zhou royal family at that time. As the king of a country, King Zhou You cannot control the situation in his own country, and it can be said that the mud cannot support the wall.
Therefore, the princes of various countries are also waiting to see which side will light the beacon first. If the two sides light the beacon first, it means that who is qualified to rescue King Zhou You first. If King Zhou did not speak at this time and lit the beacon, then it can only mean that Inu Rong attacked the Zhou royal family first.
1. Internal and external troubles in the early years of the Western Zhou Dynasty
The Zhou Dynasty already had great strength during the time of King Wu of Zhou, and he contributed a lot to the destruction of the Shang Dynasty. However, after King Wu of Zhou destroyed the Shang Dynasty, he did not move the capital of the Zhou Dynasty to Guanzhong Dynasty. Because he was worried that it was a dangerous place, and it would be difficult to defend once there was an invasion of foreign enemies.
Therefore, after King Wu of Zhou moved the capital, his younger brother Zhou Gongdan moved the capital to the eastern capital of Hojing. And why did King Wu of Zhou move the capital to Haojing? In fact, the location here is also very important. After the establishment of Western Zhou, the Zhou Dynasty moved the capital from Guanzhong to Haojing. Guanzhong was a very important area at that time, and many countries stationed troops and built capitals here. Hokyo, on the other hand, is located northwest of Hokyo and is not only convenient for transportation but also avoids enemy attacks.
Therefore, at that time, Hokyo was called the "place where princes meet", and it was also the place where princes of various countries gathered when they worshiped the Son of Heaven. Therefore, Inu Rong also wanted to look for an opportunity here to attack the capital of the Zhou Dynasty.
2. Internal and external troubles in the late Western Zhou Dynasty
In fact, we can find that the princes of the Spring and Autumn period have been busy fighting with people in their own countries. Because the enemies they face are all formidable. The states of Jin, Chu, Qi, and Qin had their own internal contradictions.
There were also frequent conflicts between the secretaries and the princes in the Jin state. The son of Duke Wen of Jin, the king of the state of Jin, was killed, and his successor, Duke Xian of Jin, had conquests in various parts of the state of Jin. In 656 BC, the Battle of Chengpu took place in the Jin state. After Duke Wen of Jin became hegemonic, his sons Duke Chenggong of Jin and Duke Ling of Jin fought for the position of king, so a civil strife broke out.
The State of Qin and the State of Jin belonged to the Zhou Dynasty, and the two sides often clashed in the early Eastern Zhou Dynasty. In 668 BC, Duke Mu of Qin went to war with other princes over the land of Xirong. In fact, the relationship between Qin Mugong and the princes has always been good, because Qin Mugong has always been friendly to Western ethnic minorities, and they are also willing to help the Qin state.
However, there was still civil unrest within the Qin State. After the death of Duke Mu of Qin, his son succeeded to the throne, but it was not long before the princes attacked the capital and captured him.
This was due to the fact that after the death of King Xiao of Zhou, his sons competed for the throne, which eventually led to King Li of Zhou being exiled to the West. Therefore, the relationship between the Qin State and the princes has always been good, and internal wars are also an inevitable result.
3. Zhao Yi will not laugh
Because Zhao Yi did not laugh, there are also questions about the authenticity of this story. However, according to the records of the "Records of History", King Zhou You was once very fond of Zhaoji. And there are many people who think that Zhao Yi does not smile because he cannot laugh.
First of all, we need to know how the idiom "can't laugh" came from. "Can't laugh" means being forced to laugh, which is very painful in this case. According to the records in the "Records of History", every time King Zhou You wanted to laugh happily, he would be ridiculed by Zhao Yi: "The King of Zhou wants to be happy, and Zhao Yi laughs, and the King of Zhou said: 'My twilight is far away, and I can't stop!'" ’”
And King Zhou You agreed to her request in order to make Zhao Yi happy. The "History" also records that "Prince Yiusu was favored by Zhao, and later abolished", according to this record, it is impossible for Zhao to like Prince Yiusu.
If Prince Yiusu really favored Zhaojiu, then why should the prince be deposed? Because King Zhou You had no way and no virtue, Empress Shen could not protect himself.
Therefore, King Zhou You was deposed because he favored Zhao Yi, and he abolished Empress Shen and Prince Yisu in order to protect his own rivers and mountains. Later, because she favored Zhaojiao and abolished Shenhou and Yiusu, she had Zhaojiao and Shenhou smiled, and was re-canonized as queen by King Zhou You.
Second, King Zhou You was smeared by posterity
In the "History of Qin Benji", "abolished Empress Shen and the crown prince Yisu, abolished Jiao as a commoner, and destroyed his family", Sima Qian means that King Zhou You abolished both Empress Shen and the crown prince. Although Sima Qian's words are a bit unreasonable, they are in line with historical facts. Because according to historical records, King Zhou You was an unscrupulous and cruel monarch, he not only deposed Empress Shen and the crown prince, but also killed the daughter of the son of Shen Marquis, the king of Shen State. It is also recorded in the "Shiji Qin Benji" that King Zhou You had a discord with Zhao Yao. Zhao's son was called Bofu, and King Zhou You wanted Zhengfu's son to be the crown prince, so he sent Bofu to Zhengguo. When Zheng Bo heard the news, he was very scared, so he secretly went to see King Zhou You and Zhao Yao, saying, "If you don't make a prince, I will go to avenge my father." King Zhou You was furious, "I'm going to kill you villain!" ”
In this way, Zheng Yao and Bofu were killed by Zheng Zhuanggong in Zhengguo. Later Zheng Zhuanggong's son Hu succeeded to the throne, and his mother was the daughter of Duke Yu, the king of the state of Yu, the most powerful state of Western Zhou. He fled to the Kingdom of Shen during the rebellion of King Youyou of Zhou. Later, Shen Bo (son of Duke Zheng Zhuang) and his wife Ji Shen rescued Zheng Guo and sacrificed Zheng Yi to King Youyou of Zhou. Shen Bo was the maternal uncle of Duke Zheng Zhuang, and the daughter of Marquis Shen and married King You of Zhou as his wife. Ji Shen's wife (Shenhou) was ten months pregnant at the time.
King Zhou You liked her very much after receiving the concubine. Because Xijong often harassed the borders of the Zhou Dynasty at that time, King You of Zhou built a new capital near the capital called Haojing (镐京, in present-day Xi'an, Shaanxi) to escape the invasion of the capital by Xijong. After the construction of Hojing, King Zhou You began to build palaces, palaces, and various palaces and gardens, and inhabited his most beloved concubine. According to historical records, all the women in the palace at that time had names (these names were used for funerals), and Zhao Yi was among them. Later, when Shen Hou heard about this, he was very angry and went to intercede with King Zhou You, demanding that he return Zhao Consort to his son as a daughter-in-law. Of course, King You of Zhou refused to return the concubine to Shen Hou, so Shen Hou raised troops to attack Haojing.
When King Zhou You fought against the Yu Kingdom and the Qin people, Zhao Yao often held his child and sat in a carriage to command the battle. King Zhou You felt very strange, so he asked the people around him, whose child is this? Yu Wengong, the minister of the state of Yu, said that this was a child of Zhaojiao. Later, King Zhou ordered people to kill Zhao Yao. He also ordered all the beauties near Hokyo to be brought to the palace to serve him. King Zhou You was very fond of Zhao Yi, so he favored Shenhou and Yu Confiscation, the daughter of the king of the Kingdom of Yu, even more.
One day, Prince Yiusu refers to Prince Uncle) and wept sadly in front of his mother's throne. So he asked his mother what had happened? It turned out that one day the crown prince felt sad after crying twice in front of King Zhou You and did not get a smile from Zhaojiao, so he said to his father: "What will happen if we inherit the throne in the future?" So the prince asked his father what he could do to get a smile. King Zhou Youwang felt that this question was easy to answer, so he said: "As long as you study the "Poem" and "Book" well, and then memorize the "Book of Poetry" and "Shang Shu", you can get praise and laughter." The prince promised his father that he would study the "Poems" and "Books" well, and then memorize the "Book of Poetry".
Third, the story of "Beacon Play Princes" has an exaggerated element
This story was also invented by later literati, so the beacon recorded in the history books is also exaggerated.
According to the "Shiji Qin Benji", "King Zhou You deposed the crown prince Yiusu, and established the son of Zhaoji as the prince." He said: 'Waste of the long and young, the world does not tolerate it, and we must not ignore it.' The ghost king said, "The uncle can be the queen." ’
The son of the king of the ghost prince, the prince Yisu, has been established, and the king of the ghost and the son of the concubine have both lost their positions, but they have made a beacon to look at the northern land. When the princes heard this, they would meet the princes from Qin, Jin and other places under Lishan Mountain. ”
Judging from this record, the most important thing in the story of the princes of Beacon Play is the sentence "Uncle can be the queen", which clearly shows that King Zhou You appointed the crown prince Yiusu and did not like this son and wanted to replace him.
But when Inu Rong attacked Hojing, he saw such a scene: King Zhou You did not hesitate to light a beacon in order to smile. This caused various princes to think that there was a change in the capital and came to the rescue. In this case, the Inujung army easily attacked Haojing and killed King Zhou You. So if there is no such record, are these stories not true?
In fact, this history does not record the reason for the demise of the Western Zhou Dynasty. There are big discrepancies between the time when King Zhou You was killed and when Inu Rong attacked Hojing and the princes came to the rescue, and these discrepancies were not caused by the story of the princes of Beacon Play. It can be seen that this story also has an exaggerated element.
1. The reason for the demise of Western Zhou was the decline of the Zhou royal family
The reason for the demise of Western Zhou was that after the death of King You of Zhou, his son King Ping of Zhou, with the help of Duke Zheng Zhuang (Ji Huansheng), drove out King You of Zhou, and then moved the capital to Luoyi, known as Eastern Zhou. There were two other reasons for the demise of Western Zhou: First, after King Ping succeeded to the throne, it began to be uncontrolled. He began to pro-government at the suggestion of Zheng Zhuanggong, and with the help of Zheng Zhuanggong, he began to suppress the old aristocracy and rebuild the political system, which gave the Zhou royal family a great political advantage at that time. However, because he handed over the royal power to Zheng Zhuanggong, he began to be suppressed by his former enemies.
Second, after King Ping moved east, there was a political vacuum in the Central Plains. Since the Zhou royal family controlled a limited area, the Zhou royal family needed to expand constantly to maintain its status. However, after the beginning of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, the strength of the Zhou royal family declined, and as King Ping of Zhou strengthened his control over the royal lands after moving the capital to Luoyi, the Zhou royal family gradually lost the ability to control the surrounding areas. Therefore, for a long time after the beginning of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, there was no strong vassal state to compete with the Zhou royal family.
For these two reasons, the Zhou royal family continued to decline. From history, we can see that during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, there was also a period of separation of princes and competition for hegemony. And all this was caused by the decline in the strength of the Zhou royal family after King Ping of Zhou moved east. Because there was no strong vassal state to compete with the Zhou royal family, it was difficult to ensure Zhou Tianzi's ability to control the surrounding areas.
From this, we can see that in the late Western Zhou Dynasty, the decline in the strength of the Zhou royal family was an important factor in the demise of the Western Zhou. After Inujung attacked Haojing, although the Zhou royal family still controlled the Central Plains, it was unable to control and influence other princely states, which made it difficult for these princely states to form a joint force to resist Inujung. Under these circumstances, the princes rebelled one after another, causing the final disaster of the Western Zhou dynasty.
2. The princely states of the Western Dynasty are powerful
According to the records in the "Shiji Qin Benji", after King Zhou You was killed, he was succeeded by his younger brother Yiusu, who is known in history as King Ping of Zhou. Although there was a tradition of "courtesy from the Son of Heaven" in the Western Zhou Dynasty, the strength of the princely states in this period was not strong, and the princely states were loosely allianced. Although the Zhou royal family still had strong control during the Ping Dynasty, it was much worse than before compared to the Western Dynasty.
According to the "Shiji Qin Benji", it is recorded: "In the eleventh year (771 BC), King Ping collapsed, and the crown prince Shouli. In that year, Duke Xianggong of Qin sent troops to escort King Ping's coffin back to the Qin state. After that, the Qin State began to develop greatly. In 770 BC, King You of Zhou was killed, and after the crown prince Yiusu succeeded to the throne, he became King Ping of Zhou, and was the King of Zhou Huan. Since then, the Zhou royal family has existed in name only.
It is recorded in the "Shiji Qin Benji": "In August of the fourteenth year (771 BC), Wang ordered Jin, Qi, Zheng, Wei, Chen, Cai, Xu, Cao and other states to send the crown prince Yiusu to Qin and establish him as king. "From the above records, we can see that the Zhou royal family did not completely die, and there were still some princely states in the Ping period. However, they also did not communicate effectively with the Zhou royal family during this period. At the same time, the Zhou Dynasty did not have the ability to effectively control them. And Zhou Tianzi also lost control of these princely states. Therefore, there were some factors of instability between the princely states, and they began to conquer each other, and even a large-scale war such as the "Spring and Autumn Warring States" broke out. At the same time, power struggles began to occur within the Western Zhou royal family and princely states during this period. Therefore, the strength of the princely states in the Western Dynasty was greatly enhanced.
3. The demise of the Western Zhou Dynasty was not because of the "beacon play princes"
From the above narrative, we can see that there is only one reason for the demise of Western Zhou in the history books, that is, King Zhou You was killed because of the beacon drama princes. However, there are no more records beyond this, which makes it very difficult for later generations to study the reasons for the demise of the Western Zhou. And about this point is also recorded in the "Shiji Qin Benji", "King Zhou You's beacon play princes died in the Shen Kingdom and the Baoguo Kingdom, not because of this story." "We can analyze the reasons for the demise of Western Zhou through this sentence: first, the reason why Western Zhou perished was because King Zhou You was killed because of the beacon play princes; Second, the demise of the Western Zhou Dynasty was not due to the incident of the beacon princes; Third, when Inujung attacked Hokyo, no princes came to the rescue. If he was really killed because of the beacon drama princes, then his father King Li of Zhou would not do such a thing. Therefore, from the above aspects, the story of "Beacon Play Princes" is not true, and it cannot be an important clue to the cause of the demise of the Western Zhou.
There are records of the story of the "princes of Beacon Play" in many later history books, but this did not lead to the demise of the Western Zhou. We can find that the story of the princes of the beacon play was invented by later generations, not something that really happened. Therefore, the study of the reasons for the demise of the Western Zhou Dynasty still has a long way to go, and the princes of the Beacon Play will not be an important clue to the reasons for the demise of the Western Zhou.
4. "The demise of Western Zhou" does not refer to the killing of King Zhou You, but to the Eastern Zhou after King Zhou You was killed
The saying "the demise of the Western Zhou" has been circulating as early as the early years of the Western Zhou Dynasty, and there is a record in the "Shangshu Wucheng": "King Wen died, became a king." Yu was the Son of Heaven, and the king Cheng ordered Yu to wait: 'Do not slack off or waste, and benefit from above.' The meaning of this passage is that at that time, King Wu of Zhou had just died, and King Cheng of Zhou was still young, so his father Zhou Gongdan acted as the government. During the regency of the Duke of Zhou, it was relatively stable, and the "Order of Shangshu Wenhou" records that the Duke of Zhou sent envoys to various places to pacify the princes and maintain the ruling order of the Zhou Dynasty during this period. Therefore, later generations regarded these things as what King Zhou Cheng did after he succeeded to the throne. However, in fact, this history does not record how King Cheng of Zhou succeeded to the throne, so what he did after his accession to the throne is difficult to use as a basis for the demise of Western Zhou.
Another theory is that the reason for the demise of Western Zhou is that because King Zhou was desolate and unscrupulous, it led to the rebellion of the princes. This statement can be traced back to the Spring and Autumn Warring States period, for example, it is recorded in the "Chinese Zheng Yu": "The Marquis of Jin envoy Qingshi Xuan Bova Zheng." Zheng Boyou Yu Jin. and Zheng Boyou in Jin, and the Jin people allied in Chengpu, and his doctor asked his son to serve the son of Jin. Zi Yu: 'What can you do without virtue? Please correct me first and then ask for the country. So no. This passage says that before the Jin Marquis and Zheng Bo fought a decisive battle in Chengpu, the Jin Marquis asked him what he should do to win the war, but Zheng Bo said the following: "Gou has no virtue and can do it? Please correct me first and then ask for the country", which translates into modern language, "If you can become a king if you do not have virtue, cultivate yourself first and then seek the affairs of the country." In fact, this record means that the Marquis of Jin and Zheng Bo had made certain preparations for the war before the decisive battle of Chengpu, but because Zheng Bo did not inform the Marquis of Jin about the preparation of the Jin State at that time, it led to the defeat of the final war.
Therefore, the phrase "the demise of Western Zhou" refers to the demise of Western Zhou after King Zhou was killed, rather than the reason for the demise of Western Zhou after King Zhou was killed. However, after King Zhou You was killed, all the princes came to the rescue, which is true. If there were no princes to save the Western Zhou, it would not have perished, so the statement "the demise of the Western Zhou" is more a story invented by later generations based on historical facts.
Fourth, King Zhou You was killed by a traitor
The "Records of History" records that King Zhou You was killed because he did not like to laugh, because there were traitors behind him to make evil.
This traitor is Father Yu Shi.
It is recorded in the "Records of History" that "Empress Shen and Prince Yisu are not on good terms and will be abolished", and the "Marquis of Shen" here is King Shen's father.
The matter of King Zhou You's abolition of Shen and Prince Yiusu was something that his crown prince Ji Yiusu did not want to see.
Therefore, Shenhou joined forces with Yu Shi's father to design to drive the crown prince Yisu out of Hojing, and King Zhou You was naturally killed.
However, according to the "Records of History", King Zhou You was not only not killed, but also added the nickname of "Dark King" to himself, that is, the aforementioned "King of Shadow".
At the same time, historians also believe that the reason why King Zhou died under Lishan Mountain instead of Lishan Mountain was not because he did not light the beacon, but because he offended the largest force at the time, Inujung.
King Zhou You offended Shen Guo when he was crown prince, plus Shen Guo was allied with Inu Rong at that time.
So later, when Inu Rong attacked Hojing, King Zhou You couldn't even take care of his own country, how could the ministers not be angry?
1. The history of King Zhou You
King Zhou You, whose real name is Ji Xie. Ji Xie was the son of King Xuan of Zhou and the eighth monarch of Western Zhou. After the death of King Xuan of Zhou, his son Ji Feng succeeded him as King You of Zhou.
In the third year of King You's succession to the throne (781 BC), Marquis Shen proclaimed him crown prince. Ji Feng was very dissatisfied with Shenhou, so he joined forces with Inujung to attack Hojing the following year. However, Inu Rong soon attacked Hojing, and King Zhou You was captured.
Shenhou and Yu Shi's father supported Ji Yiusu as the Son of Heaven. However, shortly after his accession to the throne, Ji Yiusu gave his concubine to his father, Marquis Shen.
Ji Yiusu was named Ping, the son of Marquis Shen and Yu Shi's father. Because his mother Zhaoji liked to laugh, he was called "Zhaoji", and there was also a castle called "Zhaocheng".
According to the "Records of History", the story of the "beacon play princes" occurred shortly after King Zhou You was killed, but according to other historical sources, King Zhou You was a very unscrupulous monarch. From these records, it seems that King Zhou You was indeed killed on Lishan Mountain, not in Hojing.
However, according to the "Records of History", Western Zhou perished after King You of Zhou was killed. According to the "Zuo Chuan", due to the continuous conquest between the princely states at that time, the states of Shen and Inurong formed an alliance with the Western Zhou. At that time, there was a vassal state called "Inujung" in the alliance that was very powerful, and Yu Shifu was the general of that powerful vassal state Inujung.
According to the records of the "Records of History" and "Zuo Chuan", after the fall of Western Zhou, King You of Zhou was proclaimed the new Son of Heaven by the princes. During the reign of King You of Zhou, three famous events occurred: the first was the joint attack of Shen and Yu against Western Zhou; The second time was when the people of Western Zhou rose up against Zhao Yao; The third time was when Inu Rong attacked Hojing and killed King Zhou You, and finally King Zhou You was killed.
According to historical sources, neither history nor the records in the "History" can be used to argue that King Zhou You's killing is a fact.
2. Why doesn't Zhao Yi laugh?
So why didn't Zhao Yi laugh? The "Records of History" records that King Zhou You did not light the beacon, and the ministers already knew about it, so no one persuaded King Zhou to light the beacon. However, Yu Shi's father also persuaded King Zhou You to light the beacon again, which angered King Zhou You, so after his death, Zhao Yi did not laugh. This account still sounds reasonable, but it cannot be said to be completely wrong.
Because we said earlier, Sima Qian, the author of the "Shiji", and his father Sima Tan both believed in the art of divination at that time. In addition, at that time, the five elements were used as the main basis for auspiciousness. Therefore, there was a saying circulating at that time: "Gold and fire fight, Jin Kemu", so the Zhou Dynasty could not continue to "fire and gold".
And what happened at that time? It was King Zhou You who once launched a rebellion and was killed by his own generals. Later, in order to show that he did not forget this "hatred", he married the general's daughter to him. Because this general had a good relationship with King Zhou You, he married this daughter to King Zhou You. Later, the general was killed because he offended King Zhou You, but this daughter was taken in by King Zhou You as a palace maid. Then after the death of King Zhou You, she was sacrificed to Shen Guo, and this girl was Zhao Yao.
Therefore, from this point of view, the "beacon drama princes" mentioned in the "History" is just a fabrication of the story of Zhao Yao and Yu Shifu on Lishan Mountain, and there is not really such a scene. And according to the records in the "History", King Zhou You still lit the beacon very sincerely when he was killed. So it is not a thing that King Zhou You was killed and Zhao Yi did not laugh. This statement is more credible!
Do you find this statement credible?
3. Did the Western Zhou Dynasty die because of the beacon drama princes?
According to the "Records of History", after the death of King Youyou of Zhou, Marquis Shen and Inujung attacked Haojing and killed King You. In order to consolidate his rule, King Ping of Zhou sent the son of the crown prince Yiusu to the Zhou royal family, allowing him to succeed him as the new King of Zhou. Soon after, Inu Rong attacked Hojing and killed Bofu, and Western Zhou perished.
Therefore, strictly speaking, the beacon drama princes were not the reason for the demise of Western Zhou. Although the story of "The Princes of the Beacon Opera" is likely to be invented by later generations, it can at least show that the fall of the Western Zhou Dynasty occurred on the last hegemon of the "Spring and Autumn Five Hegemons", the State of Qi.
We can see that the State of Qi was the last vassal state of the Hezhou Dynasty at that time. When Inu Rong hit Haojing, the capital of the Zhou royal family, the first thing the Qi monarch thought of was to have his monarch ask the Zhou dynasty for help to fight off Inu Rong. At the same time, the State of Qi also knew that Inu Rong was going to attack its capital Haojing, so the State of Qi also sent troops to support.
However, just when the Qi army was about to attack Haojing, the army sent by the Zhou royal family to rescue the car actually retreated without a fight. At that time, the envoy of the State of Qi also said to King Ping of Zhou: "If you can get Inu Rong to retire, we will definitely consider moving the capital to the State of Qi!" ”
Although King Ping of Zhou was a nominal monarch at that time, he could not even care about his own country. To support the Qi State at this time is of course powerless and powerless. And this is even more true for the State of Qi, because they have already offended Inu Rong and now they are going to support the State of Qi. If they successfully withdrew, it would mean that the Zhou dynasty was in danger of losing the country. That's why King Zhou Ping expressed such an obvious and helpless meaning of "retreat without a fight"!
It is precisely for this reason that Inu Rong did not pose a serious threat to the Zhou royal family after hitting Hojing.
4. Why is it said that King Zhou You was not killed, but deposed?
The "History" records that King Zhou You was killed, but this sentence is only an introduction. That's the point. King Zhou You was killed because he did not light the beacon, and he did not take care of his country. If King Zhou You really lit the beacon, then the princes would feel that King Zhou You did not respect them, so the princes would come to fight King Zhou You.
But in the end, the beacon play princes were just an introduction, and the real reason why King Zhou You was killed was that he offended Shen Guo and Yu Shifu, not lit the beacon.
The above analysis can be said to be the conclusion reasonably inferred by historians based on historical materials, but whether history is written like this or not I personally think is not very important, it is important to understand the truth of history, and not because of a so-called history book to think that it is true.
The princes of the beacon play are actually a story made up. Because there were no newspapers, television, or the Internet, people got information mainly by word of mouth. So the story was destined to be made up from the start.
With the passage of time and the spread of information, now the story is widely known, and almost everyone knows that it exists. Even many articles we see now like to use titles like "Beacon Play Princes" to attract readers.
Fifth, there is no such person in history
That is why the "beacon play princes" thing is fake.
It was this passage that abolished Li Ji, who was favored by King You, and Prince Yiusu, and eventually led to the demise of Western Zhou.
So is there really this person in history? The answer is yes, but this incident was recorded before the Chronicle.
During the reign of King Ji Jing of Zhou Xuan, there was a favorite Ji named Li Ji. This Li Ji is very favored, and King Xuan is very fond of her. After the death of King Xuan, the crown prince Yisu succeeded to the throne, that is, the king of Zhou You, and Li Ji, as his father's favorite concubine, naturally became the prince's best friend.
This Li Ji was also very ambitious, she wanted her son to be a prince, but at that time King Zhou You had no intention of making a prince. In order to please her father King Xuan, she often said in front of King Xuan how capable and virtuous she was. At this time, King Zhou You was not happy: I didn't say that I would make you a prince, did I?
But because King Zhou You was too busy at that time, he did not pay attention to this matter. After a few years, he suddenly remembered this incident, so he asked Li Ji to test it. As soon as Li Ji saw that her opportunity had come, she pretended that the pregnancy was known by the prince, and the prince asked the ministers to vent for him. Therefore, at the provocation of Li Ji, King Zhou You abolished the crown prince Yiusu.
And at that time, there was a person who was also implicated in this matter - King Li of Zhou.