Let's first take a look at Qi Huan Gong, who was the first to hegemonize. Qi Huan Gong's hegemony was more political, and from a military point of view, it was not a success, and even the crusade against the weak Lu State was defeated. For the Chu state in the south, the so-called victory was only nominal, not the crushing of military strength. Duke Qi Huan, as one of the princes, is not the only choice for the throne, but the change gave him the opportunity, the turmoil of the throne of the State of Qi, so that the Duke of Qi Huan Xiaobai ascended the throne, and the first person he had to thank was Uncle Bao, it was the existence of this wisdom tank that allowed him to return to the capital and become the king of the State of Qi. And Guan Zhong, who once wanted to put himself to death, became the prime minister of Qi Guocheng, in addition to Bao Shuya's strong recommendation, he also had Qi Huan Gong's own heart and temperament.
Honoring the king was the political strategy of the Duke of Qi Huan, the former son of Zhou Tianzi, the king who was left in the corner, and was revered by the Duke of Qi Huan, who organized more than twenty alliances of princes during his reign, and each time invited the envoys of Zhou Tianzi to participate in the alliance. Each action is to uphold the mandate of the Son of Heaven and fulfill the responsibilities of the princes, creating a very positive image. As for the destruction of the country, the Duke of Qi Huan extended a helping hand to the countries invaded by Rong Di, allocating places for them and moving the people to where to live, which was to use economic means to make up for the military deficiencies. Using political strategies to actively unite princes from all sides and using economic foundations to consolidate their hegemonic position is the secret of Qi state's hegemony.
As the first hegemon of Spring and Autumn, the State of Qi benefited from the close cooperation of the two monarchs of Guan Zhong and Duke Huan of Qi, and the heart and mind of Duke Huan of Qi and the means of Guan Zhong were the capital of the State of Qi's hegemony. When Guan Zhong was critically ill, he saw the hidden danger of the Qi state, so he made pertinent suggestions to Qi Huan Gong. Qi Huangong was favoring Yiya and others at this time, these people are mercenary and bottomless, Guan Zhong can deter them when he is alive, they dare not act rashly, but Guan Zhong is gone, they are the bane of provoking right and wrong. For this, Guan Zhong saw it clearly, but Qi Huangong could not see this. Therefore, Duke Huan of Qi did not listen to Guan Zhong's advice, and as a result, soon after Guan Zhong's death, the princes of the State of Qi plunged the State of Qi into civil strife for the throne, and it was not until Duke Xianggong of Song sent troops to quell the civil unrest. But at this time, the hegemony of the State of Qi had been replaced by the State of Jin, a great power that dominated the north, took over the position of the State of Qi and became a powerful existence to contain the State of Chu in the south and the State of Qin in the west.
The Kingdom of Jin in the Central Plains: two once-in-a-lifetime opportunities and a capable team.
Duke Wen of Jin is the second of the five hegemons in Spring and Autumn after the Duke of Qi Huan, and originally under the premise of constant internal turmoil in Jin, there is no such possibility. But soon after he became king, he encountered two very good opportunities. This corresponds to an ancient Chinese saying: when good luck comes, no one can stop it.
The first was the scandal in the Zhou royal family. King Xiang of Zhou's concubine had fornicated with his younger brother, and was discovered by King Xiang of Zhou, who abolished Empress Zhai's throne. As a result, his younger brother persuaded Empress Zhai's father, Zhai Guojun, to send troops to Luoyang and drive King Xiang of Zhou out of the capital. King Xiang of Zhou was very frustrated at this time, and then he thought that in the past he could appeal to Xiaobai the Duke of Qi Huan, but now that the Duke of Qi Huan has died, there is no overlord, and he is facing a desperate situation. Chong'er, as a prince of the clan family, seized the opportunity at this time, and he sent troops to King Qin, killing King Zhou Xiang's brother and Empress Zhai together, helping King Zhou Xiang to successfully restore the throne.
The second event occurred the year after the civil unrest in the Zhou kingdom subsided, when the king of Chu led his allies to attack the Song state, and the Song state asked the Jin state for help, a strong expression of admiration for the hegemon. Duke Wen of Jin faced a choice, this time he had to face the powerful state of Chu, if he was afraid to retreat, the state of Jin could only be a second-rate vassal state, and after finally weighing the pros and cons, he decided to send troops to relieve the siege of the Song state, and won a decisive victory in the battle with the Chu army, thus establishing the supremacy of the state of Jin in one fell swoop.
Compared with the death and domination of Qi Huan Gong, the hegemony of the Jin State has been maintained for many years. The hegemony of the State of Qi was based on the strong ability of Guan Zhong and his successors, while the hegemony of the State of Jin relied on the wisdom of the crowd, the so-called "Six Secretaries of the State of Jin". It was relying on the role of this group of capable people that the long-term hegemony of the Jin state was maintained until the end of the three families divided into Jin.
The State of Qin in the west: Relying on the ability of a hundred miles of Xi, Qin Mugong established his own hegemony.
When it comes to the hegemony of the Qin State, the first thing to mention is Bailixi, for the Qin State, his role is no less than that of the Guan Zhong of the Qi State. The importance and reuse of talents is the key to Qin Mugong's ability to lead the Qin State to dominate Xijong. The slave exchanged for sheepskin initially made Qin Mugong ridiculed by the princes, but this unassuming old man made the Qin state from a western barbarian state despised by the princes to a force capable of stirring the world.
The establishment of Qin Mugong's hegemony is closely related to the Jin state. The achievement of hegemony began with the capture of the treacherous Duke Hui of Jin, and Duke Mugong of Qin helped Duke Huai of Jin and Duke Wen of Jin to return to China, single-handedly promoting the establishment of "Qin and Jin Zhi Good" between the two countries. And the reason why Qin Mugong gave up developing east was also because he was continuously defeated by the Jin state led by the Duke of Jin Wen, and the road of the Qin state to the east was blocked, so he had to go westward, and Xirong, which had seriously threatened Zhou Tianzi, was destroyed by Qin Mugong, and then Qin Mugong attacked the countries of Bashu and Guanxi, opening up nearly thousands of miles of territory. Zhou Tianzi appointed Duke Mu of Qin as the head of the Western princes, recognized his hegemony in the West, and dominated Xijong, laying the foundation for the later unification of Qin.
The State of Chu in the south: The blockbuster King of Chu Zhuang, determined to win the Central Plains, despised the domineering of Zhou Tianzi.
Unlike the other three kingdoms, his hegemony was not based on honoring Zhou Tianzi, but on his ambition to conquer the Central Plains. He claimed to be the prince of the barbarian land, and did not obey the orders of Zhou Tianzi, and the so-called road to the Central Plains was the embodiment of the king of Chu's peeping into the world. But first of all, the State of Qi, followed by the State of Jin, they have successively blocked in front of the State of Chu, at this time, of course, Zhou Tianzi has no appeal, but as a staunch supporter of King Zunwang, they maintain not only the prestige of Zhou Tianzi, but also their own hegemonic status. It's just that Qi Huan uses Wen Dou, while Jin Wen uses salutes before soldiers.
The ambitions of the State of Chu were successively stopped by the Duke of Qi Huan and the Duke of Wen of Jin, allowing him to run his own territory in the south. Thus, in the vast area of the south, it established its own rule. After King Chu Zhuang succeeded to the throne, the State of Chu won a decisive victory in the confrontation with the State of Jin, and in the face of the envoy sent by Zhou Tianzi to settle the affairs of Ningren, King Chu Zhuang inquired about the matter of Jiuding, and Zhou Tianzi's envoy had to tactfully say: To be the lord of the world is not in virtue. These words naturally could not make King Chu Zhuang give up his idea of dominating the world, but the existence of the great powers of Qi, Jin, Qin and other princes made it clear that it was not advisable for King Chu Zhuang to be an enemy of the whole world. After King Zhuang of Chu, although the state of Chu has undergone several changes, it has not left the ranks of superpowers, which is also after Qin unified the world, there has been a saying that "although Chu has three households, death in Qin must be Chu", and Xiang Yu and Liu Bang are both Chu, and the Chu people have always been in a leading position in the anti-Qin cause.
The entire Spring and Autumn period was a game between the four countries of the State of Qi, the State of Jin, the State of Qin, and the State of Chu, and between them, you sang and I appeared, and jointly staged a Spring and Autumn drama, but in fact, they were just princes who dominated one side.